false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg 62291 19 Is George R.R. Martin for real? Can a fantasy epic actually get <I>better</I> with each new installment? Fans of the genre have glumly come to expect go-nowhere sequels from other authors, so we're entitled to pinch ourselves over Martin's tightly crafted Song of Ice and Fire series. The reports are all true: this series is the real deal, and Martin deserves his crown as the rightful king of the epic. <I>A Game of Thrones</I> got things off to a rock-solid start, <I>A Clash of Kings</I> only exceeded expectations, but it's the <I>Storm of Swords</I> hat trick that cements Martin's rep as the most praiseworthy fantasy author to come along since that other R.R.<p> Like the first two books, <I>A Storm of Swords</I> could coast on the fundamentals: deftly detailed characters, convincing voices and dialogue, a robust back-story, and a satisfyingly unpredictable plot. But it's Martin's consistently bold choices that set the series apart. Every character is fair game for the headman's axe (sometimes literally), and not only do the good guys regularly lose out to the bad guys, you're never exactly sure who you should be cheering for in the first place.<p> <I>Storm</I> is full of admirable intricacies. Events that you thought Martin was setting up solidly for the first two books are exposed as complex feints; the field quickly narrows after the Battle of the Blackwater and once again, anything goes. Robb tries desperately to hold the North together, Jon returns from the wildling lands with a torn heart, Bran continues his quest for the three-eyed crow beyond the Wall, Catelyn struggles to save her fragile family, Arya becomes ever more wolflike in her wanderings, Daenerys comes into her own, and Joffrey's cruel rule from King's Landing continues, making even his fellow Lannisters uneasy. Martin tests all the major characters in <I>A Storm of Swords</I>: some fail the trial, while others--like Martin himself--seem to only get stronger. <I>--Paul Hughes</I> 1164465 2000 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) total:9858|5:381|4:187|3:72|2:12|1:4| 9858 44200 12053 469 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 4 false Sat May 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 31 16:22:59 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 17:42:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 1 false Sat Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 04:50:10 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 02:17:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 13499 0739308726 9780739308721 450 22 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166554177m/13499.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13499.A_Storm_of_Swords 3 2 false Tue Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 07 15:31:54 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 18 16:31:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 2 false Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Wed Aug 01 08:40:40 -0700 2007 Fri Feb 29 09:28:27 -0800 2008 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 3 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 07:33:52 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 21 15:13:03 -0800 2007 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 3 1 false Fri Mar 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 07:35:34 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 07 17:21:06 -0800 2008
One thing about this series...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 2 1 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 22 16:28:58 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 16:29:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 147915 0007119550 9780007119554 62 3 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172191804m/147915.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/147915.A_Storm_of_Swords 0 0 false Fri Oct 02 09:51:26 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 09:51:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 1 false Fri Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 15:40:47 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 15:55:22 -0800 2009
This is my favorite book of the 3 b...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 0 true Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Aug 11 14:00:50 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 14:12:26 -0700 2009
After one book setting up the war, and a second of it being fought, things seem to be coming to their natural conclusion: a crapload of people are getting killed. This is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire serie...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 3 0 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 08:05:29 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 08:16:30 -0700 2009
One: I dunno how long this author is going to be writing these book...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 0 false Tue Apr 14 20:41:19 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 20:42:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 4 1 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Feb 08 11:30:51 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 11:31:01 -0800 2008
If Mr. Martin is at times cheap in hi...more...]]> 1179967 0553381709 9780553381702 63 11 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181681290m/1179967.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1179967.A_Storm_of_Swords 4 0 false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 13:14:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 09:07:09 -0700 2009 A Song of Ice and Fire cycle, A Storm of Swords is a brutal, enticing read. The plot is formed around a series of complex intrigues and twists, some of which even the most astute reader will not predict. Also not new to the series is Martin's willingness ...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 0 false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 06:19:42 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 06:30:11 -0800 2009 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 1 false Thu Jan 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 12:10:25 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 12:12:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 0 false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 19 18:02:22 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 18:05:09 -0800 2009
I forgot to mention that the book is written in a particular style; each chapter is written from the POV of various characters in the Song of Fire and Ice world...some consecutive chapters deal with characters in the same storyline or a...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 2 0 false Sat Jul 18 03:59:09 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 10:15:53 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 03:59:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 5 1 false Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 09:30:10 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 11:03:42 -0800 2009 The never-ending battle for power - kind of like we are going through now with the economic mess we are in....the "little" guy is the one that pays the price while the rich and powerful "let...more...]]> 62291 055357342X 9780553573428 8889 411 4.48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239039075m/62291.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62291.A_Storm_of_Swords 3 0 false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 22:15:19 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 23:48:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=62291