A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

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A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3)

4.51 of 5 stars 4.51 · rating details · 183,395 ratings · 9,874 reviews

Our Review

George R. R. Martin's Game Continues

In 1996, A Game of Thrones earned praise and awe as a remarkable high fantasy introducing five noble families clashing for power over the wondrous Seven Kingdoms. Three years later, A Clash of Kings became a national bestseller with the continued chronicles of the royal houses of Targaryen, Baratheon, Lannister, Stark, and Gr...more Our Review

George R. R. Martin's Game Continues

In 1996, A Game of Thrones earned praise and awe as a remarkable high fantasy introducing five noble families clashing for power over the wondrous Seven Kingdoms. Three years later, A Clash of Kings became a national bestseller with the continued chronicles of the royal houses of Targaryen, Baratheon, Lannister, Stark, and Greyjoy, each battling to keep or carve a kingdom. George R. R. Martin will draw a new legion of fans with A Storm of Swords, the third novel in his beloved fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

Fourteen-year-old exiled queen Daenerys Targaryen raises an army like a fantasy-world Joan of Arc, but the fire is on her side, for she walks with dragons. Determined to claim the Iron Throne from which her father had ruled until he was slain by Prince Jaime Lannister, Daenerys walks a gauntlet of treacherous slavers and sorcerers.

The war between Lannisters and Baratheons that concluded A Clash of Kings has not ended. Clever Tyrion Lannister, called the Imp for his short and crippled stature, struggles to retain his honor and authority as his father, Lord Tywin, and his elder sister, Cersei, as beautiful and evil as the witch Circe of The Odyssey, turn every hand against him. Though he longs
only to live with his loving mistress, Shae, Tyrion's desires are as cruelly thwarted as those of young Sansa Stark, who once loved the immature, sadistic King Joffrey Lannister and who seeks to escape.

With noble Lord Stark executed for treason, his family is scattered. Lady Catelyn counsels her valiant son Robb, the King in the North, to seek not revenge but justice as he makes war against the Lannisters. Tomboy Arya is afoot in the wilderness, having lost both her pet wolf and her sword, though gaining surprising new friends, and young Bran Stark learns he has a latent and peculiar magical talent.

Jon Snow, bastard son of Stark and a Brother of the Night's Watch, treads the most perilous path of all. Ordered on an undercover mission north of the great Wall to discover the plans of the renegade Mance Rayder, he finds not only a powerful army raised to invade the Kingdoms but also terrifying supernatural creatures in pursuit, of which giants and shape-changers are by no means the deadliest.

Book Three of A Song of Ice and Fire is inexpressibly rich in both humor and horror. A Storm of Swords is eerily atmospheric, with tales of old hauntings, dreams of bad omen, the writhing air of ghosts, and ruins. Martin's gift for imagining histories within histories, fables and superstitions, marvelous geographies, and the secrets of the heart is so enthralling that no reader can possibly be satisfied until the next chapter of the saga appears.

--Fiona Kelleghan

Fiona Kelleghan is a librarian at the University of Miami. Book reviews editor for the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, she has written reviews and articles for Science-Fiction Studies, Extrapolation, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Science Fiction Research Association Review, Nova Express, St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers, Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Neil Barron's Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide, Contemporary Novelists, 7th Edition, and American Women Writers. Her book Mike Resnick: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to His Work was published by Alexander Books in 2000.

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ebook, 1074 pages

Published March 4th 2003 by Bantam (first published 2000)

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Apr 02, 2012 Nataliya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of GRRM and epic unpredictable fantasy

Recommended to Nataliya by: Vera

Shelves: hugo-nebula, locus-winner

This book made me want to throw it against the wall in anger and disbelief. It made me root for the death of a child (and then despise myself), love a hated character, cry angry tears, and bite my nails because of all the suspense.

**Pictograhically, all of the above was happening to me.**

I did not throw the book across the room. Instead, I put it aside and stared at the wall for a few minutes in grief and disbelief. If you read this, you know which part I am talking about *SOBBING* Then I picke...more
This book made me want to throw it against the wall in anger and disbelief. It made me root for the death of a child (and then despise myself), love a hated character, cry angry tears, and bite my nails because of all the suspense.

