Setup, setup, setup. This book doesn't serve to move the great plot of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE forward very much. Here are some new characters you won't here of again until the end of the book. Here are some new characters whose story is almost completely separate from everything else we've seen thus far and doesn't get joined to the main story by the end of the book either.

Most of the story lines in A Feast for Crows involve people living their daily lives, with a lot of exposition. Only a small number of characters here have stories that actually go somewhere, and even then one of them does so VERY SLOWLY.

Despite ALL OF THIS I still really enjoyed A Feast for Crows. When the story shines, it really shines. And even during many of the completely unnecessary parts, I found myself taking pages to realize that Martin was just wasting time with some random lord's lineage. The world of these books is still vivid and breathing, and any time spent there has some merit, no matter how far off the path of what we really care about it may be.

Just like when I finished book 3, I find myself saying "Ok, I NEED to take a break and read a non-Song of Ice and Fire book now".... but I know I'll hurry back before I know it, wanting to learn of what happens next to these people I've been following for so long.