Tempesta d'espases (edició limitada) (Cançó de gel i fo… (2024)

This book made me want to throw it against the wall in anger and disbelief. It made me root for the death of a child (and then despise myself), love a hated character, cry angry tears, and bite my nails because of all the suspense.

**Pictograhically, all of the above was happening to me.**

I did not throw the book across the room. Instead, I put it aside and stared at the wall for a few minutes in grief and disbelief. If you read this, you know which part I am talking about *SOBBING* Then I picked it up again, because at that point I was so hooked that nothing could have stopped me. (I also MAY HAVE cut my neurobiology class to finish it. I know, I'm bad, very very bad.)

Ah, you guys... Look at you, all innocent, before this book rips into you...

A Storm of Swords is, in my opinion, an undisputed high point of the series so far. It expanded the story in delightful, wonderful ways. It gave it a truly epic feel. It delivered the cruel punch in the gut with the Red Wedding (excuse me as I go and cry myself to sleep) and reinforced the axiom that nobody is safe in the world GRRM created. (*)

* It was heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and unexpected. But it was necessary, even if just to remind how cruel and brutal this world is, and how little choices can have huge consequences.

Examples: Jon and Dany. It was amazing to see how these two very young characters grew and developed due to all the battles, losses, and betrayals that they suffered. Both of them at the end of this story carry such potential for the future of this series. Having read book 5, I think that so much of it was unfortunately wasted.

The character complexity parallels the story complexity - both are done masterfully. The characters feel alive and real. They are interesting and fascinating, and fluctuate between likable and despicable in a not too predictable fashion (*). The previously unseen connections between characters and events are mind-blowing. And seeing the select few skillfully manipulating so many others is unsettling.
*

Jaime became one of my favorites: understanding where he's coming from and seeing him humbled by his experience changed him from a monster to a deeply flawed but ultimately sympathetic man. (What he did to Bran was terrible - but child's play in comparison of all the other mindf***ery GRRM gives us in this book. What he does with his sister - gross, but they are competent and consenting adults, and it's not my place to judge them).
Tyrion, on the other hand... What he did to Shae reminded me that darkness can live inside everyone, even our favorite Imp. Tywin, however - I did not give a crap about him (pun intended!), but Shae...Not cool.

5 stars from my (many moons ago) yet-not-jaded self that happily gobbled up this delicious brain candy.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

(A) 88% | Extraordinary
Notes: This is where the story explodes; two outstanding scenes highlight a truly audacious, epic and consequential volume.

(A) 88% | Extraordinary
Notes: A tour de force of What the F’s, it’s full of blighted beddings, horrid japes, abrupt escapes, and bloody awful weddings.

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An absolutely merciless and brilliant masterwork.

This was unbelievably amazing. A Storm of Swords could actually be the height of George R. R. Martin’s writing career. I know I haven’t read A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, or the extra books of the series yet. But realistically speaking, it would be bloody difficult for Martin to top what he has achieved in this book.

Picture: A Storm of Swords by Marc Simonetti

I’ll try to make this review shorter than usual, and I won’t be talking about the story at all to avoid spoilers. Seriously, you have to experience this for yourself. If you miraculously haven’t watched the TV series yet, A Storm of Swords encompassed seasons 3 and 4 of the TV series. I have known the main twists and turns of this volume due to watching the TV show first, but somehow this incredible novel was still able to fully capture my attention. It brings me to this point once again: I can’t even imagine how much I’ll love this traumatizing book IF I’ve read it without having watched the TV series adaptation.

“Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time.”

This, of course, doesn’t mean that you should skip the TV series. Up to season 4, the TV series adaptation remains mostly loyal to the original material. Sure it’s not like the scene by scene adaptation portrayed in the first season anymore, but I do honestly think that there were some moments that the TV series did even better than the book, and vice versa. I totally loved what I’ve read so far in A Song of Ice and Fire; this novel, in particular, is currently my favorite within the series, and that’s saying a lot. From my experience reading the series, Martin’s prose during his battle scenes were great, but I personally feel there are other grimdark fantasy authors—like Joe Abercrombie, Jeff Salyards, and Steven Erikson—that writes superior battle scenes compared to Martin’s. The battle scenes were one factor where the TV show excelled. Also, I will never stop praising Peter Dinklage’s acting performance as Tyrion Lannister. I found that the acting exhibited by Peter Dinklage and many other actors/actresses in the TV show did sufficient justice to the superb characterizations that Martin gave to the characters of the series.

“Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.”

The main reasons why I loved reading the series is not because of the battle scenes, but for the terrific characterizations, intricate world-building, how Martin deftly set up each scene, and most of all, the immense strength in the unpredictability of the storyline; all proven clearly within this book. The myriad pivotal events that occurred in this single installment were simply insane and unforgettable. The Red Wedding, for example, is one of the most traumatizing events to ever transpired in a fantasy novel for me; it has pretty much become a standard of comparison for believable brutality and shocking scale in speculative fiction. “It wasn’t as crazy as The Red Wedding,” or “It was more traumatizing than The Red Wedding.” You probably have read or heard these phrases on reviews or on social media often—lately more so due to the super exposure caused by the TV shows; let me assure you that they’re there for many valid reasons.

“It all goes back and back," Tyrion thought, "to our mothers and fathers and theirs before them. We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us, and one day our own children will take up our strings and dance in our steads.”

At 424k words—it took me about 23 hours to read—in total, A Storm of Swords has become the third biggest novel I’ve read so far after The Stand by Stephen King and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. It’s truly astounding that there were close to zero dull moments in a novel this massive; I didn’t really enjoy Bran’s storyline, but his appearances here were relatively small. Excluding Bran’s story, I was completely immersed, and I was in love with every page I read. Martin sang a song of violence, grief, and treachery with spellbinding impacts; the writing was thoroughly engaging, filled with a plethora of memorable passages, and the phrases were cleverly structured to be evocative.

“The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them.”

Excluding the fame he gets from the TV series adaptation, if you’re ever in need of evident proofs on why George R. R. Martin has become one of the most legendary fantasy authors of our time, A Storm of Swords is the answer. The series indeed remains unfinished to this day, and there’s a chance it might not ever be finished, but I utterly believe that the series is worth your time despite that. The first three books—especially this one—in A Song of Ice and Fire provided an exceptional reading experience that epic fantasy readers should gain. I unquestionably loved A Storm of Swords. I'm giving this tome a full 5 stars rating, and I'm extremely confident it would've earned one of those ultra-rare 6 out of 5 stars rating from me if I'd read it without watching the TV series adaptation first. I expect I will end up loving A Storm of Swords more on future subsequent reread. This is truly a phenomenal magnum opus. Do yourself a favor. Read it, simple as that.

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it's time again for... A Game of Heroes and Zeroes!
spoilers ahead
__________

HEROES

he's the Revenant Robin Hood, leader of a band of merry men whose purpose is to steal from the wicked, give to the needy, ransom the royalty, hang the bad guys, and maybe get laid some. Lord Beric comes equipped with a nifty super-power (courtesy of the Lord of Light, 'natch)... he gets to come back from the dead! unfortunately, his various hideous wounds get to come back with him. but so what... all those scars (and missing eye, and noose-blackened neck, and crushed-in head) only make him more manly. he's just the dreamiest!

so what if she's socially awkward, mulishly stubborn, and entirely unimaginative... this young miss may be the last remaining True Knight in the realm! she kicks some serious ass, is loyal to a fault, and she brings out the human in that Jaime Lannister. at one point she stops to take a break by burying some random dead people hanging from a tree. what a big heart she has, it's adorable. you go, girl!

ha, ha - you thought he was the villain! joke's on you, sucker/reader. this gifted songster is not only the leader of the Free Folk (and what's not to like about them? they believe in freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness - even their tendency to steal women is sorta charming)... he is a man who turned his back on the rigid class system and general stuck-upedness of Westeros society for the charms of anarchic wildlings. he's just trying to get all his people away from those infernal Others. goodbye, mysterious villain... hello, brave hero!

sure, her eyes glow red. sure, she's a little bloodthirsty. sure, she wants to sacrifice some children. what of it? we all have our flaws. don't judge this sorceress... her only goal is to, um, SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD FROM UTTER DESTRUCTION. have some sympathy for her goals already. it's not like you could do a better job at trying to SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD FROM UTTER DESTRUCTION. i want her on my team!

***

~ and a special shout-out to classy old-timer Lady Olenna, Queen of Thorns. well finally someone realizes that King Joffrey's shenanigans are truly intolerable. extra bonus points for naming your personal bodyguards "Left" and "Right". ~

__________

ZEROES

hey, King Asshole, ever hear of keeping your word? seriously, Promiseslayer, what's wrong with you? you may win your battles, but you break your vow over a little punani? and what's up with chopping off the head of your own bannerman? not too bright, son. and all the good intentions in the world doesn't excuse your tendency towards Usurping the Rightful King. duh. my gosh, as far as common sense goes... the apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree.

good grief, two winners in one family - those lucky Starks! hmmm, let's see... you capture the wrong guy in book 1... you free an enemy in book 2... you seriously underestimate the most obvious "secret" villain in the world in book 3. what the hey? clearly you should have retired years ago. but i sense some redemption in your future. i know you have some bloodthirstiness in you, so let that freak flag fly in book 4 and get down to some serious villain-killing already!

wow, i used to love you so much. until i realized you were getting sorta inappropriate with Danerys. yeah, she's brave and beautiful and a queen and she frees entire cities worth of slaves and she has three lovely dragons. but didn't you notice that

come on, wolfie - Arya is supposed to be your soulmate! she's running all over Westeros just trying to get back to the fam, clearly needing a helping hand or paw... so why are you off galivanting about the countryside, chasing deer and hanging out with your new wolfpack buddies? well you did save her ass by taking down some of those Brave Companions - but that's a case of too little, too late. and here i thought that wolves are a girl's best friend. silly me. i guess your stomach is so much more important.

***

~ a special Zero mention must be made for Tyrion the Imp. where did that brain of yours go? why are you getting your ass handed to you again and again? well at least you unstuck your head from that ass and finally delivered some seriously overdue comeuppance... but i had to read 900 pages to get to that part. i want my old Tyrion back, stat! ~

__________

no review necessary, there are enough excellent ones out there. i loved this book, as i loved its predecessors. my favorite parts were the scenes with Sandor Clegane and Arya Stark. those two vicious killers were made for each other and their relationship was both laugh-out-loud funny and strangely moving. awww. at long last, a father figure that a child can truly look up to, and a daughter surrogate who knows what it means to really, really want to get some payback.

and now on to the next one!

Freaking awesome re-read!

**OKAY, SPOILERS FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T READ IT YET**

Reading this was cray because I keep looking to see if I had read it before! I thought why is so much of this familiar. Then I thought, "Oh yeah, stupid, you own and have watched all of the current shows!" <--- I mean duh!

I was going to give this one 4 stars because it's the one where they kill more of the Stark's and wolf and I wanted to go in, turn into my own dragon and burn them all down!

but then . . .

THIS ↓

Oh happy day! Oh happy day! What joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❤

I love so many people on the show and in the books. But my favorites are:

1) Jon ❤
2) Tyrion
3) Arya
4) Daenerys
5) Brienne
6) Sam
7) Sansa

in no particular order because I tried that one already.

In the book there were certain scenes I liked better than I did in the shows. I love the shows and I love the books so far. But, in this book there were more parts with dialogue that I really enjoyed. My favorite in this book were the scenes between Brienne and Jaime. I know, you didn't see that coming right? I mean you would think it would have been all the parts about Jon since he's my hunneh bunneh but nope. I liked his parts better in the show and nooo it's not because I can look at him in the show. Although. . . nevermind.

I just felt like there was so much more to Brienne and Jaime's time together in the book. I wished he would have quit calling her ugly and such though. Jerk, but they did seem to be friends of a sort at the end of their time and I liked that.

