By George R.R. Martin
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance — 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 thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, 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 Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts 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.
Another great entry in the ASoIaF series. Paralleling the events of book 4 for much of book 5, the end of A Dance With Dragons also further advances the story overall.
This was one of my favorite books in the series because my favorite characters were some of the viewpoint characters: Jon, Dany, and Tyrion. And finally, we get a little bit more Cersei, a character whose head I just love to be in.
Some of the plot points in this book are major game changers. Some of the twists really turned where I thought the story was going on its head.
It’s also interesting to watch the current series having so recently finished the last book. This season is setting up even more plot departures and none of them bother me. You can really see that what makes for good writing doesn’t always make for good tv. It’s not that the show writers are improving on Martin’s story so much as providing an alternate, but equally acceptable way to get from A to B.
I will be anxiously awaiting The Winds of Winter like everyone else. I can’t imagine Martin wrapping up this massive story in just two more books, but we’ll see.
