88 replies to this topic

[DerivedAbsurdity]

It seems that a lot of Martin fans don't like the fourth book very much. Common complaints I've heard is that it's rambling, it leaves a lot of good characters out, it's boring, nothing much happens, etc. I just finished reading the third book and I was wondering if people here generally think the fourth book is worth reading or skipping. Is it worth buying or should I just read some summaries of it on the Internet or something?

[Lady Hodor]

If you havent read it, you have to read it, even if it is in consensus that it is not the best book.
You couldnt continue without reading it, you need its story even if it is somewhat tedius at times.
And there are good moments too, in fact, its still a generally brilliant book, just not as incredible as Martin's others.

[StannisBamfatheon]

Uh....well no.  Me personally I read aGot in a week, AcoK in five days, ASOS in a week, so it took me about three weeks to read the first three books.  It took about that same amount of time just for AFFC.  The way i described it to my friend is that....nothing really happens.  I loved the Jaime POVS, Cersei's misadventures were entertaining, but almost all of the beloved or atleast polarizing characters were left out.  Tyrion, Dany, Jon, Stannis, etc...  There are some POVS that are just mind numbingly boring, lookin' at you Brienne.  And half the POVS are characters who were just being introduced to so how can we be all that interested in them when we've been following the Starks for about 2500 pages?  I mean Areo hatah?  really?  Lastly the concentration on the Ironborn...I would say there one of the most disliked factions by the fandom at large yet they command about a quarter of the book.   The story he was telling through the first three books was largely halted during AFFC by things the readers couldn't care less about like the Kingsmoot.


Addendum: Not trying to barnacle off what their saying but I wouldn't advise skipping it, or else the fifth book will feel like nonsense and you'll miss out on a lot of set up.  Still a good book just not the opus Storm of Swords was.

Edited by StannisBamfatheon, 24 June 2012 - 06:47 PM.

[Apple Martini]

Don't skip it. You'll miss a LOT of exposition and background information, especially about the Dornish, Riverlands, the Vale and Braavos.

The book has its detractors because, especially after Storm of Swords, it's a little on the slow and meandering side. But it will have served its purpose, namely, getting the southern players in place for the finale. So no, I wouldn't skip it and I certainly wouldn't let other people's opinion keep me from finding out myself how a book was.

Edited by Apple Martini, 24 June 2012 - 06:45 PM.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

I hated it the first time through. However upon reading it a second time I looked for things that were pointed out by some of my fellow members here and started to appreciate it as much as I should've the first time.

[Kraken's Kiss]

I liked it a lot. I can't really say I am surprised why so many people have gripes with it. For me personally, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cersei, Brianne, Dorne, and the Iron Island chapters.

[Kittykatknits]

It's worth reading and grows on you over time. But, going from Storm to Feast can be a shock. In the first book, there is the RW, the Purple Wedding, Sansa and Tyrion's marriage, the LF reveal, Jaime and Brienne in the Riverlands, Dany sacking cities, and Arya's travels with the BWB and the Hound. Going from that book, with all its plot twists and turns, to the slower pace of AFFC can be a bit of a shock. But, the character development is wonderfully done and we learn quite a bit of history and background to the story, all of which add a great deal of depth to ASOIAF. Not only that, it puts the players in the right places for the final books. When you combine it with Dance, it becomes clear how Martin is going to start closing storylines and bringing characters back together.

Don't skip it.

[Winterfellian]

Personally, I loved AFFC. It is my second favorite book. Although it is not as action filled as the third it has a lot of character development and backgorund that is sure to be important in the coming books. The way I see it is that by the end of ASOS the game board was sort of wiped clean because of all the stuff that happened in the third book (RW, Tyrion's exile, Jon becoming LC, Dany starting a slave revolt, etc...) The game has change and Martin is aligning the pieces (new and some old ones) for the rematch.

If I can offer you an advice is that you try to keep an open mind when reading the book and don't let other people's opinions of it direct yours. Please read it, don't miss out only because you heard others didn't like it

Edited by Winterfellian, 24 June 2012 - 06:54 PM.

[Braavosi Sealady]

It's not an easy book to read, especially after ASoS. Much slower pace and some chapters can be boring. But with time you will realize that it was necessary to give background info and put some players in motion for the final books...

Don't skip it.

[Bushido]

AFFC is the beginning of the new chapter,ASOS being a mini-climax in the entire story ; You have seen minor resolutions with ASoS ending,and AFfC is a new introduction of sorts; I personally love it,and still pine over small number of Arya chapters - Braavos is fantastic! So are Sam & Jamie.

[PatrickStormborn]

The Cersei chapters are some of the best chapters in the whole series! I cackled along with her and rooted for her the whole way through. The Jaime and Sansa chapters are pretty good too, and the Dornish are quite interesting on re-reads.

The Damphair, however...

