I would give this a solid 4.5 stars. On the grander scale of things, this was the ultimate filler book. A lot of stuff was set in motion for the next book, but it felt a lot slower paced than A Game of Thrones. It also lacked the 'Omg, tell me he didn't do that' moments of the first (and third) book. Still, storytelling is tight, characters are many-faceted and interesting, and it was fantastic fantasy fare. Already looking forward to re-reading the next one.