**Pictograhically, all of the above was happening to me.**

I did not throw the book across the room. Instead, I put it aside and stared at the wall for a few minutes in grief and disbelief. If you read this, you know which part I am talking about *SOBBING* Then I picked it up again, because at that point I was so hooked that nothing could have stopped me. (I also MAY HAVE cut my neurobiology class to finish it. I know, I'm bad, very very bad.)

Ah, you guys... Look at you, all innocent, before this book rips into you...

A Storm of Swords is, in my opinion, an undisputed high point of the series so far. It expanded the story in delightful, wonderful ways. It gave it a truly epic feel. It delivered the cruel punch in the gut with the (view spoiler)(excuse me as I go and cry myself to sleep) and reinforced the axiom that nobody is safe in the world GRRM created. (*)

* It was heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and unexpected. But it was necessary, even if just to remind how cruel and brutal this world is, and how little choices can have huge consequences.

I loved this book because of the amount of promise it brought to the series. It brought our characters to the brink of greatness, put them in the positions that were surely going to change the course of this entire story.

Examples: Jon and Dany. It was amazing to see how these two very young characters grew and developed due to all the battles, losses, and betrayals that they suffered. Both of them at the end of this story carry such potential for the future of this series. (view spoiler)

Ah, our favorite despicable Lannisters... Look at you BEFORE all the hell broke loose for you. Does it make you feel any sympathy for the Starks now? No? I thought so.

The character complexity parallels the story complexity - both are done masterfully. The characters feel alive and real. They are interesting and fascinating, and fluctuate between likable and despicable in a not too predictable fashion (*). The previously unseen connections between characters and events are mind-blowing. And seeing the select few skillfully manipulating so many others is unsettling.
* Let me use Jaime and Tyrion as my examples here:

Jaime became one of my favorites: understanding where he's coming from and seeing him humbled by his experience changed him from a monster to a deeply flawed but ultimately sympathetic man. (What he did to Bran was terrible - but child's play in comparison of all the other mindf***ery GRRM gives us in this book. What he does with his sister - gross, but they are competent and consenting adults, and it's not my place to judge them).
Tyrion, on the other hand... What he did to Shae reminded me that darkness can live inside everyone, even our favorite Imp. (view spoiler)

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Don't get me wrong. I gush about it, but this book is far from perfect. Just like its sequels (and predecessors) it suffers from overload of descriptions and repetitions, gratuitous bodily functions and banquets. Some storylines already begin to drag (Arya, for instance). But most of the faults were easily overshadowed by the great characterization, masterful story, and wonderfully built suspense. This is what I felt was unfortunately missing from the books that followed, and what I hope they return to eventually.

5 stars from my (many moons ago) yet-not-jaded self that happily gobbled up this delicious brain candy. (less)

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Aug 05, 2011 mark monday rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastickal, rain-man-reviews

it's time again for... A Game of Heroes and Zeroes!
spoilers ahead
__________

HEROES

he's the Revenant Robin Hood, leader of a band of merry men whose purpose is to steal from the wicked, give to the needy, ransom the royalty, hang the bad guys, and maybe get laid some. Lord Beric comes equipped with a nifty super-power (courtesy of the Lord of Light, 'natch)... he gets to come back from the dead! unfortunately, his various hideous wounds get to come back with him. but so what... all those scars (...more

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May 16, 2013 Jason Koivu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gut reaction review:

WTF!!!

Post blown-gasket review:

A Storm of Swords should be called A Storm of Suitors for all the matchmaking going on through out. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's all handled with a touch (or sometimes a bludgeoning) of intrigue to keep it interesting.

Ah yes, the soap opera continues, and much of it this tome around is about who weds who in hopes of attaining which castle or what lands. The court intrigue of lords and ladies is good and all, but I doubt it would've kept...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Jim Haggerty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

A Storm of Swords, by author George R.R. Martin, is the third installment in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, and has become a must-read series for fantasy enthusiasts at this point.

The Battle of the Blackwater is finished, but the Seven Kingdoms are hardly at peace. This story continues with the aftermath of the slaughter outside the walls of King's Landing and the ongoing campaigns of the kings to lay claim to Westeros. Tywin Lannister has arrived at King's Landing to take control of the...more A Storm of Swords, by author George R.R. Martin, is the third installment in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, and has become a must-read series for fantasy enthusiasts at this point.

