Some readers have had a long relationship with Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I, however, have somehow only known about it since July when a cousin suggested I read the first installment. I flew through Game of Thrones and was hooked. Now, having pushed my way through all five available books, I find myself torn. Martin held my interest early on, but I find that the more I read the less interested I am. Don't get me wrong, I am going to read any future books in this series. I have invested too much time to not discover how everything ends up. That being said, I find I am not upset at having to wait for the next book. I am almost relieved that I can take a break until book six is published.

So, what is it about this book that let me down? First, all of my favorite characters died in earlier books. As the story progressed (meaning all five books collectively, not this individual novel), I found other characters to care about. However, Dance with Dragons hardly, if at all, included their stories. I know that Martin meant for this book to take place at the same time as book four, but in doing so, he split the characters in a way that made four interesting and five, well, boring.

I think the pacing has slowed down or the story lines have gotten too complicated to progress at the speed in which they progressed in earlier novels or something. I wish Martin would just get on with it. And, speaking of story lines, it didn't feel like any major events took place in Dance with Dragons. It could just be a transitional novel, setting us up for the sixth book - but, if this is so, did it need to be 1000 pages of transition?