Customer Reviews

A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Three

5 star:		(488)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

This one takes the cake! However excellent readers found his previous volumes, Martin's A Storm of Swords surpasses them all by leaps and bounds (as impossible as that may seem)!

This is truly epic stuff--I always stayed up too late to read this, so had to force myself to bed for health's sake...but I found I had trouble sleeping, because quite frankly, the novel's storyline and characters kept flip-flopping through my head. Will Arya ever find her way back? What is Dany doing? How the hell will Robb get out of this one? The suspense this series oozes will become as a drug...the trials that each character faces becomes truly personal...you just want things to work out so bad!

Just looking back, I would that if there were a list of the top 10 scenes thus far, 7 alone would come from this book. "Jaw-dropping" does not even begin to describe some of the things that come to pass.

As a last note, perhaps most interesting is the new Jaime POV. Readers have come to despise this character, but Martin really humanizes him, proving with a certainty that it is difficult to hate someone after at last seeing things the other way around. A wonderful change in perspective, and expertly done.

Highly recommended!

The superlatives used by the majority of reviewers almost can't describe the overwhelming excellence of George R.R. Martin's groundbreaking fantasy epic, which reaches yet another level of greatness with this third book of a fantasy series, which will be the ultimate measure for the next decade of novels of this genre.

After taking us into a world of intricate political machinations, breathtaking heroics, fatal betrayals, foredoomed affairs of the heart and blood, and an awakening magic about to return to a world at the eve of eternal chaos with the first two books of the 'Song of Ice and Fire' series, Martin manages to capture the readers attention once again. Additionally he succeeds in raising the suspense and the fascination for the stunned reader to yet another new level. The moment you start reading 'Storm of Swords' you won't be able take a break from reading this astonishing masterpiece of contemporary fantasy literature.

So, what's it about?

After the Lannisters have fend off the assault on King's Landing by Stannis Baratheon, their ascent to undisputed dominance over Westeros appears to be only threatened by young Robb Stark, King of the North. The Baratheon line has been decimated to the last stronghold of Lord Stannis, the Starks are under pressure from an unexpected foe threatening their heart lands, and the remaining political and military powers seem to flock together under the banners of juvenile, but cruel and ungoverned King Joffrey Lannister. But the Lannister's reign is shadowed by the unpredictable fate of the brothers Jaime - still under captivity by Catelyn Stark, and Tyrion - severly wounded since the fight at King's Landing. While Tywin Lannister tries to secure his grandson's hold to the Iron Throne, mysterious powers beyond the frontiers of Westeros are steadily growing, threatening the balance of life itself on the lands devastated by war, famine and anarchy. In the far north, Jon Snow struggles to uncover the secrets of the wildling hordes while attempting to preserve his very integrity as a Black Brother. And on the other side of the world, Princess Danaerys has yet to master challenges of warfare and treachery to lay the final claim to her rightful seat on the Iron Throne.

What makes this book so extraordinary is far more than just a complicated and thrilling pattern of medieval strife and heroic exploits. Martin uses down to the bone honesty to describe human ambitions and passions. He reminds us that the line between benefactors and criminals is never pin sharp. And success and failure stand only as separated from each other as chance and circumstance permit. His plot is witty and never predictable, the dialogues used are charming, sharp and spirited, and rarely I have seen such a huge cast of carefully outlined characters. It's been a long time (in fact since Donaldson's Gap series) since I have experienced so many different feelings for the main protagonists, ranging from cheers to hatred and from sorrow to utmost astonishment and joy - and more than once I had to discover, that my personal feelings concerning a specific character had undergone a 180-degree turn from rooting to booing (or vice versa).

Admittedly Martin is no easy-going read. His style of narration and writing competes with the likes of Iain Banks and Umberto Eco, his tales are full of symbolism and hidden meanings and the plot is so thick and rich of surprises and backyard information, it can be really tough to keep all details in mind. But whatever it takes to follow Martin's ambitious writing: It's worth every piece of paper and minute spent reading. Cuz the way Martin gets the reader involved in his story is simply outstanding and when you finally reach the final pages of 'Storm of Swords', there are only 2 things left to say: First 'Wow!' and second 'When will Book 4, 'A Feast for Crows' finally be available...'