The Battle of the Blackwater is finished, but the Seven Kingdoms are hardly at peace. This story continues with the aftermath of the slaughter outside the walls of King's Landing and the ongoing campaigns of the kings to lay claim to Westeros. Tywin Lannister has arrived at King's Landing to take control of the kingdoms through his grandson, King Joffrey Baratheon. Robb Stark continues his campaign to unite the west and rid his mother's homeland of the Lannisters, but must now contest with the Ironmen taking control of his kingdom in the north. Stannis Baratheon sits defeated back in his home of Dragonstone, but plots his next move with the help of the Red Priestess, Melissandre. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, mother of the last dragons, plots, maneuvers and rampages her way through the Free Cities in the name of justice. All while Jon Snow contends with infiltrating the massive, reckless barbarian horde as an agent for the Night's Watch.

Without question this is the best of the series so far. Sure, Martin obsesses with his usual descriptions of every single character's clothing and armor down to the last ridiculous detail. He also maintains his peculiar fondness for having to explain countless extravagant meals with his famous 'birds launching out of pies' dish. But he makes up for it with a realism and grit rarely found in the fantasy genre. Plus, this book has everything men love to read about: blood, guts and decapitations galore, giant knights whacking helpless stable boys' heads in half, hot priestess babes with red eyes, teenage lesbian sex, an angry noseless midget, and some fat kid who slays zombies. What could be better than that? Martin has some amazing plot twists that you just don't see coming and he's fearless with torturing, maiming and killing off vital characters. The character development is getting deeper and better, the action is kick-ass Braveheart style, and the magic and mysticism continue to get more entwined to create a mysterious and wondrous world. This is the best book I've read in some time.

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Nov 07, 2011 Jessi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: six-stars-your-a-superstar, a-song-of-ice-and-fire, yeah-i-d-hit-that-boycrushes, wolves-jessi-s-wolf-shelf, my-favs, dont-make-any-friggen-plans

First an update on the Direwolf situation

I still do not have one...sadface.

This series !!! What can I say I am loving it! I don't know if I was just sick of everything else or just needed the escape but I am soooooo enjoying.

The great thing is that I am on the third book and its not like I can't say which book I like better, which was weaker they are one long story that come in three(so far for me) packages.

Its not like Indiana Jones. Where we say" man I love Indiana Jones but... that second o...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Ken-ichi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, escape

Ok, so I'm 3 books into this series. 2972 pages. Let's take stock of the Starks:
(view spoiler)...more Ok, so I'm 3 books into this series. 2972 pages. Let's take stock of the Starks:
(view spoiler)[
* Eddard was a lord. Now he is dead.

* Catelyn was a lordly lady with a loving, honorable husband and 5 beautiful children. Now she's a widow, her kids are all dead (or so she thinks), and she, also, is dead. Bonus: she's a zombie.

* Sansa was an annoying, helpless, spoiled preteen. Now everyone she's ever loved is dead, but she remains annoying and helpless despite it all.

* Arya was an endearing highborn tomboy. Now's she's a murderous urchin, but still endearing.

* Jon was a bastard. Now he's a lord. But he's still a bastard.

* Rob was a nondescript dude. He's still that, except now he's dead.

* Bran was a little boy with two eyes who liked to climb. Now he's a slightly older little boy with three eyes who hangs out with frog-eaters, mind melds with animals, and is looking to get lessons from another three-eyed mind melder who might be undead.

* Rickon was a side note. He remains so.

I keep wondering whether these books are sexist or not, which usually boils down to the question of whether or not female characters have agency. I don't know if that's a reasonable test of gender bias, but that's where my mind goes. It's certainly true that most of the female characters rarely make decisions that influence the narrative, but I think that's equally true of the males. Some exceptions I can think of include Arya escaping Harrenhall, Catelyn freeing Jaime, Danaerys freeing slaves. Cersei, despite being one of the most overtly willful women in the story and the most vocal about gender bias in her society, seems to have little real power. She wanted to spare Eddard, he ended up dead. She wanted to save her kids, Joff ended up dead. She wants to marry her brother but her dad keeps wedding her off for political reasons.

