As you probably know if you're reading this, I'm a big fan of GRRM, and although I was annoyed with the delays and the eternity it took to get this book out, I wasn't in the tar and feather or draw and quarter camps. And I am LOVING this book . . . mostly. The fact that the POV characters' names are starting to shift, and the focus seems to jump too quickly from the stories I'm interested in (Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon) to characters I care less about (Reek/Davos/Bran/Asha) is annoying, but I can take it. More annoying is the excessive descriptions of places, food, and flags . . . but again, I'm willing to live with it, as the story is progressing VERY nicely!
So, for this book, I'm going to pull a Russ and say 3+ with a Re-roll, +1 if you are already a fan of the books :)
Update: The book ended very abruptly, and my disatisfaction grew with each chapter about half way through. A chapter by chapter breakdown, looking at the story arc of each POV character, would show VERY little development in almost all the major characters. A great deal is promised, and massive forces are put in motion . . . again . . . but no grand culminating battles take place . . . at least, not on stage. And one of the last moments of the book is a sad rehash of a trick he's already used once . . . it's just a question of which of two tricks he's using.
As the book came to a close I found myself just wanting it to be over as it became painfully clearl, as each POV character made their final appearance, that nothing much was going to get resolved . . . except that one bit mentioned above.
My Grade: B his writing is still excellent . . . but his pacing and his plotting is sorely lacking here. If I wasn't already THOUSANDS of pages invested, I'm not sure if I'd be moved to read the next one, given how little happened this time, despite 6 years and 1000 pages . . .
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