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A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five Audiobook
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Plot Summary
George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire was first intended to be a trilogy but, to the delight of fans, there have been five books so far in the series - A Dance with Dragons being the latest one. Like its predecessors, A Dance with Dragons is an exciting book, more so because some of the characters originally introduced in books one, two and three, including Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow, were skipped in book four and have therefore made a reappearance after six years. A Dance with Dragons debuted on the NYT bestseller list and was the second book in the series to do so, after the previous entry in the series, A Feast for Crows.
In A Dance with Dragons, Cersei's story continues as she is imprisoned for various reasons, including adultery and conspiring to kill her husband, the former king, Robert Baratheon. She only admits to adultery and is released pending trial. However, she must walk naked along the streets as punishment for her adultery and is pelted with fruits and vegetables, reaching her destination on her hands and knees.
Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, who is ruling the city of Meereen, has lost control of her growing dragons. Although she keeps two of them imprisoned, the third one has been roaming free and causing havoc. While attempting to rein them in, Danerys also gets married to a nobleman for political reasons although she's having a torrid affair with a mercenary.
Tyrion Lannister, who we had last seen killing his father and escaping, is now on the road and has quite a few adventures. He is kidnapped by Jorah Mormont, who was banished by Daenerys; Jorah plans to take Tyrion back to her to earn her forgiveness. However, the two fall into the hands of slavers and are forced to become a part of a jousting dwarf company from which Tyrion eventually escapes.
Overall, A Dance with Dragons is immensely satisfying, taking us back to the action-packed beginnings of the series. The characters that this book deals with are intense and vivid, probably the strongest ones that Martin has created in this series. There's a sense of anticipation about what exactly is going to happen next, given that the War of the Five Kings has come to an end but there are still many political intrigues going on.
George R.R. Martin (or GRRM for short as many of his fans affectionately refer to him) is originally from Bayonne, NJ where he grew up in the projects. He started writing stories at a young age and selling them for pennies to his friends. He went on to study journalism and started writing novels, segueing from this into screenwriting for TV. Finally, taking a break from TV, he went back to writing fiction and that's how A Song of Ice and Fire was born. The series is supposed to total seven books and Martin is hard at work on the sixth one, The Winds of Winter. The first two books of the series have been made into the HBO show A Game of Thrones.
Download A Dance with Dragons now from The Audio Bookstore to return to the fantastic, action-packed and romantically beguiling world of A Song of Ice and Fire.
"Great book, great series, relatively easy to read writing. Story is difficult to follow... soap-operas and melodramas are LIKE that because they have so many subplots. That's not an insult, but it is the nature of the beast when dealing with fantasy such as this. What IS an insult is that Martin feels it necessary to include ENDLESS gore and sex. It's simply not plot relevant. I like to think more of Martin, but sometimes it seems like he's figured out how to push America's "shock-button" and just wants to keep pushing it like a bully or a little kid with a loud toy. 4 stars inspite of this, but only 4 stars BECAUSE of all this."
— Christopher (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • THE BOOK BEHIND THE FIFTH SEASON OF THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES
NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE
Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series—as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.
A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK FIVE
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
Praise for A Dance with Dragons
“Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.”—The Washington Post
“Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times
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Quotes
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Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.
— The Washington Post -
Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.
— The New York Times -
One of the best series in the history of fantasy.
— Los Angeles Times -
“A Dance With Dragons meets the high standards set by its four siblings. And like all proper serials it gives the reader no emotional respite.”
— New York Times -
“By turns thrilling, funny, scary, emotionally devastating, oddly inspirational, and just plain grand.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers, and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is an epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed, and thoroughly imagined.”
— Washington Post -
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Each of the drama machines that Martin has set to work in his earlier books keeps humming here with an admirable precision…a thundering good read.”
— Barnes & Noble review -
“Superbly developed characters, accomplished prose, and sheer bloody-mindedness.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.
— The Washington Post -
Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.
— The New York Times -
One of the best series in the history of fantasy.
— Los Angeles Times -
Martin has produced—is producing, since the series isn’t over—the great fantasy epic of our era . . . His skill as a crafter of narrative exceeds that of almost any literary novelist writing today.
— Lev Grossman, Time -
By turns thrilling, funny, scary, emotionally devastating, oddly inspirational, and just plain grand . . . Grade: A
— Entertainment Weekly -
A taut and relentless masterpiece that reaffirms the reader’s obsession with the panoply of unforgettable characters that Martin has created, and the brutal, glittering, terrible world in which these novels are set . . . Machiavelli, you have met your match in Martin.