Another possible way to approach the issue might be to ask whether the books sanction male chauvinism. I don't think you can read these books and believe that men are intrinsically superior to women, because there are plenty of idiotic men and plenty of capable women. As I wrote in a previous review, I do think these books objectify women much more than they do men, which at the very least is distinctly gynophilic (a new word I just looked up!), and probably allows some hetero men and lesbians to indulge in fantasy that many women might find demeaning. That said, though, speaking as a heterosexual guy, I find most of the sex in these books to be more ham-fisted than arousing. However, I doubt Martin did that intentionally. I guess "ham-fisted" could qualify as arousing if you have some kind of ham fetish. Let's just stop talking about this.
(hide spoiler)]

Anyway, these are all comments on the series. This particular book was no better or worse than the previous ones, which is another way of saying it still kept me up reading until 2am most nights. I wish Martin would work in a few more comic relief characters like Dolorous Ed, though. Jaime and Brienne were good for a few laughs. More of that, please.

I'm finding one of the most amusing parts of this series to be moments when I have to stop and wonder whether or not a sentence implies a fatality. Like, "..and then a boulder fell on him." Did he say how big the boulder was? Where, exactly did it hit him, and who, exactly, is "him" referring to? Fun times. Also, am I the only one who looks ahead at chapter titles to see if a character really died? I know, cheating. (less)

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Jul 13, 2011 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This year (2011) has been rough for those of us who count ourselves Minnesota Twins fans. A few weeks ago, however, I watched Francisco Liriano nearly pitch a perfect game. Earlier in the season, Liriano pitched a no-hitter, which was a bright spot in an otherwise unremitting series of losses, injuries, and disappointment. But this was different. This meant more. This was a perfect game (and you can’t get better than perfect).

The announcers, with no regard for karma, started talking about the p...more

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Jun 22, 2012 mrsj rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is brutal.
This book is cruel .
This book holds no punches .
If you are looking for a fairy tale story where the prince meets the princess and they live happily ever after? NOT HAPPENING IN THIS BOOK.

The twists, the betrayals, the change of events will shocked you (view spoiler), stunned you, rocked your world, crushed you down and leaving you asking for more!

An enchanting tale that Mr George R.R Martin had given us.

The talks on rape are tamer t...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Dan Schwent rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Three kings contend for the throne and King Joffrey's wedding day grows near. Can he hold the throne with Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon nipping at his heels?

Yeah, that's a woefully inadequate summary but it's not laden with spoilers, either.

Here we are, the third installment of Weddings, Beddings, and Beheadings, and my favorite one so far. In fact, I was thinking about downgrading them to 4's just so I could show how great I thought this one was. Martin outdid himself this time.

First of all,...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I know Empire is the best film in the trilogy because I've seen it a hundred times, but it's a different thing to choose the best book in a series. Unfortunately, I've only read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books twice (and actually only the first three novels at this point). So who can say how A Storm of Swords will be remembered?

The focus of the series becomes a bit fragmented at this point, reflecting the fact that the War of the Five Kings has not only devastated the small...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Cassy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-own, 2011, fiction-scifi-fantasy-paranormal, region-elsewhere

Martin outdid himself. And honestly, he didn’t have to try so hard. I was already going to give him five stars for this scene alone: (view spoiler)

Have you ever seen a car accident? Not the aftermath that messes up traffic, but the actual event itself? Having driven in both Atlanta and Houston’s rush hour, I’ve seen a handful. It’s horrible horrible horrible. There is that signature sound when thous...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Nastassja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ***SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT***

What can I say that hasn't been said before? This series just keeps getting better and better. The third instalment had more twists and turns than I could count, taking me from utter elation to despair and back again, sometimes within a few pages. Things get pretty bleak but also incredibly awesome, everyone suffers horribly, but in the end some really pivotal events occur that I really, really did not...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Okay, first a word on my feelings about epic fantasy. In general, I like it. There are epic fantasies that I dearly love. There are multivolume books that I keep around just in case I want to re-read them or in some cases re-re-re-re-re-read them. There are others that started out well and then faded, or even crashed and burned. I loved the first six volumes of Jordan's Wheel of Time. I still think it could have been one of the great epics of all time, but (in my opinion) it failed badly and whi...more Okay, first a word on my feelings about epic fantasy. In general, I like it. There are epic fantasies that I dearly love. There are multivolume books that I keep around just in case I want to re-read them or in some cases re-re-re-re-re-read them. There are others that started out well and then faded, or even crashed and burned. I loved the first six volumes of Jordan's Wheel of Time. I still think it could have been one of the great epics of all time, but (in my opinion) it failed badly and while Brandon Sanderson is finishing it, for me it will never recover.