As many past and future readers will no doubt discover in the third installment of the Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin doesn't feel the need to spare the reader from the more gruesome details of his imagination. By now one would feel accustomed to his violent and immoral world, perhaps even slightly at home. But here, in "A Storm of Swords", Martin reveals that the grittiest facets of his story have yet to be seen.
Sadly, this is both a blessing, and an immobilizing curse. For so many readers Martin's first work in this series, "A Game of Thrones" was a breath of fresh air. They key to this respectful status was in two things: 1, Martin didn't dabble in Dungeons and Dragons, he dabbled in political betrayal, and 2, no character, no matter how beloved, was able to cheat death.
Major characters and well-loved faces didn't hold immortality; kings could die just as easily (if not more so) then soldiers on the battlefield. In short, get too attached to a particular character and you just might find their quick and grim departure to be nothing less then traumatic.
Quirky and brilliant as it was, it was also held within a deep tapestry of political innuendo. Certain groups, factions and Great Houses held stakes towards claiming a right to the throne of a kingdom. To ensure that their interests always remained on top, any means were taken. Yes, even murder, was exacted. This created many beloved characters in Martin's staple, characters who shared their beds with assassination and maneuvering. However, it also spawned characters that intertwined themselves with honor and duty.
And, as I mentioned, you were never sure as to who would experience the downfall of their choices. But in "A Storm of Swords", Martin seems to have taken his exploration of unforeseen occurrence to the limits of its power. It's as if the reader has finally woken up from the trance of bliss to discover that it isn't Shakespeare he's reading, but rather literary-trash.

Enjoyable trash at first, but trash, none the less.
Plotlines and character developments are created and destroyed so fast that you barely feel he's telling the reader a grander story. What was once a well-crafted and witty tale of politicians and magicians has degraded into Fantasy-Soap Opera. In this sense, the book's title, "A Storm of Swords" is fitting. Few survive the bloody torrent this book presents, and when the aftermath hits, the reader is left wondering, "How can he expand this into 3 more books?"

Yet, it would be ignorant to believe that a skilled writer such as Martin would deprave himself of an opening by which he could continue his story. The question isn't how he will continue it, but rather if readers will stand by to watch him march onward (or rather, downward). But even amongst the over-hyped chaos of his series, Martin still retains much of his crafty word play and flair for the dramatics. (Can anyone truly sandblast him for managing to escape the all-engulfing shadow projected by Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings?)
He even takes the time to introduce us to fantastic new characters and Houses. (Keep an eye out for the charismatic Dornish and their crazed princes). For that matter, he even reintroduces characters that played a small roll in the first book, to play a larger role in this one. More then one fan will cheer at the return of Lord Tywin Lannister, I'm sure. But a fair warning to the reader at hand: The new characters, as delightful as they may seem, come and go...some of them more violently then others.
Also welcome is Martin's slow, but meaningful introduction of mystical powers. Through all of the political maneuvering and grabs for power, you always feel the dark undertone that some grander force lies in waiting. Perhaps that's where Martin means to take the series, perhaps not. It's difficult to say when Martin embellishes the liberty to continue his onslaught of sex, violence and all things disturbing.

Great aspects aside "A Storm of Swords" is simply Fantasy-sensationalism, not timely literature. Martin's dramatics and depraved characters may very well be lost if he's forsaken a story-arc in the name of shock-value. It's as if he's promised to take his readers to Mars, but instead simply painted the moon red and called it Mars.
Ultimately, in this analogy we see the largest and most unspoken difference between him and Tolkien: Martin promises to take his readers to Mars, Tolkien truly did.

I'm not sure why this third novel is scoring such high reviews. Frankly, the author has slowed the plot down to an absolute crawl, and I find myself able to skim through chapters and still not miss out on anything. The third novel in, and the main characters are all STILL stuck in the same positions we found them in by the end of the first book. Some are getting outright annoying. If the plot doesn't pick up soon, I may not be able to continue on with the series. Too bad - it started off so well!

George Martin is a master story teller. His ability to develop sophisticated plots in such a way that they are believable is unrivaled by any other modern writer. A Storm of Swords is a master class in fiction writing.

Dispite the great structure I found this segment of the epic, Song of Ice and Fire very difficult to read. For the first 900 pages of the book the characters most readers are interested in experience agonizing pain and suffering. So much so that I was hesitant to pick the book up each evening. I knew that every chapter would lead to another heartbreaking tragedy for one of these people.

This trend eases up a little over the final 200 pages or so and provides the reader with some relief. But, on the whole this was not an enjoyable segment to plow through.

I will give the fourth book a try only to satisfy my curiosity. I want to know where George Martin is going with this latest sequence of events. He is a gifted writer. It's the tragic nature of his style that gives me pause and has me questioning how much of this I can take.

If you are already caught up in this series by all means read this book. Like me you're probably already hooked. This is not the place to start reading this series and if you've read the first two books but were not completely drawn into this world your time is better off spent elsewhere.

Check out my other reviews of the Song of Ice and Fire series.

