A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5

This book is controversial now among fans. Some love it, some hate it. So I've decided to break down my review in a fashion that should be useful for someone who hasn't read it but is a fan of the series. I won't provide any major spoilers, but there will be some minor ones alluded to (hopefully very subtley.) I mainly want to talk about what I think is the best way to approach the book.In my opinion, some of the people who giving this novel one star are reacting to the fact that this is not the book they imagined. This is not to say that there aren't valid criticisms to be made and issues to discuss, but I feel that many who are vehemently upset are a bit blinded by what they perceive to be the arc of the story vs. how it is now trajecting. A lot of people had certain expectations about the direction of the plot, and Martin does what he always does - he subverts expectations.I feel as though many fans have fantasized / romanticized what this book was going to be like and instead of seeing what it is; they are only seeing how it is different from what they spent several years imagining it would be. Things they wanted to happen didn't. New and unexpected things did. The scope of the world increases even more, with new characters and new locations. If you come at this book from the point of view that the only part of the world you're interested in Westeros, then you aren't going to like Dance With Dragons. In my opinion, you're also going to miss out on some of the most compelling sections of the entire series.The thing that separates Song of Ice and Fire from other fantasy series is that the scope of the world - the sheer size and the depth of the history of it - is beyond tremendous. We've got HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of characters both in the past and present, who are all brought to life. We've got not just one continent, but an entire world. It is a world that is constantly growing richer and richer.With each book the series expands. I've often found this to be the source of a lot of frustration for some readers throughout the series. For example, people got pissed off about the Iron Islands chapters in the second book, and bored with Dorne in the fourth. Honestly though, there is HUGE payoff for all of that in this novel. Now I can't imagine not having the Iron Islands in the story, and I'm grateful he took us there in the second book.My advice is twofold - read this book next to Feast For Crows and also shake off what you think is going to happen. Don't get married to the ideas you might have had about the direction of the series - but also don't be afraid. You're in good hands with Martin. Trust them. He's giving you a story bigger in scope than anything else out there. If you come into Dance With Dragons expecting him to "refocus" you're going to hate it. Because it doesn't. It does progress the story a great deal (despite people claiming otherwise - I honestly have no idea how to respond to people who say nothing happens in this book. I wonder if we've even read the same thing.)By the end of the book I feel like we've gotten to a major crux in the story. Not only has a TON happened, but the events of the final two books have all been nicely set up. Knowing Martin, the obvious isn't guaranteed to happen, but the way the board is set up now is certainly intriguing... The cliffhangers, though too numerous, are all on their own extremely fascinating and discussion-provoking.There is a love interest for Dany which isn't all that interesting or well written. Aside from that, I think there is a lot to like here. People have been howling about how Dany's entire arc is awful, which I disagree with. I think of all the POVs, it is probably the least well crafted and to a certain extent Martin's struggles with "The Mereenese knot" are apparent. But honestly, it is the type of the thing that immediately becomes more fascinating when you think about it side by side with Cersei chapters in A Feast for Crows. There seems to be a deliberate comparison of what it means to be a good queen here and in many ways it is actually quite masterfully structured / thought out. There are all sorts of echoes and clearly deliberate parallel situations occuring that each queen handles in a completely different way.Likewise, Martin is a genius at subverting how we feel about a character. There is someone you probably hated throughout the series who you will suddenly be rooting for with every fiber of your being. Not many writers can pull that off even once, but Martin does it time and time again. He even takes characters we've cheered for throughout and effortlessly grays them.This is a masterful book, in the middle of a masterpiece series. To enjoy it best embrace the scope, embrace the new characters (rather the bemoaning the somewhat abbreviated time you spend with the old ones) and let go of what you think you want to happen. There are game-changers here, but just because you're invested in what the game was doesn't mean you shouldn't be invested in what it has become (if that makes sense.) In other words, clear your head, sit back, and enjoy. This one is a wild ride.I'd also like to take a moment to remind people that the question Amazon asks isn't "do you agree with the amount of stars I've given this book?" They ask "Is this review helpful?" What I've tried to do here is present a review that is helpful for someone who hasn't read this book. If you disagree with my opinion in terms of the book's quality, I'd love to discuss if you're up for a friendly debate, but I'm not interested in bashing your amazon rating (or having you bash mine.) Please be considerate to what the question is actually asking, and if you do find that my review is not helpful, let me know why it isn't and I'll do my best to adjust.Thanks everyone! Enjoy the Dance!

