I actually did the opposite of what you did, I read Feast and Dance separately first and then on my re-read a couple years later I did the Boiled Leather combined reading order. It was on my Boiled Leather re-read where both Feast and Dance finally clicked with me and they’re both now my favorite 2 books of the series so far. The Boiled Leather combined reading was so good for me that I almost want to consider it one giant book; seeing the story fall into place chronologically gave me a deeper understanding of these stories and what was happening in each part of the world while other events were happening elsewhere. Reading about what Cersei in Kings Landing and her hearing rumors and stories from the north and what what Jon is doing at the wall to immediately reading what Jon is actually doing there is an example of how this incredibly large story started to fall into place for me. There were plenty of other moments like this for me also. I know you said that you had a problem with some of the Greyjoy and Brienne chapters, but these also were some of my favorite chapters of the book. A Storm of Swords is really like the climax to the stories of books 1 and 2, it’s act 3 in part 1 of a story. After re-reading books 4 and 5 in boiled leather format, I felt like I was really understanding what GRRM was doing. These 2 books are almost acting like act 1 in part 2 of the story. It’s setting up the pieces in really infesting ways for the next part of the story. I really like the many interpretations that the title “A Feast For Crows” has. Like you said, it could mean the people who are taking advantage of the devastated 7 kingdoms after the war for their own gains or it could refer to Euron being the crows eye, or probably both. I think it refers to both of those but I think it also has a literal meaning too with the Brienn chapters. A lot of Briennes chapters are her walking through a kingdom devastated by war, she’s seeing a literal feast for the crows. Her chapters I think are meant to give us a first hand account of the bleakness of the aftermath of the war of the 5 kings in my opinion. The Greyjoy chapters deepened the iron islands lore with learning about their religious customs and ways more and also that they were small and mostly insignificant during the war, but now that it’s over they have an opportunity to become a major player. And obviously with dorne also. Also a side note, I love how these 2 books really deepened the lore for the world exponentially for me. Learning deep history and lore about things and places that I didn’t care about at all in previous books, really made the world feel like a real place. An example of this is the abandoned castles at the wall that the nights watch is trying to rebuild. There’s like 20 of them, and they all have names. But as I kept reading I realized that each one of these castles is uniquely named. They each individually had a unique history are were named specifically different things for different reasons. Anyway I’ve realized I’ve been talking a lot about these books. Ya, books 4 and 5 are my favorite of the series now. I really hope that Winds comes out.
After a reread and mulling it over, I definitely agree with you in seeing Feast and Dance as a more introspective story that carries on Act 2 of the story as ASOS climactically concluded Act 1! I will say, that I still stand by my initial statements that both Feast and Dance do have more bloat to them, but they also definitely have more world building and detail than the first 3 books could ever achieve. All we knew about Dorne and The Iron Islands, after all, was secondhand in those books. Feast and Dance, on the other hand, get us intimately familiar with these locations and it’s very interesting lore for sure. I have read the series twice before and ma tempted to do a third read, especially of Feast and Dance. I liked Feast way more on a second read through and am curious to see if I’ll like it even more on a third. Anyway, thanks for your comment and your support!
It’s a great book! I honestly think most of that dislike just comes from the fact that a lot of the key characters were held off to A Dance with Dragons and asking a reader to become invested in new characters this far into the series is not something those readers necessarily wanted to do
I completely agree with you here. I'm actually re-reading this now. 1st time I read it I had real problems with the issues you detailed, and mostly found myself just wanting to get through long sections of it. Second time I did the combined read. This time I've just read it again and really love it. It's a great character book, and due to where the book sits in the narrative - where Westeros is at this point after the war - it gives George the best opportunity to really get into some of his thematic ideas about war, honour, class etc. An unappreciated gem.
For sure! I’m not sure how George will continue those themes in Winds (if we ever get Winds) but I appreciate George investing more time into the nuances of what this war torn world really looks like in Feast. Thanks for your comment!
People say that this is a step down from Storm, but I think it's a step to the side. It's supposed to be a different kind of book. It's about the aftermath of war. It seems you came into this book with specific expectations. This book is about interesting character building, not about the plot. But I think that this is a perfect setup for another Storm paced book.
I cry ally really do like the character development in this book! The first time I read it I was expecting something else, but the second time I read it I liked the book way more and was all in on the character! Thanks for watching, by the by!
