** spoiler alert ** A (mostly) fine return to form for this series after the almost entirely redundant A Feast For Crows, which is looking more and more like a publisher-pleasing stopgap rather than a valid entry in the series. Still, this is not without flaws: Tyrion spends most of this book stuck on a boat, and - while it's interesting to see him function without his usual weapons of wit and cunning - this means that he contributes very little to the overall plot; Daenerys also treads water in this book, dithering more than acting, and having both her and Tyrion removed as proactive characters gives this book an unfocused edge that doesn't quite work for me.

If you wanted to catch up on Brienne and Jaime and Lady Stoneheart (which I've been waiting for since Book III a hundred years ago), you're out of luck. Jon Snow's story remains as the one in which most of this instalment's joys are to be found, and seems to set the scene for the next book, as do the once irrelevant-seeming adventures of Arya, whose role in the rest of the story becomes clearer.

So, not without some of the flaws which A Feast For Crows introduced into the series, but certainly enough to reignite the love and enthusiasm I had for these book so many years ago. Actually can't wait for The Winds of Winter - well done, George.