Review of "A Dance with Dragons" by George R.R. Martin

This review assumes you've read the prior four novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series.

As the time between builds with the publishing of each Song of Ice and Fire novel, so too does expectation.  Six years between the publishing of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (2011) means a lot of expectations.  Was the wait worth it?  Let's see.

The short answer (and a cheating answer, beware) is: yes and no.  A Dance with Dragons has all of the flavor, dialogue, plot twists, and overall savory story that readers have come to expect of the series.  If you wanted more Song of Ice and Fire, you have it in spades.

The majority of A Dance with Dragons takes place on the Eastern continent.  Danaerys and Tyrion, after a novel's break in A Feast for Crows, return to the page, and a huge chunk of Dance follows the two--Tyrion as he attempts to remain in hiding after committing fraticide and Dany as she tries to come to terms with ruling a new kingdom while still wanting to retake the iron throne in the name of the Targaryen legacy.  But there are likewise a handful of other characters, some known and some yet unknown who finds themselves the subject of chapter points of view.  In Westeros, things in Dorne continue edge closer to conflict with the Lannisters and Tyrells, while in the North war is brewing around Winterfell.  And lastly the series returns to Jon, who like Dany and Tyrion has a large share of the chapters in Dance.  Now Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon tries his best to fill Mormont's boots while dealing with a number of problems--the wildlings, Stannis Baratheon and his red witch, and the wights not the least among them.  

While the wheel of chapter points of view in Dance spins more erratically than the first three Ice and Fire novels, it still spins.  Gears within gears as each character and house attempts to adapt to the situations constantly in flux proves just as enjoyable, leaving readers to want The Winds of Winter immediately in their hands.  (Twelve years and counting...)

The short answer "no" is based on other qualities.  While each of the first three novels in the series ended with action in Westeros ongoing, the books found convenient pauses for their final pages.  The calm before the storm brought about by Eddard's death.  The end of the battle for King's Landing.  The death of several major characters in A Storm of Swords.  All of those moments were nicely planned to provide readers a breath before jumping into the next book.  By ending some of its storylines at cliffhangers rather than convenient pauses, it would seem A Feast for Crows changed Martin's approach to delineating the volumes in his series.  A Dance with Dragons, while giving a landing spot to some of the cliffhangers in Feast, likewise ends on several cliffhangers.  

There is a devil's advocate, and this is what he says: "Feast and Dance are bridge books, and bridge books bridge the opening volumes to the closing volumes."  There is some truth in this, I admit, but I can't help but feel the series' size is starting to slip. Bursting at the seams with story, one has to wonder if the overarching story isn't suffering for the perceived need to fit everything into as few of volumes as possible.  The way things are going, the series will require three further volumes, not two.  Martin is 74 years old now, let's hope he writes faster....

If you’ve read A Song of Ice and Fire this far, the six year wait for new Westeros material will undoubtedly be satisfying in its own right.  It’s good to hear from Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Bran, Arya, Cersei, Jaime, Davos, and others again - and some of these arcs continue to sparkle, Bran and Theon’s in particular.  But when you’ve finished reading A Dance with Dragons, don’t expect to be met with any sense of satisfaction that the series has been taken to the next stage.  There are so many loose ends hanging out there now that a frayed rope is the better metaphor.  Write, George write!!