Westeros

The review embargo for A Dance with Dragons is lifted, and the reviews are now appearing. First out of the gate was James Hibberd with his not-quite-review for EW, which we linked here and gave our own, brief take to. Now there’s a number more, and we expect to say yet more in the coming days. Here’s a list:

• Tor.com: Author Jo Walton takes a look at the book in a spoiler-free way. She’s One Of Us in a way most professional book critics aren’t, so fantasy fans may find this the most interesting of the reviews.
• The Daily Beast: TV Critic Jace Lacob, a fan of the novels and the TV show alike, gives his views. It’s a very positive review, in which he closes by stating it, “might also be Martin’s finest work yet, a taut and relentless masterpiece…” For those who have avoided learning who new POVs in the book are, though, you’ll want to avoid this one as he names one of them.
• Time.com: Reviewer (and fantasy author) Lev Grossman writes a long and very positive review, although there’s a minor POV spoiler embedded in it (and, yes, Lev mixes up the number of novels in the series, though I expect that will be corrected in short order). He says, “Martin has produced—is producing, since the series isn’t over—the great fantasy epic of our era.”

We’re told the Daily Mail has also published a positive review of the book, but it doesn’t seem to be available on-line as of yet.