A Feast for Crows

Some thoughts upon reading George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, Vol. 4: A Feast for Crows
by Van Plexico

I think I must have enjoyed this volume far more than most people. Here are some of my thoughts on why this might be so.

There were really two main threads to this book-- the rise and fall of Cersei, and the rise to power of the Ironmen--along with shorter sections for Arya (she's soooo cute and cool!), Samwell, Sansa, and Brienne. (I like Brienne more now, having heard the audio recordings of the two "Hedge Knight" stories. She reminds me of Dunk.)

This book really belongs to Cersei, and, IMO, she gets tons of development in it-- there's plenty of movement there. Things are not static at all, in King's Landing. It would have been perfect if we had had a true resolution to Cersei at the end-- if she had died, or otherwise paid the price for her megalomania and cruelty and eeeeevil. That would have given some sense of closure to this book, as the previous volumes have managed. On the other hand, she's so great a villain-- so Shakespearean-- that I'm sort of glad we have her to kick around a little longer, locked there in the dungeon. (Ideally, I want Sansa and Margaery to each get a dagger and take turns on her. Man-- now that's an effective creation of a villain!)

Along with Cersei's rise to monster-dom and then her collapse, we see the changes earlier wrought upon her twin now playing out. Jaime no longer blindly worships her and does her bidding. He pretty much sees her for what she is (as does her uncle, etc). He's become a very interesting character since he lost his hand. I spent half the book wondering just how far removed from Cersei he really has become, now, and by the end, when he throws away her note begging for help, we see the answer.

The other major development in this book is the expansion of the Ironmen of Pyke into a real force. Crazy Vikings who worship the "drowned god" and baptise you by actually drowning you and then giving you CPR-- now that's hardcore! I love these wacky guys (and gals) and hope we see more of them in subsequent volumes.

In the other threads followed through this volume, we get a decent amount of coverage of Arya, who is slowly (some might say too slowly, but I'm enjoying every moment of it) acquiring more knowledge of various parts of Westeros and surrounding areas. By the time Arya reaches adulthood and a position of power (I hope), she should be wise and experienced and have had a broad exposure to so much of the good and the bad at every level of this world. She could be one of the greatest leaders ever known to Westeros, given all she has faced and overcome, and not even an adolescent yet!

We also see Sansa turning into an adult here. The girl that just daydreamed of jousts and princes all the time is gone now. She's practical and sharp, and learning how to deal with the nutcases and lunatics that once would have victimized her.

Martin continues to focus his sympathies (and ours, if we'll cooperate) mainly on the characters who are somehow orphans, cut off from their roots. All the surviving Stark kids (including Jon Snow) fit this mold now, along with Tyrion, Dany, the Sand Snakes bastard-ettes, Samwell, Brienne, on and on-- even Cersei, now, as her own relatives desert her (even Jaime!!), and partly of her own doing, due to stupid decisions and greed and selfishness.

Though it is perhaps not as dramatically eventful as previous volumes, there's a strong theme running through this one, focusing on the tough decisions made by people in positions of leadership. Sometimes they're good decisions (Jon, Littlefinger, Jaime, the Martel guy, I think) and sometimes they're just dumb (Cersei; some of the Ironborn; the guy leading the siege at RiverRun before Jaime; the Sand Snakes) --but they're never easy, and they always have lasting consequences.

The future is laid out for us pretty clearly, now, too: Dany's actions in the East are being reported in Westeros, though only as myths and half-whispered stories. Loras Tyrell is still alive, though maimed (a disfigured Knight of Flowers), and surely gunning for Cersei now. I don't think the queen Cersei fears is Margaery at all, of course-- it has to be Dany. We shall see.

I found this volume incomplete, yes, but very strong and compelling. I could hardly put it down. If they're all like this, I hope the series runs for a hundred more books, because I for one did find change and development in this book, and hardly see it on a par with other series of note that are stuck in the mud.