Review of George R.R. Martin's "A Dance with Dragons"

Like most fans of this series, I have been waiting for several years for this book to come out. I was less than fond of the fourth book in the series, "A Feast for Crows", but I figured it was necessary to step away from our main characters for a little while. After all, George R. R. Martin seems to know what he's doing. I was not disappointed. "A Dance with Dragons" brings us back to those we left in turmoil. I have closure with some people, but like all of these books, the end leaves you waiting on the edge of your seat for the next book to come out.

Without further ado, these are my thoughts about this book:

What I liked about this book:

• He brought back some of the characters I was most interested in hearing about.
• Martin plays with the different ideas of religion and of the possibility of the "One True God", R'hollor. We have the old gods that the Northmen worship at the weirwoods. There is the Drowned God of the Iron Islands. The Dothraki have the Great Khal. Westeros is mostly people who worship the Seven (the stranger, the maid, the mother, the crone, the father, the warrior, and the smith). The Many-Faced God is basically a god of death, but it's not in an evil scary way. The Many-Faced God is said to be the god of death in all religions, but goes by different name; hence the name of the Many-Faced God. There are many more gods and religions. The point is that Martin not only takes these religions but he mashes them together. Some people change their views and ideas and beliefs, but others are steadfast.
• I loved how each of the characters is completely different. Sounds pretty obvious, but with so many points of view, Martin impresses me with how well he can write from so many different perspectives.
• Tyrion's story was a particular favorite of mine because it almost follows other stories in the book but not quite. You get to see events from one pair of eyes and then again from Tyrion's. It doesn't happen too often, but often enough to keep you on your toes.
• I love the titles of these books because they could really be anything. "A Dance with Dragons" could be a literal dance with dragons, it could be in reference to currency (in Westeros, one of the coins is called a golden dragon), it could be a reference to the Targaryen line, it could be almost anything.
• Wargs '" I'm super excited to see where this goes. Is the next book out yet?

What I didn't like about this book:

• The ending was pretty strong, but then there was the Epilogue. The epilogue did not leave me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book to come out. The last chapter did, but not the epilogue.
• There are so many characters that I want to hear about more than others. I know I'm just being selfish when I say I wanted more than 3 chapters with Arya, but there are so many stories that need to come together and finish in the next two books that I can't be too picky.
• Along those same lines, there are just so many characters to keep track of. The appendices are nice, but not helpful when you only hear descriptions of people.
• The beginning started out on a strong note with the warg, but there really isn't much else about wargs in the book. I'm sure it will come into play in the other books, but why bring up something and then barely involve it?
• Daenerys was so strong and powerful, and then this book just lets that die a little bit.

My overall thoughts on this book:

I was so involved in reading this book that I started to make "japes" about Dornishmen. I was totally enthralled. There are things about it that I wasn't overly pleased with, but I must remember that there are two more books coming. I wouldn't call this book the best of the series, but it wasn't the worst either. I look forward to the next book in the series, and I would strongly recommend reading this entire series. It's not just some fantasy series with dragons and magic; it's a political intrigue, it's a game of thrones.