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)

good read between watching seasons on tv

Lots of fun to get all the background and the storylines not included in the tv version.

Not bad

Not as good as the other books but still a fun read. I would recommend it.

Jarring

Roy Dotrice does such a great job with this series but I’m constantly jarred while listening to this entry, as he seems to have forgotten his voices for each character. Arya gains a Braavosi accent, which might have been intentional, except that seemingly every other character has a different voice in this book as well.

Still it’s a great book and a good performance of it overall, but the bar was set so high and it seems this one doesn’t quite match up to the previous three.

so much more to it than the HBO series!

Anyone who enjoys the HBO series must read the books! So much more depth...

Better the sexier time around

This review comes after the third time through listening and I think that this might be one of my favorite and not because of the progress story as a whole but because of the hints of the story's future.

Different Voices/Pronunciations

I have been loving listening to this series, but for some reason this book has lower quality audio, different character voices, and different pronunciations of some of the character names. It was not up to par with the other ASOIAF audio books. I'm hoping A Dance With Dragons is as good as the others and doesn't follow suit with this book.

Love this series

Would you consider the audio edition of A Feast for Crows to be better than the print version?

didn't read the book

What did you like best about this story?

The adventures don't get to far fetched as some fantasy epics. And though a long series the characters don't seem to repeat adventures.

What does Roy Dotrice bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Easy to listen to and follow

Any additional comments?

has a good balance of plausibility and fantasy

Wish they would re-record the series.

I love The Song of Ice and Fire series and have read all the available books (awhile ago). I wanted to read them again but now it would take me forever, so I'm listening on audible. The story and plot, characters etc. are still wonderful, but I really didn't care for Mr. Dotrice's narration. He sounds like a middle aged to older British man, and so do all the characters. All of the women for some reason have the affectations of an uneducated, dopey old man. And the Dornish have French accents I guess? I think there's just too many characters, of so many different backgrounds, that after awhile with one narrator it gets a little bit irritating, it's a lot for one person to handle. The story is as compelling as ever and I kept listening anyway after getting used to it. The series deserves a new narration with a killer ensemble cast, just my opinion.

Be prepared for a shift in performance

Beautifully written and continues to be an enticing story line. The performance has changed and the voices for most of the characters are not consistent with the past books. The pronunciation of what were commonly recognized words and names that made the Game of Thrones world special have been changed and will throw you off as you listen. But still an enjoyable experience.

loved it

I am looking forward to the last book of the Game of Thrones I thought this book was excellent and very suspenseful.