George R. R. Martin
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A Feast For Crows
The latest and long-awaited book in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice
and Fire, A Feast For Crows, was released on November 8. The
book's delivery represents the end of a long wait for fans of the
series, although -- prodded most likely by the degeneration of Jordan's
Wheel of Time series -- most fans seem to prefer to wait long enough
for Martin to get it right rather than demanding a quick release; and
in the face of continuing difficulty with the scope of the work, Martin
eventually split the book he had planned into two, publishing what he
was done with and leaving the remainder of what he had planned for the
next book. The result is a clear triumph, and vindicates that
decision.
So what made it in, and what was left out? Well, it's simplest to
tell you what isn't here. The Queen of Dragons, Daenarys, is not in the
book, except in the form of persistent rumors and a preview chapter to
the sequel. Events in the North, particularly on the Wall, are
not covered, although we hear of some by rumor or recollection after
the fact. We do see events in Dorne, Kings Landing, Braavos,
Oldtown, and other areas, mostly in the south.
The author has described A Feast for Crows as a transition book; he's
setting up the characters, many of whom began the series as children,
to spend time growing up a little. Some of the most obvious
candidates for this are Arya, Bran, and Tommen; while Tommen is pretty
much confined to the Iron Throne, and Bran is off-camera, there are
some very promising hints about what Arya is busy doing and what Sam
will end up doing, along with Tommen beginning to show a bit of
personality. However, they are all definitely setup, rather than
the passage of years.
In some ways this book is calmer than the first three in the
series. There are no devasting revelations, though there is no
shortage of minor ones. The characters mostly proceed along their
expected paths, adding more detail to what had been previously only
speculation, and seeking to secure their positions, however high or
humble, as the chaos of warfare recedes. But do not be
discouraged -- a fair amount of this
effect is due to the release of multiple sample chapters, each one
setting the course of one of the main viewpoint characters in the
book.
While the book lacks the dramatic action and conflict of earlier books,
it provides a different sort of pleasure -- watching Martin set up his
characters to take the stage again, and both predicting and
anticipating how the arrangements being made will result.
Prophecy plays a somewhat larger role in this volume than in prior
works. One of the main characters (I won't say which) recalls a
prophecy they were given some time ago, and that prophecy goes a long
ways towards explaining some of that character's actions. The
appropriate use of prophecy is minimal; in the prior volumes Martin
kept close to that standard, with hints of prophecy in the background
that never quite took center stage. The more central use of
prophecy to this character as a motivator for their actions is
interesting, and potentially beneficial to the story, but also presents
a risk of overdoing it. Hopefully Martin will keep this new
prominence limited mainly to a single character.
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The Hedge Knight
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The Hedge Knight builds on Martin's short story in the Legends anthology about Dunk and Egg. It collects the six-issue comic series into a single graphic novel. If you missed the comics, this is a good way to catch up. The events substantially predate those in the Song of Ice and Fire series, however, and appears to be independent -- that is, no information that is necessary to understand the series is presented in the graphic novel, and vice versa.
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Fevre Dream
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Fevre Dream is one of the best vampire novels I have read. Unlike many others, it maintains an elegant simplicity (similar in style to Agyar by Steven Brust). It conjures up the historical setting with infallible grace, and explores the common vampire mythology in a manner both new and comfortably familiar. Rarely do authors explore the historical vampire, and that quality makes this example a rare treat.
This one belongs on the must-read list for vampire fans.
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George RR Martin
is a writer with a long, if less than best-selling, list of hits. His
previous work includes science fiction like Tuf Voyaging, the tale of a
solitary "eco-engineer" with the resources of an intersteller
bioweapons facility at his command, or editting the Wild Cards
collection, which featured short stories about the real problems faced
by comic-book superheroes. He was established as publishable -- but
there was absolutely no hint of what would come.
When he released A Game of Thrones, the first volume of his epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire,
it took the world of fantasy by storm. The same field which Dianna
Wynne Jones had lambasted for unoriginality, failure to characterize,
and predictable plotting in A Tough Guide to Fantasyland had suddenly produced something entirely different.
