A Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

by George R.R. Martin

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • THE BOOK BEHIND THE FIFTH SEASON OF THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES

NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series—as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK FIVE
 
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.

Praise for A Dance with Dragons
 
“Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.”The Washington Post
 
“Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times
 
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times 

Reviewed by clq on

4 of 5 stars

Share
It gets better. Don't worry. It does.
Of course, I'm comparing A Dance With Dragons to Feast for Crows. I felt that Dance with Dragons started at pretty much the level at which Feast for Crows ended, which is something. My main problem with the previous book was that I just couldn't bring myself to care properly about most of what happened. I found the story itself to be a little more compelling from the start of this book, but I still found myself not really caring as much as I felt that I should have. For a while I was worried that this was my fault and that I had just stopped caring about the series all together. However, and though it took a while, Dance of Dragons succeeded in pulling me back into the universe. Eventually all the threads seemed to come together in a way which doesn't quite justify everything I have been complaining about, but at least serves to explain it. The book ends on a couple of high notes and, annoyingly, made me want to start the next book right away. That's a feeling I haven't had since the end of the first book, and it is just typical that I should get it again now that I'm caught up.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 December, 2013: Finished reading
  • 20 December, 2013: Reviewed