A Dance with Dragons Audiobook By George R.R. Martin cover art

A Dance with Dragons

Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire

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A Dance with Dragons

By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
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About this listen

HBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is the fifth volume in the series.

The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.

In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.

Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.

To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark's bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.

On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all…

©2011 George R. R. Martin (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Fantasy
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Editorial reviews

A Dance with Dragons is part one of book five in this sweeping epic fantasy audiobook series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R. R. Martin and narrated by veteran British actor Roy Dotrice. Now the inspiration behind the major HBO TV series Game of Thrones. Queen Daenerys’ dragons have matured. They have been locked away and are simmering with unimaginable power. Her enemies have found out of their existence. The dragons are loyal to no one. The monstrous army gathering behind the wall of ice and stone continues to grow stronger. Available now from Audible.

Critic reviews

"In the grand epic fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best...tense, surging, insomnia-inflicting." (Time magazine)

"An absorbing, exciting read.... Martin's style is so vivid that you will be hooked within a few pages." (The Times)

"The sheer mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads.... Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias." (Guardian)
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I loved the book however the Narration was awful I cannot stand to give the book a bad review but the Narration is so bad I would strongly recommend reading the book and spending your audible credit elsewhere.

Roy Dotrice does not do the work justice. The female characters all sound like old North Country serving women from some low rent historical drama. With younger women this is particularly jarring, Daenerys sounds like she is 103. I will avoid any audio book read by Roy Dotrice in the future.

Roy Dotrice does not do the work justice

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I was priviledged to listen to the whole "A Song of Ice and Fire" series this year. George R.R. Martin is a tremendous storyteller dishing up a very complex story. While winter has been coming in the previous books in Westeros, it is here in "A Dance with Dragons." The players in the game of thrones have changed, favourites have fallen and new one have risen. Be warned - don't get to attached to a character in this fantasy epic, you will most probably come to regret it at some or other time. Georg R.R. Martin is telling a story of epic proportions where individuals are just like bricks in a large tower.

It is of utmost importance that you start listening from book 1 "A Game of Thrones" otherwise you will not grasp the positive uproar to the series. Book 2 is called "A Clash of Kings", 3 "A Storm of Swords" (broken by the publisher into an A & B part) and 4 "A feast for Crows." (Unfortunately book 4 is currently available at Audible except to USA listeners. It is the only book not read by Roy Dotrice. Its read by John Lee. So you will have to make a plan.)

Roy Dotrice is an excellent voice artist and has become synonymous with "A Song of Ice and Fire." While you might struggle to listen to him in the beginning, you will want no-one else to read this magnificent story by book 5.

So put some time aside. Take a deep breath and start to listen to the 21st century's "Lord of the Rings." But don't expect anything "Lordish" or "Ringish."

So what will happen next

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Would you consider the audio edition of A Dance with Dragons to be better than the print version?

No. If you have the time to visually read these books, it'd likely be a better experience than listening to them.

How could the performance have been better?

It seems as if there's no production value invested into these books. Roy Dotrice constantly changes character voices and pronunciation of names. It's fair that he'd forget some of these, but it's unacceptable that nobody picked up on this or corrected it, especially when it comes to major characters like Daenerys and Arya.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Despite the grating inconsistencies in the narration, I usually stopped listening out of necessity rather than because I was over it.

Very good story, bad narration.

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I somewhat disagree with complaints about Dotrice; pacing and vocal range are more reasonable than most, although his rhythm is too pronounced sometimes. My sad tale would be that I think Martin is doing a "Jordan", as in Robert Jordan who would be too busy describing a scene rather than actually getting on with the plot. I started to get this feeling in the previous book and it seems to be spelled here pretty strongly. Things need to move along! However it feels like another two books minimum at this pace before a conclusion can be reached. The twists are starting to feel a little contrived. I hate writing this, I have been a huge fan of this series since it was first published.

Smells of Jordan

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What did you love best about A Dance with Dragons (Part One)?

just another great book in this series... loved and enjoyed every minute until the very end...and cannot wait for the next book !!!!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A Lannister always pays his debts

Another great book

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Such an amazing series and I love Roy Dotrice's narration. The only thing which bugs me is that he changes the accents of some of the main characters from book to book.

only a slight niggle

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I absolutely loved it and I can't wait for the next book to be released

Must read!

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Same narrator but several voices were changed from the previous novel plus many others share the same voice. I’m sure it’s very difficult with so many characters to play, but Dany sounds like a Pikey!! 😂😫😢

Is Dany a Pikey?

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What did you love best about A Dance with Dragons (Part One)?

I just loved the whole book and cant wait till the next one comes out. Its something you just can stop listening to and Ray Doltice also makes it come alive.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They were all wonderful characters, but my favorite is Tyrion.

Dance with Dragons - a great listen!

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Story - This is a continuation of a series and the last in the series to date. This book feels a little drawn out with some "filler", which is a bit disappointing. However it is still a great story and I look forward to the next installment (if Mr. Martin ever stops the book tours etc and gets down to writing again!)

Narrator - The narrator makes every woman or girl sound like an old crone and every man or boy sound as if he is in his fifties. It hasn't really bothered me until this book. The accents are still getting on my nerves. I am glad that the series has ended (so far) because now I can have a break from this reader.

I think a listener might be well advised to space out listening to this book only because of the narrator. The only problem with that is that the listener may forget the more intricate plot lines.

I am getting sick of this narrator

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