I re-read the first four as a kind of extended run-up to A Dance with Dragons, but that latest one was really the main event - a chance to find out more of what happens to all, or at least most, of the remaining/surviving characters, not to mention a few significant new ones (most notably more of the various Dornish and the revelation of the young Aegon having been raised in exile).
The storylines increasingly knit together, and the building continues towards what will seemingly end up being an ultimate confrontation between whoever's left standing on Westeros once the game of thrones is bloodily (and fierily) played out and the Others north of the Wall. Exactly how Martin intends to get us there, though, is still to be seen - including whether he'll continue to be as brutal about killing off main characters as he was particularly through the first three books of the series.
I have to say that while A Dance with Dragons is an improvement on A Feast for Crows, it does feel a bit like a book 5 out of 7 - there's a fair bit of moving the pieces around, and not a huge amount of actual action or really memorable character moments or set pieces. (Plus, the Meereenese sections are nowhere near as interesting as the others.) But the whole thing is so compelling and so well imagined, and so effectively keeps the reader guessing, and the investment that it induces so great (particularly investment in characters who are genuinely morally ambiguous and who undergo real change and reversals), that these kinds of structural weaknesses are almost beside the point - there's more than enough momentum there to keep it completely engaging.
(previously - 2nd reading 1-3, 4; next reading)
The storylines increasingly knit together, and the building continues towards what will seemingly end up being an ultimate confrontation between whoever's left standing on Westeros once the game of thrones is bloodily (and fierily) played out and the Others north of the Wall. Exactly how Martin intends to get us there, though, is still to be seen - including whether he'll continue to be as brutal about killing off main characters as he was particularly through the first three books of the series.
I have to say that while A Dance with Dragons is an improvement on A Feast for Crows, it does feel a bit like a book 5 out of 7 - there's a fair bit of moving the pieces around, and not a huge amount of actual action or really memorable character moments or set pieces. (Plus, the Meereenese sections are nowhere near as interesting as the others.) But the whole thing is so compelling and so well imagined, and so effectively keeps the reader guessing, and the investment that it induces so great (particularly investment in characters who are genuinely morally ambiguous and who undergo real change and reversals), that these kinds of structural weaknesses are almost beside the point - there's more than enough momentum there to keep it completely engaging.
(previously - 2nd reading 1-3, 4; next reading)
