I got this for Christmas in 2005, but I never got around to reading it until recently. Now that I've finished it, I wish I hadn't read it at all. Good enough story (I love Arya and Brienne), but I can see why GRRM is accused of being a misogynist. Even more so than in the first three books. This was a difficult book to read. Is a Dance with Dragons any better or worse? I'll stick to the TV show if it is .
I've begun reading the books too. I find that once you get used to his style of writing it's not too bad, although new readers I think can be turned off by it. It's not really a casual read either, it requires a bit more attention.
I've never had problems with Martin's books. Must say A Feast For Crows was probably my most favorite in the series (although I love a dance with dragons just as much).
I really never got turned off by his writing, never paid much attention to it aswell. I like big books and I completed this one in a few days.
I personally really enjoyed Feast, though it's generally the most disliked (or least appreciated?) book in the series.
Dance deals almost exclusively with the characters outside of mainland Westeros during the same time as Feast, including several fan favorites (Jon, Tyrion, Davos, Dany), and in the latter half it starts to surpass Feast and you get chapters for the other characters, too.
Dance is my second favorite book in the series (behind Storm). It really starts to delve into a lot of the magic and mysteries in this world, and starts giving you explanations for some of the stuff going on. Bran's storyline in this book has some of the coolest reveals in the series, in my opinion.
How do you feel GRRM is being a misogynist after reading AFFC? Terrible things happen equally as often to male characters. Not to mention the majority of AFFC is through the eyes of female characters.
I really love Martins style, I really can't read any other book that is written from "gods point of view". And FfC and DwD are the best books in my opinion.
A Dance with Dragons was more interesting, especially in the second part, because the characters and things they do are more interesting. The only characters that were interesting in A Feast for Crows, imo, was Cersei and Arya, and Arya had very few chapters, and Cersei was a bigger bitch than ever before.