The things you miss in any book is the commentary in someone's head. Of course some I would rather not read about. But I really loved the parts where we could read Tyrion's thoughts about Sansa. They were sweet and true and sad in many ways.

Overall I enjoyed the book because of the parts with Joffrey dying. Bwhahahahaahahahahahahah!
And the parts with Brienne and Jaime. I loved all of my other characters parts but these were the highlight moments for me.

Or course you know when you get rid of one evil b•stard, along comes another one!

MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List

2023 Update

The was the series at its finest. The plot was so strong here and the characters so well done. And the real mastery of style comes with the possibility. It feels like this story could go anywhere and that the fate of any of the characters could come swiftly.

I've lost count of how many times I've read this, though this is my first in many years. With the ending of the show in mind, which we can only assume is the ending the books will take, there are so many clues here and hints of where the plot eventually does end up. Of course there will be major differences, as there are a number of characters who never made it onto the TV screen, but by and large the main plot will end in the same fashion of that I have no doubts.

As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think we will ever see this series finished in print though. Too much time has elapsed and Martin doesn't seem to be progressing, I think he lost his passion for the work and it grew out of control. The story he began writing changed with each new book and new character introduced. As soon as this book closes, the process really began to start and the series ballooned and Martin lost control.

It's easier if I break this one down into characters.....

Jamie

When I first read A Game of Thrones I hated Jaime Lannister. Now, I think he’s awesome. If someone would have told me then, that by book three I would consider him one of my favourite characters, I’d have likely pushed them out of the moon door. It’s quite surprising that George R.R Martin actually changed him around like this. Well, I say change around. What I actually mean is showed the reader what he actually is. Never before, with any novel, have I had my feelings of pure hatred completely collapse in on them self and turn into pity and admiration.

George R.R. Martin achieved this astonishing reversal by showing us the man as he saw himself. Instead of ignorant Ned Stark condemning him in his point of view, we see how Jaimie thinks. Indeed, we see his side of the story and why he committed his Kingslaying. It was no ill thought out act or cowardly murder; it was a killing of pure honour and decency. Surprising, I know. I was convinced by Ned Stark’s judgment. I, too, saw a backstabber and murderer. I was glad when the veil was lifted because never before has a character been so wrongly perceived by so many. Jaimie Lannister, certainly, deserves more recognition for his act. But, like a man of honour, he kept the details to himself and cared not what the world thought. He knew that he exacted justice and that’s all that mattered.

Jaime reached for the flagon to refill his cup. "So many vows...they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or the other.”

Tyrion

And then there’s Tyrion’s little fiasco with that crossbow. I mean, wow! I did not see that coming. I literally cheered the very first time I read that; it was so perfect and so necessary. The way the chapter ended was superb also. I’d put the quote in, but that would be a big plot spoiler. I guess there is only so far you can push someone before they finally snap, and lash out against the world. Tyrion could only take so much abuse and disuse from the ones who should actually love him. What he did was totally justified and necessary for his own survival. He simply couldn’t go on anymore with that kind of treatment. The end he provides to his victim’s name will well, and truly, sully his reputation. It was most apt to finish him in such a way. What an awful, and deserved, way to go.

Also, I think the blow of the red wedding has somewhat softened over the years. Initially, it is upsetting and horribly unjust, but then you read the build-up of it again and see it in a different light. It is clear that it was completely King Rob’s fault. He caused it; he should have known better than to renegade on such an important deal. It was pure folly. He left himself completely vulnerable. But, he isn’t to blame completely; he was very young after all. Maybe one day the Starks will be avenged completely. Well, I think it’s obvious that there is only on person with the capabilities to do it.

Dany

By this point in the series Dany has truly cast aside her fear. She has realised who she is and what she is capable of; she has become the dragon her brother was attempting to be. But, for all her power, she lacks wisdom. It isn’t a lack of wisdom born of stupidity, but through a lack of experience. She needs someone to guide her and help her realise her destiny; she needs someone well versed in the game to lead her steps, and insure her politics are not completely detrimental. In short, she needs someone braver than Jorah and someone more cunning than Barristan; she needs a strong right hand. She needs an ally who can truly save her. It’s just a shame that the television show has beat Martin to it! However, she still has her own natural leadership abilities. She has taken an army and freed a city; she has found her voice and her confidence. But, she still needs help. Dragons are a powerful weapon, though they will only take her so far. They’ve saved her in this novel, and they will save her again. But, it takes more than Fire and Blood to win a throne, though it does help.

This, for me, is the strongest novel in the series so far. The characters have evolved and become figures of investment. The characters in this are truly brilliant. It’s why this series is so damn good. It’s very difficult to actually pick a favourite because with each novel my opinions seem to change as the characters do. It’s also very hard to give each of them a mention in a review! I didn’t even talk about Jon Snow. Never mind. I think it’s clear what my opinion of this book is.

I do love this series!

Desde el título hasta la última página, todo ha sido maravilloso.

Definitivamente, esta saga ha llegado a mi vida para convertirse en algo muy bonito que recordaré en el futuro. Sí, sé que los libros que me faltan leer no tienen la misma calidad del volumen que acabo de leer, pero, estoy viviendo una experiencia tan especial con esta saga que independientemente de mis sensaciones en el futuro, leer Canción de hielo y fuego ha sido una gran decisión de la que no me arrepiento nunca. Son libros grandísimos y seguramente nunca tendrán un final, pero la calidad del argumento que nos presenta Martin en los tres primeros volúmenes es impresionante. Recuerdo que me sentí muy satisfecho cuando terminé Juego de tronos y Choque de reyes, pero después de leer este volumen siento como si realmente los dos primeros fueran una introducción para Tormenta de espadas. Puede parecer una falta de respeto, pero después de terminar Tormenta de espadas, es como si esos libros se hubieran vuelto muy pequeñitos en comparación con el gran argumento que preparó Martin para esta obra. ¿Y saben por qué recordaré especialmente esta saga en el futuro? Muy simple, por mí hermano: Mi gran consejero de libros, juegos y películas. Irónicamente yo no quería leer esta saga; parecía tan larga, tan cansina, tan aburrida, pero cuando mi hermano le dio la locura de escuchar el audiolibro permanecí en estado de expectación esperando sus comentarios. «Con tantos libros por conocer, ¿para qué arriesgarme a perder el tiempo con una saga de más de 5000 páginas? Esperemos que lo escuche primero mi hermano, y si le gusta me lo promocionará, eso es seguro» Esos eran mis pensamientos más frecuentes. Ya cuando me dijo que sí era bueno, entonces decidí leerlo aunque con algo de escepticismo en el fondo. Pero a medida que fui avanzando fui entendiendo que tantos halagos y tantos premios no eran casualidad, y que verdaderamente Canción de hielo y fuego era una obra maestra. Desde ese momento, y hasta el día de hoy, he realizado un estilo de lectura conjunta con mi hermano, en el que yo le cuento lo que leí y él, como ya lo leyó, recuerda esos capítulos, su experiencia y sus sensaciones, y así nos pasamos horas charlando sobre el contenido, sin spoilers y sin explicaciones de más de la cuenta. Leer es especial, pero compartir con alguien que quieres mucho —como un familiar o un amigo íntimo— esos sentimientos que vives en el momento, es algo muy diferente, es bastante especial, y creo que también esa es la razón por la que este libro va rumbo a mis favoritos y directo a mi corazón.

Es un libro que me ha atrapado completamente, no solo por el contenido sino por la prosa tan agradable para leer. Martin supo aprovechar perfectamente la ventaja de que existieran los dos libros anteriores. La aprovechó porque aquí no necesitó presentar personajes, ni describir lugares, ni preparar el contexto: ¡Nada! En Tormenta de espadas, sentí una historia completamente impulsada por si misma que avanzaba a la velocidad que el autor quería proponer. Por ejemplo, cada vez que inicié un capítulo, por la prosa serena de los primeros párrafos, creía que me estaba encontrando ante un capítulo de transición, pero una vez seguía leyendo, sorpresa tras sorpresa me dejaba boquiabierto y en ciertas ocasiones quedaba súper emocionado por los giros inesperados que nos tiene bien guardados Martin. Todo el tiempo el autor jugó con mis sentimientos, con mi mente, y no logré adivinar pero en absoluto el contenido que iba a aparecer más adelante. Fueron como seis capítulos con nivel Dios, otros diez aproximadamente con nivel épico, y en general muchísimos capítulos entretenidos, sorprendentes, atrapantes y muy, pero muy adictivos. No sé si Martin planeo así su obra —yo creería que sí— pero usar Juego de tronos y Choque de reyes como aperitivo de este volumen ha sido una gran elección de su parte. Y lo mejor es que para la estructura de este libro, toma de Juego de tronos la prosa ligera, la extensión de los capítulos y los momentos bastante inesperados, pero de Choque de reyes toma la intensidad, el caos, los viajeros errantes, las batallas sangrientas, la desesperación, la muerte, etc. Si se ve de otra manera, es como si Tormenta de espadas fuera una fusión de sus dos predecesores.

Con este volumen me ha quedado claro que en la Edad Media las guerras no solo se ganaban con grandes batallas o caballeros heroicos, sino también por medio de bodas; bodas, que servían de alianza para evitar los desacuerdos, las traiciones y la hambruna en general. Entre más hijos tenías, más posibilidades tenías de tener aliados. Allí, es cuando uno empieza a comprender porque los matrimonios antes eran impuestos. Con tantos riesgos a que te mataran en cualquier momento, o a que agonizaras de hambre, lo más lógico era usar el matrimonio como una herramienta para sobrevivir, y no para ser feliz. Si podías estar vivo, ¿a quién le importaba con quien te casaras o con quien se casaban tus hijos? Lo primordial era la supervivencia, y sin alianzas en ese mundo inhóspito y lleno de crueldad, lo más natural era que perecieras más pronto de lo que creyeras. Es una situación importante que nos hace recordar que las prioridades que tenemos en nuestra vida siempre son diferentes para cada época, y que, sin importar que tus descendientes piensen que eras un «animal» por cometer tales decisiones tan injustas e inmorales, lo importante es nuestro presente y la forma como intentamos adaptarnos a él. A veces vemos las situaciones siempre desde la perspectiva de la víctima, que en este caso serían los comprometidos en matrimonio, pero también es importante entender por qué se requirió la necesidad de ejecutar dichas acciones. Lo vemos con el matrimonio, con sus costumbres, la manera en que asesinaban, su constante necesidad de tener sexo, el honor, el compromiso, etc.

Un aspecto del cual finalicé muy satisfecho fue el desarrollo que tiene la magia en esta historia. Naturalmente aún faltan bastantes secretos por revelarse, pero en este volumen la magia pasa de ser una leyenda a ser realidad, y eso me ha gustado mucho. Es un tema que me ha dejado con mucha intriga, preguntas en mi cabeza, y del cual anhelo leer próximamente en los próximos volúmenes de esta saga.

Los personajes continúan siendo excelentes como siempre. Me gustaría extenderme en esta sección infinitamente nombrando la cantidad de conversaciones que me han sorprendido, pero sobretodo que me han hecho reír como loco. Amo el humor cruel, el sarcasmo y la ironía, por lo que leer a personajes profesionales en hacerlo es un placer total. Me parece increíble que algunos personajes que no parecían importantes, o que simplemente no me simpatizaban, resultaran ganándose mi agrado por completo. No puedo decir nombres, pero seguramente quienes hayan leído este libro lo entenderán, y quienes no lo han leído lo comprenderán si llegan a hacerlo. Debió ser súper difícil para Martin escribir estos libros. Debió serlo porque cada capítulo viene con una visión del mundo, sentimientos y pensamientos tan diferentes, que es complejo pensar en cómo una sola persona puede plasmar tantas personalidades y puntos de vista distintos sin liarla en el intento. Lo hace con tanta maestría, que en un capítulo podremos catalogar a X personaje como malvado, pero si por casualidad llegara la oportunidad de narrar la historia desde aquel ser X, entonces entenderíamos que quizás no es tan malo y que solo es un escudo que usa para sobrevivir en este maldito juego de tronos. Si lo analizamos con calma, nos percataremos de que estos personajes son como cualquier ser humano de la vida real: Muestran una cara, presentan una máscara o un escudo para protegerse, pero al estar en un lugar seguro, con sus amigos, familiares y/o con sí mismos, cambian de personalidad completamente y se muestran tal y como son. Eso hace muy especial leer estos libros. En una adaptación te podrán decir los mismos diálogos, los actores y actrices podrán interpretarlos excelentemente, pero sus pensamientos no se pueden plasmar de ninguna forma. Leer esos pensamientos, leer la forma de controlar sus emociones para preservar la vida, leer su verdadero ser, eso, sinceramente, es una puta genialidad.

