'Crows will fight over a dead man's flesh, and kill each other for his eyes.'
Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. But fear and deceit are in the air: their enemies are poised to strike.
The Martells of Dorne seek vengeance for their dead, and the heir of King Balon of the Iron Isles, Euron Crow's Eye, is as black a pirate as ever raised a sail.
Across the war-torn landscape of the Seven Kingdoms, Brienne the Beauty (thus named in mockery of her great size and strength) seeks for Sansa Stark, having vowed to protect Sansa from the wrath of Queen Cersei, Tommen's power-hungry mother.
Meanwhile apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms south to the Citadel from the cruel frozen north where the sinister Others threaten the Wall…
A Feast for Crows brings to life dark magic, complex political intrigue and horrific bloodshed. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel … and the coldest hearts.
Rating: 5 Stars
Positives: So we get to meet a lot of new characters in A Feast for Crows, and we also learn a lot more about the politics of the Iron Isles as a successor for Balon Greyjoy is chosen via a kingsmoot. And also was it just me or does the alchemist in the prologue remind you of a certain someone? Is it me or is that the person that Jaqen H'ghar became? And does this alchemist become Pate the pig boy? Because we certainly see Pate die at the alchemist's hands yet Pate is there in Oldtown to befriend Sam. This certainly looks like a mystery worth unravelling.
Secondly we see the potential downfall of the Lannisters approaching. Now that Cersei reigns in all but name we see her starting to lose her grasp on the game of thrones. Sure enough Tommen may be king, but if anything were to happen to Cersei who would step up as Regent to protect his best interests? We also get to see more of Cersei's backstory now that she becomes a point of view character, and I get the feeling that she is becoming a tragic protagonist. There has always been the issue of people self fulfilling prophecies by trying to stop them, and I fear that this is what is happening with Cersei. Just become some of the foretelling she had as a child has come true she is desperate to stop the rest of it doing so, in turn causing it to come true.
On the other hand we see Jaime grow into himself much more and he actually manages to secure Riverrun for the Lannisters without shedding a drop of blood and keeping his vows to the late Catelyn Stark. I'm really growing to respect Jaime as a character and I think the loss of his sword hand has humbled him somewhat, as well as opening his eyes to the true nature of those around him.
This really was another good book in the series with lots happening even if the pace is somewhat slower than what we're used too.
Negatives: Firstly what has happened to half of our beloved characters? We barely see Jon Snow, and we don't see Bran or Daenerys or Tyrion. All we know of Tyrion's current escapades is that he is currently eluding capture by Cersei's spies but where is he? Okay yes there was admittedly a little note from the author after the book has ended explaining that the book was becoming too long and that we'll definitely get to visit these much loved characters in the next installment but to go an entire book without them puts things a bit out of kilter.
Secondly following the vein of the previous point where were the Others? After they played such a big role in A Storm of Swords with Sam the Slayer are we just supposed to believe that they've left the Wall alone for now? Some continuity here would be nice given that they are supposed to be a huge threat to the Realm.
And really what was that with the babies? I know that to protect Dalla's boy he had to be sent away, but poor Gilly. Jon has definitely changed for the worse since becoming Lord Commander.
Would I recommend this book? As always with this series yes I would. However expect this one to be much slower in pace than the previous installments.
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