A Dance with Dragons Review ⭐

‘A Dance with Dragons’ combines the events happening in Westeros and Slaver’s Bay and shows how each event in one continent affects the other. After the War of the Five Kings, a more complex and unforgiving Westeros emerges. As the continent plunges into the darkness of its political decay, new enemies begin rising from the realm of the dead. In Slaver’s Bay, Daenerys’s former victory becomes a sour failure as the cities she thought she had freed begin resisting her changes.

Story

‘A Dance with Dragons’ is the most complex story in A Song of Ice and Fire. It shows multiple events happening on the continents of Westeros and Essos and makes those events overlap to affect each other. From Slaver’s Bay to the Wall, the connection between subplots and events makes the story exceptional.

Tyrion travels to Pentos, where he meets Illyrio Mopatis. Before he meets with Illyrio, Tyrion contemplates traveling to Dorne to support his niece’s claim to the throne; this thought becomes a connection to the events in Sunspear in ‘A Feast for Crows.’ 

As Tyrion travels to meet Daenerys, he discovers one of the biggest secrets to come out of Westeros. He learns that Rhaegar’s son, Aegon is alive and well. The new realization begins to paint a new picture of the fate of Westeros. With Aegon’s arrival, Tyrion realizes that King’s Landing is yet to see its worst conflict.

As ‘A Dance with Dragons’ shines a light on other characters, it paints a different possibility from the previous novels in the series. With Jon as the commander of the Watch, a new enemy begins to rise from the shadows; the Others. As the threat of wights and the Others becomes an established detail, Jon realizes that he must blur the line between westerosis and wildlings to save the realm of men from the danger ahead. As Jon prepares for the great battles between the living and the dead, the story shifts focus to Bran and dive into Westeros’s mystery.

Bran’s encounter with a Child of the Forest, a creature thought to be long extinct, becomes a new detail with teeming possibilities. George R. R. Martin’s inculcation of the Children of the Forest creates a sense of agitation for what is to happen and how Bran will be a pivotal character in the war that looms in the dark.

From Westeros to Essos and Slaver’s Bay, the event connection in ‘A Dance with Dragons’ is far more advanced than in previous stories. However, the complexity of ‘A Dance with Dragons’ creates many avenues for plot holes in future stories.

First, the introduction of Aegon, though seemingly small, creates a complex scenario that may change the overall direction of A Song of Ice and Fire. Also, adding more fantasy elements may become too intense to track because introducing more fantasy elements will increase the need for more worldbuilding and history.

Characters

‘A Dance with Dragons’ has the highest number of primary characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. Though the story tries to keep track of each character as they interact with others and push the plot, some characters get alienated. One such character is Victarion. Though he got some chapters from his perspective in the book, his appearance makes him an alien character with no use.

However, ‘A Dance with Dragons’ uses most of its characters exceptionally. As each character got defined by their individual experiences, they possess originality and propel the story forward exquisitely.

Another aspect of the characters of ‘A Dance with Dragons’ is the minor characters. The story used its minor characters so well that some felt like primary characters. ‘A Dance with Dragons’ synchronized with ‘A Feast for Crows’ impeccably because the secondary characters propelled the subplots, making them flow with the main plots in both stories.

‘A Dance with Dragons’ also excelled at creating characters with real problems and goals. The story spared none of its primary characters from facing the brutal world. George R. R. Martin’s love for creating grey stories made the characters in his novel true to life.

Dialogues

In ‘A Dance with Dragons,’ conversations were crucial in understanding the story’s purpose. As each character interacted with another, more secrets came to life, explaining why the world seemed the way it was. Characters like Tyrion, Jon, and Arya grew in their understanding of the world from their conversations.

Daenerys’s conversations gave a better picture of her personality. Her interactions with others like Hizdahr Barristan, and Daario, showed that though she tried to be a queen, she was still a young girl put into a world of brutal blood-lusting people. Thinking that compassion would make the world better, she tried to fix everyone she met, but her effort to make others better backfired and became a thorn in her flesh.

Tyrion’s conversations showed a man angry with the world. Born a dwarf, Tyrion knew that his life would never be great. However, in ‘A Dance with Dragons,’ he learned that the only thing that will be a constant in his life is sadness. He knew he was the evil villain, the little monster everyone hated and despised, and finally, he decided to embrace that nature.

Writing Style and Conclusion

With the limited third-person perspective and the use of characters for story progression, ‘A Dance with Dragons’ was able to compound a massive story across two continents. George’s unique writing style and systematic worldbuilding made it possible to write one of the best fantasy novels in history.

In conclusion, ‘A Dance with Dragons’ has one of the most remarkable endings. It ends with Kevan Lannister getting killed by Varys, who reveals his true intent; this sparks curiosity. 

FAQs