Un libro con traiciones, grandes estrategias, alianzas, batallas, caos: Una verdadera Tormenta de espadas. Ahora comprendo porque tantos seguidores anhelan un nuevo libro de esta saga: En el fondo, todos desean un libro igual —o mejor— que Tormenta de espadas. Una vara alta la que se ha puesto asimismo GRRM, pero sin importar que pueda superarla, o que nunca exista un libro más de este autor, con el contenido que he encontrado de este volumen me siento más que satisfecho y agradecido por el gran trabajo y dedicación de este señor para escribir. No me arrepiento ni un segundo del tiempo empleado en esta lectura, me gustaría repetirlo cien veces, ¡Qué digo cien veces, mejor mil veces! ¿Qué más puedo decir? Me encantó, lo amé, no lo olvidaré nunca y se lo recomiendo desde lo más profundo de mi corazón a todos los lectores: Tantas páginas, realmente, sí valen la pena. Una obra maestra en todo el sentido de la palabra. Gracias GRRM, gracias por tantas horas de entretenimiento. ¡Muchísimas gracias!

وسط إنشغال الملوك بلعبة العروش، تعم الفوضي بالبلاد
تحاط بين سيوف الخارجين عن القانون وأعدائهم
بين غيوم عواصف شتاء قادم، وعاصفة السيوف

عاصفة السيوف أو كما ترجمته 'صليل الصوارم' الأنشودة الثالثة من أغنية الجليد والنار

جزء أضخم مما سبق، ملحمي ،ملئ بالتطورات والمفاجآت الدموية..والشاعرية


ليثبت جورج آر آر مارتين أن سلسلته تحوي بجانب الدراما والحرب، الرعب والفانتازي والسحر..شيئا من الرومانسية

فبهذا الجزء بجانب أغاني السيوف وصليل الصوارم، هناك أغنيات مليئة بالمشاعر ، لا أستطيع أن اجزم بأنها كلها رومانسية، ولكن الأكيد أنها ستحرك مشاعرك وتجعلك تشعر بتعاطف أكثر مع هذه الثنائيات الغير متوقعة

هو الجزء اﻷفضل بالنسبة لي من بعد الجزء اﻷول، والجزء اﻷكثر قوة حتي اﻷن ، لتميزه بقصص ضخمة للشخصيات ،ومزايا أخري كثيرة سيكون الريفيو مجرد عرض 3 مزايا هامة لها لنختلف عن الريفيوهات السابقة

ربما ﻷن هذا الجزء كان مخططا قبل الانتهاء من كتابته في اواخر التسعينات أن يكون الأخير قبل أن يغير المؤلف رأيه بعد الجزء الثاني لتتحول أغنية الجليد والنار من ثلاثية إلي سباعية

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أولا ، مصائر تُعرف و أسرار تنكشف
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بهذا الجزء الكثير من المصائر والأسرار التي تعود للجزء الأول تنكشف وبمفاجأت ودقة كعادة المؤلف

من أرسل قاتل لأغتيال أبن أيدارد ستارك الصغير بالجزء اﻷول؟ وهل سيلقي جزاءه؟ وما سر قدرة بران ستارك نفسه للدخول في عقل ذئبه؟ وهل أخوته لديهم جزء من هذه الموهبة؟

ما سر تحركات الهمج، القوم اﻷحرار ناحية الجدار؟ وهل لها علاقة بأختفاء عم جون سنو بالجزء اﻷول؟

ماذا بعد أنتصارات روب ستارك ملك الشمال في كل معاركه؟ هل يضمن له ان يكسب الحرب؟ ولماذا تشعر أمه كاتلين ستارك بكل هذا الخواء برغم الأنتصارات؟

ماهي الخطوة التالية لملكة التنانين؟ الملكة الشرعية لويستروس والمنفية وراء البحار؟ و ما سر الرجلان الذان يتبعناها منذ الجزء السابق؟ وماسر عدم ثقة فارسها به؟

ماذا سيفعل الملك ستانيس براثيون بعد هزيمته؟ وما سر تشبثه بالأبن الغير شرعي للملك السابق روبرت براثيون؟ وهل للمرأة الحمراء دور بهذا؟ تلك الكاهنة التي يمقتها مساعده دافوس؟

هذا الجزء يكشف أيضا جانب مظلم عجيب للمعتقدات والأديان الغريبة التي مازالت تنتشر في الممالك السبع , هناك جزء به سحر وغموض ...وقدرات خارقة للطبيعة , هذا غير الأعتقاد أن كل هذه القدرات تزيد بسبب ظهور التنانين من جديد

ولكن صدقني مهما بلغ السحر أشده, لا شئ أكثر ظلاما ولا قسوة من الغدر البشري والخيانات .. وعاصفة سيوفه

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جــيمـي لانيــستـر

سـامـويل تارلـي

هناك أيضا الظهور الأول ل"مانس رايدير" قائد البرابرة ,أو كما يطلق عليه "ملك خلف الجدار" ,والذي يقابله لأول مرة جون سنو ليعرف سر تحركات الهمج "البرابرة" نحو الجدار وقري الشمال وهي شخصية مثيرة جدا ومكتوبة بشكل ممتاز بالرغم من قصر دوره

حتي الشخصية التي تظهر في أخر فصل..10 صفحات يروي قصة حياته في عائلة "فيري" وسوء حظه..لتنتهي حياته في هذا الفصل الوحيد كما أن هذا الفصل اﻷخير نفسه ينتهي نهاية غير متوقعة ولم تظهر حتي اﻷن بالمسلسل ، نهاية صادمة غريبة ومشوقة تدفعك لمعرفة المزيد بالجزء التالي

ولكن هذا ما أعتدناه من جورج آر آر مارتين, كل شخصية مهما كان ضآلة حجم دورها لها حياة وتاريخ يحاول دائما كتابة ملامح منه بين الأحداث
هذا غير وصف الملامح , الملابس, الطعام , كل أدق التفاصيل ليجعلك تعيش بهذا العالم الذي أبتدعه
وتطورات ونضج يحدث لباقي الشخصيات التي نتابعها منذ الأجزاء الماضية

آريا ستارك ومعاناتها للوصول لأمها في ظل عاصفة السيوف

كاتلين ستارك وصدماتها المتوالية من أخبار سيئة ووفيات أقرب الناس لها

سانسا ستارك والتي أيقنت أن الحياة ليست كالأغاني, علي الأقل العاطفية منها

جون سنو ومهمته كخائن للحرس الليلي وتعقدات تلك المهمة لأن لن يثق به بسهولة سواء الهمج أو حتي أخوانه من الحرس

بران ستارك ورحلته نحو الشمال, والموهبة العجيبة لدخوله أجسام ذئبه, في ظل شتاء قادم وعاصفة سيوف

تايرون لانيستر وصراعه مع أخته , تسلطات وتحكمات أبيه , الغباء السياسي والأخلاقي لأبن أخته الملك جوفري

دافوس سيورث مساعد الملك ستانيس ,وأتهامة بالخيانة من بعد الحرب فقط لأنه يشعر بمدي ظلام السحر الذي تمارسه الكاهنة الحمراء ,كاهنة أله النار

دانيريس تارجريان وخطوتها الصعبة المليئة بالمخاطر لتجميع جيشا وسفنا لتستطيع العودة لعرشها الشرعي, عرش الممالك السبع ..العرش الحديدي

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جيـمي لانيـستر وبريني من تارث
-----------------

هذا الوسيم المغرور المتعجرف و "برينيي الجميلة" ، إبنة لورد 'تارث' الضخمة البنيان، غير جميلة الملامح حيث لقبها جاء كسخرية منها، القوية، صاحبة القيم و اﻷخلاق، شخصية مختلفة تماما عنه ،كإختلاف السماء واﻷرض، تمقته ﻷنه خائن عهد و ذابح الملك..ولكنها مكلفة بعهد من السيدة كاتلين ستارك لتوصيل أسيرها جيمي لأراضي الملك فداء لإبنتيها سانسا و آريا

ولكن الرياح كما تعودنا بتلك اﻷغنية لا تأتي أبدا كما تشتهي السفن
فسيعترض جيمي و بريني الكثير من اﻷعداء،والمعرقلات الخطيرة وفي رحلتهما هذه سيتغير الكثير من حياتهما

الحوار بينهما مكتوب بأسلوب ممتاز جعلني أعشق هذا الجزء من بدايته للنهاية، فقد نجح جدا المؤلف في أبراز التناقض بينهما بل ويجعلنا نقرأ وندخل ذهن ذابح الملك لدرجة قد تجعلك تتعاطف معه بشدة .. أو علي اﻷقل ستتحمله كما إحتملته بيرني في رحلتهما في جزء ملئ بالدموية ، و عاصفة السيوف...واﻷهم صراع حقيقي بين جميلة ، ودب
لتكتمل أغنية " الدب والعذراء الحسناء" ..إلي حد ما

جزء الحوار مكتوب به بشكل به شئ من المرح والكوميديا بالرغم من كل صعوباته ودمويته
جزء فعلا يكاد ينافس أجمل قصص الحب..وان لم يكن جزءا رومانسيا علي الأطلاق

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سـانسا ستـارك و تـايرون لانيستر
-----------------

وترتفع أمال سانسا بذلك الفارس الذي سينقذها ولكن، إنها أغنية الدب والعذراء الحسناء...إنها أنشودة عاصفة السيوف

فتايرون لانيستر ، القزم ، أيضا تغير مستقبله تماما عن الجزء الثاني، فهو لم يعد من الحرب التي خاضها دفاعا عن أراضي الملك محبوبا أكثر، بالعكس عاد مكروها أكثر ،جريحا جروح شوهته أكثر من بعد نجاته من محاولة إغتيال دبرتها أخته ليظهر أنه سقط في الحرب
تم نزعه من منصبه تماما كمساعد 'يد' الملك لصالح أبيه تايون لانيستر والذي صار يتحكم فيه بشراسة أكثر ، وايضا أخته سيرسي وحتي أبن أخته الملك جوفري
ولكن ما زاد عن كل ذلك، رد فعل أبيه المفاجئ فور معرفته خطة عائلة تايريل السرية لتزويج سانسا ...فقد قرار سبقهم وتزويج ابنه القزم المشوه من الحرب "تايرون" لسانسا ستارك...العذراء الحسناء

كلا الجزئان ،جزء سانسا وجزء تايرون، يتداخلان كثيرا في أحداث مشتركة تجعلك تشعر باﻷسي لكليهما ، والورطة التي جمعتهما سويا ...تماما كأغنية الدب والحسناء العذراء..وما أقسي مفاجآت اﻷغاني التي كانت تعشقها سانسا

كما أن جزئهما سيشهد التطورات والمفاجآت البشعة الصادمة
وبالرغم من تشابك الجزئين لكنهما سيتفرقا في مسارات لن تتخيلها ومفاجآت تلك العاصفة...عاصفة السيوف
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آريا ستارك وساندور "الكلب" كاليجين
-------------------

هذا الجزء سنتعرف علي جماعة الأخوان بلا راية والعجائب الخارقة للطبيعة التي يقوم بها كاهنهم ، وتظل آريا أسيرتهم هي وجريندي و هوتباي من الجزء السابق، ولكنها تجد نفسها تبتعد دوما عن وصولها لأهلها..ولكنهم ليسوا الدب هنا

