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I know that:

  • A Game of Thrones refers to the eponymous "game" of politics and treason characters play to claim the iron throne and the power that comes with it.
  • A Clash of Kings obviously refers to the war of the five kings.

But what about:

  • A Storm of Swords
  • A Feast for Crows
  • A Dance with Dragons

What do their titles refer to?

(This isn't a duplicate of Title drops in Game of Thrones books as I'm not asking about the titles' presence in the books, but their meaning in a more general context.)

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  • In general, speculation about unreleased works is off-topic here, and besides, I doubt you'd get a solid answer on those two. The titles of the forthcoming two books are vague enough that one can't say much that isn't wild guessing (besides that book six is so titled because it will take place during the winter).
    – recognizer
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 21:14
  • I've just edited my question to conform to the topic requirements, thank you for the advice.
    – JS Lavertu
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 21:16
  • It's still going to be speculation, so I'm not sure the level of answer you're expecting. "A Dance with Dragons" has a rough reference the to actual Dance of the Dragons (an event like .... 170 years before GoT starts), as well as being the book which really starts dealing with two different Targaryens. Crows are the Night's Watch, and the Stormlands are the region a lot of Renly's (and then Stannis/Lannister allies) bannermen are from since Renly ruled Storm's End.
    – DariM
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 21:36
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    Storm of Swords = lots of swords, therefore lots of fighting. A Feast for Crows = crows are carrion birds; lots of dead people. Dance with Dragons = there are dragons in the book. That's how I interpreted them, anyway.
    – Shamshiel
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 21:52
  • 1
    I have a strong feeling I've seen this question before.
    – Möoz
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 22:37

1 Answer 1

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Here's my stab at it. Spoilers obviously.

A Game of Thrones introduces us to the slowly brewing conflict between the great houses over control of Westeros. For about the first half of the book it is all political intrigue with occasional flashes of violence, which slowly turns into a full on war later in the book, leading to...

A Clash of Kings which chronicles the beginning of the War of the Five Kings.

The war reaches it's most violent peak in A Storm of Swords, and climaxes as House Lannister wipes the board clean of its competitors, declaring themselves the winner in all but name. But before the Lions can celebrate their victory tragedy strikes them as well.

A Feast for Crows, just like the eponymous birds of carrion, deals with the aftermath of the War of the Five Kings. All the major participants in the war are bloodied and exhausted, even the Lannisters who are the nominal victors, and the other houses start to nibble at the corpses to gather political power of their own.

A Dance with Dragons, which mostly runs parallel to AFFC deals with the dragon rider clan themselves: the Targaryens. Daenerys is fervently trying to consolidate her power, all the while her dragons threaten to become too big for their britches. Unbeknownst to her, many Westerosi are seeking her and not to assassinate her as per usual. Also, a man claiming to be Aegon VI lands in Westeros and starts carving a new Targaryen kingdom.

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  • 2
    Quentyn danced with dragons as well..
    – TLP
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 23:09
  • 3
    @TLP: i.imgur.com/2e2lLAM.jpg
    – System Down
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 23:49
  • great answer, just what I was looking for.
    – JS Lavertu
    Commented May 12, 2016 at 15:44

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