Don't forget to take into account the context of the reviews.
At the time, A Feast of Crows was highly anticipated since it was 5 years since Storm of Swords. (the first 3 books were released in a span of 4 years) And when it came out, it turned out he split the book in 2 and the 2nd half would be published shortly thereafter. I was upset that I got half a book!
People were upset that their favorite characters weren't in this book and in actuality, the 2nd half of the book came out 6 years later.
Expectations were high, people are pissed off about the books and lots of criticism towards these 2 books.
You can put me in the camp of, these 2 books are good, not as good as the first 3. The plot moves very slowly and I wish book 6 would just come out so I can get some answers.
Very doubtful you can get away without reading these 2 books. You'd be missing out on a lot when you jump into book 6.
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