فكما قلت أن أغنية الدب والعذراء الحسناء هي اﻷهم هنا...ولكن ليس الدب في حالة آريا...وإنما الكلب 'ساندور كاليجان' و الذي سيقلب اﻷحداث لهذا الجزء فهل سيكون منقذها؟

هذا الجزء يقدم علاقة عجيبة بين ساندور وعائلة ستارك, تشعر فعلا بشئ غريب, هل هو مذنب فعلا طوال الوقت؟ أم أن طبيعته البشر��ة جعلته قاسيا ولكن ليس ظالما كأخيه "الجبل" جريجور كاليجن

فكرة إنتقام آريا من كل من ظلم عائلتها وأصدقائها تتعظم في هذا الجزء ،ولكن هذا الجزء الضخم ، لا أنكر ان اغلبه كان مرهق بغارات السيوف بين الخارجين عن القانون و الفرسان اﻷحرار و كان يمكن إختصاره بشكل أفضل كما في المسلسل
وأيضا سيشهد مفاجآت صادمة ، دموية باﻷخص عندما يقترب من......ولكن لنعود لهذا لاحقا

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جون سنو و ياجريت من القوم اﻷحرار
-------------------

المعضلة هنا هي أن جون سنو لا يريد خلف قسم أخوية الحرس الليلي, والذي يقتضي عليه ألا يتزوج أمرأة..ولكنه إن لم يكن طبيعيا مع ياجريت فأن هذا سيزيد شكوك القوم الأحرار ..فماذا سيفعل؟


من منهما الدب، ومن العذراء،هي الهمجية, هو الحارس المخلص لقسمه
الأمر هنا مختلط ..في قصة جميلة عن المساواة، حق الحرية ، الشجاعة واﻷخلاص ...وقصة حب أكثر وضوحا من أي قصة أخري باﻷحداث، كتبها المؤلف بطريقة ممتازة ، ومؤثرة عندما يفقترق الطريقان ..وتليق بنفس الوقت بالجو العام للأحداث

ستعشقها ، وستعشق الجملة التي تقولها كماركة مسجلة
أنت لا تعرف شيئا ، جون سنو

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سامويل تارلي و جيلي من القوم اﻷحرار
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دانيريس تارجيريان و سير جوراه مورمونت
----------------------

هي أيضا لديها شكوكها للفارس المنضم مؤخرا ومساعده كتابعان لها، ولكنها لا تشعر تجاه سير جوراه بنفس المشاعر، مما يجعلها في خضم جزءها الزخم باﻷحداث دائما في ذلك الصراع العاطفي ، حتي تنقلب اﻷحداث وتبدأ المفاجأت، ولا تنس النبؤة التي سمعتها دانيريس بنهاية الجزء الثاني حول 3 خيانات ستقابلها في طريقها
وقد واجهت اﻷولي بالجزء اﻷول من الساحرة التي كلفتها حياة زوجها وأبنها في رحمها...مما جعلها شديدة الحذر تجاه الجميع


بالرغم من أن الفارس سير جوراه ليس له فصول خاصة إلا أنك تشعر بعشقه لها من خلال الفصول الخاصة بدانيريس , من طريقة حديثه وأقترحاته لها وحتي نظرته لكل من حول ملكته ,دانيريس
جزء ملئ بالمفاجأت والتحالفات والشكوك أيضا

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هي عن اﻷمطار التي سقطت علي قلعة منزل عريق بالممالك السبع والذي تحدي يوما منزل لانيستر ، وتمرد عليه بعد أن كان تابع له ، ليرد عليه تايون لانيستر بحرق القلعة وقتل كل أفراد هذا المنزل ليمحيه تماما
لتسقط تلك اﻷمطار علي اطلال القلعة تنتحب ولا أحد يسمعها

لا أود حرق اﻷحداث، ولكن يكفي ذكر أن مشهد أحد حفلات الزفاف بهذا الجزء ﻷحد من تحدي منزل لانيستر تحول لحفل دموي، بشع...سمي بعدها ب'الزفاف اﻷحمر' ولا أعتقد أن بهذا مبالغة

حتي المؤلف جورج آر آر مارتين يعترف أنه أصعب مشهد كتبه في حياته

أتذكر وقت مشاهدتي لهذا المشهد بالموسم الثالث للمسلسل المبني علي الرواية-قبل قرائتي لها- ظللت صامتا لدقائق ، لا أصدق الدموية ، الوحشية، الغدر هذا كله
الخيانة التي تتعارض مع أي عرف، قوانين، تقاليد أو حتي اﻷديان كلها المختلفة بالممالك السبع
مشهد صادم ، قاتل وأتذكر جيدا أني شعرت أنني لا أريد مشاهدة هذا المسلسل بعد ذلك ، وسأبيع الكتاب اﻷول الذي إشتريته ولم اقرأه بعد وقتها

فما فائدة متابعة مسلسل وقراءة رواية بها كل هذا الظلم...الظلام...الأستبداد والخيانة والخداع من أجل لعبة المناصب والكراسي
لعبة العروش
صراع ملوك ، عاصفة سيوف، صليل صوارم

ولكن عندما قراءتها...وبنهاية هذا الجزء باﻷخص
وجدت أنها لا تختلف عن عالمنا إلا في المسميات
ومازال هناك فرصة للتغيير، الثأر وتحقيق العدل

فقط يجب أن تصمد...تعافر...تلعب ولكن بشرف
تلعب ، لعبة العروش

وإلي ريفيو الجزء الرابع

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

A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000.

A Storm of Swords picks up the story slightly before the end of its predecessor, A Clash of Kings.

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are still in the grip of the War of the Five Kings, wherein Joffrey Baratheon and Stannis Baratheon compete for the Iron Throne, while Robb Stark of the North and Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands declare their independence.

Meanwhile, a large host of wildlings, the tribes from beyond the Seven Kingdoms' northern border, approach the Wall that marks the border, under the leadership of Mance Rayder, the self-proclaimed "King Beyond the Wall", with only the undermanned Night's Watch in opposition.

Finally, Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter of a deposed former king of Westeros and "mother" of the world's only living dragons, travels west to plan to retake her father's throne. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: از بیست ششم آوریل تا بیست و نهم ماه می سال2015میلادی

عنوان: طوفان شمشیرها کتاب یک از جلد سه (نغمه آتش و یخ، #3)؛ نویسنده: جورج آر.آر مارتین؛ مترجم: رویا خادم الرضا؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، ویدا، سال1393، در737ص و شش صفحه نقشه، شابک9786002910745؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م

عنوان: طوفان شمشیرها کتاب دوم از جلد سه (نغمه آتش و یخ، #3)؛ نویسنده: جورج آر.آر مارتین؛ مترجم: رویا خادم الرضا؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، ویدا، سال1393، در789ص، شابک9786002910752؛

سومین کتاب از مجموعه رمان فانتزی حماسی «ترانه یخ و آتش»، اثر نویسنده آمریکایی «جرج آر.آر مارتین» است؛ این کتاب طولانی‌ترین کتاب در این سری است؛ با توجه به طولانی بودن کتاب، در برخی کشورها از جمله در «استرالیا» و «ایران» این کتاب در دو بخش به چاپ رسیده است؛

چکیده: «داستان طوفان شمشیرها» کمی پیش از داستان کتاب پیشین سری «ترانه آتش و یخ» است؛ هفت پادشاهی هنوز درگیر جنگ پنج پادشاه هستند؛ شاه‌های باقی‌مانده «راب استارک»، «بالون گری‌ جوی»، «جوفری باراتئون» و «استانیس باراتئون»، برای نگاهبانی قدرتشان، در جنگ با هم برای نگاهبانی از رده ی خودشان هستند؛ جنگ داخلی، مردمان عادی را از بین می‌برد؛ داستان از دیدگاه ده شخصیت اصلی، گفته می‌شود، و یک پیش‌ مقدمه، و یک شخصیت پس مقدمه هم دارد، که در کل دوازده گوینده، در داستان حضور دارند «پیش مقدمه چت برادر و نگهدارنده سگها»؛ «سر جیمی لنیستر پسر بزرگ تایوین لنیستر برادر تیریون لنیستر»؛ «جان اسنو پسرخوانده ی ادارد استارک»؛ «بانو کتلین استارک»؛ «تیریون لنیستر»؛ «سانسا استارک»؛ «آریا استارک»؛ «برن استارک»؛ «سمول تارلی»؛ «سر داووس سی‌ورس»؛ «ملکه دنریس تارگرین»؛ «پس مقدمه: مرت فری»؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 02/01/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 06/10/140هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

This year (2011) has been rough for those of us who count ourselves Minnesota Twins fans. A few weeks ago, however, I watched Francisco Liriano nearly pitch a perfect game. Earlier in the season, Liriano pitched a no-hitter, which was a bright spot in an otherwise unremitting series of losses, injuries, and disappointment. But this was different. This meant more. This was a perfect game (and you can’t get better than perfect).

The announcers, with no regard for karma, started talking about the possibility in the fifth inning. I didn't start to get excited until the seventh. I thought to myself: I might be watching something for the history books. Then, in the eighth, the third baseman made an error, and the perfect game was over (the following inning, he lost his no-hit bid as well). The game went down as a victory for the Twins, and for Liriano, but it will be lost in the eddies of baseball history. It was a very good game; but it was not a masterpiece.

Back in May 2007, I watched the season finale of the third season of Lost. The series, which focused on a group of airplane crash survivors on a mysterious island, became a pop cultural phenomenon with its intriguing present-day storyline intercut with meaningful flashbacks to the off-island lives of the passengers.

The third season was up-and-down, but after a strong homestretch, Lost gave us a finale for the ages. In the final moments, the show revealed that the flashbacks we thought we’d been watching for the previous two hours were actually flash-forwards, and that some of the passengers had gotten off the island. After picking up the pieces of my brain, I thought to myself, I might be watching the greatest television show of all time. Flash forward to 2010, when Lost concluded with a melodramatically satisfying but substantively hollow conclusion. It ended as a very good series, with individual episodes as strong as anything that ever aired on television, but it was not a masterpiece.

I just finished George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords, and I’m getting the same feeling I did watching Liriano in the 7th inning, or watching the third season finale of Lost: the thought that I might be in the midst of something special. Something that might linger and last. Something that be be considered a classic. Not classic fantasy. But a bona fide literary monument. I have grave doubts that Martin can finish this series, or that he can finish it with the same strength with which he started (reviews of the next book, A Feast for the Crows are not encouraging), but when I finished the last page, I certainly sensed the possibility of greatness. If Martin can finish this – if – then he will have accomplished a feat that will demand attention (including from those snotty New York Times Book reviewers who won’t read “fantasy”).

Swords is Book Three in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire cycle. It begins where Book Two, A Clash of Kings left off. At the end of Kings, we were treated to the epic battle of the Blackwater; Winterfell was razed; the Night’s Watch was north of the Wall; and it appeared that the Lannisters, including the young, sociopathic King Joffrey, were ascendant.

My main critique of Kings was that it started slowly and maintained that agonizing pace right up until a blistering third act that completely reshaped my feelings. Storm doesn’t bother with a slow build-up. It gets into things from the first page. From front to back, this is the best of the series so far, and a stunning novel in any light.

The ever-expanding plot of A Song of Ice and Fire is impossible to summarize neatly. In Storm, as in the other books of this series, the story is told from the alternating viewpoints of various characters. The selected viewpoints are: Jaime Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Catelyn Stark, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, Bran Stark, Samwell Tarly, Davos Seaworth, and Daenerys Targaryen.

I sometimes criticized the point-of-view choices in the first two books, for the reason that Martin’s decisions often led to viewpoint redundancies and glaring blind spots. That is, Martin would often have several characters in one place, talking about one thing, while huge swaths of the storyline lacked a single witness. As a consequence, big chunks of exposition, central to the plot, were fed to the reader as secondhand hearsay, rather than experienced by a beloved character.

