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)

Characters

I have really enjoyed how the depth of the characters differ from that of the show. And I really wanna know how Mr. Martin intended Gilly’s name to be said!

Jarring change in Dotrice's performance

If you, like me, have been listening to the Song of Ice and Fire Series as read by Roy Dotrice, then odds are you've grown accustomed to not only the delivery, but the wide range of character voices that Dotrice handles so well. You've probably come to recognize some of your favorite characters just by the voice he uses to portray them. If so, you will find A Feast for Crows to be a rather jarring listen, at least initially.

First, a bit of history. When the audio release for this book in the series was first recorded in 2005, Roy Dotrice was not available, and the book was instead read by John Lee. Many fans were perturbed by this fact, and requested an edition read by the same actor as the rest of the series. After the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones became popular, and the fifth book in the series had seen release, the books received renewed interest. Hoping to appease this new fanbase, Random House finally relented on giving the fans their long-requested wish. Thus, it was in early 2012, nearly 7 years after the initial release, that Roy Dotrice was brought into rerecord A Feast for Crows.

It would seem, however, that in that time Dotrice has forgotten which voices belong with which characters. For example, the characteristically obsequious tone of Petyr Baelish has been replaced with a rather out-of-place gruffness with a slight brogue. Moreover, pronunciations of names have changed significantly, generally moving from a read-as-written interpretation to treating the names as archaic written forms of modern names. Brienne's name has shifted from Brai-een to Bree-anne, and Petyr's name has shifted from Pit-tire to Pete-ur. While you will quickly grow accustomed to the changes, it nonetheless feels unnecessary; Dotrice should have been professional enough to review his previous performances to stay consistent with the latest edition.

As for the story itself, the spotlight of A Feast for Crows is placed rather differently than its predecessors. Entire story lines, characters, and regions of the world will go nearly untouched throughout this entire book. While this is made up for in the sequel (which is at least partially a parallel narrative), some readers may become bored with their favorite characters being thrown to the wayside. Still, the story lines this book chooses to follow are interesting, well-written, and add to the tapestry of interwoven plots that make the series so interesting to read.

Ultimately, if you've already read the first three books of a Song of Ice and Fire, you're unlikely to be deterred by A Feast for Crows. While Dotrice's performance is inconsistent with previous entries, the quality of that performance is no less admirable. And while the focus of the story differs from its predecessors, you will still likely find yourself involved with the happenings of Westeros.

What happened to Roy?????

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

What didn’t you like about Roy Dotrice’s performance?

If you have invested almost a 100 hours of listening at this point to go on to book 4, be prepared for a disappointing shock! Roy Dotrice, one of the best narrators here, has totally changed course with this one! He pronounces names differently, and the characters voices! Characters we have come to love, like Sam, or for the love of God! Aria now sounds like an old crone!!! I have spent a lot on this series and am completely crushed by this, as a lover of audible books I now realize how important consistent narration is. Be Warned!!! you will have trouble paying attention to the story because of the change in characters.

Do you all realize that Roy Dotrice is VERY old?

I've read through many of the reviews of this book, and the primary complaint seems to be regarding the inconsistencies with Mr. Dotrice's narration. I feel that it is important to point out that he is NINETY years old as I write this, was 88 when this audiobook was published and 80 when the first book in the series came out. I know many elderly people, and the fact that he was able to narrate these giant tomes at all is quite remarkable, let alone so well!! So, yes, I agree that it is maddening to hear a narrator change his game mid show, but I feel like we got to cut this guy some slack. Just saying.

That said... the book itself is consistent with the rest of these works, ponderous and detailed, but still thoroughly engaging. Just like the whole series.

Consistency Would be Ideal

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

Yes, George RR Martin's writing is very high in detail and his volumes are herniating. Roy Dotrice does a great job narrating this universe and its detail.

What other book might you compare A Feast for Crows to and why?

Anything within Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel universe. The story is epic and over-arching.

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

If I had to recast, I would pick Jim Dale. However, I'd really wish the studio had instead made Roy listen to snippets of all of the major characters he has played already. It was really disheartening (and also demeaning to the character) to hear Little Finger played so subtle and Machiavellian in the first three volumes, yet he becomes a Cockney lord in the 4th.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way. It's tremendously large. However, I listen to this in traffic and have sat in my car once home to listen to it a bit more.

Any additional comments?

I REALLY hope the production studio reads this before book 6 and 7 are released. Roy is a great narrator, but I've been listening to these all in a row and it sucks to have the voice actor suddenly change how he does his characters.

I miss my old friends

What didn’t you like about Roy Dotrice’s performance?

I've LOVED Roy Dotrice's performance in the three previous Game of Thrones books, but I'm not quite sure what happened with this one. Not only is he pronouncing names and places differently in this book - by he completely changes voices on some of the people we have come to love (Arya sounds like Ygritte??)! Roy MADE the other audio books for me and I didn't want to stop listening. The inconsistency in the narration on this book is making for much slower going.

If you loved Roy's narration in the three previous books, make sure to set your expectations quite a bit lower for this one. Bummer.

voices off and page turns

heard the pages turn on multiple occasions, some voices just sound off, but the story is good if you get past roy and the poor editing

Awesome

I loved it! Great world building and characters, only 5th time through the book lol

can't get enough of GOT

Started with HBO series and following up with the books. it's an incredible story and I hope there are more books dedicated to the old stories and legends. moving on to book 5 happily. these books make my commute almost pleasant.

Never Disappoints! Amazing Author & Narrator!

Warning: Game of Thrones is definitely not suitable for a Young audience...Very Graphic and Crude Language, with Rape and Incest storylines. This Book will make you feel as if you can envision the moment and character. Very well written! The author has an amazing imagination and his narrator does an excellent job with character voice distinctions. So many characters to Love & Hate! Haven’t watched the show because of the differences in storylines and deleted characters, so don’t want to get confused. May decide to watch the show once I’m done listening to Books 5 & 6. Hope that Audible will include Book 6 once George R.R. Martin releases it. I’m definitely a big fan! Thank you Mr. Martin!