Over at Suvudu, Shawn Speakman has written a lengthy article coming to the defense of George R.R. Martin and his long awaited continuation of the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Martin completed the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, in 2005 with the promise that A Dance with Dragons would be coming to bookstores shortly afterward. Four years later and the novel is still yet to be published. Time after time the publication date has gotten pushed, and this has made many of Martin’s fans angry. But as Speakman says in his article “anger is one of the least logical emotions we possess; it can lead people to conclusions that are not wholly accurate—if not down right wrong.”
I, for one, am not a fan who has become jaded by the long delay between book four and book five. I’ve personally put off finishing the last 300 pages of A Feast for Crows just to have some momentum going into the fifth novel. If all holds up (fingers crossed), A Dance with Dragons is slated to be released this coming October. I feel as though the delay has given me a chance to experience other authors/novels during that time period, which I’ve enjoyed.
For the fans who have been eagerly anticipating the conclusion of the series, I do empathize; thirteen years is a long stretch for the first five novels. A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996 by Bantam Books. Supposedly, Martin’s fantasy series will include two more novels after this one: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
Anyway, read Speakman’s article. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
I have heard that the 4th novel is not nearly as good as the first three. In your opinion, is this the case?
Zach, I would have to agree with that, yes. I didn’t find the 4th novel nearly as engaging as the first three. It covers a lot of secondary characters and story lines that, in my opinion, are just really not that interesting. I still have about two or three hundred pages left to read, actually. I’ve been putting off finishing it. Nothing significant has really happened so far. At least it doesn’t appear to be significant at this point.