It's that George R. R. Martin fella again
I was going to do this a bit later but seeing as I worked until 23:00 last night I wanted a bit of me time this morn...
I have now finished A Feast for Crows (blimey that took some time Mark)!
The book is excellent, I can see that now and I agree with those who said I should hang on a bit, as they were right but of course I knew they'd be right.
I finished earlier than I thought as I still had at least fifty pages left when I finished last night, forgetting about Martin's lengthy house descriptions and his rather twee and naff afterword to the book. No, George, I wasn't crying 'where was Stannis, where was Jon?' sometimes books don't follow the norm, the expected and hey, I like that. I like the fact that you brought in new POV and to be honest what I really loved was this:
A Feast For Crows sticks very well to its title as it is isn't about wars or grandiose plans but of the aftermath of war. This is a topic that many fantasy novels and series steer well clear of and I think this is a mistake. Martin explains the shit and the grime that is present at the end of war, the lost, the confused and the desperation it drives them to.
This is one of the reasons that Brienne's chapters are so strong, as she covers the land, sees the murders, meets the people, witnesses the horror of the results of war. She almost spends the whole book dazed before finally seeing black as the book ends.
I have always struggled with Cersei, seeing her as a rather one-dimensional villain, her sections sufficed to narrate the demise of the Lannister's grip but I thought her comeuppance was overdue.
Missing Tyrion is this book (who has been my favourite since Eddard Stark lost his head) but that is somewhat compensated for by his brother, Jaime who is easily one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature. Jaime commits one of the most evil acts in the whole four books when he flings Bran out of a tower window, crippling the boy. Yet he has also done some great deeds too. Jaime is one of those characters that we don't see enough of, a character we can despise and empathise with at the same time.
I love his wit, I love his trials and I really do love the character.
I seem to struggle with the every man hero, as I don't like Samwise Gamgee in LOTR and I certainly don't like Samwell Tarly in this book, he's a whining whingeing brat who needs a good shoeing!
All in all I thought the book was very well detailed and feels like a little aside from the rest of the series but in a good way and I, for one, am so looking forward to the next instalment (and hoping Tyrion is it - couldn't care less about Stannis).
I have now finished A Feast for Crows (blimey that took some time Mark)!
The book is excellent, I can see that now and I agree with those who said I should hang on a bit, as they were right but of course I knew they'd be right.
I finished earlier than I thought as I still had at least fifty pages left when I finished last night, forgetting about Martin's lengthy house descriptions and his rather twee and naff afterword to the book. No, George, I wasn't crying 'where was Stannis, where was Jon?' sometimes books don't follow the norm, the expected and hey, I like that. I like the fact that you brought in new POV and to be honest what I really loved was this:
A Feast For Crows sticks very well to its title as it is isn't about wars or grandiose plans but of the aftermath of war. This is a topic that many fantasy novels and series steer well clear of and I think this is a mistake. Martin explains the shit and the grime that is present at the end of war, the lost, the confused and the desperation it drives them to.
This is one of the reasons that Brienne's chapters are so strong, as she covers the land, sees the murders, meets the people, witnesses the horror of the results of war. She almost spends the whole book dazed before finally seeing black as the book ends.
I have always struggled with Cersei, seeing her as a rather one-dimensional villain, her sections sufficed to narrate the demise of the Lannister's grip but I thought her comeuppance was overdue.
Missing Tyrion is this book (who has been my favourite since Eddard Stark lost his head) but that is somewhat compensated for by his brother, Jaime who is easily one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature. Jaime commits one of the most evil acts in the whole four books when he flings Bran out of a tower window, crippling the boy. Yet he has also done some great deeds too. Jaime is one of those characters that we don't see enough of, a character we can despise and empathise with at the same time.
I love his wit, I love his trials and I really do love the character.
I seem to struggle with the every man hero, as I don't like Samwise Gamgee in LOTR and I certainly don't like Samwell Tarly in this book, he's a whining whingeing brat who needs a good shoeing!
All in all I thought the book was very well detailed and feels like a little aside from the rest of the series but in a good way and I, for one, am so looking forward to the next instalment (and hoping Tyrion is it - couldn't care less about Stannis).