Book Review – George R. R. Martin’s “A Feast for Crows”
Last night I finished reading A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in A Song of Ice and Fire series written by George R. R. Martin.
The events in this story immediately follow the action from A Storm of Swords, the third book in the epic series.
What makes A Feast for Crows different is that the book primarily focuses on only a few of the main characters. Apparently this book was going to be so long that it was going to be split into two parts. Instead of splitting it, George R. R. Martin decided to have this book primarily focus on Westeros and the next book, A Dance with Dragons, focus on the Wall and the events across the Narrow Sea. Most of the events in both books take place during the same time frame.
By this point in the story the War of the Five Kings is basically finished. While much of Westeros is still dangerous from roving bands of outlaws and a few renegade soldiers, much of the fighting between the armies has finished. Stannis Baratheon is with his army at the Wall, Jon Snow has been made the Lord Commander at the Wall, and King Tommen Baratheon now has the Iron Throne. Since the eight-year-old king is so young, his mother, Cersei Lannister, supervises him and rules as the Queen Regent.
Tyrion Lannister was blamed and put on trial for the death of King Joffrey. Tyrion chose a trial by combat in which his champion, Oberyn Martell of the House Martell in the kingdom of Dorne, had to fight against Ser Gregor Clegane. Oberyn lost the fight but was able to poison Gregor. Jaime Lannister arrived in King’s Landing and secretly freed Tyrion from his dungeon cell with the help of Varys. Before fleeing the city, Tyrion uses the secret passages to find his father, Tywin Lannister, and brutally kills him.
That brings us to the next book, A Feast for Crows. As it was previously mentioned, this book mainly focuses on Westeros including King’s Landing, Riverlands, the Eyrie, the Iron Islands, and the southern region known as Dorne. The book briefly includes Arya Stark’s time across the Narrow Sea in Braavos.
SEVEN KINGDOMS – KING’S LANDING:
After the death of Tywin Lannister, Cersei now has complete control of King’s Landing and much of Westeros. She’s the Queen Regent as her son, King Tommen, is too young to rule the kingdom. It’s solely her’s to control.
It quickly becomes apparent that while Cersei knows how to gain power, she doesn’t actually know how to rule the kingdom. She assigns important positions to incompetent people, and she ignores advice from her uncle Kevan Lannister as well as brother Jaime Lannister. She also does not trust the Tyrell family, especially Margaery, Tommen’s wife and future queen. As we remember, this is Margaery’s *third* marriage. She was previously married to Renly and then to Joffrey.
To make matters worse, Cersei is haunted by a childhood memory of her and her sisters visiting a fortune teller. The fortune teller told Cersei of a prophecy that involved seeing her children become crowned, but they would also die before her. The prophecy also includes Cersei losing her crown to a younger and more beautiful queen, and event that will happen before her own death. Cersei continually believes this prophecy and becomes paranoid of both Margaery and Tyrion, her missing brother. She believes that Tyrion is the person who will finally kill her.
King’s Landing is broke and owes a lot of debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos as well as the Faith of the Seven. Queen Cersei refuses to pay back the Iron Bank until the rebellions throughout Westeros are finally ended. To settle the debt with the Faith of the Seven, Cersei agrees to have King Tommen restore the religion’s military order, the Faith Militant, and give them power in King’s Landing.
Cersei’s plan for weakening the Tyrell’s influence on the crown involves sending Ser Loras Tyrell, Margaery’s brother, with any army to capture Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon’s island castle. She hopes that Loras will be killed in the attack. The attack on Dragonstone is successful although very costly to the army. A thousand knights and soldiers are killed, and Ser Loras Tyrell is badly injured. He’s expected to die from his injuries.
When Cersei tells Margaery the news of her brother, Margaery quickly figures out that the queen wanted Loras killed. It was meant to be a suicide mission.
