A Feast for Crows

A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

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)

Changes in Voices KILL the Whole Effect!

Loved the first 3 books with Dotrice reading them, but just about had to quit listening when Arya and Danni had different voices in this book - agh! They sound like old crones now. Also, the pronunciations are off for several characters which is annoying too. This is the weakest of the series in storyline (too many new people with too many minor tie-ins) but the narrator definitely needs to get back to voicing Arya and Danni like young women, not old hags.

The weakest of the series, but still a must read

George R. R. Martin's, "A Feast for Crows" is a tricky book/audiobook to review. On one hand, I loved it because it's more of the world I love and the characters I've grown to become quite fond of. On the other hand though, it's a book that I struggled to get through. The characters that I rank amongst my favorite of the series don't even make appearances in the story and the ones that do don't do much with the time they are given. Sure, a lot of events occur and if you consider yourself a fan of the series you'll be reading this without question to make sure you are prepared for the future novels, but just be forewarned - it lacks a lot of what you've come to love in the previous books.

The first thing you'll notice in this book is that the main characters (the POV characters) are in most cases not the series favorites. Calisi and her band of unsullied are mentioned in rumors in King's Landing but are never seen or heard of. Jon Snow is in the beginning of the novel but you don't hear anything about his troubles with Stannis and Melisandre at the wall. The main characters in this novel are Cersei, Jaime, Sansa/Alayne, Arya/Cat, Brienne, and some new characters you'll be introduced to who have a chapter here and there.

The story being told is a lot of politics and positioning which in truth is very akin to the "Game of Thrones" name but there isn't a lot of action. That's ok though since the story being told is needed for future novels. Just note that it does get a little dry sometimes.

Dotrice does a good job as always with the characters but I'm a little confused why he changed Arya's voice. She sounds like an old woman in this recording and it's a little off putting. Someone growing up noble born wouldn't talk like that, even if she was trying to hide her identity.

With all said though, it's a solid book but definitely not the best in the series.

Roy Dotrice...

Love the books, don't love the narration. Some characters are good but most sound like uneducated old pirates. And he says some names annoyingly weird like Petyr Baelish.. I was hoping after the first book someone else would narrate. But no such luck.

Table setting book, intolerable narration

I read this book years ago. I've been re-listening to the series, using the National Library Service narrations. They used the excellent Roy Avers for the first three books, but AFFC was done by the less preferable Ted Stoddard, so I thought I would try this Roy Dotrice version…
I heard good things about his earlier narrations, but sadly I was very unimpressed. Name pronunciations were annoying, his women all sound like old crones or toothless hags, and most of the men who aren't Scottish highlanders, are straight-up pirates. I just can't finish it, although I listened to several chapters to give it a chance.
I wish the John Lee version was available here.
For now, it's back to Stoddard.

As for the book: it's the least great of the first five, but it's still GRRM, so it's still quite good by any other standard.:)

Review previous books

Great book. reader should have gone back on previous volumes. he drastically changes voices and pronunciation of key names. overall worth a listen, but irritating.

keeps going strong

again very well done. a great story told very well. looking for more to come

Great read

great read, I hope that they didn't really kill off the people they left on the cliff hanger

After Book 3...

What did you love best about A Feast for Crows?

Sadly, the best thing about Book 4, is only a continuation of the story. On the other hand, after Book 3, it would be hard to match that story! I hope this is a great lead-up to a fantastic and climatic ending (Book 7, when released, maybe 2016/7?).

Have you listened to any of Roy Dotrice’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mr. Dotrice continues his commanding performance.

a little contrived, like martin has lost interest

did martin lose interest in the story? is he forcing himself to write? does he know how it all ends or is he floundering?

The Saga Continues

What made the experience of listening to A Feast for Crows the most enjoyable?

A return to the Seven Kingdoms is always a pleasurable experience. I must say there were not as many enthralling storylines in Book 4 as in the previous books, and it dragged occasionally.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Book 4 is not replete with my favorite characters. Most of the characters in Book 4 are flawed villains who deserve killing and of course get their just deserts.

What about Roy Dotrice’s performance did you like?

The narrator of this series is simply masterful. He distinguishes between a multitude of characters flawlessly while at the same time adding depth and development.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Actually, if I were making a film of the entire saga, much of this Book 4 would likely be left on the cutting room floor.

Any additional comments?

I am looking forward to Book 5.