Book Review: A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Author: George R.R. Martin
Title: A Dance with Dragons
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Previous books in the series: A Game of Thrones,  A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast For Crows.
Publication Info: New York, NY : Random House Audio, p2011.
Summary/Review:

So I’m at last caught up with the published works of A Song of Ice and Fire.  Unbelievably, five tomes into the series Martin is still introducing new major characters and plots.  So it drags it times and can be hard to keep up.  But largely this is still a compelling story and it is good to catch up on the stories of characters like Daenerys, Jon, Tyrion, Theon, and Arya.  And there’s a really cool part with a dragon. Now I join the rest of the world in waiting for the next novel. My theory is that Martin has actually written material for several new books and is constantly rearranging chapters, unable to cut anything, and introducing entirely new families and storylines.

Rating: ***

Book Review: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Author: George R.R. Martin
Title: A Feast for Crows
Narrator: John Lee
Publication Info: [Santa Ana, Calif.] : Books on Tape, 2006
Summary/Review: The fourth book in A Song of Ice and Fire is a departure from the style of the earlier books, as it focuses on stories of only some of the major characters, while characters like Daenerys, Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Davos are not featured at all.  This leaves room to explore the Greyjoy/Iron Island and Martell/Dorne story lines in greater depth than ever before.  More familiar characters appearing in this book include:

• Cersei, using the deaths of Joffrey and Tywin, and absence of Tyrion to consolidate power as Queen Regent.
• Brienne and Podrick, continuing their search for Sansa and Arya in the lawless lands of Westeros.
• Samwell, Gilly, Maester Aemon, and Dareon travel to Oldtown so that Samwell can train to be a maester.
• Arya takes on a new identity in Braavos.
• Jaime grows distant from his sister/lover and tries to reestablish himself as a military leader despite his missing hand.
• Sansa adjusts to her new life in the Vale disguised as Littlefinger’s daughter.

In some ways, this book seems to restarting the story.  It also seems to be dragging its heels at points. But mostly it continues to tell a complex and epic tell in interesting ways.

Rating: ***

Book Review:A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Author: George R.R. Martin
Title: A Storm of Swords
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Publication Info: Random House Audio (2012)
Previous books in the series: A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings
Summary/Review:  The high fantasy series continues with the grim and deadly doing of Westeros, a place where weddings are more dangerous than battlefields and being a king doesn’t offer much job security.  Dotrice’s narration continues to make the series for me, providing an old-time storyteller’s feel to the tales of adventure, intrigue, betrayal, and occasionally friendship and love.  I’ve watched the tv series, and it appears for the most part that the tv series has only depicted events up to the end of this books, so I look forward to reading the next two published books completely unspoiled.
Rating: ***

Book Review: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Author: George R.R. Martin
Title: A Clash of Kings
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Publication Info: Random House Audio (2011)
Previously read by the same author: A Game of Thrones
Summary/Review:

The second installment of A Song of Ice and Fire was gripping to my ears as I plowed through the audiobook.  Despite the title, there is not much clashing for most of the novel, but there is a lot of moving of chess pieces around the board.  There’s also a grim portrait of the effect of war on the ordinary people in Westeros.  Having watched the television series, I notice that it diverges more from the source material than in A Game of Thrones, but not so much that I’d wonder why they make the changes.

Rating: ***

Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Author: George R.R. Martin
Title: A Game of Thrones
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Publication Info: [Santa Ana, Calif.] : Books on Tape, 2004
ISBN: 9780739353370
Summary/Review:

My wife has been reading A Song of Ice and Fire for years, including on our honeymoon, but I’ve always been intimidated by their length.  Having binge-watched the television adaptation Game of Thrones, I figured it was time to give the books their due.  The audiobook narration by Dotrice is a good way to enjoy the book because his gravely British accent makes me feel like I’m listening to an epic storyteller.  The book does a great job of laying out the politics and intrigues among the seven kingdoms while simultaneously setting up for a graver confrontation with stories of the North beyond the wall, and the Targaryen’s in the East.  Amazingly the first season of  tv show remained faithful, if condensed, to this book.  Worth the read/listen and I’ll be moving on to the second book.

Recommended books: Eragon by Christopher Paolini and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein.
Rating: ***