A Change of Pace

In George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows (AFFC) the pace has changed from that of the first three books in the series, A Song of Ice and Fire. A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords were paced well, containing the right amount of memorable moments as well as events that pulled on one's heartstrings. However, the last half of ASOS was incredibly accelerated. Momentous events took place, new characters came and old ones went, and the "game of thrones" was changed and not necessarily for the better. AFFC is a deep breath for readers. The fourth installment of the series certainly advances the plot, but events take longer to play out and or show the true intentions of the characters behind certain events. A quote from Jay-Z expresses what I am trying to say about AFFC and the plot leading in the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons. Jay-Z says in his reasonable doubt song, "coming of age,""...let your s*** bubble quietly, and then you blow up." AFFC is a just as much of a masterpiece as the other books in the series. Martin is truly the modern, American Tolkien.