A Feast for Crows 1st Edition

After reading the reviews given by the other customers, I had actually expected this book to be a sore disappointment. However, I am glad to tell you all that that is not the case with the book. Many of the readers might have been disappointed due to the absence of the more liked characters such as Tyrion Lannister, Daenarys Targaryen and Jon Snow. However, I didn't find that to be a hindrance of any sorts, mainly because the plot in this book revolves around King's Landing, Braavos and Dorne, none of where these characters are present. The form of writing and the storyline is still as splendid as it was in the previous book's except at some places where it got boring, but it just went further to make it more interesting.
Trust me, if you're going for the story and not the characters, this book will certainly appeal to you.

All the reviews point out the content of the book which I am not going to touch upon here.
The review is about the quality of the book.

This is a paperback version as suggested and that of lower quality paper.The paper feels rough and has that tinge of yellowish colour to it which shows the quality of the paper (At 340 Rs. you would already be expecting that).
The book is about 2 inches thick and is uncomfortable to hold (similar to the clash of kings). It's heavier as well and will eat a lot of space in your travel bag (The Harper voyager could have split this book as well).

Verdict :
The book is good for a one time read. If you are reading this then you are already a fan of "A song of ice and fire" and this book is inevitable. Having said that, this perhaps will be a long read as Dance with the Dragons runs parallely with this and has more interesting characters...(both start just after the storm of swords)

4 out of 5 as I can't rate any lower for any book of the Song.....

Enjoy the read!

An un-forseen health condition rendered me to take bed rest for a week. Which gave me ample of time to finish the fourth part of Song of Fire & Ice.

I had mixed reactions after finishing the book. The book ended rather abruptly which makes you feel the story was not yet complete, reading the afterword the author agreed with me. He was of the view rather then moving linearly with the timeline, he preferred to move linearly based on character POV's. Hence we see a lot POV's for Cersei, and Jaime Lannister, The maiden of Tarth, Sansa Stark, and a bit of Samwell Tarly. However no word on Tyrion, very little on Daenerys Targaryen and the basterd Snow. Cersei unlike her brother does not garner any reader sympathy, infact she is the perfect self centered bitch who unleashes a monster. Brienne was a little annoying with her holier then thou attitude, but made up with her ninja skills. Arya Stark's character undergoes quite a drastic change, and I feel we might see some action at her end before the saga completes.

Coming from the third book, this book moves at a much slower pace, with almost no action to speak of apart from Brienne's various skirmishes. Cersei's political shenanigans were uninspiring, although Littlefinger's political japes could pass off as somewhat witty. Brandon Sanderson's take on medieval politico in Elantris is a good example of a witty to & fro. The author promised in the afterword that the next chapter would arrive after a year (published finally after a gap of 5 years). This was my least favorite book of the series so far, but in no way was it bad. Just that predecessors set the benchmark too high. I would have given the book 3.5 stars if I could.

This is the fourth title in George RR Martin's 'Song of Ice & Fire' series. I must confess to a slight disappointment in this installment of the series. After the rich feast of the first three books this one is slim pickings. There is just not enough action of intrigue or appearance of some of the more fascinating characters. The imp is totally absent - an unforgivable omission. One of the reasons for the slowing of pace may be that GRRM has killed of some of the more engaging characters. On the plus side however, new lands and their rulers are now showcased. A justifiable fear arising that this tremendous series may go the Wheel of Time way...

Compared to the preceding three books in the series, the fourth one feels like a prolonging attempt by the author very similar to the Saas-Bahu soap operas.

The major characters from the first three novels are "felt" missing even though their names/dialogues do pop up once in a while (and no I am not talking about the characters on the wall or in the free cities, I know that they are dealt with in the "The Dance with Dragons").
Westeros wasn't a familiar place in this novel and if one can contain onself with the storyline till the 3rd book.