Your review is a little too generous (in my opinion) - Edit 2
Before modification by Libby at 20/07/2011 07:52:29 AM
The long form will be in the formal review I wrote for the blog (linked below), but the gist is this:
Reader anticipation will lead to many dismissing the good elements of this novel in favor of those elements that lack resolution. The writing, for the most part, was good, although there were a few times where it felt that Martin tried a bit too hard to achieve a desired effect.
As for the lack of resolutions, those didn't bother me as much, since I'm the sort of reader who has so many books to read that little time can be spared to pine longingly for the next installment of even those works that I do enjoy. It was a solid effort that forwards things a bit; comparisons to Jordan's CoT are misleading.
Reader anticipation will lead to many dismissing the good elements of this novel in favor of those elements that lack resolution. The writing, for the most part, was good, although there were a few times where it felt that Martin tried a bit too hard to achieve a desired effect.
As for the lack of resolutions, those didn't bother me as much, since I'm the sort of reader who has so many books to read that little time can be spared to pine longingly for the next installment of even those works that I do enjoy. It was a solid effort that forwards things a bit; comparisons to Jordan's CoT are misleading.
Dance is a superbly written book. It's just a very bad book in the context of aSoIaF. Stories are revisited, but they haven't really gone anywhere. They're well written, but it's 1000 pages of well-written water treading.
However, I do think not enough was made in reviews that I have read in regards to the unnecessary cliffhangers littering the final portion of the book. Ultimately, I think they really detracted from many of the positives the book does have (and there are many, to be sure). Episodic writing of this nature might be more tolerable if the series saw regular release. But matters being what they are, the decision is a poor choice to say the least. I give credit to the reviewer on Tor.com who at least made mention of this shortcoming. Reading Time magazine you might have thought we were getting the Great Gatsby or Ulysses.