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

by George R.R. Martin

THE BOOK BEHIND THE THIRD SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO.

Rarely has there been a tale as gripping, or one as likely to seize the minds and hearts of a generation, as George R. R. Martin's epic high fantasy series. In A Game of Thrones, an ancient kingdom was torn by the ambitions of ruthless men and women; in A Clash of Kings, war, sorcery, and madness swept over the kingdom like a voracious beast of prey. Now, as the brutal struggle for power nears its tumultuous climax, the battered and divided kingdom faces its most terrifying invasion—one that is being spearheaded from beyond the grave. . . .

A STORM OF SWORDS

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. Filled with the stench of death and decay from the destructive dynastic war, Daenerys is gathering allies and strength for an assault on King's Landing, hoping to win back the crown she believes is rightfully hers. But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings bent on overwhelming the Seven Kingdoms arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. And as the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest in the quest for victory until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . . Brilliantly conceived and grand in scope, A Storm of Swords is the incredible tale of a world of harsh beauty and powerful magic, torn by treachery, ravaged by brutality, and consumed by greed and ambition. It portrays a war-torn landscape in which nobles and commoners, heroes and villains, the freeborn and the enslaved, all struggle to survive and to find their destinies...along with the dazzling bounty and wondrous enchantment that was once their birthright in the Seven Kingdoms.

• ISBN10: 0553106635
• ISBN13: 9780553106633
• Publish Date: 31 October 2000 (first published 21 August 2000)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House Worlds
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 992
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780553106633

Reviews

[KitsuneBae]

SPOILERS AHEAD!


Finally, Catelyn's dead. That would be one less boring POV in book 4. I wish Sansa was dead, too. Wish that Joff killed her before he got himself poisoned.

Overall, A Storm of Swords is by far the most enjoyable book among the three that I've read that I couldn't wait to read the next book.

Maybe these books might be better as a show, but for the length of these books I expect a bit more out of these. 75% of the book consisted of details, details, details of countless characters that you can hardly keep track of bouncing back and forth. You can literally skip many chapters and still not miss a single plot point of the story. Overall, I feel that this series consists of hundreds of pages of dullness consisting of medieval soap opera drama. I know that there are many people who rave about this series but I was just not impressed.
I made it this far but don't intend on continuing the series.

[inlibrisveritas]

So after the events of Clash of Kings, where it became the beginning of the aptly named “clash of kings” and an all out war for the throne…many of our main characters are still trying to find some solid ground to stand on. Solid ground which honestly doesn’t exist, unless you’re Daenerys…in which case all you have to do is command things to go your way and they basically do. We learn that weddings are events full fantastic food (seriously, what’s up with all the food?!), baudy bedding traditions, and things bad for ones health. In fact I’m trying to think if there was a wedding in this book that didn’t turn out to be awful for at least one person…and I think their are like 5(ish) weddings or something similar in this one. There is even more intrigue and outright deceit, some new friendships, new romances…and new magic!

We are also treated to two new points of view, Jaime Lannister and Samwell Tarly..I actually appreciated getting to know Jaime despite the internal groaning when I saw the first chapter. I figured Jaime for a brilliant soldier, but a rather weak minded individual that just does what he’s told. But once I finished the book i can honestly say I like him, he’s got gross tastes in women (namely the only woman he has eyes for), but he’s actually rather smart and has a lot more to his story than I thought he had to offer. We get his account of what happened the day everyone named him Kingslayer and we get more on his relationship with Cersei, for better or for worse. We get to see more of Melisandre, who has gone from slightly scary to sort of weirdly pathetic. I mean she’s still terrifying in what she’s capable of, but I don’t have a mind for prophecy so anytime she conveniently changed her tone about something I just sort of snorted. Arya continues to be a badass, and if at all possible has become more so. Jon Snow is coming into his own at the Wall and beyond, and I’m super excited to find out just how his story progress because it has HUGE potential. Catelyn is still irritating as hell and still among my most hated characters. Joffery is at his most Joffery-est…which basically left me seething or wishing someone would strangle him with his own crown. Sansa’s chapters were also a pleasant surprise, as she slowly becomes more of a player in the game and less of a pawn. That being said, by the end of the book she’s still very much terrified of everything and everyone like she is at the beginning, she’s just a bit more aware of what’s going on and how to react. Tyrion is another favorite that remains where he is. These books would be a rather serious if not for his witty quips and insults, and over all cynical nature about the world and his family.

And last but not least Dany…my lovely Kahleesi, the Mother of Dragons, the unburnt, the….why the hell does she have so many titles? Dany’s chapters are some of my favorite parts of these books. She’s in her teens and she’s already striking fear into the hearts of men (mostly men anyway) over the Narrow Sea. There were some new developments that I didn’t expect, and some that hint that her story might slow down for a bit in the future.

At this point my list of people I want dead has gotten longer, even with a few crossed out. I feel like Arya when she whisper each name before she goes to sleep. The fact remains that even a book this huge can still be a ton of fun read. It might take me a while, and there might be a few chapters I could careless about but I still appreciated all of it. The warring points of view lend a full view of events as they happen, you also get to see ‘bad’ characters as good people and vice versa. I look forward to getting into A Feast of Crows!

[celinenyx]

It has taken a while, but Martin's world is finally in its maturity. All of the seeds he has planted in the first two books have grown into cut-throat plots and killer conclusions. Martin's writing style is still dry, but the trials he puts his characters through made me forget that A Storm of Swords isn't perfect. This is the first volume of the Song of Ice and Fire series that I managed to read in little over two weeks - usually these take me at least a few months. My favourite book in the series so far.

[Angie]

That last page...WHAT?! O_O

[Chelsea]

Cover

Still think these covers are boring. Why haven't they released a super awesome set?