Cersei’s plan for Margaery involves taking her to court for adultery against the crown. She accuses the young lady of being with men along with drinking a special tea designed to prevent pregnancy. Margaery is imprisoned by the Faith Militant, but she remains firm with her innocence. When Cersei pays her a visit, the queen herself is quickly arrested and locked in a prison cell on similar adultery charges (the incest of her and Jaime, as well as her relationships with other men).
Nobody in King’s Landing will attack the Faith Militant and come to Cersei’s aid. As a last hope she sends a message on a raven for her brother Jaime to come and rescue her.
SEVEN KINGDOMS – RIVERLANDS:
Having been released from King’s Landing by Jaime Lannister, Brienne of Tarth is sent on a quest to rescue Sansa Stark and safely return her to Winterfell. It’s not long before she’s joined by Podrick Payne, the boy who was Tyrion’s squire. She allows him to join her and she also teaches him how to fight with a sword. They’re also later joined by Ser Hyle, a knight who knew Brienne from her days with King Renly’s army.
After meeting and being rejected by Lord Randal Tarly (Samwell Tarly’s father), and confronting and killing several outlaws, her group is eventually captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Lord Beric is finally dead, but the Brotherhood has a new leader — Lady Stoneheart, a reanimated Catelyn Stark. Lady Stoneheart believes that Brienne betrayed her, but it’s not true. She is ready to hang Brienne along with her companions unless Brienne agrees to find and kill Jamie Lannister. Brienne and her companions are hanged until a single word screams out of Brienne’s mouth. We’re left not knowing what she said.
Also in the Riverlands is Jamie Lannister on a mission to end the siege of Riverrun without any bloodshed. Ever since losing his fighting arm, Jamie has become a different person. He takes his job with the Kingsguard seriously and refuses the advances by his sister. Besides, Jamie is well aware that Cersei is losing her mind as she rules King’s Landing, and he wants nothing to do with her.
Jaime is able to talk to Lord Edmure Tully and end the siege of Riverrun without launching an attack. The Tully soldiers have to leave behind their arms and armor, but they are free to leave. Riverrun then passes to the hands of Emmon Frey, an ally of House Lannister.
After successfully taking Riverrun, Jaime receives the letter from Cersei telling him of her capture and imprisonment. Instead of helping his sister, Jaime destroys the letter and leaves Cersei to her fate.
SEVEN KINGDOMS – THE EYRIE:
Continuing with the events in A Storm of Swords, Petyr Baelish is still in control of the Eyrie and House Arryn following the death of Lysa Arryn. Sansa Stark is still hiding there and posing as Petyr’s bastard daughter, going by the name Alayne. She helps raise Lord Robert Arryn, the sickly boy who will eventually rule the Eyrie.
Petyr allows the Arryn bannermen into the Eyrie to investigate Lysa’s death, and of course he’s not blamed. The musician is pinned as the murderer of the Lady. Petyr uses his manipulation skills to increase his power in the Eyrie, preventing the bannermen from rising against him.
As the winter arrives, the residents in the Eyrie are forced to descend from their mountain fortress to seek refuge in the lower castles. After descending from the mountain, Petyr reveals to Sansa that she has been betrothed to Harrold Hardyng, Robert’s heir. Nobody expects Robert to live for much longer. After he dies and Sansa is wed to Harrold, she is to reveal her true identity as Sansa Stark and reclaim her family’s home at Winterfell, uniting her family with the Vale and creating a powerful alliance.
SEVEN KINGDOMS – IRON ISLANDS:
Balon Greyjoy is dead and the Iron Islands needs a new king. His surviving son, Theon Greyjoy, is still missing. His daughter, Asha Greyjoy, is a good leader and military tactician, but she’s a woman and thus unlikely to be crowned as the ruler of the Iron Islands.
Balon’s two brothers, Victarion and Euron Greyjoy, are the top two contenders for the crown. Euron is eventually selected to be the next king as he promises to not just continue raiding the coast but to conquer the entire continent of Westeros.