For the most part, this problem does not arise with Storm. The viewpoint characters are well chosen and spread out across Westeros, doing things rather than talking about them. Sam is with the Night’s Watch beyond the Wall, being chased by the Others (they’re a kind of cold-weather mash-up of vampires and zombies). Jon is riding with Mance Ryder’s free-folk in a sort of Dances With Wildings subplot that allows us some insight into the wildlings lifestyle (and occasions any number of hastily-scrawled sex scenes). Catelyn is with her son Robb, the King of the North, who blunders badly by breaking his oath to marry a Frey daughter. Jaime Lannister embarks on a perilous journey back to King’s Landing, guarded by the female knight Brienne of Tarth. Meanwhile, back in King’s Landing, a wounded Tyrion awakens to find that his good deeds have not helped his standing. The presence of his father, Tywin Lannister (a great peripheral character), and the scheming of his sister, Cersei, threatens his position at court. Across the sea, Daenerys gathers an army she hopes will allow her to retake Westeros.

Of course, not all the viewpoint characters are created equally. Sansa Stark finally has things to do (and finally rejoins the plot; she has basically stood mute since betraying her father Eddard in A Game of Thrones), but she is still dumber than a garden gnome. Martin finally convinced me that Davos Seaworth, loyal to royal pretender Stannis Baratheon, is an important character; unfortunately, his importance does not make him interesting. Like Eddard Stark before him, Seaworth’s square, dogged sense of honor – shorn of wit or pragmatism – makes him an uninspired character.

These criticisms are only half hearted, though. The overall quality of Martin’s plotting choices easily cover up the fact that, in a game of chess between Sansa and a sack of unpeeled potatoes, I would wager on the potatoes. Even an otherwise tiresome character such as Samwell Tarly, who is the sniveling heir of Tolkien’s Samwise Gamgee, is given things to do. Heck, I even grew to like Daenerys. In the first two books, I was wholly underwhelmed by her subplot. Though I fully understand (or think I understand) Martin’s endgame with respect to Daenerys, I didn't like how he kept cutting away from the main story to heap page after page upon this unconnected plot thread. In Storm, Daenerys does not get much closer to joining the rest of the book, but she does get to kick some ass. I never figured I’d be a person to get much enjoyment from a dragon unleashing fire on an unassuming victim. I was wrong.

Many of the highlights of this book I will not touch, even vaguely. Things happen that are surprising, shocking, and heart-wrenching. If at all possible, you should attempt to finish this book before accidentally stumbling across a massive spoiler.

Surprises aside, many of Storm’s highlights stem from four characters in particular: Jaime the Kingslayer; Jon Snow of the Night’s Watch; Arya Stark; and Tyrion the Imp.

Storm is the first book in which Jaime becomes a viewpoint character. In the past, we knew him as the sister-f***ing, child-defenestrating, king-killing sword master. He appeared a cruel, golden-haired villain, one who inspired terror in the heart of our putative heroes, the Starks (the further you get into A Song of Ice and Fire, the less sure you become about who the heroes and villains really are). In Storm, Jaime spends much of his time on the dangerous, outlaw-infested roads back to King’s Landing. Though his chapters are hampered by his unfortunate, almost Tourette Syndrome-like use of the word wench, we learn a lot from Jamie about his time guarding Mad King Aerys. What we learn causes us to seriously reevaluate our earlier judgments, and begins nudging him along the villain-hero spectrum.

Jon’s story is where the bulk of the action happens. And by action, I mean fighting and sex. Without giving away too much, I think it’s appropriate to say that Jon is at the center of a battle on the scale of Return of the Kings’ Pelennor Fields. This battle really tilts A Song of Ice and Fire away from the realistic-fantasy from A Game of Thrones and into the fantasy-fantasy of The Lord of the Rings. There are mammoths and giants and spying eagles, but I didn't care, because there were also catapults and trebuchets and murder holes and burning oil. In other words, cool stuff.

Arya was one of those characters I initially didn't like. For some reason, thematically or otherwise, Martin has chosen for viewpoint characters a high number of children, persons with disabilities, and children with disabilities (I’m not including Sansa’s low-functioning, though I could). This means that a lot of our protagonists are a bit atypical; furthermore, many of them haven’t had a lot to do till now. In Storm, the kids finally start to grow up. Bran, the crippled boy, takes some huge strides in terms of reader-interest, as he begins to harness his shape-shifting abilities. However, I was more impressed with Arya’s storyline. She falls in with a gang of outlaws, joins forces with Sandor “the Hound” Clegane, and generally blurs the moral dividing line between good and bad. It’s a bold authorial choice when you take a relatively innocent child character and slowly turn her into a cold, steel-eyed killer.

Finally, Tyrion remains the transcendent character he was in the first two installments. I expected his droll wit and smartass remarks to start wearing thin, but Martin’s choice to put Tyrion on the defensive, hemmed in by his father and sister, was an act of genius. It kept him evolving, which is no small feat after we’ve spent so much time with him.

What I’ve just mentioned is just a smattering of the pleasures within A Storm of Swords, a novel that is overstuffed with awesome. This is a big book, and there is room for everything a fiction fan – not just a fantasy fan – could want: swordfights, torture, poison, beheadings, betrayals, shocking deaths, shocking fake-deaths, terrifying beasts, chuckle-inducing sex scenes, large scale battles, miracles.

As I’ve already mentioned, there are a lot more supernatural and fantastical aspects than before. These are things that might have been off-putting for the old me, the me who never read fantasy. It’s even possible that I never would’ve started A Game of Thrones if these things has existed at the start. Well, too late; I’ve been sucked in. Besides, Martin does a really good job of grounding these aspects with his no nonsense, matter-of-fact descriptions. It was easy for me to accept the prospect of dragons because Martin describes them with such biological precision. And it was easy for me to accept the storyline of Lord Beric Dondarrion, who is repeatedly killed and brought back to life by the Red Priest Thoros, because Martin’s portrayal of Beric is so gruesomely detailed (Beric is given life, but he is not healed; he walks around with a crushed skull and a missing eye).

For those of you who prefer Tolkien’s wordy, action-light style to numerous beheadings, maimings, and juvenile descriptions of oral sex, Storm should satisfy those cravings as well. Amid all the slayings and treachery, Martin still finds time for his characters to tell lengthy stories about the old days, and the long, violent, exciting history of Westeros. There are even songs!

This is a great novel. Not great fantasy; great literature. Martin’s prose is not elegant. Rather, it is detailed. He writes descriptively but clearly. His style is to create visual images with words. Accordingly, he goes to great lengths telling you about architecture, physical features, clothing, colors, and smells. Even minor castles or minor characters are imbued with depth. It can sometimes be overwhelming, trying to keep all this detail straight. Mostly, though, the result is a novel that is immersive and tactile. You feel surrounded by Martin’s world. You feel like you can gauge the reactions of Martin’s characters. There may be dragons and sorceresses and the walking dead, but it feels real.

That is not the extent of Martin’s talent. He has a marvelous sense of humor, and a nice, organic wit threads its way through novel, leavening the dour proceedings. Martin also has a nicely-tuned sense of dialogue. There are enough crisp one-liners and bon mots to put one in mind of The Godfather.

Storm is the midpoint of what Martin has said will be a seven-book cycle. I would be lying if I said I didn't have grave concerns (grave being relative, of course) about the rest of the series. There are so many variables as to make a prediction impossible. Can Martin sustain this dense style? Does he have any idea where all his plotlines are heading? Will success, riches, and fame blunt his skills? Does he have enough years left in his life to finish this grand project?

It’d be nice to say these questions don’t matter, that A Storm of Swords and the other completed novels can stand on their own. They can’t. Ultimately, Storm will be judged upon the entirety of A Song of Ice and Fire. If the cycle falters, or is left unfinished, then Storm will be reevaluated along with the rest.

There is no denying Storm’s essential qualities. It remains to be seen, however, whether it is part of a masterpiece, or something a bit less.

I love this one. Definitely a favorite.

HAPPY SEASON 4 FINALE EVE, NERDIES!!! what an awkward father's day present for tywin.

success! i have managed to read this book without getting spoiled ahead of time!! so - ha! to you nerds talking loudly in my sci-fi section about the plot!! i ran to the history wall and hummed loudly until they left. ha! to that jerk at BEA telling his colleagues every. single. thing. that happened in the third book while he stood behind me in that justin cronin line!! i made greg come back from his booth-browsing and hold our place (he has read all of these already), and i scooted over to the chronicle booth and peered around the corner, while greg stood in line wide-eyed and kept making "no, it is not safe yet" gestures and all i heard was the phrase "red wedding." ha! to all you irresponsible but adorably enthusiastic teenage reviewers of these books with your spoilery status updates in my feed! i have scrolled through quickly quickly and managed to remain completely untainted.

and man, there would have been a lot to get spoiled, here.

and now it is my turn.

HERE IS A LIST OF EVERYONE WHO DIES IN STORM OF SWORDS

okay, so that was a tease, and i would never be that much of a jerk. but now i understand. i feel powerful, stuffed to the gills with knowledge. and i am so freaking amped for season three to begin, because i cannot wait to see some of these scenes played out.

but apart from that,i mean, this is the third book in a series. so what can i possibly say in a review?? it is difficult to talk about a "middle" book without spoilers, and the casual goodreader isn't going to read this "review", probably, because there has been so much content, so much context, that it would make no sense to someone who has never picked up a book in this series before. i was re-reading some of my third-book reviews, for books that aren't just a trilogy, and you can see the struggle...

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

how do you talk about something that is continuing, for people who have no idea what you are talking about?

so, i assume only fans of martin are reading this, and you people know how good this book is, so what can i possibly say? so i'm just going to whitter on about some things i like/feel like whittering about.

oh, dana, i am so sorry about that thing that happens to your beloved character.

oblique spoiler:

i never thought i'd miss a hand so much

and in searching for that image, i rediscovered this site that has way more content than it used to, and i got sucked in for about an hour:

http://arrestedwesteros.com/

which led me to this, which is a book-one spoiler, so careful, uninitiated friends:

it is worth a visit to scroll through their archives; i had me some guffaws.

okay, but there were a couple of things that i didn't like in this book:

number one:

shea's betrayal of tyrion.

and the whole time it was happening, i was hoping she had some kind of plan,and it was all just some strategy, but nooooo! i really believed in her, and the way her story ended was heartbreaking to me. way more heartbreaking than robb, oddly. but doubly sad, because the actress who plays her is a love of mine, from one of my all-time favorite movies:

which i try to promote as often as possible.

number two:

telling jaime you killed joffrey??

i know you're pissed, tyrion, but

you're better than that.

but those were just minor flaws in what is otherwise a great book. george martin is good at a number of different things. for epic fantasy, which is usually defined by action sequences and the large-scale, his books are so skillful at the quiet moments. don't get me wrong, there are plenty of HUGE scenes in this book, but there are also so many small conversations that are seemingly inconsequential to the overall storyline, but they go so far towards character development, which is something lost in a lot of genre-fiction. these characters are vivid, and their decisions (mostly - see gripe number 2) make sense in terms of their positions and ambitions and survival instincts.and they will affect you.

i started reading this while i was re-watching the first season of the wire, which is an exercise i strongly recommend. there are so many parallels, in the way that characters operate within the parameters of "the game," and their individual codes of honor and behavior, and in the rises and falls of characters that are predicated upon such seemingly inconsequential events. the long drawn-out cause-and-effect situations, they are masterful and span seasons/books, which is such a delight to a fan.

which search led me to this:

and, oh, god, i love the internet:

http://asongoficeandwire.tumblr.com/

is there anything you do not have, internet??

this book is "everyone's" favorite, but for me, i think i like the second book better. yet i understand the feeling people have for this; the great love and the great heartbreak. and - oh - the way he takes things we thought we already understood from as far back as the first book; about jon arryn and about tysha, and he's all "nahhhh, this is what happened for real." so very cool. just when you thought you had closure...

it is an easy series to get addicted to. there are some problems, for sure, some of the writing occasionally can be cliched, and there is some repetition that is a little tedious, but overall, this is a character-driven series that has great scenes of action, is genuinely funny in a lot of places, and the strategies of characters are worth it. remember that as you struggle through the lyrics to "the bear and the maiden fair" for the hundredth time.

incidentally, i would read an entire series of novels featuring jaime and brienne on a road trip.

in closing:

DAENERYS!!!!

i love her so much.

come to my blog!["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

First an update on the Direwolf situation

I still do not have one...sadface.

