I have enjoyed the whole series. Its edge - the complicated plots... But Roy cannot do female voices. Every woman he tries to deliver sounds like the old hag from the "Princess Bride". And as she would say... "Booo!" I find myself imagining the text so I can objectively look at what the female character is saying without the demeaning voice.

I do love the Imp. What a great character. George is great at making many of the characters grey as well. Just when you're sure that someone is pure good or evil - he muddy's it up so that it can be hard to choose sides.

One last criticism: What is George's obsession with describing each bland meal? Do we really need to know the intimate details of medieval fare 7 times a chapter? It's as annoying as the late Robert Jordan's constant referrals to exposed cleavage and reddened cheeks. Puhlease.... I'm pulling my braid here. (Another light Robert Jordan jab.)

Of the hundreds of books I have listened to , this narrator is probably the worst I have ever listened to. Characters are lost in his brogue; his "female" voice is that of a 95 year old crone with a ninety year history of smoking. Don't ruin George Martins' books with this narrator again.
RAVEN

This book might have been good if the narrator did not sound like he was 100 years old. It is made worse by the fact that there are so many characters and he sounds the same with each one, and they all have a mouth full of marbles. Danny sounds like she is 100, and frankly sounds like all of the other old men in the book. If I had not just wanted to get through the series I would never have purchase this book. Audible, stop being so cheap and pay some younger people with some talent to change their voice a little.When there are this many characters, you should be able to afford more than one person to read it. My recommendation, read the book, don't listen to it. It is too distracting.

This massive novel is slow and plodding and resolves no major plot lines. If you're a fan of the series, I won't ruin the end, but be aware a major character of the series and the book is killed off for no apparent reason other than the author wanting a zinger for the end.

Also, I found this book to be even more profane and pornographic than the earlier books. There is more action in bedrooms than in battlefields.

My advice, if you just want to follow the plot line, find a synopsis online and skip this tortuous book, or better yet consider the series over and move on.

Lots of rambling about characters I did not much care for???not enough closure. Sometimes found myself daydreaming, and then wondering if I should bother to finish. Still, I did finish it and glad I did. I will listen to the next one if the reviews are good.

By the way, I thought John Lee did a good job with the last book, as Roy Dotrice did with this one.

When the movie Game of Thrones came out I could wait to find out what happened in the next book. So I purchased the audible books. 2 credits per each book. The first 2 were great, but by the ending of the 3rd books it starts to go downhill from there. The forth book I didn't even bother to buy because I noticed they changed narrators. So I purchased the 5th book because it was narrated the Roy Dotrice who narrated the first 3 books. He change the voices of some of the characters. It was confusing to follow because of this. I don't think I'll be purchasing series again in audible form. I thought it was a waste of my time and credits. It was a poor job of a story that is epic. For the most part I've loved listening to audible books and have been a member for over 10 years. This honestly was disappointingly done. I'll purchase the books for my children.

Why has Roy Dotrice decided to give Daenerys and Bran such excruciatingly irritating voices this time around? Did his good reviews go to his head - does he think it's all about him doing funny accents? Even if this book wasn't crushingly disappointing, long-winded and rambling, I can hardly bear to listen to the old crone who's supposed to be a 15 year old regal princess, mother of dragons, or the wizened old peasant that Bran has become. I haven't finished the book and doubt that I will. And by the way what has happened to all the audible listeners' reviews? I can't find them on the main page any more. And they were a big part of helping me choose a new book - probably wouldn't have ordered this one if I'd been able to read any besides the two stellar ones Audible put up there.

I watched the HBO series, then read the first 4 books. I was able to imagine most of the characters from the HBO series which was so good. I decided to try the last book from Audible since I had some saved credits. What a huge disappointment. I wish I had bought the book instead. This narration is ruining it for me. I know I can't expect it to be like the HBO actors voices, but the narration is so horrid! Maybe the narration would be OK reading a Charles Dicken's story for children, but for this series, the voices sound so cartoony and sort of gutter British or just plain weird. He just doesn't have the rhythm for the dry humor either. It makes you wonder about the production. How could they have thought this was good? This may well be the first ever recorded book I can't finish - and I've been listening to books for a very long time. Save your credits. Buy the book.

If you enjoyed the TV series "A Game of Thrones", I'm sure you are looking forward to reading this most recent book of the (to date) 5-book series. DON'T. You will be totally lost in this mishmash of intertwining half-plots and the horrendous performance by Roy Dotrice. Mr. Dotrice has only 3 voices - his normal voice, a lower, rougher version of his normal voice, and a perversion of pseudo-female voices that all fall into one category: crusty crone. Don't expect to hear a seductive voice for Dani - or any type of female voice that is realistic to character. Male characters are similarly flawed - and you often hear the same 'voice' for two different characters - within seconds of each other! - in a conversation. It makes listening - and understanding the story - almost impossible, and totally frustrating. Add Mr. Dotrice's annoying habit of breaking sentences with a slight pause - in a totally inappropriate spot - and the frustration mounts. I enjoyed the earlier books - though that was a LONG time ago. I don't recall the reader making such a mess of the novel, in the earlier books. Other reviewers have praised his work - and I simply cannot understand how they could do so! I love books - I love the written (and well-read) word - and I was looking forward to 49 hours of listening enjoyment. But, it has been "forced labor" to listen to this book. Although I am on part 4, it has been sheer persistence that has kept me listening so far - and I can hardly remember any of the plot, because the characters seem to 'run together' to make a jumble of words. If you are really interested in this series, I recommend that you start with book #1, and work through the series. You'll have a much better understanding of the books and characters - and hopefully have embedded in your mind the important parts of the story, the plot, and be able to sort out the characters by name. Or - wait for the HBO series instead!

The choice to divide the last 2 books by character instead of time was a big mistake. There are too many characters anyway, but trying to remember what happened to a different character in the last book 1500 pages ago is next to impossible.