— The Daily Beast
Awards
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
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A #1 USA Today bestseller
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A 2011 Barnes & Noble Best Book for Fiction
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A 2011 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Fiction
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Winner of the 2012 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
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A 2012 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel
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A 2012 British Fantasy Award Nominee
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An Amazon Top 100 Book of 2011
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Finalist for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel
A Dance with Dragons Listener Reviews
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Trinity, 1/3/2023
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Kreg Gauss, 11/28/2019
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" Another good book by George R.R. Martin I bought this book trying to find out what happens next in season 7 of the show, but it's not in here :( still has a lot of details that will keep you listening "
— Jacob, 2/20/2017 -
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Heidi Deal, 10/27/2016
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" The narrator is excellent and the story is unique and imaginative. The story also has some very dark and perverted elements. I'm talking about some of the torturing and demeaning of some characters. Its a great saga though but you must read the other books in the series first to understand this one. "
— steve, 6/4/2016 -
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Markus Steph, 4/17/2016
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" Brilliant. Martin's work is simply awe inspiring. He bridges characters and places splendidly as this epic unfolds. If there is anyone that can be called an heir to Tolkien, Martin takes the prize and continues the genre forward. "
— Michael, 2/19/2014 -
" The first 500 pages are worse than a slog. A major slash and burn was needed. If he has an editor that editor should be fired. The last quarter was good but that just isn't good enough. "
— Renee, 2/13/2014 -
" Wow, we'll after all that! I can't believe there's more to come but there clearly is. Come on George please....... "
— Kerry, 2/11/2014 -
" GRRM is cruel, for possibly killing a good character, and for making us wait another decade for the next book. "
— Lizz, 2/5/2014 -
" It was a good book, but not great. It feels like Martin is wasting time on characters who don't really need to be there (Quentyn Martell) or who are interesting but seem to not have as important a role in the larger story (all the Greyjoys). Of course, they could end up being more important in later books, we don't know. I just hope that Martin lives long enough to finish it. "
— Clever_username, 1/18/2014 -
" Wasn't able to surpass A Store of Swords (but what will?), but still a step up over A Feast for Crows "
— Jarrett, 1/18/2014 -
" I'm not sure I will survive on the television show alone until 2015! "
— Jeni, 1/12/2014 -
" I loved and hated this book at the same time. My hate stems from George R R Martin's willingness to kill characters I have grown to love. My only hope is that his next book will reveal that is was all but a "mummers farce". "
— Kat, 12/12/2013 -
" Loved the book, but the ending killed me! This is definitely one of those series you have to read more than once, just because the author takes forever to publish the next one. I'm not sure how he's going to pull everything together in the last two. "
— Victoria, 11/30/2013 -
" A bit long winded but some mind-blowing events occur. "
— Kristjana, 11/19/2013 -
" One of the best cliffhanger given where it has ended. "
— Durgaprasad, 11/16/2013 -
" A deeply satisfying return to form. No doubt in my mind--the best of the books in this series are better than Tolkien. I'm back to being very excited about the books to come... "
— John, 11/14/2013 -
" Words are wind. Lot of words in this mother. "
— Per, 11/10/2013 -
" Definitely not my favorite in the series - knowing it was the last (at least for a long time) I took my time. I hope subsequent books live up to the first 3 in the series. "
— Kim, 10/21/2013 -
" Wish I'd known that this was the last published book of the series so far before reading it so quickly :0( "
— Nadine, 7/24/2013 -
" The progress was very slow but all came together in the end. Looking forward to the next book to see where some of my favorite characters end up. Hopefully focusing more on the main characters not the bizillions of minor ones! "
— Nyree, 4/14/2013 -
" Great continuation of the series with a few surprises. "
— Lando, 3/19/2013 -
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Jeff Jordan, 12/4/2012
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" This one took me a little while longer to read than the others. Perhaps because my favorite character wasn't in it or perhaps because a lot of new characters are introduced in this book. Still good, but my least favorite of the series! "
— Isabelle, 9/25/2012 -
" A worthwile continuation of the first books. Supposedly better than books three and four which focussed more on side stories but I like all parts of the series. "
— Jos, 6/3/2012 -
" Roy Dotrice is a skilled orater his voices for each charactor embody age sex and demeanor. Exellent Book. Very entertaining. "
— Jason, 2/8/2012 -
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Rex Shaffer, 8/31/2011
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" the series is building up to be one of the best fantasy series of all time. "
— Anthony, 8/1/2011 -
" Now we only have to wait another 5 years to read what happens next... sigh... "
— JJ, 7/23/2011 -
" Download A Dance With Dragons for Free from here <br/> <br/>goo.gl/53Y2q "
— Ajay, 7/22/2011 -
" The Meereenese knot chapters felt unnecessary, and i hate what Daenerys was doing :-) but the rest of the book was fantastic "
— Positivism1, 7/22/2011 -
" Yay! The second half of of the supposed 1/6 pieces! And only an absurd 1,000 pages! "
— Voldaran, 7/22/2011 -
" Well written, as with all the books in the series, and brimming with brothels, but at the end of it I didn't think that the story had really progressed all that much. Still, I'm very much looking forward to The Winds of Winter, though the gods know how many years away that is! "
— Leanne, 7/22/2011
About George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally ever since. He spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer, working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made. In the mid ’90s he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he’s allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, a big white dog called Mischa, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula, who think they run the place.