Victarion is sent with a fleet of ships to conquer the Shield Islands and put pressure on the Tyrells at Highgarden. Victarion believes that this is just a temporary victory as the Redwyne fleet will most likely take the islands back once it returns from its mission at Dragonstone. Euron then sends Victarion on a mission to the far east to woo Daenerys Targaryen on his behalf in hopes of a marriage and further claim to the Iron Throne. While enroute on his voyage, Victarion decides to pursue Daenerys for himself and use her dragon force to pay Euron back for having slept with his wife years ago.
SEVEN KINGDOMS – DORNE:
In A Feast for Crows we have our first real look at the kingdom of Dorne, the southern part of Westeros. This is an arid, rocky and dry environment that’s sparsely populated.
Prince Doran Martell is confronted by several of his slain brother’s bastard daughters, known as the Sand Snakes, for justice for Oberyn’s death. In the previous book, Oberyn Martell was Tyrion’s champion during his trial by combat, but he was slain by Ser Gregor Clegane. Receiving Gregor’s head isn’t enough since it was Oberyn who really killed him with his poisoned weapon. They want war against King’s Landing.
When the Sand Snakes start inciting the town’s folk, Prince Doran has the bastard daughters arrested and locked in the palace.
After the Sand Snakes are arrested, Prince Dorne’s daughter, Arianne Martell, takes up their cause. According to Dornish custom, titles are passed down to oldest children whether they are boys or girls. She plans to crown Dorne’s ward, Myrcella Baratheon, as queen of Westeros according to Dornish law. As we remember, Myrcella was sent to Dorne in A Clash of Kings when she was betrothed to Prince Trystane. That was the last we heard of Cersei’s daughter.
Arianne knows that Myrcella being crowned queen will cause the uproar and following war that her cousins wanted. She and her lover, Ser Arys Oakheart, take Myrcella out and try to get her crowned as queen. This is thwarted by Prince Doran and there’s a brief fight. Ser Arys is killed and a knight nicknamed Darkstar attempts to kill Myrcella, but instead of losing her head her face is badly scarred.
Back at his palace, Prince Doran informs his daughter of his anger in instigating a battle with the Lannisters. The Dorne army isn’t large enough to take on a force like that without help. Doran then tells Arianne of his plan for revenge. He tells his daughter that she was originally betrothed to Viserys Targaryen as part of a revenge plan against Tywin Lannister.
Doran also reveals that Arianne’s brother, Quentyn, has been sent to the east to bring back “Fire and Blood,” implying some sort of alliance with Daenerys Targaryen.
THE EAST – BRAAVOS:
At the end of A Storm of Swords, Arya Stark used her special coin along with the phrase “Valar Morghulis” to get a cabin on a ship bound for Braavos. That’s as far as she knows about the coin and going to the city across the Narrow Sea.
Upon arriving in Braavos, Arya finds her way to the House of Black and White, a temple associated with a band of assassins known as the Faceless Men. In order to be accepted into the temple she has to disassociate herself from her previous life as Arya Stark. She removes all of her clothing and items (except for her sword Needle, which she hides in a stone wall) and becomes a girl called “Cat of the Canals.”
After learning about the temple and Braavos, Arya is sent to live with a seafood seller and assist with that way of life. She’s to learn more of the language as well as observations in the town itself. Once a month when the moon is new (dark), Arya returns to the temple to report her new language as well as her observations. This is reported to the Kindly Man, her mentor at the temple. Despite living as “Cat,” Arya’s old life continues to be present in the form of wolf dreams (like Bran and Jon Snow have had). She also uses her sword to kill Dareon for abandoning the Night’s Watch.
The next morning after murdering Dareon, Arya confesses to the Kindly Man that it was really “Arya” who killed the man and not “Cat of the Canals.” As punishment for her connection to her former life, the Kindly Man sends her to her chamber and has her drink a glass of warm milk. When Arya wakes the next morning she discovers that the milk was poisoned. Now she’s blind.
Also in Braavos is Samwell Tarly of the Night’s Watch.
Night’s Watch Lord Commander orders Samwell Tarley to the Citadel in Oldtown (in the southwestern part of Westeros) after making a stop across the Narrow Sea in Braavos. Accompanying him are the aging Maester Aemon, Gilly, the wildling mother that Sam rescued from Craster while north of the Wall, Gilly’s baby, and fellow Night’s Watch brother Dareon.
