Nevertheless: It took six years and this period shall be automatically integrated into the assessment of all GRRM strain reader and should be explanation for many a disappointing conclusion.
Is that justified?
I think so. The plot is quite advanced, my impression even stronger than in the previous book, "A Feast for Crows" (which also could not be difficult). Both in the north on the wall and in the South at Daenerys development is being driven - but also raises me increasingly the question of whether all the storylines in the remaining two and possibly three books can be resolved effectively. And if again a person whose development has been devoted in the past 5 books a lot of time, surprisingly must die, turns slowly in all the Ungeklärtheiten When asked why the character was given so much space or if not better some threads slowly would have to be connected.
Therefore my impression: Would it be a fantasy series that would like some other modern series of Jordan, Erikson, ... created more volumes and you would have at the same time no more than half a decade waiting for the next band, one could arrange far better with this book, you would get the feeling slowly perhaps 600-700 pages, but finally had something happen, what drives the plot recognized. This happened to me, and this form of impatience affected my reading pleasure.
One aspect of a previous reviewer, I should mention Underlining: "A Dance With Dragons" is heterogeneous remarkably compared to previous volumes: The chapter about the wall or to Theon are written straight and captivating ... while just with a favorite character I ( Tyrion, and I'm certainly not the only) hold the chapter with the long-winded and sometimes redundantly appearing Travel and its further development for tough and sometimes implausible.
Therefore, as a conclusion: 4 stars - this is perhaps whining at a high level, but after 6 years and with the intended end in 2-3 books is too little recognized that the shredded storylines can be reunited consistent.