Edited by PatrickStormborn, 24 June 2012 - 07:10 PM.

[RoamingRonin]

I'm on my first re-read now and I'm dreading getting to the fourth book. I wouldn't skip it because there are a lot of good chapters (particularly Cersei, Jaime and Brienne) but if you're not a fan of the Ironborn or Dornish people then you're in for a rough read.

[Sevumar]

I really enjoy Feast. I confess that it wasn't my favorite on my first read, but each time I revisit it, I see details that I missed the first time. Part of it is having Dance in hand to see where some of the loose ends meet up with other things going on in the companion volume. It's absolutely essential for understanding the middle of the story and while it's not the fastest-paced of the books, it's very dense in information, references, historical insights, and character building.

I can't say that it makes sense to cheer for Cersei, as the book represents her nadir in the series to date, but it is interesting to see her degenerate into a power-hungry purveyor of cruelty on her journey to becoming Robert.

[Lady Octarina]

To me it's the weakest book along with ACoK (which is pretty strong compared to most other fantasy book, so...), but if you haven't read it you must, preferably without skipping the boring chapters. The thing is, it's parallel to most of ADwD, so even what doesn't make sense as you read it either will in the end or in the following book (mostly).

It seems to me AFFC suffers from two problems: it comes right after ASoS, the most intense book in the series and most people's favorite, and many of the most popular POV's were left to ADwD. Of course, there is this other problem called Iron Islands, and another one (not to me) called Dorne, that look irrelevant but ultimately have something to add to the story, and you always might enjoy those chapters. But some of the POVs are absolutely great: Cersei, Sam, Jaime, Brienne (to me, at least), and the prologue.

[PatrickStormborn]

Sevumar, on 24 June 2012 - 07:16 PM, said:

I can't say that it makes sense to cheer for Cersei, as the book represents her nadir in the series to date, but it is interesting to see her degenerate into a power-hungry purveyor of cruelty on her journey to becoming Robert.

Cersei was the only one in the whole book to realise the true danger posed by the Tyrells, hence why I was cheering for her. Oh, and her inner monologue was ridiculously funny. What can I say? Humour is the best way to make me fall in love with a character.

Edited by PatrickStormborn, 24 June 2012 - 07:26 PM.

[StannisBamfatheon]

I imagine if you did an approval pole for Cersei as 'queen-regent' in AFFC the only place she'd score above maybe 30% is the Westerlands.  Her reign was a comedy of errors.

[WillWork4NinjaPowers]

Don't skip!  I enjoyed this book quit a bit, actually.

[Housefires]

I appreciate it more in hindsight, but I had real trouble reading it the first time. It was a real slog until about halfway through when the pace started to pick up a bit and things started getting interesting.

Edited by Housefires, 24 June 2012 - 07:26 PM.

[Melpomene]

I liked it well enough. It is not my personal favourite, but it is far from being a bad book.


As I said in other posts, you sort of have to readjust. You come from intensity and high climax to suddenly dropping down back to the "Intro" phase, like starting over again. Now that the book has been out, one can prepare for that a bit more - whereas previously, many readers were quite suprised by it, and understandably felt let down (Especially having to wait a few years). I had the luxury of reading AGoT to ADWD all in one summer.


It is still a good book. There are some tedious spots where you might get nothing but descriptions of scenes, or maybe pointless-feeling parts. But there are good spots too, and deep moments. Definitely continue reading! As you will miss out otherwise once continuing to ADWD.


And don't overworry. Just go for it and read. This seems to be a common question on this forums; people asking whether AFFC is worth reading. It is!

Edited by Melpomene, 24 June 2012 - 07:29 PM.

[l3ol3o]

Kittykatknits, on 24 June 2012 - 06:51 PM, said:

It's worth reading and grows on you over time. But, going from Storm to Feast can be a shock. In the first book, there is the RW, the Purple Wedding, Sansa and Tyrion's marriage, the LF reveal, Jaime and Brienne in the Riverlands, Dany sacking cities, and Arya's travels with the BWB and the Hound. Going from that book, with all its plot twists and turns, to the slower pace of AFFC can be a bit of a shock. But, the character development is wonderfully done and we learn quite a bit of history and background to the story, all of which add a great deal of depth to ASOIAF. Not only that, it puts the players in the right places for the final books. When you combine it with Dance, it becomes clear how Martin is going to start closing storylines and bringing characters back together.

Don't skip it.

Ahh finally I get to agree with you on something and we don't have to butt heads in this thread. I agree with your post entirely. Storm is so fast paced and full of WTF moments that it's kinda a let down going to Feast. I really think AFFC is better the second time around. Like you said, it gives a lot of background and really shows the character development of some of the characters. The big problem with AFFC is it's missing half the characters and introduces some new characters that many aren't too fond of. When the series is finished though AFFC will be an important part of it.