The fifth book in the series A Song of Fire and Ice is finally out in paperback. When I spotted it I both groaned and smiled at the same time: I've been wanting to read the next installment (but not enough to visit the library, I suppose) but at the same time I knew Daenerys would be a major focus and her storyline I find plodding and unappetizing. Unfortunately, with three different expeditions headed from Westeros to find Daenerys plus her own plot I got even more than I expected. But even with all this focus on her, nothing really happens here. In fact, this is a thousand pages where in the grand scheme of things not much happens at all. A couple of Martin's trademark surprise deaths (and more hints that death isn't all that permanent in this universe) but overall very little movement in the nearly complete War of Five Kings, Winter is still coming, and House Targaryen isn't any closer to returning to the Seven Kingdoms. Arya and Ser Jaime appear briefly towards the close which buoys hope for the next volume, The Winds of Winter, but all-in-all none of the main narratives are advanced in a major fashion. Disappointing.
He drank his way across the narrow sea.
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