A Dance With Dragons: Part 2 After the Feast (A Song of Ice and Fire)

People will come to the books through the tv series, and there's nothing wrong with that, but there's an important thing to remember. This is part of a series that isn't done yet. Did Tolkein finish up before the Ring went into Mount Doom? Nope. Did Doyle allow Holmes to give up because of a particularly sticky bit of a conundrum? Ok, you get the idea. Martin's writing in this most recent book is as tight and intricate, the plotting as careful, the characters as interesting as in the first volume. Better in many cases, really, because they've growun through the series, until they are fully-fleshed beings. This is an impressive thing, if you think about it. Many writers run out of ideas and start using the kitchen sink approach to their characters, or simply shove them over the Reichenbach falls in desperation. Martin's kept faith with the readers, and continually gives them his best, which is pretty darn good. If you can't wait for the next book, take a deep breath, get out the knitting needles or that model of the Millenium Falcon made from toothpicks and get busy. You can ask for speed or you can ask for good. Oh,yes. The book itself. I give it five stars for a lot of reasons, it's a cracking read and it's also very well-written. Not a lot of books I review will get that kind of reference. It's excellent, there are a lot of strands that are slowly being woven together, at pain to some and happiness for others although there's more pain than joy right now. No point in being specific for those who haven't read the book, but it's definitely worth the read. So, go on, get it open.

The Game of Thrones series has been both fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. Martin's epic fantasy about the lives of the rich and not so rich of Westeros and its surrounding lands has become a tale in which you have certain characters you root for and others you wish very much would either die horribly or do something different with themselves. A Dance with Dragons Part 2 follows the continued fortunes of Houses Lannister with its ruling members and exiled other, Bolton, Stark, Tyrell, Martell, Targaryen and all of their followers. The big stories seem to be the grief that the Lannister family are having at Kings Landing, with King Tommen continuing his young and increasingly precarious reign, his scheming mother, his uncle (who is his real father) who has largely abandoned them and his household who seem to be at war with themselves. It also follows the fortunes of exiled Lannister, Tyrion the imp who is trying to find his way to helping would be Queen Daernys Targaryen but keeps getting captured and sold as a slave or winds up going from one bad situation to another. His current fortunes include jousting in an arena on the back of a pig for Daernys' amusement and then getting away with his life to end up with soldiers of fortune in a company at Mereen's walls. Meanwhile, in another city, the Stark formerly known as Arya is learning the assassin's trade at Braavos, something she has wanted to do. Her sister, Sansa who fled being imprisoned for a crime she had nothing to do with and being married to Tyrion is now in the hands of master schemer Petyr Baelish. He is continuing his domination of the Vale of Arryn and trying to connive his way into getting Sansa married to someone who is willing to go to war for her and retake her birthright, Winterfell. Then there's the Boltons who are the current landlords of Winterfell and probably the worst. Son Ramsay is a sadistic, bullying young man who has terrorised his fake Stark bride and ruined Prince Theon Greyjoy. Yet all is not lost. Whilst Daernys seems incapable of leaving slave city Mereen and using her Unsullied army and dragons to re-claim the iron throne, the Targaryen formerly thought of as dead, now emerging as Prince Aegon has landed at Westeros and is about to head on to re-claim his birthright. The next books should be even more interesting. Will Tyrion have his meeting with Daernys, become her advisor and lead her to Kings Landing and have the opportunity for his own revenge on his awful sister? With Daernys ever leave Mereen and realise her true purpose? Will Tommen remain as ruler for long? And will Sansa Stark be able to marry, call her banners and re-claim her birthright? Only the next few novels will tell.

I almost admitted defeat with this series after Feast For Crows as I felt that most of that book was subplot and asides which really didn't do much to move the story along. However, DWD Part 1 picked up the story nicely and gave us plenty of information on the characters I actually care about reading so I was back in the swing of it by the time I got to Part 2 and I wasn't disappointed. It's nice that many of the characters in this book are in the same place so we get a good insight into different views on the same events rather than hopping form King's Landing to the Wall, to the Riverlands, to Dorne, to the Iron Islands and then to Mireen before we find out the next bit - something that was getting increasing irritating in the earlier books. Just tell us the story for goodness sake! I missed hearing about Sansa and I can't really see where he's going with Arya and we seem to have a huge array of people who don't seem to have anything much to do except confuse readers by adding to an already excessive cast of characters! However, Tyrion continues to be fascinating and I really enjoyed how his character developed. I am always glad to see his or Jon's name at the start of a chapter, something that I can not say about all the POV characters I'm afraid. I think it's quite obvious that this series could have been at least 2 books shorter and still the wonderfully deep and colourful epic that it is. However, GRRM has build us up nicely to what I hope will be a dramatic conclusion in Winds of Winter. I just hope that he has the ending in mind and he can still pull all the threads together as he has woven a very wide but intricate web and after all of the hours I've devoted to reading the series I really want it to go out in a roar of dragonfire rather than melting into a puddle of slush.