As they’re traveling to Braavos, Maester Aemon tells Sam that the reason why Gilly is always crying is that it’s because of the baby. That’s not her baby. It’s really Mance Ryder’s newborn son. Jon Snow had the babies switched so that nothing bad would happen (through Stannis Baratheon and the witch Melisandre of Asshai) to Mance’s son. Of course, that means that *should* anything bad happen to the child, then it’s really Gilly’s son and not Mance’s.
Maester Ameon was already weakened from old age, and the sea voyage to Braavos takes its toll on the old man. Sam and Gilly help care for him in Braavos, but it’s a lost cause. Dareon mismanages their money and then abandons Sam and their mission. He’s later killed by Arya. Sam also has a brief encounter with Arya, but neither of them know each other.
At one point Maester Ameon learns of there being dragons further to the east. The maester takes that news as Daenerys coming to fulfill the prophecy.
Maester Ameon eventually summons the strength to board a ship to Oldtown, but he dies shortly into their voyage. After drinking to honor the deceased maester, Sam allows himself to become intimate with Gilly, though he is horrified of it later. Not the act of being with a woman, but by doing so he broke one of his vows as a sworn member of the Night’s Watch.
The ship finally arrives in Oldtown and Samwell Tarley makes his way to the Citadel. There he meets with Archmaster Marwyn and learns that there’s a greater purpose for the Citadel, something besides sorcery, prophecy or dragons. The archmaster then leaves to sail to Slaver’s Bay and find Daenerys before anybody else can. Sam remains behind and studies to become a maester.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So is George R. R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows a good story?
As a whole, A Feast for Crows was a pretty good story . . . for parts of the book. While this book is shorter than the previous two, it’s also missing certain elements of fun and interest as we’re only dealing with half of the main characters. And for the most part it’s the boring half.
I think that it was a mistake to split this part of the story into basically two books, each of them with only a handful of the main characters. The whole time you’re reading it you’re thinking of what happened to the other characters like Tyrion, Jon Snow, Daenerys, and Stannis Baratheon. On top of that we’re now dealing with the Dornish people as well as a bunch of new secondary characters in King’s Landing and the Iron Islands.
It would have been nice if the Dorne parts were a larger part of the story. Considering that the people there really dislike the Lannisters and are conspiring to make war with them, it would have been nice to learn more about the Dornish people. Instead we get little clips here and there, but not much of the story as a whole.
As far as Cersei and the events in King’s Landing, that was just plain boring. King Tommen is a child and a puppet who will sign any document, Jaime has lost his fighter mentality and just wants to serve on the Kingsguard, and Cersei’s appointed advisors are all useless. This is a large part of the book, and it stays quite dull until Cersei tries to frame Margaery, and she is also imprisoned.
The same goes true for Brienne’s quest to find Sansa and bring her to safety. It feels like the mannish woman keeps walking in circles and facing the same challenges over and over again. She was a fine secondary character when paired with Catelyn Stark or Jaime Lannister, but as the lead person in her small group she’s incredibly lame.
Honestly, I couldn’t wait to finish this book. It feels incomplete, it’s missing the better characters, the plots are mostly uninteresting, and all of the new secondary characters in King’s Landing, the Iron Islands, and the Dorne make parts of the book too confusing. In some cases the new characters are spread apart in the book. Just as you’re starting to learn about them they won’t appear again for a few hundred pages. At times it’s hard to remember who is who and why it matters what they’re saying or why they are in certain situations.
On top of that the title is also very misleading. With it being called A Feast for Crows, I was expecting a lot of bloodshed and dead bodies. The other books have plenty of references of crows eating dead bodies. A feast implies that the crows are going to be very well fed. Some people die in this book, but it’s nothing even close to what you would expect with a title like this one.
I already began reading the next book in the series, A Dance with Dragons. So far it’s much better than A Feast for Crows.
