 "As good as it gets" | 2009-10-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1T5Z2YYEPYJR7 |
Storm of Swords is my favorite installment in Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, for the sheer reason that you-know-what goes down for every single character. It's non-stop, intriguing, gripping, from start to finish, and fans will not be disappointed.
I get the feeling that this book sets the course for every character on the path they will be heading on for the rest of the series. And when you combine that sense of resolution from the first two books with the anticipation of not knowing what's come...well, it just makes you want to read it again and again until the next installment.
Both new POVs are welcome. Samwell and Jaime have been around for awhile now. But actually getting into their heads, seeing their perspective on things for the first time, is amazing. Jaime in particular, among all the characters, really stood out to me. By the end of the book I came to really like him.
The fact that Martin can do that for such an odious character in the previous installments is a testament to his writing ability. Martin is at his best here. Every time you finish a chapter, you want to read another. Every character, even ones who were previously boring, have exhilaratingly exciting storylines.
Mysteries from the prior books are solved, while new ones are created. There are truly, truly shocking moments here that eclipse the ones from the first two in terms of greatness.
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| "Even better than the first two!" | 2009-09-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A39IKRJIEGH886 |
| This series is so incredibly addictive that I cannot NOT read the next one; I have to read it to know what happens next. Highly recommended! |
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| "The best in the series so far" | 2009-08-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A17WWFO55L14D3 |
The war for control of the Seven Kingdoms rages on, but now mainly consists of the Lannisters in the south against the Starks in the north. Meanwhile in the far North, a huge barbarian army marches on the Wall with the intent of taking back much of the land to the south of it. In the continent to the east, Danerys Targaryen uses her dragons to gather an army for her own assault on Westeros.
So far, this series has just gotten more interesting with each volume, and this is my favorite of the three so far. All of the characters face difficult situations and have to make tough choices. In enjoyed seeing some new environments such as the strange cities in the east that Danerys encounters, and the view of the people north of the wall. The book does exactly what it needs to do; it continues and deepens the ongoing plot lines of the series and made me anxious to read the next book. |
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| "This is why we read fantasy" | 2009-08-15 |
| - Reviewed By koolkat735 |
After having read the 4 Song of Ice and Fire books currently available, I've come to the conclusion that #1-3 are really one ridiculously long book. This explains not only the complete lack of resolution at the end of #1 and #2, but why each is better than the one before. In my case, I was lukewarm about this series until I reached A Storm of Swords, at which point I fell in love with it. Now too bad the books are taking so long to come out....
After A Game of Thrones, I was expecting the story to go into stasis, but nothing could be further from the truth. The plot here is even more unpredictable and fast-paced than in book one, although with ten widely scattered viewpoint characters, that should perhaps read "plots." There are three main plots, with the King's Landing political intrigue and the War of Five Kings (seen through the eyes of Tyrion, Catelyn, Sansa, and Davos) getting the most screen time, followed by the Night's Watch vs. wildlings vs. Others conflict in the North (Jon, Sam) and Daenerys's overseas quest to gather an army. Bran and Arya continue to travel in relative isolation from the overall plot (Arya's chapters are in my view the biggest weakness in the book, as they are numerous but accomplish little; the best plotline in the book, or perhaps the series so far, is Jon's, which amazed me), and Jaime makes the journey back to King's Landing and undergoes some fascinating character development, although without playing much of a role in national events. The proliferation of major game-changing events, both on the political and personal levels, continues. More main characters die (and don't read too many more reviews if you haven't read the book yet, or you're bound to deduce who). The author's sadistic behavior toward favorite characters reaches new heights, to the point that you want to rescue them from the book to save them from Martin. Still, it's a testament to his skills that we care about the characters so much. And don't believe the naysayers who claim the book is just one long depression-fest; there are some really stirring events here as well.
Those who have already read the first two (and there's nowhere to begin but #1) will be glad to see that not only is the world still fully-realized and realistic, but that we continue to discover new parts of it. And of course, the writing style and dialogue are still quite good. Much-needed humor serves to lighten an otherwise dark mood. Those who were upset in previous volumes by the amount of violence, cruelty, rape, etc., will see more of the same here, and even some of the main characters have moral systems that are questionable to say the least--not to mention the villains. These books certainly aren't for the easily offended or the easily disgusted, but if you've enjoyed the first two volumes, rest assured that this one is even better--and provides a bit of much-needed resolution as we wait for the next installments. |
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 "An Interesting, Dark - and Uneven - Third Volume" | 2009-07-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3K1JFYC9KOVV5 |
It was once said that the the longer a war goes on, the more the course of that conflict depends on chance. So it is in "A Storm of Swords" (hereafter SOS), the third volume in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. With the War of the Five Kings still raging throughout Westeros, Martin's trademark reversals of fortune continue, and the course of the war reaches a fever pitch. While Martin continues his usual quality, this book is decidedly more uneven than the first two.