This series !!! What can I say I am loving it! I don't know if I was just sick of everything else or just needed the escape but I am soooooo enjoying.

The great thing is that I am on the third book and its not like I can't say which book I like better, which was weaker they are one long story that come in three(so far for me) packages.

Its not like Indiana Jones. Where we say" man I love Indiana Jones but... that second one WTH? " You know, with Kate Capshaw and her never ending shriek and there were monkey brains.
Do you remember the monkey brains?
I remember the monkey brains.
Refresher

**I will make no mention of Indiana Jones and the skull of sh*t or whatever it was called because I have decided that Harrison Ford needed a new boat and it should not be included in the series.

Anyways A Song of Fire and Ice seems to different from the other series I have read *cough* Sookie Stackhouse *cough*. I find them very refreshing and I never have any idea where its going or how he is going to get us there,also do not get attached to anyone cause George R R Martin be killing bitches left right and center. No one is safe.

Confession time: I seem to have a crush on The Hound

WHAT?
Shut up!
I dont want to talk about it!

Whatever! I am not even sure he is alive,the last time we saw him he was feeling a bit stabbed under a tree and I am not puting a "spoiler tag" on that, cause if I don't know then I am not spoiling anything.
Maybe its cause he is so grumpy?
This series brings out some weird attractions, my friend said she thought Littlefinger was sexy, he is a quirky mother f@&ker I'll give ya that, also she did not judge my hound problem so we're good.

Each one of these humongous books has managed to completely captivate me. I have loved listening to the characters evolve with this series as their fantastical world changes around them. Nothing is off-limits and nobody is sacred. As anxious as it makes me, the fact that I never know what to expect next is a big plus for me. When you read as much as I do, it is rare to be surprised, but Mr. Martin manages to keep me guessing.

While the second book had multiple kings rising to power and fighting for their piece of the Iron Throne, this book took the story in an entirely different direction. What goes up must come down. In this epic saga full of scheming and betrayals, the power players are constantly changing. 'A Storm of Swords' completely changes the landscape of this story yet again.

Aside from the fall of kings, the way the characters are presented had me rethinking my previous judgments. As each character's thoughts and actions were explored, it became clear that there is no "good" or "bad" person. Even despicable characters had redeeming qualities and/or motivations that were understandable, if not admirable. Similarly, the less than pure intentions and actions of some of my favorite characters were brought to light. Everyone is flawed and vulnerable in some way.

The only exception to this was Joffrey. I couldn't find a single redeeming quality in that evil brat. Maybe it was there and my hatred for him just wouldn't allow me to see it. Nonetheless, he remained true to his role of "ultimate villain".

As with the first two books in the series, be prepared for plenty of blood and gore. Characters will die, sometimes gruesomely. Don't get too attached. This definitely isn't a series for the faint of heart.

Now that I've finished the third book, I can begin to spot some of the inconsistencies between the books and the HBO series. There are some omissions that have been made, but nothing that I thought was critical to this story so far. I've also noticed that a few things are presented out of sequence. Again, this didn't take away from the enjoyment for me, but it was noticeable if you're reading and watching subsequently.

Overall, I am still loving this story. It is still confusing at times, with an extremely complex storyline. However, I feel like I'm getting a better grasp on things. It's on to the next one for me.

THAT ENDING. OH MY FREAKING GOD.

AND SANSA. WITH THE LITTLEFINGER THING.

AND DANAERYS. WITH...EVERYTHING.

AND TYRION. WITH THE SHAE THING. AND HIS FATHER.

AND JON. WITH THE WALL. AND THE WILDLINGS. AND THE OTHERS. AND YGRITTE.

AND BRAN. WITH...just kidding, no one cares about Bran.

AND CATELYN. WITH HER PROBLEMS, AS THEY ARE A-PLENTY.

OH MY FREAKING GOD.

A Storm of Swords can only be described as EPIC.

The Epilogue added 5-years to my life.
What else can be, or need be, said?

((drops mic))

DAMN!

It’s like if you buy a muscle car on Friday afternoon and you drive it home some friends come over to look at it and you know and they all know how cool it is. Then on the second day you get to drive it around town and everyone that sees it knows you’ve got a beast, a low growl coming from under the hood. But it’s not until the third day that you arrange to go out onto a track and open it up that you realize what a monster machine you’ve got and even as the speedometer passes 100 you press down further and it responds like a galloping horse and keeps accelerating and you breathe catches in your throat and you know you’re on the ride of your life. And you whisper: DAMN!

George R.R. Martin knew he had something cool when he first published A Game of Thrones in 1996. Martin had been toiling away as a writer for more than twenty years and had seen struggles and poverty, as had many speculative fiction writers before him. While he had seen some success in his fantasy and horror stories and books, and had some work screenwriting, it was not until he set out to create this epic fantasy that his stock began to rise – his muscle car hit the nitro and fishtailed into wild success with the HBO adaptation and millions of golden dragons to line the coffers of his keep.

A Storm of Swords, first published in 2000, his third in the series, is the muscle car, the biggest and fastest horse, the book where Martin, established as a success and had his readers’ attention, put the hammer down to see what this thing can do.

It’s a wild ride. Fans of the first two books knew about Westeros and Essos and about the Starks and the Lannisters and the faded glory of the Targaryens; and they know about the raw carnality of the books, the guttural sex and violence that adds harsh realism to the story. ASOS takes it up a notch and demonstrates that as good as the series is, Martin can continue to make it a bionic man of fiction: faster, stronger and better.

The violence. One of the criticisms of the 2004 Antoine Fuqua film King Arthur starring Clive Owen was the minimization of violence. Whereas earlier adaptions of the Arthur legend were intentionally theatrical and atmospheric rather than realistic, Fuqua seemed to be on to a cool angle by introducing a historically accurate revisionist story of Arthur as a Roman leader fighting Picts and Scots. There’s swords and daggers and arrows and lots of fighting, but not so much blood and guts. The incongruity of the muddy realism with the stylized violence was distracting.

Martin, on the other hand, takes the Tolkienesque legend, adapts it to fit on to his alternate War of the Roses inspired fantasy and does not leave out the brutal reality of war and survivalist feudalism. Razor sharp blades cut, people bleed and die, women get raped and slavery exists. In his zeal for a fantasy that also seems real, Martin shines a light on the good, the bad and the ugly and his narrative is far better for it.

Martin’s POV chapters highlights and exhibits his great talent for fully developed characterization. The players are complicated and there is a dynamic depth of relationships that is mesmerizing. His world building, adding detail and history to an already spectacular creation, continues to impress.

There are several scenes that stand out: the Red Wedding, Daenerys at Astapor, Tyrions trial of combat between Gregor Clegane and Oberyn Martell, and many others that fill this thick tome and make it a page turner.

This is the best one so far and I’m already on to the next one.

Martin outdid himself. And honestly, he didn’t have to try so hard. I was already going to give him five stars for this scene alone: THE RED WEDDING! I cannot believe the King of the North, Robb Stark was murdered!

Have you ever seen a car accident? Not the aftermath that messes up traffic, but the actual event itself? Having driven in both Atlanta and Houston’s rush hour, I’ve seen a handful. It’s horrible horrible horrible. There is that signature sound when thousands of pounds of metal crunch together. And it blows my mind. One side of my brain is in denial and keeps repeating, “That did not just happen.” The other half is moving forward. “Is anyone hurt? Don’t gawk – don’t want to be rear-ended myself. Do they have the insurance? Has someone called the police?” I get clammy and shaky, as well as teary-eyed thinking of all the emotions they’ll have to deal with. And even though I wasn’t directly involved, I have this on-edge feeling that lasts the whole day.

Reading THAT scene was akin to watching a multi-car pile-up. I freaked out. Literally slammed the book shut, stood up on the bed, and cussed for a bit. Next I curled up into a ball, hugged the book to my chest, and muttered “No no no!” on loop. I wailed to my concerned husband, “What is going to happen now?” Then I proceeded to mull over this development for days.

Looking back, I wonder why it shocked me so much. This series is full of twists, deaths, and reveals. What’s one more? And Martin certainly gave some clues leading up to the event.

I think it caught me off guard, because he had just devoted a fair amount of time to this part of the plot. Through books one and two, I kept wondering why Robb is the only character of the Stark family who is largely ignored – except for Rickkon, but he’s too young at this point to participate. Truth be told, I ignored my own advice after reading book two: if you see a bright light, don’t trust it. That was a nasty trick on Martin’s part to make me empathize for a character only to turn around and murder them a few chapters later. The moment I thought, “huh, I kind of like this Robb guy”, I should have been on high alert. I was honestly expecting him to be taken prisoner at the Twins or fight off an attack. That Martin would actually kill this potentially great king never entered my mind. I guess there is a new, supplemental lesson: never enter into a romantic relationship with Martin. He would jerk my emotions around mercilessly and leave me heartbroken on a bathroom floor.

Also, THE scene made me question where this entire series is headed. Imagine you’re reading a safe, mass-appeal book, you can rest assured that no how much hardship the author throws at the protagonist, they’ll survive, because (a) the author/publisher doesn’t have the guts to disappoint their legions of readers and (b) there’s a sequel! I thought the main goal here was to see the Stark family emerge victorious and save the Seven Kingdoms. Now I’m not as sure. And after reading roughly 3,000 pages and with 2,000+ pages to go, it shook me to feel so untethered.

Anyways, kudos to Martin for making me react that strongly. I read enough that I am becoming increasingly callous to authors’ surprise attacks. And this series is so large that the plots from each book are already melting together. It is hard to remember during which book this or that character was introduced or where I learned a key piece of information. But THAT scene will always define book three for me.

I also love that when I felt confident the book was winding down (with only 200 pages to go), Martin threw in some more shockers. While they were not of the same caliber as THE scene, they nonetheless required me to reset my expectations for the next book. Of course I am referring to Stannis saving the Wall and, more importantly, the murder of Joffrey, Tywin, and Lysa. Hooray! I won’t be missing any of them. It seemed uncharacteristic for Martin to kill off the bad guys. Yet I thank him from the bottom of my heart. The prospect of watching Sansa become the king’s abused mistress or subject to her lunatic aunt was too much for me to bear.

Martin, I am catching onto your wily ways. And I am begging for more.

PREVIOUSLY, ON A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: A ton of dudes came up out of the woodwork to fight over a stupid crown, lots of people died, lots of people killed lots of people, there was consensual sex and a lot more rape, some hookers and mercenaries, and life continued to be utterly terrible for anyone with the last name Stark. Also there are f*cking dragons and ice-zombie-monsters, don't forget about those! It only gets more fun from here, boys and girls.

So with that in mind, lets check in with our narrators this time around and see what they've been up to. They are:

Arya Stark: God, I love this little girl. She goes full badass here, teaming up with The Hound and traveling the country with him like some crazy mashup of Pulp Fiction and Paper Moon. More than anyone else, I want Arya to make it to the end of this story, because she is so, so cool. Severely damaged and with zero chance of living a normal life after all the sh*t she's been through, obviously, but in Westeros you take what you can get.

