"Fans of "Game of Thrones" can rejoice: George R.R. Martin is back with "A Dance with Dragons," and he's scary good.

It's been almost six years since the publication of "A Feast for Crows," the fourth volume in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy saga, "A Song of Ice and Fire." It's been a whopping 11 years since the arrival of the third volume, "A Storm of Swords" -- the last truly satisfying installment in the series. But once again, with anticipation driven to new heights after the successful first season of HBO's adaptation, "Game of Thrones," the waiting is finally over. Volume five, "A Dance with Dragons," arrives in bookstores on July 12. It is a triumphant return to form: everything a Martin fan could want from a fantasy novel.

Which is both a promise ... and a threat.

I cracked open the pages of this 1,016-page monster with no small dose of trepidation. When high expectations are combined with years of deferred gratification, readers are thrust onto a vulnerable precipice. Like many early-adopting fans of "A Song of Ice and Fire," I had been disappointed by "A Feast for Crows," a reaction that was all the more painful after so many years spent in a state of increasingly feverish anticipation. I did not want to repeat that experience..."

-- Loved "Game of Thrones" I don't know if I should start reading the books, or wait for the show...!

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