I read part one of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' ( A Song of Ice and Fire (1) - A Game of Thrones (Reissue) barely two weeks ago, and although I'm an avid reader and never without a book, I've already reached the end of the series by now, which in itself bears testimony to the degree I was (and still am) smitten with this epic tale. I'll not spoil the fun for readers having just embarked on this incomparable journey into the realm of Westeros by giving away what precisely happens in this part, but rest assured: a lot happens, and the writing, the pace of the story, the twists and turns in the plot, and the ruthlessness of the fight for the Iron Throne are all on a par with the earlier books in the series. Martin always keeps your interest going and as some characters disappear from the story (most of them because they get killed, few people die of old age in 'A Song of Ice and Fire') others are introduced, and one can't help but wonder where Martin keeps getting the inspiration, and how he himself keeps track of all these people, their past, their allegiances, family ties, etc. etc. I've read these books in trains, in bed, in pubs and restaurants, lobbies, and even - I confess - at family dinners between courses, but as soon as I opened them I became oblivious to the outside world and felt myself transported to Westeros. It's been a great experience so far, can't wait until A Song of Ice and Fire (6) - The Winds of Winter is published!

I came to the series late (when first brought out in the 90's I was a little too young for them) but still before the TV series. I didn't have high hopes for the first one - 'A Game of Thrones' - and bought it using my Waterstones points. However, I completely went back on my assessment of it within a few chapters - it had caught my attention and I couldn't put it down! Five books in, and I'm still loving every second of it! :D Martin is ruthless with his characters, sacrificing where needed, and not wimping out like most authors will do when it comes to killing their main characters. Some parts do stagnate a little, but that's only to be expected when you're trying to write new characters in to replace the old ('A Feast for Crows' I found a little arduous, but I persevered, and this one more than makes up for whatever I found lacking in book four) :) If, like some, you came to the series from the HBO series, you still won't be disappointed. The storyline is kept pretty much the same, and apart from the Starks' ages changing, there is not much else that is different. All in all, a fantastic plot line that keeps you engaged from the beginning of book one right through to the end of book five... and let's hope it doesn't take Martin 6 more years to write the next one!! Enjoy :) x

I like many others was very disappointed when this book came out but that was only because we had already read it! If you have the hardback Dance with Dragons, then you already have this book. The hardback is made up of parts 1 & 2 of this soft cover one. The whole series is excellent. I think so many people left negative feedback because they were really looking forward to picking up the story... then discover it's only the softback version split into 2 books. The actual book/s Dance with Dragons is a continuation of the epic story of The Game of Thrones. If you've been sucked in, then I don't need to tell you about how detailed the characters are and the colourful imagary you are left with after spending time in that world. Infact, watching the second series of Game of Thrones, the characters aren't quite how you pictured them. That's how good George is at spinning his tale. So if you have the hardback book - which is a huge volume and difficult to get comfy with unless you have a pillow on your lap - do NOT buy this book. If you do not have the hardback version - buy part 1 & 2 and get ready to pick up the story where it left off. Hate how he leaves you hanging for more...! Personally, I think these books are excellent. I cannot wait for the next one. HURRY UP GEORGE!!!

I have now read all the books in the series. I loved the first 3 but they do seem to be getting a bit 'unfocussed'. And I'm seriously disappointed that the main characters around which the early books were build have been killed off! There is no clear 'hero' or 'heroine' that you can get behind and who takes the stories forward for you. I enjoy all the characters but you just decide whether you like a character or not, if they're a goody or a baddie (!) and they are either written into obscurity or killed/murderd. I do find this frustrating. I loved Ned & Catelyn Stark, Rob, Jon Snow, Kevan Lannister even Tyrion! And am desperate for the Stark siblings to be reunited. I am massively impressed that someone can continue such an intricate story for so long, over so many words but it does feel like the story has become a little disjointed and is losing its way a little. Having said that I am equally frustrated at having to wait unti 2017 for the next instalment! These are the only books I have read for the last couple of months and find it difficult to work up any interest in anything else I currently have stored on my Kindle. 'Game of Thrones' is a marathon, one with it's ups and downs, fast pace and slow pace, but overall I love it :). p.s. I have never watched any of the TV series - not sure if one would spoil the other.