So now, we come to A Song of Ice and Fire. The "series" opened up credibly and drew me (as well as many, many others) into it's story. I followed it through the second volume and for me the blush was already coming off the rose. Now we hit volume three A Storm of Swords. I held out hope for this book that things would begin to come together...and a couple of things did (thus 2 stars instead of1). On the whole however I'm greatly underwhelmed and with the number of books I have waiting to be read...no not great.

I suppose that the story isn't helped (for me) in that I really don't like more than a couple of the main characters (Jon and maybe Arya). I get to watch them go through various forms of H**l as the entire cast of characters plots, plans and schemes to kill one another and end up on top of the entire stinking heap. As the threat(s) sweep down from the north mostly I couldn't care less if it ate the whole disreputable, worthless, lying, murderous, incestuous lot of them. This fantasy world is run by the same sort of people who keep getting in charge and on top here.

Maybe the dragons will come back and help eat them?????

I kept walking away from this and putting off coming back to it. When I put off picking a novel,back up...it's generally time to move on. I skimmed and skipped my way through it to get done and probably won't go on with the series. I know many love this series...if you do, enjoy, I'm happy for you. As for me, the books go into my "sell or trade at the used book store" bag.

Barely escapes 1 star. (less)

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May 08, 2013 Traveller marked it as unread-owned · review of another edition

Ugh. Is the book as unrelenting in its parade of unrelenting, sicko violence as the show has become?

I really enjoyed the HBO show until about 3 episodes ago, (ep.4) when the sick torture and unrelenting violence came back again. Gratuitously cruel and senseless violence seems to be becoming all that there is to see here. I enjoyed the series at the start, because it seeemed to be building up to becoming a political thriller, but now seems hardly more than just an offering out of the torture por...more

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view all 22 comments

Traveller Richard wrote: "Traveller wrote: "Hmm, are you on my friend's list?"

Yes — we met in Tuvalu? Don't you recall? I have since moved back to the U.S.

Trave...more
May 11, 2013 06:18am

Lilly As someone who watches the show and reads the books, just wanted to give a little input on this!

So, are the books just as violent? Absolutely. Maybe...more
May 14, 2013 12:23pm

Nov 17, 2012 karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

success! i have managed to read this book without getting spoiled ahead of time!! so - ha! to you nerds talking loudly in my sci-fi section about the plot!! i ran to the history wall and hummed loudly until they left. ha! to that jerk at BEA telling his colleagues every. single. thing. that happened in the third book while he stood behind me in that justin cronin line!! i made greg come back from his booth-browsing and hold our place (he has read all of these already), and i scooted over to the...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favorite-books, great-books-in-my-opinion

In my opinion, this is the best book of the series so far. It was also one of the best books I've ever read. I don't know what else to say except if you love incredible books, you NEED to read this series!

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Feb 06, 2012 Lorre rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved A Storm of Swords!
It is a huge book with it's 1000+ pages, but it never felt like the book was too long because there was so much happening and I just wanted to keep reading.

There are some many twists and turns in this book, some expected but others totally unexpected. I loved all the intrigue, betrayal, fighting that was going on.
All that struggle for power, plotting to take each others land, castle, title, wife or kingdom...

The characters are so well written that I really feel like...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

I have to admit that I'm starting to tire of this series. It's not that the writing isn't good...the books are entertaining and written in a style that is designed to stave off boredom. Mr Martin achieves this by switching to a different main character with every new chapter, thereby weaving the lives of diverse characters together to form the main story. I don't think that his writing has deteriorated (as one might expect in a series in which each instalment is the length of three sturdy books)...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, epic

Another excellent book in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
I can see why this is a favorite among fantasy enthusiasts.

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Jul 18, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is so crazy. At first it seems like not too much is happening - there's a lot of traveling, planning, but not too much happens. But then in the second half, whammo! Tons of stuff, tons of drama, tons of death. Tons of excitement. There are storylines that keep getting more and more incredible and fascinating and others that come to a shocking end. George RR Martin really plays with your head - I never really knew whose side I was on - the Starks - no, Daenerys! - no, maybe this Lord of...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Ivana S. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, 2012, fantasy-paranormal-sf, favorites, great-books

YES!!!
A Storm of Swords is sooo good!

