Book Review – A Storm of Swords

A Storm of Swords

Author: George R. R. Martin

Series: A Song of Ice and Fire #3

Genre: Fantasy

Published 2000

Review Copy: Paperback bought new

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Goodreads Description

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others–a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords…

Review

A Storm of Swords is the third installment in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series.  It continues the war in Westeros and the battle over who is king.  In this book, we see some big changes.  Huge changes.  You know how sequels are usually not as good as the original?  Well, I think this one exceeds not only the first book, but also the second.  What a ride!

As with the previous two books, each chapter is simply titled with the point-of-view character’s name.  This time, those characters are Arya, Sansa, Bran, Tyrion, Catelyn, Jon, Daenerys, Davos, and two newcomers, Jaime Lannister and Samwell.  We no longer follow Theon.  I found that the most compelling storylines were of Arya, Jon, Daenerys, and Jaime.  Sansa’s getting a bit smarter, but still a bit annoying.  Bran has a major story going on, and while it’s interesting, I felt it didn’t have as much impact as others.  Tyrion’s still my favourite Lannister, but he’s lost his touch a bit.  Catelyn is still Catelyn, a character I don’t particularly like.  Davos was never that interesting to me.  Samwell has a good story, but it’s not at the top.  Now, Jaime’s story, I really enjoyed that.  Not only did I enjoy his point of view, I’ve come to actually like him as a character.  Loving his sarcastic sense of humour.  Arya is a very good character, and I’m enjoying how her development is going.  There are things going on with her that are quite interesting, I have suspicions about something that will happen, but I’m not quite sure yet.  Jon is going on to bigger things, and he’s had quite an up and down story.  I’m very interested in seeing where it goes.  Daenerys is still on the other side of the sea, but things are changing a lot for her, as well.  We’re seeing the development of a leader.  We also see that not everything is as it seems with her and those with her.  I’m really enjoying some other non-POV characters, such as Sandor Clegane, Peter Baelish, and a very mysterious cold handed person from beyond the wall.  I have suspicions about him, but I’ll wait to see what happens.

The world continues to be great to explore, and we’re seeing more of it, including Daenerys’s exploits.  The number of cultures is astounding.  I can easily visualise everything that’s going on, and I feel like I’m going along in a medieval world that is somewhat dark and dreary at times.  It all feels damp.  Of course, it rained a lot.

The story has always been extremely good.  The intricate linking between the individual stories is incredibly well-done.  This book had a bit of a downside, though.  The middle was a bit slow-going, but it really picked up toward the end.  And what an end it is.  Chapter after chapter had me shocked and amazed.  So many unbelievable things happened that I was wondering what was next.  By the end, this is what I was thinking: What the?  Mr. Martin, you’ve made this reader very happy and very excited about reading the next book.  Never have my thoughts and emotions been manipulated by a book as much as this one.  Bravo.

So, I can’t give this lower than a score of 5 out of 5 stars.  It deserves it.  Best one so far.  Wow.