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)

The best one yet!

In the previous audiobooks in this series, the narrator (Roy Dotrice) was easily the worst part of the production. It wasn't just that his chosen accents and pronunciations clashes with what many have become accustomed to in the HBO adaption, but they frequently clashed horribly with descriptions given in the books (going so far as to be weirdly racist, with his Missande voice in Storm of Swords). But this book was different. Perhaps it's because, when this was recorded, there was some of the HBO series to make reference to, but Dotrice's accents are far more consistent and appropriately track some cultural differences in the story (instead of everyone having the same odd British lilt), and I didn't notice a single instance where he botched the pronunciation of someone's name.

Perhaps this is due to influences from the show, perhaps it merely reflects Dotrice's ever-expanding familiarity with the texts, but this was a joy to listen to, start to finish, and it leaves me expecting good things for when he inevitably narrates The Winds of Winter after it is released.

RIP Roy Dotrice

The Winds of Winter wont be the same without Roy. My favorite part was how George spent all this time hyping frog up with PoV chapters just to kill him like that.

Danaerys?!

I cringed every time I heard Dany sound like an old crone rather than queen. Can't fathom how such a change for a major character was let through.

Lots of plots that didn't make it to the show

Many character lines from Dorne and non-Westeros settings got left out of the show. Some were more interesting than others. Lots of timing changes between the book and show as well

wonderful

enjoyed this book immensely the narrator to the wonderful job and as always RR Martin's books are wonderful as well

this is not the last book, so do not be fooled

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I did like this book (after 4 before this, why would I read it, if I did not like the characters?)
but was very disappointed that it was not the last book in the series, and so none of the story lines actually end. So was disturbed to realize that nothing was finished in this book.
its certainly as good as all his other books in this series,and I am glad that I listened to it.

Good read

Good read the reader has a g [do voice easy to understand. something odd voices efor characters.

Keeps you hooked!

I am so enjoying the development of the numerous story lines and the reader pulls them all together with ease.

As good as the rest

As good as the rest. Yeah, lots of the voices sound the same. It's one guy doing it, though. Sure I wish half the characters didn't sound like pirates, but you get used to it.

I want more!

This story has so many holes to fill, so many unanswered questions that cannot be left untouched. This is the type of story that can go on and on and on, and still hold its reader every step of the way. Wonderful book, and outstanding performance!