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)

Great book, Passable Performance

What did you love best about A Dance with Dragons?

A Song of Ice and Fire is among my favorite series, if not my absolute favorite.

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

Roy has a great voice for narration, but I felt a bit put-off by some of the voices he used for dialogue.

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

Since it's about 48 hours long, I don't think it would be possible to listen to the whole thing in one sitting. The mere fact that you'd stayed up for two days would detract from the story. It took me about 3 weeks to finish this book, with a lot of long driving time and listening at work.

Any additional comments?

If you can get past some of the goofy/ inappropriate character voices, it's a great audiobook.

wonderful story

I loved reading this story and greatly enjoyed listening to it as well, very nicely done continuation of the story

great book

this was my favorite book is the series so far...I look forward to the new books if they ever get finished

Best book of the series so far!

Exciting, funny, shocking and terribly sad. None of the books were so good for so much of the time as the other for so far. Still the narrator is great, but unfortunately he is becoming inconsequent with his pronunciation and voices - names and words tend to be pronounced differently from book to book and chapter to chapter. Annoying and confusing. But still great.

book is better than the show!

I love this book, The books are obviously always better than the TV show and it's true this time for sure. Roy the trees is probably one of my favorite narrators the different accents just makes a story. I have read the paper book but somehow this audiobook just does it for me. still waiting on winds of Winter!

Best Book in the Series So Far

GRRM is a master at keeping so many plot threads going and giving the main characters an arc. My favorite in this book by far was Theon. Seeing him go from the submissive Reek who allows the Boltons to manipulate him to Theon who actually takes action was fantastic. Tyrion is nothing like his old charming self because we're seeing him deal with the self-loathing he feels for killing his father.

Not a perfect book but overall just superb.

Here's hoping we get The Winds of Winter this year.

different voices, but a great performance overall

I love Roy Dotrice's range, but he changed many of the characters' voices between books.

Performance Lacking....Just as "A Feast for Crows"

The voices Dotrice uses are all over the place in this and the Fourth book. Even the pronunciation of names are off. It is disconcerting , to say the least. For the first 3 books he was spot on. I had heard this before listening but i figured it was just subtle differences. But....

Okay

Great book of course. Homie very occasionally does odd inflections or chuckles that aren't mentionef in text don't belong in the narration in my humble opinion.

How can I wait for Winds?!

Honestly one of the very best in the series so far! I loved loved loved A Dance with Dragons! Fingers crossed for Winds of Winter soon!