A Feast for Crows

A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

Length: 33 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

GAME OF THRONES: A NEW ORIGINAL SERIES, NOW ON HBO.

Few books have captivated the imagination and won the devotion and praise of readers and critics everywhere as has George R. R. Martin’s monumental epic cycle of high fantasy that began with A Game of Thrones. Now, in A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth book of his landmark series, as a kingdom torn asunder finds itself at last on the brink of peace . . . only to be launched on an even more terrifying course of destruction.

A Feast for Crows

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

©2007 George R.R. Martin (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

"Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best.... [He] is a tense, surging, insomnia-inflicting plotter and a deft and inexhaustible sketcher of personalities.... This is as good a time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien." ( Time)

"The only fantast series I'd put on a level with J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings…. It's a fantasy series for hip, smart people, even those who don't read fantasy…. If you're new to the series, you must begin with Book 1, A Game of Thrones. Once you're hooked…. you'll be like the rest of us fans, gnawing your knuckles until book 5” (Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press)

“THE MOST impressive modern fantasy, both in terms of conception and execution, is George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.… A masterpiece that will be mentioned with the great works of fantasy.” ( Contra Costa Times)

Missing a Chapter!!

Would you listen to A Feast for Crows again? Why?

The book itself is fantastic! However, the audio book is missing at least one chapter...I believe chapter 40 or 41. I stumbled upon this because I just happened to be reading along with my friend's book. I would read the book again, but I don't think I would listen to it because I dont know how much else is missing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Feast for Crows?

All of it!

How could the performance have been better?

The reader is a little slow and uses the same rhythm throughout the book. Also, his voices are all very similar and gravelly. The accent he uses for the children make them all sound like babies regardless of age.

Title

I feel like he story is finally coming together, now. A good listen, as always, though this reading has a number of random pronunciation changes/variations that are unexpected, staying with the same and narrator for so long.

Narrator should have reviewed his voices :(

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Roy Dotrice?

I'm not sure who else I'd have do it...but if Roy Dotrice WAS going to redo these books, he should have had the professionalism to go back and listen to his previous work so he could get his voices at least close to how they were in books 1/2/3. Please see below for my full vent on the topic. HA

Any additional comments?

I've been listening to the Song of Ice and Fire series and have really enjoyed the first 3 books. Roy Dotrice's narration has driven me a bit nuts at times (Missandei's voice!?!), but overall it was fine. Just starting A Feast For Crows and I'm SOOOOOO distracted by his narration that I'm missing parts of the story. Some of the voices he's chosen for new characters are just over the top (e.g., Damp-hair). But, worst of all to me, is that he's changed a bunch of character voices. I know there was a big gap in his narration btwn book 3 and book 4, but I don't think he even bothered to go back and review the voices he'd done in the other books, and that to me is just insulting, and also pretty unprofessional. Aria Stark, a young girl, now sounds like an old woman/crone. And, it's silly because he's a side character, but I thought his voice for Dolorous Ed was pretty perfect, based on the character's description...now he has a rough gruff voice that doesn't match up at all. Honestly, the changes cause me to forget what character I'm listening to, and that makes me have to replay a lot. Also, he's changed his pronunciation of character names....Examples: Gilly had been said (correctly) as "GILL-eee." but now is "JILL-eee"; Catelyn had been said (also correctly) as "KAT-Lynn," but now is KATE-Lynn. He also changes how he says Brienne's name, and I mean within the same chapter...sometimes within a few sentences of each other! Really something those who produced this book should have stopped and redone. I'll keep going with the series as I love the show & the 1st 3 books...but I just think this is really sad. My understanding is that they'd gotten a new narrator to Books 4 & 5, and people complained that it wasn't Dotrice, so, they brought him back to redo the books. Given that, that people wanted Dotrice back and complained so much that they re-did the books, you'd think they'd all have the courtesy, professionalism, and sense to have him use the SAME voices that people were wanting to have back! I'm sure I'll adapt at some point, but for now I have to keep replaying parts because of the distraction from the narration. So, just a BIG heads up to you SOIAF listeners. :/

Good book

This book was good I liked it. I am glad I listened to it. If you think you might like it, get this book

Great book

loved all the new characters, and sweet Robin is for sure a telepath like Bran.

Roy Dotrice was amazing!

Oh Roy...

Love the books! Roy must have forgotten the story and how he read the 3 previous books before this one. He is pronouncing the names wrong, and using different voices for the characters. Hard to get use too.

Another brilliant performance from Dotrice

Would you listen to A Feast for Crows again? Why?

Before listening to this book, I was wary based on the negative reviews surrounding Dotrice's performance. For the life of me, I can't seem to figure out what all the fuss is about. While some of the voices may be different from previous recordings, the performance is no less engaging. It took a few chapters to get used to some of the changes, but I found that they did not detract one bit from the story. The range of voices that Dotrice is able to provide, especially at the age of 88, is incredibly impressive and engrossing.

The story is notably slower than the previous book, with several key characters missing - their story is told in ADWD. While much of the book is set-up and character development, it is an engrossing listen which paves the way for much of the action in ADWD (and presumed action in TWOW).

Decent

Decent story, but rather scattered and I found challenging to follow lesser characters plot lines.

Small Variations

As always, the story was amazing. The names and voices changed from the first three books, which caused some confusion. Overall, great.

Takes getting used to.

The narrator had a great voice, but not one I would have chosen for the variety of characters. I eventually got used to it by imagining my grand-father doing his best to bring the characters alive and, of course, not cringing at the language :)