Although this review is attached to the latest book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (Volume 5 Book 2, “After the Feast”), I’m referring to all the books in the series, and to the TV series “Game of Thrones”. I began reading Volume 1 of ASOIAF at the same time as I sat down to watch Season 1 of the TV series in the summer of 2017. Yes, about six years late for the TV series and over 20 years late for the books. Since then I’ve read all the books up to “After the Feast” and watched Seasons 1-6 of the TV series. I delayed reading “After the Feast” because I assumed it would tie in with Season 7 of the TV series, and I thought I would read and watch simultaneously. However, I soon realised that “After the Feast is still deep in Season 6, and as George RR Martin hasn’t yet published Volume 6 of ASOIAF, I have no idea what Season 7 of the TV series is based on, nor what Season 8 (due to air in 2018) will be based on. Season 1 followed Volume 1 fairly closely, if memory serves, but subsequently, the gap between the books and the TV series has gradually widened. It’s clear that to keep within budget and timescales the TV script writers have had to do a major pruning job as the books are far more complicated than the TV version. The former have more characters, more sub-plots and more background. That makes them in many ways more satisfying and entertaining than the TV series. On the other hand, the TV version has an economy and pace that the books sometimes lack. My biggest gripe about the books is that sometimes the detail seems unnecessary and slightly self-indulgent, e.g. descriptions of meals that add nothing to the plot and action. Also, the dialogue can be a bit clunky and an uneasy mixture of modern and faux mediaeval. When Jon Snow talks about “structural defects” in the Wall, you think why didn’t he just say “cracks”? On the other hand, the author very sensibly makes no attempt to replicate all the various languages that are spoken in this world, unlike the TV series which gets a bit silly when characters babble away in High Valyrian or Ghiscari and we get the subtitles in English. In the books we only get a couple of key (mystical) phrases and that’s quite enough. No point trying to out-Tolkien Tolkien. However, the TV series is much tidier than the books, and the quest for simplification and the need to keep the stars in the limelight mean that the TV version is often more dramatic, e.g. the reunion between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in the TV series is a brilliant adaptation of the equivalent incident in the books where Jon Snow hears that a young girl has been delivered to Castle Black and he thinks it might be Arya Stark, but instead he finds himself face to face with the daughter of a minor retainer of the Starks, a girl he hasn’t seen for ten years and barely recognises. It’s a bit of an anti-climax for Jon Snow and for the reader. Another example: in the TV series, after Tyrion Lannister flees from King’s Landing, he eventually reaches Meereen where he becomes a trusted adviser to Daenerys. In the books no such thing has happened by the end of “After the Feast”. Tyrion has joined a mercenary company in an army besieging Meereen, and his place as trusted adviser is filled by Barristan Selmy, who was killed off sometime earlier in the TV series, but is still clinging on to life in the books. The whole thing is pure and very therapeutic escapism, but it’s also great fun to look for historical – and current – parallels. For example, although it’s been said that the English Wars of the Roses provided much of the inspiration for the books, there are other parallels, e.g. Roman history. I’m sure the name Lannister is taken from the Latin lanista, a gladiator trainer. The trial of Maergery Tyrell is clearly based on the fate of Anne Boleyn, and the parallel is all the more stark because HBO cast the actress who plays Maergery – Natalie Dormer – as Anne Boleyn in “The Tudors” a few years ago. The first bloke to admit to fornication with Maergery is a musician, obviously based on Mark Smeaton who confessed to committing adultery with Anne Boleyn. A contemporary parallel is the impact of religious fundamentalism on the politics of Westeros with the rise of the “sparrows” and the followers of the Lord of Light. Both sects are very mediaeval, and there are obvious parallels with the Reformation and the Inquisition, but also chillingly modern. I could go on, but I won’t. I’ll just say that although I’m not that keen on fantasy novels and not a great watcher of TV, I found the books incredibly entertaining, and the TV series compulsive viewing.

Envio muito rápido! Chegou em perfeitas condições. Preço justo

mto, melhor série que eu já li, esta demorando muito para sair o proximo livro mas tudo bem, vale a pena a espera

Dance with Dragons is excellent..however Dance with Dragons 2 is the exact same book! Disappointed when I started to read it thinking it was the next addition to the series. Spent the extra money for nothing! Buyers beware!!!! Correction...It's not the exact same book..only the last half of Dance with Dragons.

Riveting part of the series, only one problem: it's a long wait for the next one. Of you haven't read this i recommend starting with part one if the series. A good series by a fine writer.

The whole series is A+