Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - A Dance with Dragons

This book reading experience as a whole was not off to a great start, because I started it right as a feel into a reading slump. This lead to several restarts of the audiobook because of long breaks or lack of attention. Finally with the last restart I was returning to normal reading habits, however this book wasn't still has captivating or enjoyable as past books. This was esspecially distressing given this installment in the series heavily focused on my three favorite characters. Dany, Jon, and Tyrion however the characters seem to have lost some of there personality and traits that enamored me to them in the first place. Leaving this story feeling unemotional and flat. And knowing that after what is a suspenseful ans cliffhanger ending after hundreds of hours of listening that I have no idea when the next book is coming out is leaving a foul taste in my mouth. There were moments and laughed out loud and found immensely enjoyable they disnt balance out my negative feelings

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reread 20.04.2024 (#4)

And another reread of the series finished. This time I read the whole series with some friends, and I loved the experience overall.
Sadly, it became even more apparent that not only is the series still unfinished, but books 4 and 5 also felt more like middle books that prepared the next novel rather than having a satisfying suspense curve on their own.
I still think the character work, atmosphere and writing are phenomenal. The plot is just all over the place.

Reread 29.11.2022 (#3)

It's been almost 10 years since I read the book for the first time and 8 years since I last reread it, but it feels like it's the first time I actually understood everything? I guess rereading books 1-4 so many times in the meantime has made me get used to the way GRRM tells this story. And I love it. By now I know exactly which details to look out for, which vague descriptions actually contain major plot points, which details foreshadow future scenes.

I remember the first time I read the book and was surprised by every betrayal, every plot twist, when now I'm like: He literally explained this 200 pages ago, this is no twist, this is a logical consequence everyone should have seen coming.

I'm not sure where the plot is going, though. I thought I knew but the story expanded so much in books 4 and 5, so many new characters and locations were added that it's hard to see it as one story with a beginning, middle and end by now. I have enjoyed every chapter because every single one has at least one crucial detail important for the plot, and it's fun to discover these. But I still think this book is a little too long. I get tired towards the end every time and don't have the energy to look for clues and details and hints. Especially with so many names and descriptions being thrown around.

Though I have to say that I'm more curious about The Winds of Winter than ever now after finishing this reread. I want to know how the story continues SOOOO badly, it's very frustrating.

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