“A
Feast for Crows” has admittedly been my least favorite installment of Martin’s
epic series. In part, my disappointment is a result of the book’s sense of
incompleteness. Originally, Martin intended the book to be much larger. The
fourth book in the series was meant to continue the trend established by the
preceding three books in the series, and allow all of the focal characters
scattered throughout Westeros and Essos to lend their voices and perspectives
to the tale. However, Martin realized that the book would be two large for
publication as a single volume, and chose to focus only on the characters
centered around King’s Landing and the Iron Islands, in his fourth installment,
leaving the rest of his characters to reappear in the fifth book. He determined
to tell the whole story for only half his characters, he says at the book’s conclusion,
instead of telling half the story for all his characters.
Martin’s
choice is understandable, and on its own, the choice does not make the novel
dissatisfying; rather, the tale lacks a sense of purpose. “A Feast for Crows”
feels like a book that was designed to fill space within the series. The novel
is significantly shorter than its predecessor, “A Storm of Swords,” and, as a
result its characters’ stories seem crammed into too small of a space. Most
characters only get a handful of chapters, and since the characters are
scattered across Martin’s world (with a few exceptions), the result is simply
that not much of the overarching tale is told. Perhaps, it would have been
better if Martin had allowed his characters more space and time to tell their
stories. It seems as though Martin, though he says he chose to split the
original novel along geographic lines, actually chose the characters on which
he focused based on their positions on the outside of the main story he wishes
to tell in the series. This is not to say that the characters and their stories
are not important, but rather that they do not feel as important as the stories
that will probably be told by other characters, in the series’ fifth
installment.
The
novel takes place at somewhat of a lull in the story. The world still reels
after the events of “A Storm of Swords,” but a relative peace has settled on
portions of the realm. Few armies meet in open battle. The remainder of the war
is being waged by sieges and diplomacy. Outlaws now roam the countryside, and
the lords left standing at the end of the War of Five Kings have set their
sights on bringing the brigands to justice. The political landscape of Westeros
has changed significantly. Many new lords and ladies dot the landscape,
replacing those who perished in the war, or whose loyalties left them
attainted.
Martin
has brought new characters into the tale, as well. Readers are introduced to a
region of the Seven Kingdoms that they have yet to travel to, Dorne, along with
its desert and customs. However, not much time is spent developing these new
characters. Their storyline is too small a portion of the overall novel.
Unfortunately, Martin contrived of the event as one that has been hidden from
the other characters in the novel, so it would have been difficult for the
side-tale to have been conveyed through the mouth of a pre-existing character.
The side-tale in Dorne is fascinating, exciting, and exotic, but it does not mesh
well with the rest of the novel. While the Dornish portion is relevant to the
series storyline, it either should have been given more time, or been put off
to a future novel.
The
novel’s plot is driven largely by the political fallout of its predecessor.
Westeros’s rulers try to secure power by maneuvering the delicate alliances
that handed them power. The religion of the Seven gods, a religion that is
almost ubiquitous in Westeros, has raised a new high septon to replace the one
who has died suddenly. The new high septon’s devotion is noteworthy, because it
was lacking in his sycophantic predecessors. He seeks to raise the faith back
into the powerful entity it had once been centuries earlier. His power is
derived fully from the common folk of Westeros. He is their advocate, the one
who will protect them from the cruelties and whims of noble lords. He competes
with those sitting the Iron Throne for power, and uses their intrigues to his
benefit. His politicking allows the faith to raise armies to protect travelers
on the road, as it had done in times past. Eventually, the newfound power of
the faith may enable it to compete with the Throne in matters of justice.
In the
end, the novel does gain some impetus. It draws you in, but then ends a little
too abruptly. Many of the storylines are left unfinished, and, with the split
that Martin chose for the epic’s fourth and fifth installments, will not be
resolved until the end of the fifth installment, if they get resolved at all
(the fifth installment parallels the fourth installment, but then goes beyond
it to tie the stories back together). The tale continues to be intriguing, and
it seems that Martin rediscovered his story and purpose near the end of “A Feast
for Crows.” I look forward to reading the next (and last currently published
novel) next, before moving addressing some other books in my backlog.
JCM
29 April 2013
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