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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steel_Wind" data-source="post: 2706289" data-attributes="member: 20741">Well, I just finished it.  As there is a small spoilers warning in this header, I'll make us of it and warn you all now - but I promise I have not included anything below of any consequence. It's pretty much spolier free.General: I began to read and did not stop unless duty called  - of the type that could not be put off. Five years was too long a wait.But the truth is, I'm still waiting. We got half a book. An enjoyable enough half, but this is no feast - it's merely an appetizer. The Good Martin is, as ever, a masterful writer. If the pacing in this one suffered, the prose didn't.A brief look inside the schemes of Littlefinger.  The man tells Sansa many of his plots and methods and he truly is a master of his craft.  The rest of the players are rank amateurs compared to Lord Petyr.  You almost have to cheer for the man.A glimpse at the Cult of the Drowned God  Aeron Damphair is not only a fanatic and a prophet, he is one damned spooky man with a creepy religion and a baptismal rite that takes no prisoners.  This man is the only fictional character in a fantasy novel who has actually scared me a little.Dunk & Egg vs Brienne and Pod Those who have read the tales of the Hedge Knight will notice various references to Dunk and Egg throughout AFFC.  But it's more than the references. There is a clear nod towards the duo being reborn as Brienne and Podrick Payne.  Sadly, neither get enough time in the book. No one really get enough time in the spotlight except the one point-of-view character that you will come to with a *sigh* as the novel wears on.Cersei's Smallest Council While there is a great deal to be said about Cersei Lannister below, the chapter on the Small Council is well done. There is no exposition or narrator's description or judgments made during the look see inside the council meeting. Instead, the reader has an unfiltered opportunity to see how well the new Regent of the Seven Kingdoms has chosen her players.The BadWhere's Arya? It's not that Arya is not in AFFC. Ostensibly she is. But there's just not enough of her. Not nearly enough.Samwell Tarly Ditto for Sam. Sam and Aarya are the two points of view that most fans of the series want to read about most  - given what we have in AFFC. But we see neither of them enough - which is a real shame.Dorne I guess this was necessary but a dozen pages on being trapped in a prison cell gets as tedious to read as it was for the prisoner to endure. 'Nuff said.The Ugly Cersei...Cersei...Cersei Look. It's not that they weren't enjoyable chapters. Any of them taken on their own has its moments and they do advance the metaplot of the Seven Kingdoms well enough.But between Jaime and Cersei, the book is well over half about them. I didn't do a page count, but I expect Cersei grabs at least a third of the pages on her own. It's just too much; in fact, it's way too much.Had there been another 200 pages of Brienne Arya and Sam, it would have been ok. But as it stands, about half way through the book you reach the end of the chapter and the next page says "Cersei" and you start to groan: "Again?? Gods no - not again!!"I would have much enjoyed 40 pages less of Cersei and 40 pages more of Sam and  Aemon Targaryen. I would say "that's just me" - but I don't think so.Overall A good burger and fries to a starving man is a welcome meal. But it isn't a banquet - and this just isn't a Feast.  For those waiting for the REAL contnuation of the story, AFFC isn't it. It's a Lannister in Baratheon's tunic - a pretender to the throne.   My big fear is that a Dance with Dragons may not be "it" either.Don't get me wrong. I love this series - but the absence of Jon, Danny Bran and Tryion is painfully obvious at times.  That's not to say that the other great characters GRRM has come up with weren't equal to the task - but he simply didn't use the other great ones he does have  enough. Not nearly enough.3.75 out of 5.Get to work George!! Five years and only this to show for it? SLACKER!! Get writing!!</blockquote>

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