Everyone's all over the place – the Starks, the Lannisters, Daenerys, Jon Snow, Stannis Baratheon, Mance Ryder… I can't even decide which storyline was the most interesting to follow.

Some things were expected, but others were so shocking I had my mouth wide open half the time.

G.R.R.Martin outdid himself with this one and I got everything I needed to truly enjoy reading this book. I must say there was a lot of yelling, swearing, holding breath, shouting ''yes...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Kent rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nebula-nominated, hugo-nominated, audiobooks, fantasy, reviewed

Since no character is sacred to George R.R. Martin, the experience of reading his books is quite unique. As I read this book, I gradually stopped feeling like the characters were fighting against one another, and started to feel like they were fighting against the author.

In games, this type of meta-reading is quite common for me. Since obstacles and challenges are created by the designer, and since the player often has direct control of the protagonist, it's easy to conflate the game world with...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Graham Herrli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, sci-fi-fantasy, tragic

Several aspects of this book make me want to give it only one star, several push me to rate it closer to the opposite end of the spectrum. I give it just over three stars.

On the one-star end:

The writing style grates. Opening to a random page, I find "green as the summer grass" and "caught between the hammer and the anvil." Opening to any other page would provide similar cliches. The book could be shortened without removing substance: long lists of knights names and heraldry may mean something to...more Several aspects of this book make me want to give it only one star, several push me to rate it closer to the opposite end of the spectrum. I give it just over three stars.

On the one-star end:

The writing style grates. Opening to a random page, I find "green as the summer grass" and "caught between the hammer and the anvil." Opening to any other page would provide similar cliches. The book could be shortened without removing substance: long lists of knights names and heraldry may mean something to the author, but to the casual reader with no interest in memorizing the hierarchy of a fictional chivalric system, such lists only delay reading as I skim past them. I suppose I should at least be pleased that Martin appears finally to have learned the word "crenel" so that I no longer need to suffer through his repeated mentions of "the gap between the merlons"....

Yet the writing style is nothing compared to the utter lack of subtlety and tact. What bothers me most about this book is Martin's repeated description of random murders and rapes, included for what I can only assume must be their presumed shock-and-awe value. Although I can appreciate Martin's ability to evoke such emotional responses as righteous anger, pity, and revulsion, I cannot help but think that the overall view of humanity he projects is far too negative. Epic works need sorrow, but they need joy as well, and A Song of Ice and Fire is far too long not to have some lasting joys. Any book of any worth carries with it a message; Martin's seems just to be "valar morghulis," Ancient Valyrian for "all men must die" and hardly a message worth sending.

On the four- or possibly five-star end:

Martin does a wonderful job of characterization by switching to a third-person limited focus upon a new character with each chapter. Just when a character seems most demonized, Martin zooms in upon that character to explain his history and motivation. The inherent flaw to this technique is that to humanize one character's actions yet another character must be demonized. In the end, some characters such as Gregor Clegane and the Mad King Aerys must be left demonized without the reader ever getting a glance at a human side to them.

Martin also creates several intriguing religions and passingly hints and a few philosophical quandaries. For example, he passingly touches upon the idea that fire is warmth and light, yet it destroys to create these, thus provoking questions about the goodness or evilness of its nature.

Despite its flaws, the book makes me want to keep reading the series. I hope to see the characters, religions, and budding quandaries developed in greater depth in the next book. I hope, perhaps, that one of the characters may even come to the realization that although "all men must die," it is equally true that all men must live. The fire may burn out, but first it burns.(less)

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Jul 17, 2012 John Wiswell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To those who made it through Clash of Kings, welcome to the Promised Land. On at least five nights this December I regretted having to go to bed rather than read on. The great elements that emerged near the end of the second novel are blossoming, like Catelyn’s sympathy and tale of assistance, Sansa’s coming to terms with reality of royalty, and Daenerys finally looking like she’ll use her dragons and political power. And the worst is passed: no more cutting away from one character’s life-or-dea...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Kyle Muntz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's easy to see how this series has essentially changed the way fantasy was written over the last ten years. To be honest, I was never very interested in who won any of the wars, but Martin writes character better than pretty much anyone else in the genre, and the only thing more unbelievable than the scope of everything is how well Martin holds it together. Before this, there were hints for a long time of the moral realism Martin uses in this series (especially in Gene Wolfe's Book of the New...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Joyzi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: not for the faint of heart

Recommended to Joyzi by: Goodreads

Shelves: author-american, 5-stars-or-more, adult, e-book, fiction, fantasy, political-intrigue, reviewed, book-series, favorites, thought-provoking

Jesus. Christ. Christ. Jesus.