I'm not sure anyone will read my review since it's coming in after something like 850 entries, but just in case, I wanted to put my two cents in because all the almost hysterical anti-DWD rants may actually discourage people from buying the book, and I think that would be a mistake.Here's my take on way people are so enraged (***some general non-specific spoilers***)1. They genuinely care about the book and want it to be the brilliant once-in-fifty-years fantasy it has promised to be. They are afraid it won't, particularly since GRRM has taken 10 years to produce Books 4 & 5 (which could really be one book). GRRM, like all of us, is mortal, so people are worried, God forbid, he will not have enough time to finish the books at all and/or he lacks the discipline and well power to do so.(By the way, anyone who tosses out bizarre insults about GRRM-he's lazy, he's arrogant, etc - I dismiss out of hand. If you have such little respect for him, don't read his stuff.)2. BOoks 4 & 5 are 'middle' books, much as the second book in the LOTR trilogy was. GRRM deliberately decides to have his characters go in circles and for nothing to 'happen' - that is part of his point here. Such books are much easier to read when there is a Book 6 & 7 to read immediately, or when you are confident Books 6 & 7 will be on their way shortly. People are not confident of this.3. The world of the pseudo Near East was poorly imagined, not as realistic as the Western Westeros. In particular, Dany's world was not fully fleshed out--it is entirely corrupt & despotic, with no positive traits. Yet the slave world of, say, Egypt, also had greatness--religion the arts, etc. This Western stereotype of an Egypt=like state made Dany's stay there very hard to bear because in addition to the one-dimensional world, Dany herself was behaving really really one-dimensionally.Spoiler ** QUESTION---Did anyone else pick up the possibility that Dany was being bespelled by the wizards and that was the reason she locked her dragons and lost her way? There are numerous hints in the book.4. Finally, the books could have used editing. Indeed, with good editing, Books 4 & 5 could have been one book of about 800 pages max. Nearly all of the Brienne chapters of Book 4, for instance, could have been omitted. In this book, several Dany chapters could have been omitted with zero negative repercussions.Positives:So what's good about this book?The tone, scope and breadth of this book was outstanding. If you view this as a tale in which Westeros and the outside world are CHARACTERS themselves, the story becomes much more interesting.GRRM, I believe, is attempting to make this a story about a whole world rather than a mere story about Westeros. Because he decided to do this, he had to follow several story strands he didn't anticipate he would follow. This is also primarily a story about power---how to get it, how to lose it, what you do when you have it and what exactly it is. In this case, the story centers mostly on the 'how to use it,' with Jon and Dany really struggling.As with all great writers, GRRM takes story arcs and goes FAR past the predictable--Tyrion kills his father. But the story doesn't end at all. Dany frees the slaves. Then what? Jon gets power. Then what? Arya trains. But now what? Bran finds the Children of the Forest. Now what?What I find particularly great about the book is how GRRM refuses to categorize good or evil (with the exception of a truly evil person like the Bolton thing). Even with the Others it is not clear entirely what their purpose is, or what they are. Is the 'kind man' Arya trains with evil or good? Does it matter? Which of the religions are 'true'? All? None? Are they really one?These questions are examined in even more detail and depth in this book than in others.It is a 'dance' and the dance goes nowhere. That is part of the point.I may be wrong, but I think GRRM had the most difficulty writing these books, 4 & 5, because he didn't originally anticipate having to write them--they are mostly a bridge between 'here' and 'there,' both of which he seems to have mapped out. It's the bridge part he's had trouble with, figuring out just how to get the characters from here to there, and what the point of the journey was. I do think the next two books will come quicker and will have a lot more action now that all the chess pieces are in place.I would definitely recommend reading this, particularly if, like me, you know ahead of time that it's not extremely action packed (although it definitely has its moments). Worth your time.

great book

come i precedenti l'autore ti trasporta facilmente nel suo mondo e ti regala ore di fantasia

The book needs no introduction or review. Although George Marting didn't write a book that people wanted him to write, the plot, the character journey are as good as they were in The storm of swords (my favourite book of all time). Given the groundwork, he has done in Feast and Dance it will be very difficult to write a poor Winds of Winter. I am patiently waiting for it to be published.Now, as usual, the packaging was not up to the mark. The corners of the hardcover were bent and there was a slight tear on the spine (which I have fixed by glueing a white paper). I didn't replace it because I wasn't expecting any better and I wasn't prepared for a protracted dance with the seller (who are no less formidable than a dragon). Amazon and many sellers are afflicted by the strange inability to realize that a 1.6 kg book can't be shipped without proper packaging.Finally, even though my experience with the shipping was less than ideal. I would recommend the hardcover edition wholeheartedly to any reader of A song of ice and fire.

Una gran entrega con capítulos muy emocionantes y redactados maravillosamente.

A Dance with Dragons features some of the most intriguing storylines we have seen from the series thus far. The book is decidedly long, but never uninteresting. The writing is superb as always.