Finally got around to writing this review. Boy, I hate to say it, but this book is a snooze. 
 Things started out really well. I loved the opening chapters, and I was greatly intrigued as the different characters took their places on the board. Then a dragon reeled its ugly head, and this dragon's name is PACE. 
 Every time, and I mean EVERY time, I started to get excited about where the plot was going, a chapter featuring either a character I don't care about (I'm looking at you Davos) or a completely new and pointless character added for unnecessary clarification came along. I would force myself to get through these chapters to be rewarded with a brief stint of relevant and interesting chapters, but unfailingly another wrench in the momentum would appear. Sadly, this cycle made reading A Dance With Dragons a chore; it's definitely the low point of A Song of Ice and Fire so far, and that's just sad. 
 Thankfully, most of the cast of characters is as vibrant as ever, and Martin's prose continues to be rich and trenchant. In fact, those two qualities offer a star apiece to what would have been a one star review. I recommend A Dance With Dragons but only in the capacity of keeping up with your favorite characters. Martin has a lot of ground to cover with the next installment if he wants to return ASoI&F to the greatness from which it began.