A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Volume 3), by George R. R. Martin

In the third installment in this magnificent series, A Storm of Swords, violence, treachery and plotting are as much the rule as loyalty, devotion and respect. George R. R. Martin continues to tell the brutal history of the hard, conflict-ridden world he has created – The Seven Kingdoms. And he continues to tell it the hard way – leading characters die betrayed, at the same time as those who have been bitterly despised oftentimes gradually earn grudging respect from readers. This is a tale mostly without black and white – the characters feel real and they are all shades of gray. To me, this is perhaps the feature that more than anything makes this whole series a masterpiece and separates it from a large number of other epic fantasy novels.

Also, in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire there is realism on another level: every character is fair game for an arrow, a sword or the headman’s axe – the good guys lose out to the bad guys regularly.

The monstrous Joffrey has now been named king of the Seven Kingdoms by the strength of the House of Lannister. However, his seat is not secure. Members of his own family as well as the House Stark, now lead by Robb, are still trying to gain the throne. As well, the deposed Targayen line is gathering a fearsome army in order to reclaim their former power and glory. So the Seven Kingdoms are still in turmoil and the battle for power is by no means over.

The main characters in this book are Sansa Stark, who is held hostage by the Lannisters; Tyrion, the intelligent and sardonic dwarf; Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer; the tomboy princess Arya Stark; the ruthless but also somewhat mystical knight Sandor Clegane – referred to as the Hound; Daenerys Targaryen; Robb Stark and his mother Catelyn; and Jon Snow, the Stark bastard now engaged in the Night’s Watch.

A Storm of Swords is an amazing novel, and adds even more depth and life to A Song of Ice and Fire. The book is full of greed, ambition, plotting, treachery, and violence, but also of love, tenderness, attraction, loyalty and reason. The book is at times almost agonizing to read, but at the same time completely spell-binding. It has spectacular characters, great dialogue with razor-sharp wit, intense plot development and plot twists, and plenty of jaw-dropping action sequences. A Storm of Swords is a must read for all fans of fantasy fiction!

Links to George R. R. Martin’s books: amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

Tagged as: A Song of Ice and Fire, Fantasy, George R. R. Martin, SFF