Catelyn Stark: Yes, this bitch is still getting to narrate chapters, and no, she will never be held accountable for the fact that 75% of all the sh*t that's happening in this book is all her fault. Early in the book, she decides to release Jaime Lannister and get Brienne to take him across the country and exchange him for Arya and Sansa (how many ways can this go wrong? I counted five, see if you can guess more!). Again - she helped her own son's most valuable prisoner escape, and set him loose with one woman to guard him. If anyone else had pulled that sh*t, their head would be rotting on a stake within five seconds, but because it's Catelyn Stark, all the men do is send her to her room to think about what she's done. And then they keep inviting her to council meetings, because that's certainly never backfired before! Honestly, I was almost relieved when Catelyn gets killed in this one, because at least now she won't be able to ruin anything else. But then of course the epilogue came, and I learn that nope, Catelyn's not dead! The one person who gets reanimated, and it has to be Catelyn f*cking Stark? Her?

Jaime Lannister: Finally, one of the Big Bads gets his own chapter! Unfortunately, it's not as fun as it could have been. Sure, every now and then he'll be like, "Man I sure miss having sex with my sister" or "I absolutely do not regret pushing that kid out the window in Book One, that was awesome", but for the most part Jaime actually experiences some personal growth and maybe becomes a better person. But apparently Cersei gets her own chapters in the next book, so I've already started making popcorn for that crazy c*nt sideshow.

Bran Stark: You're a warg, we get it. I don't care.

Sansa Stark: Oh honey. You know the expression "falling from the frying pan into the fire"? Sansa does more than that in this book. She falls from the frying pan into the fire, and then falls again into an even worse fire that's much more likely to rape her. At this point, I almost want Sansa to die, just so she'd be put out of her misery - judging by what's happened to her so far, I don't see any way this series can end well for her. Also it'd be nice if she could stop inadvertently causing death and destruction.

Tyrion Lannister: Oh Tyrion, how I love you. You are clever and sarcastic and funny, seem to have a shred of human decency, and are pretty much the only good person in the series. Just a piece of advice though: stop falling in love with prostitutes. Seriously, man. Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing.

Davos Seaworth: Yeah, he's still around. His only purpose is to give us an idea of what Stannis is up to, but it basically boils down to this: "Stannis is a deluded motherf*cker, and Melisandre is a crazy bitch who's going to kill everyone." Got it, moving on.

Samwell Tarly: When I got to his first chapter and realized that he was going to be a narrator in this book, I literally groaned aloud.

Jon Snow: He's getting better, guys. After spending two books whining about how unworthy he is, he finally gets to be cool and go undercover with the wildings, and is sort of a badass by the end of the book. His undercover work, I should mention, involves sleeping with a wilding girl named Ygritte, and if there's one character who can be counted on to turn hot wilding sex into an excuse for another woe-is-me fest, it's Jon Snow. I mean, for Christ's sake, dude, you're a fifteen year old boy who's getting laid on a regular basis! Forget about your vows, you should be singing from the rooftops! Get over yourself and lighten the hell up, especially since you're probably actually the bastard child of Robert and Lyanna, so you're gonna have to deal with that sooner or later (knowing Martin, it'll be way later, and it's only a theory anyway so I wouldn't put too much stock in it)

Daenerys: So, all that stuff I mentioned up there? It's all important and takes up the majority of the book, but here's the thing: none of it matters, because Daenerys f*cking Stormborn has dragons and an army, and she is coming to destroy everything. And I cannot wait.

A final word: If there's one thing I've taken away from this book, it's that you should never go to a wedding in Westeros. Seriously, don't do it. There are three weddings in this book, and all of them end horribly. Stay home and send a nice card instead.

My complete review is published at Grimdark Magazine.

The strong momentum from A Clash of Kings continues in A Storm of Swords, the third volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, as George R.R. Martin chronicles his epic War of the Roses-style competition for the Iron Throne and control of Westeros. Although many important events occur on the battlefield, the more consequential tactics involve the forging and breaking of interfamilial alliances through strategic marriages and a healthy dose of backstabbing.

After spending most of A Clash of Kings imprisoned by the Starks at Riverrun, Jaime Lannister becomes one of the main point-of-view characters in A Storm of Swords. George R.R. Martin has accomplished a nearly impossible feat with Jaime, making the reader feel sympathy for this obnoxious, arrogant, incestuous Kingslayer. Despite all the terrible things he has done, Jaime still has a shred of honor, and I actually felt compassion for him by the end of the book.

Another highlight from Jaime’s chapters is getting to know Brienne of Tarth, an imposing warrior who has sworn to deliver Jaime safely to the Lannisters in exchange for release of the Stark girls. I especially enjoyed seeing how Brienne manages her distaste for Jaime while fulfilling her promise to the Stark family. As Jaime’s situation becomes increasingly out of hand, Brienne’s strong commitment to his safety never falters.

Tyrion Lannister remains as one of the most intriguing characters in A Storm of Swords. Tyrion’s fraught relationship with his family is brought to the forefront, especially with his siblings, Cersei and Jaime, and his nephew, the insufferable boy-king Joffrey. The relationship between Tyrion and his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, is particularly tragic.

Among the Stark children, Sansa is essentially a Disney princess caught in a grimdark world. Originally hoping for a happily-ever-after with the pouty-lipped Joffrey, Sansa’s delicate innocence only brings her suffering. In A Storm of Swords, Sansa finally escapes the clutches of the Lannisters but is left to deal with the creepy Littlefinger, who harbors a lifelong infatuation with her mother, Catelyn. It’s hard to tell which situation is worse for the unfortunate Sansa.

Sansa’s younger sister, Arya, is the most Dickensian figure in A Song of Ice and Fire, orphaned and destitute, trying to survive in a cruel world that never does her any favors. Arya’s only glimmer of hope in A Storm of Swords—her arrival at a family wedding—proves to be an ill-timed disaster.

Love and violence are inexorably linked at Westeros weddings, especially in A Storm of Swords which includes the infamous Red Wedding massacre. We lose several major characters during nuptial festivities, although one of them has trouble staying dead.

Meanwhile up north, Jon Snow struggles between honoring his Night Watch vows and acting on his love for Ygritte. Unbeknownst to Jon, Bran Stark is also traveling north to the Wall in search of the three-eyed crow from his dreams. George R.R. Martin also introduces a third point-of-view character at the Wall, Samwell Tarly, the loyal friend of Jon Snow who serves as the Samwise Gamgee of the book. I found Sam’s perspective to be unnecessary given the other already-established point-of-view characters.

I also question George R.R. Martin’s decision to go all-in with Davos Seaworth, Stannis Baratheon’s favorite onion-obsessed confidant. There are many layers to the Onion Knight, but none of them are particularly interesting. The Davos chapters serve as a window into the matters of Stannis and the red priestess Melisandre. With her powerful magic and shadowy intentions, Melisandre would have been the more interesting choice to become the point-of-view character for these chapters.

Fortunately, we get to spend more quality time with Daenerys Targaryen in A Storm of Swords compared to A Clash of Kings. The exiled Mother of Dragons continues to amass power as she overcomes treachery within her own ranks. Daenerys becomes a favorite with everyday people as she frees enslaved populations en masse and exacts justice for crimes committed against them.

A Storm of Swords is a delight for grimdark fans and another high point in George R.R. Martin’s enduring saga of war and betrayal.

4.5/5

This is an extraordinary bloodbath of a book, George R R Martin showed no mercy when it came to these characters or our feelings. In one afternoon of reading I witnessed 4 main characters (5 if you include Grey Wind!) and countless side and minor characters die - ruthless!
Other than the severe heartache and trauma brought on by the Red Wedding and the Battle at Castle Black this book was a delight to re - read. I loved being back with some of my favourite characters and being back in this world. The action, drama and political intrigue are really kicked up a notch (admittedly sometimes too much for me to handle!) and I can’t wait to pick up the next one to finally be reunited with the wonderful Arianne!

Also, I know I complain about the TV show every time I read a ASOIAF book but seriously, wtf were they thinking not doing these books justice?

1.) A Game of Thrones ★★★★★
2.) A Clash of Kings ★★★★★

#readASOIAF Read-Along - Hosted by Riley from Riley Marie, Elizabeth from Liz Loves Literature, and Kayla from BOOKadoodles. ♥

This book is heart-wrenching, and not just because this book contains the Red Wedding, but because this book leaves you with a sense of hopelessness. Many of these characters with good hearts and souls have such terrible things happen to them, while liars and killers prosper. Sometimes having a heavy pocketbook is more important than being a good person. *insert thought provoking parallel about how this mirrors our world and makes it even sadder*

As always, I want to state a disclaimer, like with all of the books in this series, that there are many very graphic rape and gang-rape scenes. I couldn't even list all of the triggers for sexual abuse in this book, so please use caution when reading. As scary as the sexual violence is to me, I think it is very believable in this world and helps to show people that the real monsters aren't just beyond the wall; they are human beings capable of very evil things.

"To omit them from a narrative centered on war and power would have been fundamentally false and dishonest, and would have undermined one of the themes of the books: that the true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves. We are the monsters. (And the heroes too). Each of us has within himself the capacity for great good, and great evil," GRRM even says (perfectly) himself, via The Guardian.

I am loving this reread, and I'm loving being able to piece together theories that I completely missed in prior readings. Game of Thrones truly is the best show on television, and these books are truly a tier above the rest of high fantasy out there. I know they can be intimidating and a little dark, but they are so worth it. I can't recommend this series enough. GRRM is honestly a genius, and I'm still not sure if I'm worthy enough to read his words.

The rest of this review will have spoilers from A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and also mild spoilers for this book, A Storm of Swords! If you have not read the first three books in this series, and do not want to get spoiled, please do not read this portion of my review!

My favorite story-arc in A Storm of Swords is, hands down, no question, Jaime's. Jaime's story of redemption is honestly one of the best I've ever read. His actions truly are all "for love", he just starts learning what unconditional love is a little late in life. In this book, Brienne is on a mission, from Catelyn, to return Jaime to the Lannisters in hopes of getting her daughters back. Jaime's change is so apparent on this trip with Brienne. I think Jaime is also, probably, the most complex character in this world. I can't see him having a happy ending, but I hope his redemption story leads him to it, rather than death.

“I've lost a hand, a father, a son, a sister, and a lover, and soon enough I will lose a brother. And yet they keep telling me House Lannister won this war.”

“The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them.”

“Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.”

Oh, poor Catelyn. I guess we can talk about her and how her story-line is, by far, the saddest in this book. Don't get me wrong, Catelyn has upset me very much with her treatment of Jon and her naive thinking in other books, but in this book I can't help but have an immense about of empathy for her. I am not sure I've ever reading anything like the Red Wedding. You can feel Catelyn's helplessness in a way I can't even put into words. Her desperation and her defeat are so palpable. I've never been a fan of Cat or her chapters, but this piece of literature breaks me every time.

“All these kings would do a deal better if they would put down their swords and listen to their mothers.”

“He won the war on the battlefield and lost it in a bedchamber, poor fool”

Sansa Stark is just getting passed around from one person to the next. I think she really embodies what it is like to be a high-born lady in this world. All she wants is her prince charming, because she has been fed promises of him her whole life, but all she receives is disappointment after disappointment, while counting her ever growing list of dead family members. Also, Littlefinger is gross.

Arya, my favorite Stark, is still doing everything in her power to hide that she is a high-born lady in this world. Sometimes, I truly forget her age, but when I remember my heart bleeds all over again. She has endured so many things that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies, but she overcomes them all. Arya is super inspiring and motivating, to me. I hope her journey with The Hound isn't over, and the end result turns out like it did in the show.

Rickon is nonexistent and Bran is, sadly, forgettable in A Storm of Swords.

I'll be honest with you; Dany's story-line in this book is a little boring for me. All of my feelings just manifest to hate for Kraznys mo Nakloz, the slave trader Dany tries to bargain with. Seriously, he makes Joffrey, Cersei, and The Mountain look like saints! Any leftover feelings I had went to being creeped out about Jorah, and how he is such an old pervert. Like, I always thought the show portraying his love for Dany was so wrong. I know it's mostly because Emilia Clarke doesn't look thirteen, but still, Jorah is such a creep. Unfortunately, these two very dark clouds loomed over Dany's story, and made her chapters not as enjoyable as some of the other main protagonists in this book.

“I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.”

Lord Commander Snow. Oh, how my heart breaks for Jon over and over again, too. He's constantly trying to prove his worth to people who refuse to see it. I loved how he was able to actually experience happiness with Ingrid, even for just a short while. Also, I remembered them having sex, but I completely forgot how much sex him and Ingrid had. Holy sh*t, I so didn't remember reading that. Oh, Jon Snow.

THINGS I MISSED IN MY PREVIOUS REREAD(S):

Mance Rayder is Able, inspired by Bael the Bard, in A Game of Thrones -
There is a story that Bael the Bard snuck into Winterfell and had sex with a Stark woman and impregnated her. Mance was inspired by this tale, and in A Game of Thrones a man named Able and a washer woman were very interested in Theon and Arya at the feast that Robert Baratheon attended when he finally made it to Winterfell. Well, this was because it was Mance and the spear wives/wildings in disguise, spying on what was going on in Winterfell!

Maege Mormont and Tormund Giantbane are totally in love -
I will come back to this in my review of A Dance with Dragons, but this book still hints at the fact that Tormund likes to "sleep with a she-bear", and Maege Mormont not only fits the description, but House Mormont's symbol is a bear. Tormund even has the title "Husband of Bears." Tormund has wildlings sons, but they have no mother north of the wall, this could be because Tormund keeps the sons, so they will not be considered bastards. Maege could keeps all the girls, which, by the way, none of them have fathers, and Maege can still marry them off to live good lives under House Mormont. Also, this means Lyanna Mormont, who won everyone's hearts in S6, is one of their love children!

Dreams are way more important than what they seem -
Alt Shift X just made an amazing video about some of Dany's dreams and how important their foreshadowing will be, but he has also made an Arya video a while back that really stuck with me this reread. Arya dreams and wargs in this book constantly, and her fascination with warging into Nymeria is such a big part of this book's story. Bran also wargs into Summer, missing how it feels to move on his own, but Arya's dreams really stuck with me and I think will play a much bigger role in her character's development. Also, Alt Shift X is amazing. Please, spam all his videos. If you're a ASOIAF fan, you will not regret it.

I'm sorry if this review seems all over the place. I get so passionate about this series, and while writing I have like fifty different trains of thought going! I loved this reread, and I'm learning so much information I had previously missed. I always loved A Storm of Swords, because it seemed so action packed, while giving us this surprise ending that introduces one of the main themes that the show has chosen not to do - Lady Stoneheart.

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Ok, so I'm 3 books into this series. 2972 pages. Let's take stock of the Starks:

* Eddard was a lord. Now he is dead.

* Catelyn was a lordly lady with a loving, honorable husband and 5 beautiful children. Now she's a widow, her kids are all dead (or so she thinks), and she, also, is dead. Bonus: she's a zombie.

* Sansa was an annoying, helpless, spoiled preteen. Now everyone she's ever loved is dead, but she remains annoying and helpless despite it all.

* Arya was an endearing highborn tomboy. Now's she's a murderous urchin, but still endearing.

* Jon was a bastard. Now he's a lord. But he's still a bastard.

* Rob was a nondescript dude. He's still that, except now he's dead.

* Bran was a little boy with two eyes who liked to climb. Now he's a slightly older little boy with three eyes who hangs out with frog-eaters, mind melds with animals, and is looking to get lessons from another three-eyed mind melder who might be undead.

* Rickon was a side note. He remains so.

I keep wondering whether these books are sexist or not, which usually boils down to the question of whether or not female characters have agency. I don't know if that's a reasonable test of gender bias, but that's where my mind goes. It's certainly true that most of the female characters rarely make decisions that influence the narrative, but I think that's equally true of the males. Some exceptions I can think of include Arya escaping Harrenhall, Catelyn freeing Jaime, Danaerys freeing slaves. Cersei, despite being one of the most overtly willful women in the story and the most vocal about gender bias in her society, seems to have little real power. She wanted to spare Eddard, he ended up dead. She wanted to save her kids, Joff ended up dead. She wants to marry her brother but her dad keeps wedding her off for political reasons.

Another possible way to approach the issue might be to ask whether the books sanction male chauvinism. I don't think you can read these books and believe that men are intrinsically superior to women, because there are plenty of idiotic men and plenty of capable women. As I wrote in a previous review, I do think these books objectify women much more than they do men, which at the very least is distinctly gynophilic (a new word I just looked up!), and probably allows some hetero men and lesbians to indulge in fantasy that many women might find demeaning. That said, though, speaking as a heterosexual guy, I find most of the sex in these books to be more ham-fisted than arousing. However, I doubt Martin did that intentionally. I guess "ham-fisted" could qualify as arousing if you have some kind of ham fetish. Let's just stop talking about this.

Anyway, these are all comments on the series. This particular book was no better or worse than the previous ones, which is another way of saying it still kept me up reading until 2am most nights. I wish Martin would work in a few more comic relief characters like Dolorous Ed, though. Jaime and Brienne were good for a few laughs. More of that, please.

I'm finding one of the most amusing parts of this series to be moments when I have to stop and wonder whether or not a sentence implies a fatality. Like, "..and then a boulder fell on him." Did he say how big the boulder was? Where, exactly did it hit him, and who, exactly, is "him" referring to? Fun times. Also, am I the only one who looks ahead at chapter titles to see if a character really died? I know, cheating.

Three kings contend for the throne and King Joffrey's wedding day grows near. Can he hold the throne with Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon nipping at his heels?

Yeah, that's a woefully inadequate summary but it's not laden with spoilers, either.

Here we are, the third installment of Weddings, Beddings, and Beheadings, and my favorite one so far. In fact, I was thinking about downgrading them to 4's just so I could show how great I thought this one was. Martin outdid himself this time.

First of all, there were quite a few deaths in this one. I wasn't expecting Robb Stark to go out like that. Tywin and Joffrey more than had it coming, however. The Red Wedding was pretty surprising, as was the trial by combat for Tyrion's fate. Speaking of Tyrion, his wedding to Sansa was also quite unexpected. I'm still not sure where things are going with Davos Seaworth but I'm already itching to find out.

Jon Snow continued to be my favorite character, from his stint with the wildlings to his defense of the Wall to his imprisonment and eventual election to commander of the Night's Watch. The prospect of Snow becoming Lord of Winterfell is an intriguing one and I'm anxious to see how it unfolds.

Another plotline I'm particularly enjoying is that of Arya and the Hound. The Hound could easily be a scene-chewing villain but is a surprisingly deep character. Arya is shockingly bad ass for a preteen.

One character I'm surprised I've grown to like is Jaime Lannister. He's an arrogant unapologetic bastard and I love him for it. I'd read a whole book of Jaime's exploits.

Also, how about Petyr Baelish? What a bastard!

I'm giving this five stars with an exclamation point next to it. After a short break, I'll be devouring the two remaining volumes.

Dear George R. R. Martin,

No, wait! I didn't mean it!

YES I DIIIIID!!

Sincerely,

K.

تستمر الملحمة ويضاف صوت جايمي لانستر لتكتمل المتعة
لا زالت أريا هي الشخصية المفضلة
ولا يزال تيريون يذهلني بشخصيته التي لم يظهر المسلسل عشر ما بها من جمال وذكاء وتفاصيل عديدة أخرى

...

One of the best fantasy books ever written.

Lo he terminado pero me he demorado mucho más de lo que esperaba. Como me suele pasar con los libros que me gustan mucho; intencionalmente atraso la lectura todo lo que puedo porque NO ME LOS QUIERO TERMINAR.
No sé si será mi favorito de la saga, pero 'Tormenta de espadas' hasta ahora ha sido el que más me ha hecho emocionar. Lo viví intensamente desde la primera hasta la última página.
'Juego de tronos' es un libro lento de introducción. Eso no le quita lo fascinante, pero es abrumador y denso. Entendible porque apenas te están introduciendo en un universo, personajes e historia vastísimas.
'Choque de reyes' llega para romper un esquema que 'Juego de tronos' nos "enseñó". Nos muestra que no solo estamos ante un juego bélico y militar de reyes, caballeros, mercenarios y bandidos. Si no que también nos adentramos a un mundo de fantasías, maldiciones, brujerías y magia.
Es por eso que esta saga se reinventa con cada entrega; cuando crees que todo se ha dicho, llega algo y te rompe la cabeza... Y de paso el corazón.
Eso pasa con 'Tormenta de espadas': conspiraciones, acción, traición, drama, sangre, revelación, tragedia y fantasía. Muchas de las dudas que llevábamos a cuestas durante las dos previas entregas, se resuelven aquí. Pero tranquilos, que si creían que ya todos los misterios se habían revelado, PUES NO, que acá nos dejan mil más abiertos (y ese epílogo que es para morir de angustia).

De forma objetiva, 'Tormenta de espadas' es el libro más equilibrado de los tres de la saga: el drama, la acción, el crecimiento de los personajes, la fantasía, la narrativa, es que tengo que meter todo en el mismo saco porque todo está en las perfectas dosis. George R. R. Martin no tendrá la narrativa más fascinante, pero su universo lo compensa. Cada nueva historia, cada nuevo nombre, cada nuevo giro, cada nuevo desenlace... Todo hace de Martin un GENIO. No puedo expresar en palabras mi admiración por este sujeto. Es tanta su habilidad, que aunque tiene más de 5 perspectivas narrativas diferentes, ninguna pierde credibilidad. Todos sus personajes tienen una voz auténtica y creíble, pero sobre todo característica: uno ya sabe que Jon habla desde el deber, que Jaimie desde el sarcasmo, Arya desde la valentía, Sansa desde el miedo, Daenerys desde el orgullo... etc.

De forma completamente subjetiva, este libro contiene demasiada emoción para mi pobre corazón... Y eso fue lo que más amé de él. Me reí con Jaimie, grité con Tyrion, me angustié con Davos, lloré por El Perro (Y MUCHO. Carajo, no saben como amo al Perro), incluso soñé con Robb y Cat.

El desarrollo y evolución de los personajes es brillante; nadie es nunca igual y tu corazón queda dividido al igual que tu juicio. No tengo si no solo halagos para las mil y no sé cuántas páginas que componen 'Tormenta de espadas', tanto así que no tengo absolutamente negativo que comentar.

Pero ojo, siempre lo he dicho. Me cuesta un montón ser impersonal con los libros que disfruto. Siempre que me topo en este tipo de situaciones, termino engrandeciendo hasta los defectos de los libros que amo. Esta saga no es para todo tipo de personas y de eso sí soy consciente, pero si tú eres ese tipo de persona que cree que 'Juego de tronos' es una lectura/universo adecuado para ti, adelante. No lo dudes. 'Juego de Tronos' y 'Choque de reyes' es solo una pequeña entrada para lo que te vas a encontrar en 'Tormenta de espadas'; y ni siquiera esos dos libros previos llegan a prepararte el corazón para toda la adrenalina que vas a sentir con este.
Pero como ya dije, me es dif��cil mantener la calma cuando se trata de hablar (y ya puedo afirmarlo con total certeza) de la que se ha convertido en mi saga favorita.
5 estrellas y mi fervor infinito para este libro.

كم انت عبقري يا جورج مارتن. هذا الجزء الضخم وما زالت الملحمة مستمرة.

الفوضى تعم البلاد الملوك يتساقطون او يتغيرون كما يتم تغيير الملابس.

ما زال الشمال يزداد بؤسا بعد وكبار رجالاته يتفرقون في البلاد او يقتلون.

الخطر قادم من وراء الجدار هل يستجيب الملوك لهذا الخطر ام يستمر صراعهم وتشتتهم.

التنين بدأ يكبر والأطماع باسترداد العرش يكبر مع نمو التنانين.

أتمنى ان يتم ترجمة الجزء الرابع بسرعة لنتمكن من المتابعة