content: '''''A Dance with Dragons''''' is the fifth novel, of seven planned, in the epic fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin.  In some areas, the paperback edition was published in two parts, titled ''Dreams and Dust'' and ''After the Feast''. It was the only novel in the series to be published during the eight-season run of the HBO adaptation of the series, ''Game of Thrones'', and runs to 1,040 pages with a word count of almost 415,000.
  The US hardcover was officially published on July 12, 2011, and a few weeks later went to No. 1 on both ''Publishers Weekly'' and ''USA Today'' bestsellers lists.  The novel has been adapted for television as the fifth season of ''Game of Thrones'', although elements of the book have also appeared in the series' third, fourth and sixth seasons.