A Dance With Dragons

Title: A Dance with Dragons

Author: George R.R Martin

Genre: Fantasy

Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #5

Pages: 1051

Synopsis:

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

A Dance with Dragons to me feels a lot better especially after reading A Feast for Crows. We get a much better story and a lot more political intrigue with a new candidate for the throne in Yong Griff (another Targaryen!), the politics of Meeren, and the politics of the North. One of the best things that I continue to like about this series is the uncertainty and making me ask: what’s going to happen next?? There are just so many directions that this story can go.

I swear each book just gets better and better with its world-building. In each book we get to see even more of the world that is Westeros. This time we see more of the continent across from Westeros: we get to see more of the Free Cities. We get a sense of their culture, government (one of the free cities has three kings instead of one) and the people there. We even get to learn some of the customs and culture of Meeren (the city that Daenerys has conquered in A Storm of Swords). We also learn about a ruined city called Valyria.

Jon Snow, Daenerys, and Tyrion Lannister all return as POV Characters, and considering they are the POV Characters that I love the most seeing them return made the book just better. One other POV Character that I ended up liking in this story is Victarion Greyjoy. I really liked reading his chapters. He won me over in A Feast for Crows after the epic fight scene in that book, but this book made me like him even more. He’s a badass and a very straightforward character.

I just have two major criticisms of this novel. Number one, the plot seems to be slowing down. Now while I still was able to flip the pages, the overall plot seemed to be slowing down. We should be working toward the endgame. Most people in this novel are traveling and … a lot of the characters are still traveling at the end of the book. However, this isn’t totally a bad thing as we do get some good character moments and more time exploring the world of Westeros.

The next major criticism I have of this novel is the lack of resolution and the cliffhangers. Tyrion at the beginning of this book was supposed to meet with Daenerys … and he still hasn’t met her yet. We don’t know if Stannis was successful or not taking Winterfell. Will Cersei win her trial? Will she get revenge? Where is Arya Stark’s Story going? Will Bran successfully become the Three-Eyed Raven? What will Dany do next? Will Victarion ever meet Danerys? And more importantly: Is Jon Snow really dead or not??? Dammit George why do you have to leave us with so many questions and cliffhangers??!!

Overall, I did like this book better than A Feast for Crows. If you like slower plots, character development, world-building and a love for politics you will definitely love this book. Now my watch has begun as I eagerly wait for the next book (Please finish the books George!)….

Rating:

But wait… there is more! As I promised months ago here is my ranking of ASOIAF series:

My official ranking of ASOIAF:

1. A Storm of Swords: This was my favourite book in the series hands down! So many epic events!
2. A Clash of Kings: I really liked this book. A Clash of Kings was a great way of introducing some of the best characters in this entire series: Stannis Baratheon (Stannis the Mannis and the rightful King of Westeros!). Tyrion and Theon’s Chapters were very good chapters. We also get a great battle scene with Blackwater Bay.
3. A Game of Thrones: A solid first entry into the series. Ned Stark’s chapters were great and this book definitely sets up what is to come in this series.
4. A Dance with Dragons: This book was definitely a good read and seeing some of my favourite POV Characters (Daenerys, Tyrion, and Theon) return was the icing on the cake. I also just felt the storylines were a little better in this book compared to A Feast for Crows.
5. A Feast for Crows: I don’t hate A Feast for Crows but some of its POV characters and storylines were a little lacking in my opinion. It’s still very much worth a read thanks to its character development and world-building.

Final Thoughts about A Song of Ice and Fire Series:

Completing this was a journey. And it was a journey well worth taking. I mean five books, 4,933 pages, and 1,736,054 words, this was quite the undertaking and the biggest book series I’ve ever read so far in my life. I even read the longest book I’ve ever read while reading this series! I’m really proud of myself for challenging myself and being able to get through this series! So after the journey would I recommend this series? Yes, definitely! If you like Fantasy, strong characters, political intrigue, good world-building, and lore. Surprisingly this series even covers the issue of Climate Change and the Threat of Nuclear Weapons (Dragons are kind of the Nuclear Weapons in this universe). If you were disappointed in the tv show, then read the books because the books are sooooo much better than the tv show.

I don’t recommend this series if you have commitment issues, because 1000 pages is a lot to read and we still don’t know when or if there will be more books to the series. If you can’t commit to that then don’t read the series.

Well, our time with the ASOIAF series is over, but I might do a reread of the series someday and I will definitely read The Winds of Winter if it ever comes out. I do plan to eventually read the “Dunk” and “Egg” Novellas at some point so stick around for that. See you all next time!

Rating of the series: