"High fantasy at his best"

The War of the Five Kings seems over especially with the deaths of King Joffrey of King's Landing and the rebel King of the North Robb Stark of the Northlands. No one can fully claim the Iron Throne. However, the widespread carnage and lack of strong leaders seem like A FEAST FOR CROWS especially those willing to pick the marrow out of the survivors' bones.

While the Seven Kingdoms struggle with criminals and marauders, Queen Cersei Lannister serves as the Regent in King's Landing, but she apparently is losing her grip on her sanity. While Robb was murdered at the Red Weddings and the other siblings of House Stark are either dead or in hiding all over the land, eleven year old Arya Stark, assumed dead by all, trains with the Faceless Men. Finally Brienne of Tarth seeks the missing daughters of Robb's mother Lady Catelyn of House Tully. In the breach of leadership that has swept through the Seven Kingdoms no one, whether they be these three, other rulers, those who dance with dragons or commoner are safe.

The fourth Song of Ice and Fire fantasy is a terrific entry in what is one of the top quality ongoing series in the last decade or so. It is hard to write a short synopsis on this book because the storyline is complex and subplots interwoven. The tale is action-packed with just enough magic to give it a fantasy feel, but is more a human endeavor as plots and counterplots make for strange bedfellows. Though this novel seems to close without any climax as if George R.R. Martin has set the stage for truly epic escapades in the next story (Mr. Martin even implies this in his afterward), fans will treasure A FEAST FOR CROWS because this is high fantasy at his best.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 1, 2005