A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

George R. R. Martin has created a world of adventure, love, sex, and violence, then filled that world with so many interesting, unique, and complex characters it's hard to keep track. Nobody is safe in these books. They're filled with unexpected surprises that come when we're least expecting them. Up to this point, A Storm of Swords is the most surprising and most addicting novel in the series.

Two complaints I have with the first three volumes of A Song of Fire and Ice are as follows: The first is that nothing seems to resolve. The characters seem to be in a downward spiral that keeps getting worse. Many readers like this style, but I would rather see something resolve at the end of each volume, something to allow me to breathe. The second issue is the amount of time the characters spend traveling from one place to another. With A Storm of Swords, the first issue is still there. So is the second, but about halfway through the story takes off and there are few words wasted on marching.

Prior to this novel my favorite character was Arya. I still looked forward to her chapters, but in this book her story seemed to take a back seat to characters such as Tyrion and Jamie Lannister and even, surprisingly, to her sister, Sansa. Although Sansa doesn't seem to take control of her destiny as much as her sister does, her fate kept me turning pages.

I haven't seen the third season of the HBO series, which should follow A Storm of Swords, but I'll be ordering the DVD set soon. It will be fun to see this plot brought to life on television. As for the next book, I plan to read it but only after a break. Like I said before, I need time to breathe.

View all my reviews