A Storm of Swords

A Storm of Swords is a BIG book, I cannot lie. Within its massive 1100+ pages are some of the most memorable scenes, deaths, dialogue, and twists in the series. This third book continues the Game of Thrones saga that features multiple people vying, killing, and betraying each other for the throne of Westeros. It is a twisty, violent soap opera with lots of blood, court intrigue, murder, deception, long-winded fight scenes and a massive cast that includes many characters who you'll never hear from again.

This HBO series continues to follow the book series very closely which helped me keep up with the multiple POVs, settings and changing alliances but I still had to Google a few characters to remember who played them in the TV series. Without that visual aid, I would have been lost remembering many secondary and tertiary characters and where they fit into the larger story.  Some characters step to the forefront (Robb, Tyrion, Sansa and Arya) and others like Bran and Daenerys fade a bit into the background. I wasn't a fan of Bran's story so that was fine with me. Jon and Ygritte have amazing chemistry and banter ("You know nothing, Jon Snow") but besides that, I found his POV rather dull this time out. Thankfully, I continued to be amused with Tyrion's wit and found myself looking forward to reading specific, popular scenes from the HBO series.

This is a great addition to the popular imaginative Fantasy series but its length made it a bit of a trudge through the chaos that is Westeros and its massive size made it a book that I had to read in fits and spurts over five weeks. At times it felt like a task to be done instead of an enjoyable experience but I'm glad I made it to the other side and look forward to reading the last two (thankfully smaller) books before the end of 2020.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: George R.R Martin

Genre: Fantasy
Type and Source: Leather-bound edition, personal copy

#3 in A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones)

Publisher: Bantam

First Published: October 31, 2000

Opening Lines: The day was grey and bitter cold, 

and the dogs would not take the scent.

Book Description from GoodReads

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. 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. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords.