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)

Long but good

This book follows all the other books it long and drawn out but it's very well done.

Another Great Adventure

I enjoy this series. I read the previous books and decided to listen to this installment in the series. I’m not sure what was going on with the narrator. Women sounded like drunk old ladies, and everyone sounded too old. I decided to listen on 2x speed to get through it and to change the voice to something less old and slurring.
Too bad, because the story is great.

Great Story not so much narrator

It is definitely the greatest story of this decade, however the narrator some times is very difficult to understand and lacks emotion specially with the female voices.

Another Great Addition to A Song of Ice and Fire

loved even though I struggled to complete it. Luckily I'm complete and ready for the next book or season.

Enjoy

Great story, okay performance. I wasn't in to his voices. It's George Martins writing though, so come on, who cares!

Great books!

I loved this series. so sad to see it end. looking forward to the next book and season.

Roy Dotrice as amazing as ever!

George and Roy are the best combo for these books. I wouldn't be able to listen to anyone else after this combo. And of course the GOT books don't disappoint.

cliffhangers again?

page turners are great, but when your turning the pages fast for a couple chapters to get back to cliffhanger againa and again it gets old.

george martins world is very intricate, and there is much to be said in a positive light about how he lets stories progress without giving you every detail every moment. instead we see glimpses of beautiful detail. still hes no tolkien. and i feel like his works are overated. still that being said he is an excellent writer. the mood he sets with his imagery when describing often mundane things like clouds or grass is very expertly done.

but filled with cliff hanger after cliffhanger and ending with more.... cliff hanger. the greatest novelists dont drag readers back with cliffhangers. they let every book have a satisfying endying alone but tease the future. the ending was of course not the only cliffhanger tho. have i said it enough yet? here one more time. cliffhangers.

the reading is pretty good. i thouroghly enjoy roy dotrice, but sometimes i get tired of him voicing most men in too gruff, squeky , or stupid sounding voices. Some people just talk normal. he tries with the women and succeeds as much as any man can in most cases, but sometimes i tire of his male performances. still if i could id give him a 4.5 maybe 4.75 outta 5 instead of 4 but it wasnt perfect so i round down.

great comeback from the last book

great book, so much better than a feast of crows now we wait for the next one...

Solid

Overall good, Mr. Dotrice has some pronunciations but that's to be expected in 50+ hours