It’s Christmas and Hanukkah in July, people!! Am I way off base in my assessment of A Feast for Crows? Let me know your thoughts! 😁
I actually did the opposite of what you did, I read Feast and Dance separately first and then on my re-read a couple years later I did the Boiled Leather combined reading order. It was on my Boiled Leather re-read where both Feast and Dance finally clicked with me and they’re both now my favorite 2 books of the series so far. The Boiled Leather combined reading was so good for me that I almost want to consider it one giant book; seeing the story fall into place chronologically gave me a deeper understanding of these stories and what was happening in each part of the world while other events were happening elsewhere. Reading about what Cersei in Kings Landing and her hearing rumors and stories from the north and what what Jon is doing at the wall to immediately reading what Jon is actually doing there is an example of how this incredibly large story started to fall into place for me. There were plenty of other moments like this for me also.
I know you said that you had a problem with some of the Greyjoy and Brienne chapters, but these also were some of my favorite chapters of the book. A Storm of Swords is really like the climax to the stories of books 1 and 2, it’s act 3 in part 1 of a story. After re-reading books 4 and 5 in boiled leather format, I felt like I was really understanding what GRRM was doing. These 2 books are almost acting like act 1 in part 2 of the story. It’s setting up the pieces in really infesting ways for the next part of the story. I really like the many interpretations that the title “A Feast For Crows” has. Like you said, it could mean the people who are taking advantage of the devastated 7 kingdoms after the war for their own gains or it could refer to Euron being the crows eye, or probably both. I think it refers to both of those but I think it also has a literal meaning too with the Brienn chapters. A lot of Briennes chapters are her walking through a kingdom devastated by war, she’s seeing a literal feast for the crows. Her chapters I think are meant to give us a first hand account of the bleakness of the aftermath of the war of the 5 kings in my opinion. The Greyjoy chapters deepened the iron islands lore with learning about their religious customs and ways more and also that they were small and mostly insignificant during the war, but now that it’s over they have an opportunity to become a major player. And obviously with dorne also.
Also a side note, I love how these 2 books really deepened the lore for the world exponentially for me. Learning deep history and lore about things and places that I didn’t care about at all in previous books, really made the world feel like a real place. An example of this is the abandoned castles at the wall that the nights watch is trying to rebuild. There’s like 20 of them, and they all have names. But as I kept reading I realized
that each one of these castles is uniquely named. They each individually had a unique history are were named specifically different things for different reasons.
Anyway I’ve realized I’ve been talking a lot about these books. Ya, books 4 and 5 are my favorite of the series now. I really hope that Winds comes out.
After a reread and mulling it over, I definitely agree with you in seeing Feast and Dance as a more introspective story that carries on Act 2 of the story as ASOS climactically concluded Act 1!
I will say, that I still stand by my initial statements that both Feast and Dance do have more bloat to them, but they also definitely have more world building and detail than the first 3 books could ever achieve. All we knew about Dorne and The Iron Islands, after all, was secondhand in those books. Feast and Dance, on the other hand, get us intimately familiar with these locations and it’s very interesting lore for sure.
I have read the series twice before and ma tempted to do a third read, especially of Feast and Dance. I liked Feast way more on a second read through and am curious to see if I’ll like it even more on a third.
Anyway, thanks for your comment and your support!
My favorite book in the series, I think it's sad how many people dislike it.
It’s a great book! I honestly think most of that dislike just comes from the fact that a lot of the key characters were held off to A Dance with Dragons and asking a reader to become invested in new characters this far into the series is not something those readers necessarily wanted to do
@@booktubeadvocate That's definitely a big part of it. I only read the series for the first time in like 2019 so I didn't have to wait.
I completely agree with you here. I'm actually re-reading this now. 1st time I read it I had real problems with the issues you detailed, and mostly found myself just wanting to get through long sections of it. Second time I did the combined read. This time I've just read it again and really love it. It's a great character book, and due to where the book sits in the narrative - where Westeros is at this point after the war - it gives George the best opportunity to really get into some of his thematic ideas about war, honour, class etc. An unappreciated gem.
For sure! I’m not sure how George will continue those themes in Winds (if we ever get Winds) but I appreciate George investing more time into the nuances of what this war torn world really looks like in Feast. Thanks for your comment!
People say that this is a step down from Storm, but I think it's a step to the side. It's supposed to be a different kind of book. It's about the aftermath of war. It seems you came into this book with specific expectations. This book is about interesting character building, not about the plot. But I think that this is a perfect setup for another Storm paced book.
I cry ally really do like the character development in this book! The first time I read it I was expecting something else, but the second time I read it I liked the book way more and was all in on the character! Thanks for watching, by the by!