Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was a soldier in Iraq when this book was released. I had been eagerly waiting for 4 years for a new installment of what I felt at the time was the best and brightest light in the fantasy sub-genre. I was disappointed. By now you know that every major character that GRRM had cultivated for nearly 3000 pages, 10 years and 3 novels was absent or only mentioned peripherally at best. But that's not the biggest betrayal of this novel. The biggest betrayal is the introduction of new POVs that we, as readers, have nothing invested in. We couldn't care less about them and aren't given any compelling reasons to begin caring. Brienne, Samwell, the Greyjoys, and anything happening in Dorne were minor ornamentations to the first three novels -- and that's being generous in some cases. In this one, they are center-stage for a solid 2/3rds of the text and they contribute nothing. NOTHING. They don't advance the plot, they don't illuminate motivations of the major players, they don't even bother to capture your interest. Brienne LITERALLY rides around and looks for someone the whole book. That's it. I just summed up in eleven words what evidently takes a dozen or so entire chapters for GRRM to convey. For a fan of the world of ASOIAF, this is an "okay" novel. It provides depth of background and expands the tapestry of this world, letting you into the minds of characters that, prior to this novel, you had no access to. For fans of the STORY of ASOIAF, this book is a virtual waste of time. There are perhaps half a dozen chapters that advance the story and, after all, I believe thats what most of us are craving. As I type this, we've been waiting almost 5 years for the next installment, A Dance with Dragons. I won't bore you with reasons why I'm irritated about it. (At this point, you're either a GRRM apologist and have forgiven him for making you wait almost a decade for something new to happen in his creation, or you're not. I am not.) However, to say that I've moved on to other stories and writers is an understatement. If you're new to ASOIAF, I'm advising you to avoid these novels. I have a feeling GRRM will end up breaking our hearts. He is notorious for not keeping notes and "writing from his mind". So unlike Jordan, who had extensive outlines, notes and ideas for a future ghostwriter to work from in the event of his untimely death, GRRM may leave nothing but an unfinished series. At the very least, you can probably skip this novel. What "A New Spring" was to the Wheel of Time series, this book will be to ASOIAF. An interesting side-journey for hardcore fans, but, to the casual reader, ultimately a marketing diversion intended to soak you of more money.