This series is very compelling, and the device of switching the narrative between several characters helps move the story along as well as motivating the reader to keep reading! I quickly became enamoured of certain storylines (Jon Snow, Tyrion, Arya), and would read through other chapters so I could get back to the ones I enjoyed the most. Martin (who invokes the spirit of Tolkien with that double "R" initial business) throws in some dramatic and unexpected plot twists, and his character development and attention to detail is excellent. The series reads like historical fiction, chock full of political intrigue (apparently it's based loosely on The War of the Roses), but with enough fanatsy to perk it up a bit. I like that he doesn't stray too far in the fantasy direction by busting out elves or hobbits, or by getting into too many magical shenaningans. There are enough books like that already! The dragons are the farthest limb he goes out on, and they are good fun (especially when roasting off someone's face). I give this series my highest recommendations, but with one warning: it takes FOR FREAKIN' EVER between books! The fourth in the series has been over 4 1/2 years in the making, and apparently there will be 2 more volumes over the next ten years or so. If you can bear to wait that long & are willing to invest years of your life in finding out the fate of these characters, buy the series & dive right in. You, like me, will soon be haunting Amazon.com for updates on the release date of the fourth volume. C'mon George!!

After the suprising events in this book, I could only find myself saying one word when finished, "Wow". "A Storm of Swords" is full of so many plot twists that just when one thinks they know what is going on, something completely different happens and takes the reader by suprise. I will give Martin kudos for the fact that I only predicted a few events beforehand that actually happened. Many books nowdays are full of predictable work that is almost boring to read. The same can not be said for this book, or this series.

"A Storm of Swords" finally brings into play more of the life of the Black Brothers and the Wildlings. But don't be fooled, that isn't all that the book covers. Troubles in the Kingdoms are still being brought into play. We see more from Dany and learn everything there isn't what meets the eye. The Kings are all still fighting for control.

Deaths aplenty happen in this book, some more suprising than others. But that does not take away from the appeal of the book. There are a few characters that have died in the past books that I would rather not have been killed off, and this book is no exception. That is really the only problem I have with the book. But, I am willing to accept the deaths as part of the plot that is keeping this wonderful story moving along.

I was a little hesitant when I picked this series up first. It started off a little slow. But now...to me there is never a dull moment. The chapters flow together smoothly, and never once have I been bored. The action is incredible. The plots/subplots/subsubplots are simply amazing and intriguing. This book really brings to play many of the main characters. Finally we see more from Jaime's point of view. Samwell is another character that gets a POV in this book.

Since starting this series, I can probably rate it up to one of the best of all time in my opinion. It blows every other series I have read out of the water. George R.R. Martin is a great author and I look forward to his next book, which hopefully comes out soon. If "A Feast for Crows" (Supposedly the next book's title) is as good as this one and the ones before it, I will not hesitate to spend the money to add it to my collection.

I have tried to read other fantasy novels and just couldn't get into them, but I checked this out at the library on a fluke & was hooked!! I have read each book at least twice, and this last book is by far my favorite of the 3. I actually had the jaw drop thing going on in a few places! It is so well written, with attention to details & descriptions, that the characters become endearing to you. I love Tyrions wit, Aryas spunk, and Jons quiet resolve, and a favorite of mine in this last book was Jamie & Brienne. I cannot wait until The Feast for Crows comes out. I am already on the waiting list at the library, and its on my Christmas wish list!! If you want a good read, please try this one, the series is so popular at our house we give them as gifts!!

Thats the only reason I can think that this author continues to write this series. He certainly isn't doing it for you the reader. He is almost as bad as Jordan and others who prolong a series for no apparent reason. His characters are for the most part shallow individuals whom he cant keep consistent changing their basic selves at a moments notice. He rambles somtimes incoherently as he leads you from subplot to subplot without the ability to tie them together. While the first book was...okay, the second began the descent and now this claptrap brings you to the nethermost region of readers hell. I can't understand how anyone would rate this above 1 star (I gave it 1 only because there is not a no star button). I have been searching for years for a good series of fantasy, but have only found individual novels that meet my standard, that would hold me, and draw me in as only the masterpiece has done in over 35 years of reading fantasy. If you are pleased with this book (God help you), if you are pleased with the work of Jordan, Eddings, Brooks or Goodkind go back to basics and re-read (or God forbid read for the first time) The Lord of the Rings and remember how 1st class literature/fantasy is supposed to be written.

I have been reading through this series and thoroughly loving it. This book, however, was my favorite by far. I cannot wait to read it and spend my lunch hours devouring it. I read some of the bad reviews and saw complaints about how the favorite characters were killed off in the first books so all you are left with is the bad guys but this is where I find the book brilliant. It truly shows that there are two sides to every story and this book allows you to discover the motivations behind the acts that happened or were introduced in the previous books. Fantastic writing and character development!