The fifth book in the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance with Dragons hit the shelves in July, amid the buzz created by the HBO series Game of Thrones. The earlier books in the series were selling like never before, and after nearly six years of waiting since the last installment (A Feast for Crows), George R.R. Martin fans were clamoring for this volume.
Unfortunately, in this case, the wait was not worth it. Book 5 is slow, nearly devoid of action, and the few exciting moments basically end as cliffhangers. Pro tip: cliffhangers are good for weekly TV series, tolerable for season-ending episodes or movies with sequels coming within the year, but just awful for a book series where we cannot honestly expect the next volume to appear anytime soon.
Of course I will read the next book, but I already have a sinking feeling that this series is going the way of the Wheel of Time, and that would be a very bad turn for what has otherwise been a classic fantasy series.
Verdict: I would give this book a very mediocre 2 out of 5 boomsticks.*
*It occurs to me that I have not introduced my new rating system. For reference, on a scale of 0 to 5 boomsticks, the restaurant Vetri would get a 5, and the film Army of Darkness would get a 7.
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