As with the previous two volumes, SOS is told through alternating character-chapters, with events viewed from different point of view characters. In a nutshell, here is each character's basic plot:
1. Davos Seaworth - The Onion Knight, rescued after would-be king Stannis Baratheon's devastating loss at the Battle of the Blackwater, returns to his lord's service and find himself at odds with the increasingly occult plottings of Stannis and the red priestess, Melisandre.
2. Tyrion Lannister - Disfigured in the Battle of the Blackwater and recovering slowly from his injuries, Tyrion finds himself a pawn in King's Landing politics as his father displaces him as King's Hand and he is watched with increasing suspicion. Soon, the tables turn with increasing speed as the political landscape of the capitol alters catastrophically.
3. Sansa Stark - Sansa soon finds that false hope and grand expectations are not what they seem, as events change sharply in anticipation of King Joffrey's wedding.
4. Arya Stark - After escaping servitude in Harrenhal, Arya finds herself with an increasingly motley crew of outlaw companions, striving to wrest justice - and a living - from the wrecked countryside created in the conflict's wake as she makes her way to Riverrun.
5. Catelyn Stark - Ensconced at Riverrun, Catelyn must deal with disturbing family revelations as well as the unintended consequences of some of King-in-the-North Robb Stark's ill-advised decisions, on and off the battlefield.
6. John Snow - Infiltrating the Wildlings at the orders of the Halfhand, John Snow finds that the Wildlings are not at all what he expected, and that his decision to watch, wait, and strike while among them may be more difficult that he expected.
7. Jaime Lannister - Released from captivity in Riverrun by Lady Stark in hopes of trading him for her daughters in King's Landing, Jaime confronts his own conscience and his sense of purpose after tragedy befalls him on his journey.
8. Samwell Tarly - Stationed with his sworn brothers beyond the Wall, Sam must deal with the difficulties of the terrors of the Northlands as battle finds the Night's Watch.
9. Daenerys - Forging plans to conquer Westeros with a group of new companions, Dany decides she needs an army to take back her rightful kingdom - and goes to great lengths to acquire it.
10. Bran Stark - Traveling north with Hodor and the Reeds, Bran continues his education in the ways of the Wargs.
The Good: Martin writes what is probably the most plausible fantasy around. His Westeros is based on England of the High Middle Ages, and he paints this world with an experienced eye for both historical and geographical detail, as well as psychological complexity. Additionally, Martin is adept at including twists and turns that continue throughout his books. Weighing in at more than 1100 pages, this book would seem to be a chore to get through, but SOS is crafted as a tightly-written page-turner (I finished it in about 2 weeks) that feels much shorter than it actually is. You feel that you truly do get to know the characters, both those whose points of view we experience, as well as the vast (almost Tolstoy vast) cast of supporting characters that populate this novel.
What keeps this series fresh is Martin's "Hey, That's Life" fatalism - he unflinchingly portrays the horrors of war, and tricks of chance and fate are ubiquitous. There is no grand destiny, and no character is safe. Martin pays homage to classic fantasy as well - there are discernible echoes of Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and C. L. Moore to be found here. Martin also creates a lot of cognitive dissonance - some things that we have taken as gospel in past volumes are muddied and made ambiguous in this volume (for instance - is the Lord of Light truly evil?).
The Bad: As mentioned at the beginning of this review, SOS is pretty uneven. Some characters are especially well-written and intriguing, while others are an absolute chore to read. In a work of this size, certainly you can't expect each character to be literary gold, but I've come to expect a great deal from this series, and in this especially Martin fails to keep up with his usual quality. Martin also seems to lose his touch to impart awe and fear in magic. In the previous volumes, magic is little seen and when it is, it is treated with especial reverence and trembling. However, in SOS, magic is suddenly treated as almost commonplace, and when long-spoken-of but never-seen fantastic creatures finally appear they are not greeted with appropriate awe, but glossed over casually. I was very confused by this. Also, the general tropes of Jon Snow and Bran's storylines (one character having difficulty finding where his loyalties lie, and another learning how to use special magical powers) are, unfortunately, fairly cliched and will be familiar to fantasy afficianados; Martin might have tried to introduce some more interesting innovations (he usually does) but for whatever reason failed to do so. Something additionally distressing about SOS is the number of misspellings, typos and grammatical errors. I don't remember seeing quite this many in the previous two books.
Overally, SOS is a good entry into an exceptional series and well worth the time and effort to read, but there are a number of failings that I hope Martin will correct in "A Feast for Crows." |
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| "Emotionally Draining" | 2009-06-19 |
| - Reviewed By rfn20 |
The books grab and don't let go. Others have given excellent reviews of the books better than I could. I am grateful that I did not discover the series until four books had been written. Now I am stuck with the rest of you hoping that the other two actually happen. What if he leaves us hanging?
Reading this series has made me so grateful that I live in this country of laws. Fairness is not a natural concept, but we do try. Living in the world of Fire and Ice would be horrible and I am so happy that I do not. |
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