A Game of Thrones (henceforth, aGoT) was an epic fantasy that
broke all the rules. Most fantasy novels offered an idealized view of
medieval life, focusing on nobles in castles, knights in shining armor,
kings and queens on the throne, the occasional heroic peasant or
cheering crowd; in short, it was about the medieval age as people liked
to imagine it, rather than as it really was. aGoT has its noble
characters, to be sure, but many are bitter and petty and greedy and
self-interested and often vicious. It has knights -- and more than a
few of them are what the modern world would consider psychopathic
killers. It has peasants; they are dirt-poor and unpleasant. It has a
celibate brotherhood of soldiers dedicated to defending the world
against the return of an ancient evil; they are drawn from the dungeons
of the realm, murderers and rapists, subsisting on the dregs of the
nobility and regularly breaking their vows of chastity. There are good,
honorable men in positions of power; but all too often their honor is
their downfall, and when it is not, the good men of the realm find
themselves at odds with one another, or betrayed by those they thought
to trust.
In short... everything you thought you knew about a fantasy novel
was wrong. This novel is a tour-de-force of gritty realism, a fantasy
epic that spits in your face and fights dirty.
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The sequel to A Game of Thrones is exceedingly well written, in a brutal and gritty kind of way. This is epic fantasy, to be sure, but never mistake it for a children's book! The full ugliness of life in the medieval period is present here, and the viewpoints are not confined to the scented nobility. Whores and butchers, starving children and rapists, false knights and true sellswords, treachery and treasure, they are all here: the faces of men we prefer to hide from one another are all revealed by the trying times of the war.
There can be no doubt that this is a dark and vicious novel, even a depressing one in some ways. But that's not all. There are victories to savor, and there are knights who are true, and not all dragons must be slain. Say, rather, that this is a novel of people at their best and their worst, trying to make their way in a world where the strong rule.
And there are hints of greatness to come. Where A Game of Thrones was shocking in its newness, A Clash of Kings begins to reveal deeper levels to the events. There is much more at risk than the throne in Kings Landing, and our young heros (Arya, Sansa, Robb, Jon, Bran) must begin to grow up and find a place in a world much crueler than they had ever imagined -- yet for the most part they begin to do so. It is impossible not to empathize with the characters as they struggle, and often fail, to overcome the challenges life has placed before them.
A Song of Ice and Fire has so far been a tour-de-force of epic fantasy, and this novel will not disappoint. This series is the best thing going in epic fantasy; there is nothing better being written at present, not even close. Comparisons to Tolkein are often overused for epic fantasy, and that comparison would fit poorly to this series, but it must be said: had Tolkein chosen to show the bitter truth of human nature, rather than tell his tales through the lense of legend, this tale would not be far removed from his work. It has the same power and majesty, while packing an emotional impact strongly resembling a gut-punch. Yet somehow the combination leaves the reader hungry for more.
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It's hard to review the book without spoiling it, because there are so many new elements. In general, the themes of the prior two novels are continued: everyone exists in shades of grey rather than black and white; magic is slowly returning to the world; the threat from beyond the wall grows stronger, while the south remain oblivious.
It's safe to say that there are some earth-shattering events in this book, and while a careful reader might manage to see them coming, they are nevertheless very surprising. If you like puzzles, keep your eyes peeled for some of those little details and you will be rewarded with the opportunity to understand the truth behind some of the most momentous events.
Martin also spends more than a little time setting up the characters for the next book in the series. A Feast For Crows is still being written, but there are enough hints about where the story is going to ratchet up the anticipation significantly.
There is also quite a bit of prophecy, which represents a substantial change from the series tone earlier. We're starting to get hints about the future in ways that allow us to better understand events of the past. One aspect of Martin's writing that we begin to see clearly here is the consequences of inherited rule: events in the present and future are being driven by the unresolved conflicts of the prior generation. It's almost as if the story is moving in two directions at once; forward in time, but backwards in perspective, so that we can see more of the whole story as we gain a better understanding of history.
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