A Dance With Dragons

The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.

In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.

Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.

To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark's bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.

On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will                                                                   inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all… 

- Goodreads Blurb

*May Contain Spoilers*

Winter is coming. And everyone in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond know it. In the fifth installment of A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin, the storm that will sweep all of our favorite characters into the ominous winter is brewing. No one is safe. 

As promised at the end of A Feast For Crows, all of the characters that we've followed throughout the books are back. They all have their goals and secret motivations, with betrayal hiding up their sleeves. Personally, I wanted to read more about Tyrion, Arya, and Dany. And I got exactly that. Though, Arya didn't have as many chapters as I would have liked. I really want to know how she's going to play a part in the game of thrones. 

Tyrion has become a very dynamic character. The personality traits that made him a villain in the earlier books, have now developed into traits that make him seem (almost) a hero. 

Dany, the Queen, mother of dragons, freer of slaves. Her character is beyond my favorite and the story that she lives out is full of duty and honor to her people. And her dragons. But they're growing larger and becoming harder to control. The chapters dedicated to her are so interesting, readers may even be skipping ahead. 

And let's not forget the wonderful Jon Snow up there at the Wall. Jon's view of the story was the most intriguing one of all the different viewpoints in this novel. As Commander of the Wall, Jon plays a vital role in protecting the realm from what hides north of the wall. When Stannis Baratheon (a player in the game for kings) leaves his red priestess with Jon at the Wall things really heat up. (Catch the pun?) Then the Red Priestess predicts that Jon has daggers all around him, a warning ensues detailing that his life is in danger. Here's hoping that when the sixth book is finally finished - Jon is in it. 

The new characters in this novel all play a vital part in advancing the plot. What readers didn't get from the fourth book, is explained and played out in this one. And although there were chapters of "down time," per say, this novel was one of the best in the series. Martin does a wonderful job in advancing the characters, changing alliances, betraying the seasoned characters, promising a glorious outcome, and surprising the hell out of the readers. 

A Dance With Dragons

on Amazon

rating: 4/5 cups