Forty-Nine Hours in the Dark
Look, I knew what I was getting into. Forty-nine hours. That's not an audiobook, that's a commitment. That's a relationship. I started this thing during a particularly dreary Oregon November, listening while shelving returns at the library, and I finished it sometime in early December while Shirley (my cat, not Jackson, though obviously named after her) stared at me from across the room like I'd lost my mind. Maybe I had. But here's the thing about George R. R. Martin's sprawling, maddening, brilliant fifth installment - it demands that kind of devotion.
And Roy Dotrice? He demands something too. Your patience. Your forgiveness. And ultimately, your admiration.
The Dotrice Problem (And Why It's Worth It)
Okay, so. Roy Dotrice. The man holds a Guinness World Record for most character voices in an audiobook. He's been with this series from the beginning. He IS these books for a lot of us. But I'm not going to pretend this performance is flawless, because it's not, and you deserve honesty before you commit forty-nine hours of your life to anything.
Some of the voices have... shifted. Characters you remember sounding one way in earlier books now sound different. Dotrice had the same inconsistency issues in Feast For Crows, though honestly, I think he's gotten better at managing the sheer volume of characters. Missandei suddenly sounds like she aged forty years between installments. Some of the Meereenese characters blur together into what I can only describe as "vaguely Irish grandmother" territory. And yes, there are moments where you can hear his age in the recording - a slight breathiness, occasional mouth sounds that made me wince during a particularly quiet late-night listening session.
But here's what the critics miss: Dotrice commits. When he's doing Tyrion's bitter wit, there's genuine venom there. When Jon Snow faces impossible choices at the Wall, you can hear the weight of command in his voice. The man understands that narrating epic fantasy isn't about perfection - it's about presence. It's about making you forget you're listening to one person doing hundreds of voices.
Did I notice the inconsistencies? Yes. Did they pull me out of the story sometimes? Honestly, yes. But did I also find myself genuinely emotional during certain scenes because of how he delivered them? Absolutely. That's the trade-off, and for me, it's worth it.
The Story Itself (No Spoilers, I Promise)
If you've made it this far in the series, you know what you're getting. Martin doesn't write horror, but he understands dread better than most horror authors I've covered on the podcast. The slow build of something terrible approaching. The way he makes you care about characters and then puts them in impossible situations. The North remembers, and so do I - specifically, I remember pausing the audiobook during one particular Jon Snow chapter because I needed a minute. Just... a minute.
This book runs parallel to A Feast for Crows, so you're finally getting back to characters you've missed - Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon. Their chapters are the strongest here. Tyrion's journey is darkly funny and genuinely sad in equal measure. Daenerys trying to rule rather than conquer is fascinating political drama. And Jon... well. Jon's arc in this book is why I kept listening past midnight even when I had early shifts.
The Meereen stuff drags. I'll say it. There are stretches in the middle where I bumped up to 1.25x speed just to get through the political maneuvering. Not everything lands. But when it lands? It LANDS.
Who Should Brave This Beast (And Who Should Run)
This is not a casual listen. I need to be clear about that. If you haven't read or listened to the previous four books, absolutely do not start here. You'll be lost within ten minutes and I won't feel sorry for you. Start with Game of Thrones if you're new to the series—Dotrice's performance there is actually his strongest, before the voice inconsistencies started piling up.
But if you're already invested in Westeros? If you've been waiting to find out what happens after the events of the previous books? This is essential. The audiobook format actually helps with the massive cast - hearing the different voices (even the inconsistent ones) helps you track who's who in a way that reading sometimes doesn't.
Best for: Long commutes. Seriously, if you drive a lot, this is your new best friend. I also found it great for chores - I deep-cleaned my entire apartment during the Tyrion chapters and didn't even notice the time passing. Skip this if: You need tight pacing and can't handle political intrigue that occasionally spins its wheels. Or if you're looking for bedtime listening, unless you want to be awake until 3 AM because you NEED to know what happens next. (I learned this the hard way. Multiple times.)
The Verdict
Roy Dotrice passed away in 2017, which means this is part of his legacy - one of the last major performances in a career that spanned decades. Knowing that adds a certain weight to the listening experience. The imperfections become almost endearing. This is a man who devoted years of his life to inhabiting Martin's world, and even when the voices don't quite match up, even when you can hear his age, there's something beautiful about that dedication.
Is this the perfect audiobook? No. Is it a forty-nine hour investment that will test your patience in places? Yes. But it's also epic fantasy done right - sprawling, messy, emotionally devastating, and utterly absorbing. The narrator commits. That's rare.
My podcast listeners are going to have opinions about this one. I already know. But I'll stand by my recommendation: if you're going to experience A Dance with Dragons, experience it with Dotrice's voice in your ears. Flaws and all.
Shirley (my cat) was unimpressed by the whole thing. But she's unimpressed by everything that isn't wet food, so I'm not taking it personally.
