A Dance with Dragons

A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

Length: 48 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Dubbed the American Tolkien by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the number-one New York Times best-selling author delivers the fifth book in his spellbinding landmark series - as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again - 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 three times 3,000 enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

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 Nights Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon 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.

Enchanted? Check out the rest of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.

©2011 George R.R. Martin (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

"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)

Good story but a bit too lengthy and voices were confusing.

This story is great, but there was a lot of extra movement with very little payoff. I hope Winds creates value for some of the (seemingly over exhaustive storylines).
The narrator seems to be inconsistent. His voices/pronunciations change in this book. Additionally, for some characters, it’s often difficult to differentiate character thoughts from spoke statements.

Otherwise it’s awesome

I love this series.

It’s written so masterfully. In GRRM we trust can’t wait for the next two books

annoying voice choice for Daenerys

the narrator was great considering hiw many different people he had to give a voice to. I just didn't care for his choice for Daenerys. I think it just didn't sound right for the "mother or dragons"

Fantastical masterpiece of lore and storytelling

Believable caracters and stories with immersive cultures and histories that seem to have organically evolved into a realistic, yet fantastical, universe.

The end scene took my breath away

No spoilers;

However you have heard of Game of Thrones I implore you to listen to the Audiobooks. After finishing the fifth book I’m sad to know that the one who took me through the first five book journey is no longer with us.

*moment of silence*

Still, I’m eagerly awaiting the sixth book. What a masterpiece this series is. Hope to listen to the Winds of Winter soon.

Thank you George R R Martin for a wonderful experience.

The voices were weird

Great book. much better than a storm of swords, but I don't like that certain characters were given different names to what I'm guessing was to play into their different circumstances. I also didn't like that more points of view were added. I skipped a lot of people simply because their pov weren't necessary and I didn't miss much as far as the important parts of the plot. Overall not a bad story

Not as good as the others.

While I still enjoyed this book, the timeline seemed all over the place concerning other characters whose stories were supposed to be in the prior book. I understand the author split the stories into two novels, focusing on certain characters in each; however after 30 hours into this one, we got a few random chapters from the POV of characters in the prior book. It made things very confusing when we jumped back into their stories out of nowhere.

The writer, the editor and most of all Roy dropped the ball on this!

This has been mentioned many many times before but I need to vent! This may sound like an insignificant issue but it’s an egregious mistake. You would think the writer or the editor or somebody would catch this before the narrator got too deep. You come to know and love these characters. A voice helps you imagine their appearance, facial expressions, personality, and whether they are “comely” or homely. You lose your connection with the characters, they become strangers. I’m morning the loss of Cersei, aria and denaryus not to mention many more. If the book itself was any less brilliant, it would’ve made it unlistenable (for me). I don’t know how difficult it would be to relisten or record what you’ve narrated in the past as not to lose consistency. Good or evil Characters that you’ve come to love are ruined because of the changes. Denarius, for example, is supposed to be this sexy queen, but her voice is the voice of an old woman and very similar to the voice of aria. Cersei now has the same voice as Tyrion. Other than this huge disappointment, the narrator performs wonderfully with sound effects, inflection, etc. thank the seven that John knows voice didn’t change!

Now We Wait

Not sure if we'll ever see the series completed, but here's hoping. Whatever he writes can't be as bad as the show.

great book, wish grrm would finish the series

overall good story, the narrator chose some better voices to use for some female characters this time around