I just finished A Dance with Dragons during a business trip.  There was a good bit of politics to slog through, but there were also quite a few moments of brilliance.  The last dozen chapters were just breathtaking.  Crazy stuff happens.  Major characters die (surprise surprise).  The reveal in the epilogue was awesome (shocking even though it was hinted at earlier).

Hopefully the last two books don't take as long... especially since it'd kill the TV series.

So, his interviewer ventures, knowing that this is a delicate subject, how is that sixth book coming? (It's not uncommon for years to pass between instalments.) Any idea when it will be done?

"When it's done," Martin responds, as brusquely as can be managed by someone wearing suspenders, big eyeglasses and a sailor hat. Then he softens a little. "I've given up answering, because I've clearly proved that I'm lousy at estimating these things," he says. "I'm consistently guilty of an excess of optimism, 'Oh it will be out at the end of the year', and I mean it when I say it, but the end of the year comes and goes and I get a thousand emails asking why. So I think it's better now to be like Michelangelo and say it's done when it's done."

Anyone still seeing the Echo Base Trooper around?  That was one I was definitely hoping to army build, but yeah, it is tough to find more than 4-5 of some of these troop builders before they're on to the next wave.

I'll pay too for all new characters and a good mix of resculpts like both of these are...I agree that the inclusion of Jek's droid is a little dissapointing as it is more or less R5-D4.  Hopefully they will paint the back panels red