Initial Thoughts

Starting this book, I had already gotten into the fourth season of the tv show. So I mostly knew what was going to happen already. I am happy to saw that I'm caught up in my reading now though! Season 4 is about to end and I've already finished book three!

My New BFF

Margaery. I love her to death! I'm really excited to see what happens with her situation too. She seems like such a sweetheart but she has to be tougher to have already lost two husbands. I just think she's much more clever than everyone thinks. She's only 16 but she can do so much!

My Crush

Tyrion. He's a lot stronger than we give him credit for. I love how he fights with words not swords. It makes him different than the other characters. Someone like him should be king. He has such a sad situation though. I hate that his father can't stand him, same with his sister. I love Jaime for being a good brother to him. I hate that everyone pretty much left him in this book. He doesn't have a whole lot anymore.

Writing Style

George R.R. Martin has a perfect writing style. He's clever and sneaky and makes the reader figure everything out. I like that though. I like not knowing where a book is going and then being surprised when something crazy happens. This book had a lot more action in it than the others. There were less boring parts and lots more action. He writes with just enough detail to make it seem as though you're right beside the characters.

Closing Thoughts

I'm loving this series so far. It's not something that I would have picked up on my own but I'm glad I did. There wasn't anything not exciting about this book. It seems like it's slow but then all of a sudden you're half way through. There was more of everything! Death, action, romance, mystery. Pretty much anything you can think of. This is easily my favourite book so far.

It make you feel all sorts of weird things. This is easily the high point in the series. You think, oh this character can't be so bad, I think I like him. NOPE. He's dead now. The characters you hate the most live though. Because that makes sense right? George Martin knows how to play with your emotions. The story is just so complex that there's no way you can catch everything the first time though. This will soon be a worn out book on my shelf.

[boghunden]

Jeg var så uheldig, at få spoilet tre ret store ting i den her bog. Det ødelagde selvfølgelig fuldstændig chok momenterne. Desværre! Jeg kan kun forestille mig, hvordan det må have været at læse den, uden at vide, hvad man gik ind til.

Heldigvis, så var bogen stadig alt det jeg håbede på – og mere til. Og den slutning. Hvad var det nu for noget?!?! :O

Jeg blev mere glad for Dany i den her bog, hurra! Hvor har jeg virkelig kedet mig under hendes kapitler tidligere. Den her gang, var det mest Samwells kapitler der kedede mig, men det var ikke alle sammen, kun omkring hvert andet. Til gengæld fandt jeg Jamie ret spændende! Og Tyrion, men det gør jeg vist altid. Og så ELSKER jeg bare Sansa! Jeg tror, hun er min yndlingskarakter! Jeg er vist den eneste, der ikke hader hende… Og nå ja. Ygritte. Hun er altså også ret sjov at følge.

Det er altså ikke nemt, at sige noget fornuftigt om den her bog, uden at spoile. Folk, der har set serien først, går fuldstændig glip af spændingen ved bogen. Og folk, der ikke har hverken set eller læst den her serie, de går bare glip af noget fantastisk. Et absolut mesterværk.

[clementine]

I was so impressed by this book - I found parts of the last one a bit slow, but this one was perfect. It was pretty much nonstop action, tension, and intrigue, with so many plot twists and character deaths that I always felt like I needed to be on my toes. I was spoiled for The Thing ahead of time (which was made even more upsetting because I managed to go SO LONG unspoiled), but it still had such an impact that I ran about half a kilometre up the road to get reception so I could yell about it on the internet. (Such are the perils of reading these books at the cottage, I suppose.) Luckily I was completely unspoiled about (show spoiler)[Joffrey's death - I seriously thought he would make it until the last book, if he ever died] (hide spoiler) , which was a very fun surprise.

The character development was superb; characters who I already like became even more layered and complex, and there were various characters who I either disliked or didn't care about who I found much more interesting and even sympathetic. I was also especially appreciative of the level of detail in the world; I admired that in the first two books, but it was especially evident in this one.

Definitely the best in the series so far, and I am looking forward to pressing on!

[clq]

Ahhh, back to brilliance. I enjoyed Blood and Gold (second half of A Storm of Swords) as much as I did A Game of Thrones. Once again I was regularly fooled into thinking I had some idea where the story was going, and once again it went somewhere completely different most of the time. I can't really say much about why I enjoyed the book without spoiling it, so I'll just settle with saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you found the second book slightly stale compared to the first book, read on. The third book brings the A Song of Ice and Fire right back up to the level of A Game of Thrones.

[Mercy]

Este es por lejos, hasta ahora, el mejor de la saga.
He vivido tantas emociones leyendo este libro, y bueno, eso pasa de una manera u otra con casi todos los que leo. Pero Tormenta de Espadas, me ha hecho gritar de alegría, llorar de rabia, odiar a George R.R. Martin.
(show spoiler)[¡Mato a Robb! No... eso fue terrible y la manera en que lo hizo :/ ¡Maldito Twyn Lannister, maldito Roose Bolton y maldito Walder Frey! Espero que ese sufra cuándo muera. Lo bueno fue la muerte de Joff, aunque me dio pesar por Cercei u.u nah, mentira xD] (hide spoiler)
Tormenta me ha gustado mucho, pensé que por lo enorme que es, iba a haber cositas malas, pero no, lleva un ritmo bastante bueno. En ningún momento lo sentí aburrido. Lo leí en dos semanas (me hubiese llevado menos, pero casi no tenía tiempo de leer)y ese final me hizo correr a por el siguiente. No sé si a ustedes, pero los finales que le da George a cada libro me han parecido estupendos, el de Juego de Tronos, hasta me hizo llorar xD
Bueno, ahora a leer Festín y ver que tal, aunque estoy segura que un genio como Martin, seguro nos sorprenderá.