A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (hereafter AFfC)
The fourth volume in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire (hereafter ASoIaF)
for reference
AGoT=Volume 1: A Game of Thrones
ACoK=Volume 2: A Clash of Kings
ASoS=Volume 3: A Storm of Swords
Warning this review contains spoilers
I have been waiting for this book for over 15 months like the rest of the ASoIaF fans. They are long volumes and not for the word weary. Translation, if you don't like to read or a 30 page pamplet is your idea of a long book, this is not for you.
Mr Martin had originally intended this to be a longer volume as it was to bridge a 5 year gap, but given how much he wrote, he realized that it would be unpublishable. So he split the work into 2 volumes. The next A Dance with Dragons (hereafter ADwD) is due late next year... so translate that to mid 2007... The split is along the characters, as Mr Martin says in his book and on his site, he decided to tell all of the story for half of the characters in each book.
AFfC picks up shortly after the seminal yet tragic events of ASoS. The repercussions of the Red Wedding and the murder of Joffrey Barrethon still play havok with the events in the 7 Kingdoms proper. Cersei has been made unbalanced to say the least by the death of her son. Jaime is undergoing some sort of personal visionquest. though he is still a scumbag. Arya's quest for vengence and self protection have taken her to a dangerous new place. Brienne's quest for honor, both her's and Jaime's and perhaps the center piece of the book reveals much of the local devastation of the war. The events in Dorne on serve to add fire to an already volatile mix. To say much more would just reveal far more of the plot than I intend to.
Key questions one should consider are:
Who really are the crows of the title?
Where is Varys?
What if anything is going to be left to face the Others?
Who is the new Septon??? I have my suspicions.
Does the feel of armageddon begin to fill you after this book?
What really happened to Valyria and the dragons?
What really happened to the Green Men?
How much do we really know about the maesters?
As to my thoughts and feelings about events within, and FYI, spoilers abound here...
I really enjoyed Brienne's journey. I think the most important information gained was the devastation that the war has had upon the smallfolk and the attempts underway to recover. I think Mr Martin draws much here from war in the middle ages, wars that could never finish the job since extermination of a population was no longer an option (I refer here to the pre Christian idea of warfare which basically was, go in destroy everything, kill all the males, rape and enslave all women of childbearing age, kill the rest of the women and move on). Strangely, Brienne is not even on my top ten favorite character list but at least in this novel she was the second most important p.o.v.
Jaime as has been the case since Ned died and Jaime became a p.o.v. character, is the most informative about the history and the current state of affairs in the middle 5 Kingdoms. This new "maturing" Jaime, while still that love him or hate him scumbag, is now one of the big players in the game of thrones. A great bit of dialog, more a speech really, and I won't tell you the context... but be warned it is a spoiler so highlight to read
"and if I will not yield?"
Must you make me say the words? Pia was standing by the flap of the tent with her arms full of cloths. His squires were listening as well, and the singer. Let them hear, Jaime thought. Let the world hear. It makes no matter. He forced himself to smile. "You've seen our numbers, Edmure. You've seen the ladders, the towers, the trebuchets, the tents. If I speak the command, my coz will bridge your moat and break your gate. Hundreds will die, most of them your own. Your former bannermen will make up the first wave of attackers, so you'll start the day by killing the fathers and brothers of men who died for you at the Twins. The second wave will be Freys, I have no lack of those. My westermen will follow when your archers are short of arrows and your knights so weary they can hardly lift their blades. When the castle falls, all those inside will be put to the sword. Your herds will be butchered, your godswood will be felled, your keeps and and towers will burn. I'll pull your walls down, and divert the Tumblestone over the ruins. By the time I'm done no man will ever know that a castle once stood here." Jaime got to his feet. "Your wife may whelp before that. You'll want your child, I expect. I'll send him to you when he's born. With a trebuchet."
Maybe if Jaime had not thrown Bran out a window, or off of a wall to be techincal, and was not engaging in 30 years of incest with his sister... maybe he would be a likable character or maybe not but he is one godaweful son of a bitch.
Arya's chapters, while very enjoyable and I suppose I could say this about Sansa's and Samwell's too, seemed more along the lines of get them there chapters and "in the mean time" chapters. At least until... well that would be too much of a spoiler.
Who else is in there, a new character from Dorne... and the queen of all bitches if nothing else, Cersei.
A good way to sum up Cersei's journey through AFfC might be "the descent". Because that is more or less what happens in many different ways. She fucked, manipulated and murdered her way to the top...and it turns out that while she is a really good schemer, she is a horrible regent. One vad decision after another. All to "protect" her grasp on power, her remaining son, King Tommen whom I do not think will survive to adulthood.
In summary, AFfC does exacly what it is supposed to do, deal with the aftermath of ASoS, with the only caveat being that ADwD will deal with that as well. We see the effects of the war across the lower 6 Kingdoms and begin to get an idea of what hell is coming next. Personally I think the use of AFfC and ADwD to fill the 5 year gap means that it will take more than 6 or 7 volumes to finish the series.
This book elevates Mr Martin into the upper echelons of American writers. A recent article called him the American Tolkien. That is already true. Perhaps the rest of the series will elevate him even further.
Links
Mr Martin's personal website, the only place for real info on the progress of the next book
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/
The best place to use as a clearing post if you will, it also has a great forum
http://www.westeros.org/
Mr Martin and his spouse occasionally pop in there with an announcement
A great place to discuss this book and fantasy and scifi in general
http://www.fantasyessentials.net
