The Song Of Ice and Fire (427 page)
Read The Song Of Ice and Fire Online
Authors: George R. R. Martin
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Epic, #Media Tie-In, #Action & Adventure
This is an awfully big wall I’m building here, so I need a lot of bricks. Fortunately, I know a lot of brickmakers, and all sorts of other useful folk as well.
Thanks and appreciation, once more, to those good friends who so kindly lent me their expertise (and in some cases, even their
books
) so my bricks would be nice and solid—to my Archmaester Sage Walker, to First Builder Carl Keim, to Melinda Snodgrass my master of horse.
And as ever, to Parris.
PRAISE FOR
A GAME OF THRONES
“Reminiscent of T. H. White’s
The Once and Future King
, this novel is an absorbing combination of the mythic, the sweeping historical, and the intensely personal.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“I always expect the best from George R. R. Martin, and he always delivers.
A Game of Thrones
grabs hold and won’t let go. It’s brilliant.”
—Robert Jordan
“Such a splendid tale and such a fantistorical! I read my eyes out.”
—Anne McCaffrey
“Martin makes a triumphant return to high fantasy … [his] trophy case is already stuffed with major prizes, including Hugos, Nebulas, Locus Awards and a Bram Stoker. He’s probably going to have to add another shelf, at least.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“A vast, rich saga, with splendid characters and an intricate plot flawlessly articulated against a backdrop of real depth and texture.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The keen and complex human characters and the convincing force of their surroundings operate as magic … setting George R. R. Martin’s first fantasy epic well above the norms of the genre.”
—Locus Magazine
“It is perhaps the best of the epic fantasies—readable and realistic.”
—Marion Zimmer Bradley
“The major fantasy of the decade … compulsively readable.”
—The Denver Post
“George R. R. Martin is one of our very best science fiction writers, and this is one of his very best books.”
—Raymond E. Feist
“We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R. R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world … if the next two volumes are as good as this one, it will be a wonderful feast indeed.”
—
Chicago Sun-Times
“I would be very surprised if this is not the major fantasy publishing event of 1996, and I’m already impatient for the next installment.”
—Science Fiction Chronicle
“A colorful, majestic tapestry of characters, action and plot that deserves a spot on any reader’s wall … the pages seem to pass in a blur as you read.”
—Albuquerque Journal
“George Martin is assuredly a new master craftsman in the guild of heroic fantasy.”
—Katharine Kerr
“
A Game of Thrones
offers the rich tapestry that the very best fantasy demands: iron and steel within the silk, grandeur within the wonder, and characters torn between deep love and loyalty. Few created worlds are as imaginative and diverse. George R. R. Martin is to be applauded.”
—Janny Wurts
“A dazzling fantasy adventure … with a great cast of characters that weave a tapestry of court intrigue, skullduggery, vicious betrayal and greathearted sacrifice.”
—Julian May
“Terrific, incredibly powerful, with phenomenal characterizations and exquisite writing.”
—Teresa Medeiros
“The characterization was superb, the story vivid and heartbreaking … when is the next one coming out?”
—Linda Howard
A CLASH OF KINGS
“A truly epic fantasy set in a world bedecked with 8,000 years of history, beset by an imminent winter that will last ten years and bedazzled by swords and spells wielded to devastating effect … here he provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Martin amply fulfills the first volume’s promise and continues what seems destined to be one of the best fantasy series ever written.”
—The Denver Post
“High fantasy with a vengeance.”
—The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Rivals T. H. White’s
The Once and Future King.
”
—
The Des Moines Register
“So complex, fascinating and well-rendered, readers will almost certainly be hooked by the whole series.”
—
The Oregonian
A STORM OF SWORDS
“One of the more rewarding examples of gigantism in contemporary fantasy … richly imagined.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“George R. R. Martin continues to take epic fantasy to new levels of insight and sophistication, resonant with the turmoils and stress of the world we call our own.”
—Locus Magazine
“Martin creates a gorgeously and intricately textured world, peopled with absolutely believable and fascinating characters.”
—The Plain Dealer
(Cleveland)
“High fantasy doesn’t get any better than this.”
—
The Oregonian
“A riveting continuation of a series whose brilliance continues to dazzle.”
—The Patriot News
“Enough grit and action to please even the most macho … a page-turner.”
—The Dallas Morning News
“The latest and the best in a powerful … cycle that delivers real people and a page-turning plot.”
—Contra Costa Times
“Martin’s epic advances his series with gritty characterizations, bold plot moves and plenty of action.”
—
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A FEAST FOR CROWS
A Bantam Spectra Book / November 2005
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2005 by George R. R. Martin
Maps by James Sinclair
Heraldic crests by Virginia Norey
Bantam Books, the rooster colophon, Spectra, and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martin, George R.R.
A feast for crows / George R. R. Martin
p. cm.—(A song of ice and fire ; bk. 4.)
I. Title. II. Series: Martin, George R. R. Song of ice and fire ; bk. 4.
PS3563.A7239 F39 2005
813'.54 22 2005053034
eISBN: 978-0-553-90032-3
v3.0
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Map
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Appendix I: The Kings and Their Courts
The Queen Regent
The King at the Wall
King of the Isles and the North
Appendix II: Other Houses Great and Small
House Arryn
House Florent
House Frey
House Hightower
House Lannister
House Martell
House Stark
House Tully
House Tyrell
Appendix III: Rebels and Rogues Smallfolk and Sworn Brothers
Lordlings, Wanderers, and Common Men
Outlaws and Broken Men
The Sworn Brothers of the Night’s Watch
The Wildlings, or the Free Folk
Appendix IV: Beyond the Narrow Sea
The Queen Across the Water
In Braavos
Acknowledgments
for Stephen Boucher
wizard of Windows, dragon of DOS
without whom this book would have
been written in crayon
Praise for
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
and
A Song of Ice and Fire
“Mainstream readers … have a great treat ahead of them in Martin.
A Feast for Crows
is a fast-paced, emotionally complex, masterfully written adventure … Martin’s writing is as good as ever: his imaginary places are as vivid and thoroughly imagined, his characters as consistent and believable, his blood as wet and red.” —
Newsday
“George R. R. Martin has created the unlikely genre of the realpolitik fantasy novel. Complete with warring kings, noble heroes and backroom dealings, it’s addictive reading and reflects our current world a lot better than
The Lord of the Rings.” —Rolling Stone
“What’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”? It’s the only fantasy series I’d put on a level with J. R. R. Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings
. It’s way better than the Harry Potter books and definitely not for children. It’s a fantasy series for hip, smart people, even those who don’t read fantasy.” —
Chicago Tribune