A Storm Of Swords Review

          

Hello everyone,

Finally, as promised, here is the review for A Storm Of Swords by George R. R. Martin, which I rated a 5 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis

War continues to rage across the land. With Renly Baratheon dead, his brother Stannis defeated, and Robb Stark stuck in Riverrun, victory appears to be in Lannister hands. Across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen is rallying her army and her dragons grow ever stronger, while in the North, the men of the Night's Watch fight their own war against savage wildlings and their own dead rise to attack them. But as the fight for power rages on, it may be the evils hidden from within that prove to be the most dangerous.

My Review

The third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Storm of Swords is, so far, the best book in the series, in my opinion. It's longer than ever at 1128 pages (1177 with the Appendix), but it's definitely the most fast-paced. It did take me over a month to read it, but I'll chalk that up to the busyness of my everyday life, not the quality of the book, as I read the last 600 pages in only a few days. Compared to A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin really stepped up his game with this book. Some parts were, as always, a bit long, but on the whole it was action-packed and full of amazing (and heartbreaking) plot twists. We get to see chapters from the point of view of a few other characters, like Jaime Lannister and Samwell Tarly, which is nice, although we still didn't get anything from Robb's point of view, which I found extremely disappointing. But anyways, this book made me so glad I continued with the series, and I can't wait to pick up A Feast For Crows. If you liked A Game of Thrones and/or A Clash Of Kings, then you'll definitely love this next installment.

Alright, so from here on, this review will contain spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, then go pick it up right now!

Now, I'd just like to start by saying that in this book, I was definitely reminded that with George R. R. Martin, anyone can die. You all know what I'm talking about. No one is safe.

So much happened in this huge book that I'm not sure where to begin. I guess I'll begin with the 'new' characters. In this book, we were introduced to Samwell Tarly's point of view, which was alright with me. Personally, I love (most of) the men of the Night's Watch, and Sam is a perfectly good character, even if he isn't a particular favourite of mine. It was nice to see him find his courage in this book, and I was ecstatic and amused with his plot to get Jon promoted to Lord Commander at the end. The Old Bear's death was quite an unwelcome surprise in the first place, but this sufficiently pacified me.

Next up is Jaime Lannister, whom I never, not in a million years, expected to like. In fact, before this book, I would probably say I hated him for what he did to Bran and his cocky attitude. But he definitely gets taken down a few pegs in here, and he turned out to be not a half-bad guy. Well, I'll be honest, by the end he was one of my favourite characters. His relationship with Brienne was always fun to read, he was intelligent and witty, although quite arrogant, and I can't wait to see what will happen to him next.

Arya, once again, was not very interesting to read, although I enjoyed her a little more than the last book. Through her, we were introduced to Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr and the rest of the Brotherhood Without Banners, all of whom I liked. Her escapades with the Hound were interesting to read, and I'm curious about whether he survives at the end or not. She also managed to get Needle, the sword Jon Snow gave her, back from the man who stole it in the last book, which I was happy about. For some reason, this books makes me sentimental about swords, of all things. When I found out that Tywin Lannister melted Ned Stark's sword, Ice, down to make new swords, I nearly screamed in anger.

Bran's chapters became more interesting as well as he learned more about being a warg and also got to know Jojen and Meera better. I'm curious as to when Arya will figure out she's a warg, and if Sansa is one as well. Jon seems to know already, though his powers still aren't as advanced as Bran's. Speaking of Jon, plenty happened to him in this book. Learning more about the wildlings through him was an interesting perspective, and we finally got to meet Mance Rayder. Here I must say that for a long time, I felt I was the only one who had read these books and... dare I say it?... didn't like Ygritte. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I just didn't care much for her character, and I was disappointed that Jon went against his vows (both to the Night's Watch and his personal desire not to have sex out of wedlock in the fear of siring a bastard) for her. However, I must admit I had grown to like her a bit by the end, and that I cried when she died.

Now, let's talk about Sansa and Tyrion. I grew to like Sansa even more in this book, and her marriage to Tyrion came as a great shock, although I can't say I was opposed to it. I think that, if Sansa had only gotten over her vanity, they could have been a decent couple. As usual, I adored Tyrion in A Storm of Swords. I was often angry at the blatant hatred people showed him for no reason other than his looks, and I was enraged at his trial. I loved the plot twist with Prince Oberyn acting as his champion, even though nothing came of it.  Then I was once again dumbfounded by learning that Tysha was apparently not a paid prostitute, and I would have never expected Tyrion to murder Tywin, although it was a fitting end for the man.

Daenerys was perfect as usual. Not too much else to say other than I'm glad she finally found out about Jorah and Barristan, and that she appears to be quite the queen. I wouldn't mind her sitting the Iron Throne herself one day (hopefully soon). As for Davos, I was overjoyed when I found out he was alive! I still hate Melisandre and don't particularly like Stannis, but I'm glad that Davos is his Hand now. Maester Aemon also finally revealed what everyone was thinking - that Stannis is probably not the hero Melisandre keeps mentioning (my money's on Beric Dondarrion, based on his description).

Lastly, Catelyn Tully. Oh, boy. Once again, I wish everyone would just stop for a second and listen to Catelyn Tully, because if they had, things would definitely not have become as messy as they did. Robb marrying the Westerling girl was quite the surprise - and not the good kind. I wanted Robb to follow in Ned's footsteps as an honourable man and keep his word to the Freys, yet I was mistaken, even if I did see something like this coming. I have no words for The Red Wedding other than it was horrible, and I cried quite a bit, and I'd really rather pretend like it never happened. However, the fact remains that Jon is now Robb's heir, as well as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, which should make quite the dilemma in the next book. I'm also wondering how Catelyn came back from the dead?

The only problem I had with the book was the extremely convenient timing of Balon Greyjoy's death. It wasn't very clearly explained. One moment he was alive, and the next, we are getting reports that he fell off a bridge. I feel like this will be expanded on in the next book though, so I'm okay with it for now.

Overall, this was a huge book full of action, plot twists, answered questions, more still unanswered questions, tears, sobbing, heartbreak, and terrible cliffhangers. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of A Feast For Crows.

Favourite Quotes

"I have made kings and unmade them." - Jaime Lannister

"All men must die, Jon Snow. But first, we'll live." - Ygritte

"A wall is only as strong as the men who defend it." - Eddard Stark

Goodbye for now,
Emily Noel