Best book of the series so far. I have heard that the book series is originally intended as a trilogy, but the story became so complicated that it needs seven books to resolve all the problems and plot issues.

I think that the series is really a complicated story even more complicated than Lord of the Rings. When I started the series I feel that I know who the villains and who the good guys were, but even the characters are complicated. Sometimes they are neither a...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

My favourite so far in the series. I want to give this book ten stars. The Red Wedding. The chapters with Sansa and Tyrion I found totally heartbreaking.

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Mar 20, 2013 Ralph McEwen added it · review of another edition

I am enjoying this series and will continue to read it. I was surprised that the author was so ruthless with what I saw as major characters. I wonder how many will survive to the end. I found this audio book well recorded and easy to listen to. The narrator does a excellent job, but there is no way one person can make a different voice for this many characters. In order to give life to all these characters the publishers of the audio book should have insisted on a cast of narrators of at least f...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Eyehavenofilter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: love-these, george-r-r-martin, other-worlds

...
I finished this with a pang in my heart. I hope this review doesn't give too much away. I've fallen in love with so many of these characters, and it was so painful to read what befell them, and the people that they loved.
Good is never clearly good here and bad is never clearly bad, well maybe...!
This is the third is the series but I felt like it lasted forever. It was jam packed, with action, adventure, and all the things that make this an epic. If you have already read this I hope the revi...more ...
I finished this with a pang in my heart. I hope this review doesn't give too much away. I've fallen in love with so many of these characters, and it was so painful to read what befell them, and the people that they loved.
Good is never clearly good here and bad is never clearly bad, well maybe...!
This is the third is the series but I felt like it lasted forever. It was jam packed, with action, adventure, and all the things that make this an epic. If you have already read this I hope the review pleases you, if not I hope it teases you enough to start reading.
The Starks suffered great losses, but only because of bad decisions. It seems the only ones in the family that even seem to know what they are doing, are the 3 smallest children. Rickon and Bran have saved their own lives, and Arya
has stayed alive even though she'd been kidnapped and led on a frightening adventure with The Hound.( this kid must end up being Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, I hope, she' s amazing )
Jon must betray all he knows to find out whats really going on above the wall, and runs into a wild redheaded woman
( repeatedly. )
Sensa, having been forced into marriage, to a battle torn Tyrion, has no idea of what he's really like and spurns him.
It hurts his little heart.
Tyrion try's to plan his redemption, but finds enemies all along the way. Jamie is stripped of his talent, and not in a good way. Jeofferys nasty mouth gets him in more trouble than he or anyone else can save him from. Tyrion is blamed for for the problem and is betrayed. When he escapes he takes vengeance on everyone who betrayed him, so we finally find out if Tyrions father really does @%' s gold !
Littlefinger is by far the most devious nasty, SOB ever. (After saving, "read kidnapping " Sensa, , he marries Cats sister, and then slaps the make on Sensa, but swears alliegence to his wife, as long as they both shall live, which is ...)well lets just say, He wins the title of SOB in this book " Hands down " sorry Jamie, you've been outdone.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Jared Millet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, dragons, epic-fantasy

Probably the fastest 1,100 page book I’ve ever read. Even so, I’m tempted to give it as terse a review as possible, just for the sake of snark.

Storm of Swords has a much greater sense of forward progress than Clash of Kings, despite the fact that when the book begins the War of Five Kings is pretty much over except for the backstabbing. There is a much stronger sense in this volume of important characters growing, changing, and following through complete arcs, whereas in the previous book there...more

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About George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies,...more George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...(less)

More about George R.R. Martin...

Books by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire #3, Part 2 of 2)

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“Every man must die, Jon Snow. But first he must live.” — 476 people liked it

“Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought bravely. And Rhaegar died. ” — 445 people liked it

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A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3)

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