A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice & Fire) (Hardcover)

So, when I came back to fantasy at the end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me about GRRM and man, that was the kicker!

Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their are certain personalities who won't like this series:

WHY TO READ GRRM

(1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . the dark lord is very evil and almost one sided at times . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old.

(2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back.

This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished.

(3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR.

(4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright.

(5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing.

(6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions.

(7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow.

(8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue.

(9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.

(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.

(11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done.

(12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that.

(13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels.

(14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too.

(15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it.

REASON TO NOT READ GRRM

(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned.

(2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes.

(3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you.

(4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life. If you have delicate ears, this book may upset you.

(5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.

(6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil.

(7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. There really aren't any super heroes compared to all the other characters as it's more grittier and no one is shooting fireballs every milisecond or carrying around some super powerful sword.

(8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig.

(9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception). While this is realistic of the medieval era, some readers may not prefer this if they want more girl power, so to speak.

By the way, if you don't want to commit to a big book until you know the author better, check out his short story, THE HEDGE KNIGHT, in LEGENDS. Overall, this is a great series and I happily purchase the hard cover when it comes out in the UK (the publishers there tend to get it out a few months before the American publishers; you can pre-purchase the new book, A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, at the UK Amazon now).

If you like this review enough, go to the American Amazon site and click my similar review there as helpful. Can't do it here. :)

A STORM OF SWORDS engrosses us with the return of familiar characters who sometimes develop in unfamiliar ways. We are delighted and/or chilled by character interactions, especially those of newly-paired characters. Insights are gained on the motivations of some who may have previously been viewed as "wicked". Overall, characters respond diversely to adversity. One seems to change for the better, a fascinating process in Mr. Martin's hands. Equally fascinating, another becomes darker after learning he has been living under the shadow of a lie for most of his life. Still another learns the realities of "third world" politics in a way that I will personally never forget! If you come to this series hoping to easily find one dimensional villains you can hate, because they are always cruel or because they are outwardly religious, you will be disappointed. Martin does not deal in one dimensional charicatures.

Also immensely enjoyable is the way in which mysteries are resolved. No hackneyed and easily foreseen answers here, but rather, genuine surprises that are actually so logical readers will cry "I should have seen that - how did I miss that?". This is of course great fun! One mystery in particular stands out. This question was discussed by dozens of people on our message board, and if I recall correctly, none of them guessed the answer. Yet, when the resolution is presented, along with a summary of clues, realization dawns: "Wait - the clues were there all along - it could only have been resolved this way - and yet I was distracted somehow and missed it." This is truly great writing!

And talk about resolution of mysteries! Four of the major ones are resolved - Who killed Jon Arryn?, Who was Renly's ghost?, What did Catelyn do to Jaime? and, Who sent the dagger to kill Bran?. These, along with a host of minor questions, find satisfying and ingenious answers. In the meantime, new mysteries develop to take their place.

Long time fans of the series will be glad to know that several events we have been waiting for take place at last. We will learn much more about previously shadowy or unseen characters such as Ashara Dayne, Rheagar, Aerys, Mance Rayder, Wylla, Edric Storm, Ser Duncan the Tall, Edric Dayne and the Children of the Forest. The religion of R'hollar will be more clearly seen as not stereotypically evil. Plot lines involving Davos, Dany and Stannis take on renewed life. Four major marriages take place, and two of them will likely leave your jaw on the floor, as mine was! Many details are put forth on the sack of King's Landing and the War of the Usurper. Information on Benjen Stark may be contained in this text, or then again, it may not. Excellent writing is employed here to keep us guessing on some things, and bring us full resolution on others.

Fascinating events inspired by history continue to be a part of this series. However, lest anyone forget, it's author has repeatedly stated that no one character or event is an exact parallel or duplicate of any historical personage or event. Tyrion Lannister, for example, may have some interesting parallels with Richard III, but he certainly is not meant to be a representation of him! Personally, I was inspired to spend many hours pouring over history books by this series, in spite of the knowledge this book is not bound by historic events.

Underlying the text, like a song heard frequently in the background, is a question. While it is hard to put this question into words, it would be something like "When, if ever, may we perform acts which may be less than right, in the service of a greater cause?" No easy resolution on this one.

Plenty of action takes place, including, near the end, a battle between two of the most renowned warriors in the Seven Kingdoms. There is plenty of heartache too, as at least 8 long term characters meet their doom in the "middle game" of this series. Yet other characters go on to triumph, though. You will pull for them with more than usual fervor when you see the ingenious strategies they must use to succeed, and realize not all characters, whether sympathetic or not, succeed or even survive in this epic.

What is the drawback to this text, you may ask? Well, simply that it ends, and we must await A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, book four in the most eagerly followed fantasy series of our time.

So no spoilers here either. If by some chance you've read A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings but not this, then lose no further time. It is in my opinion the best yet - if only because it's the longest and so provides the reader with even more hours of pleasure than the earlier two! Another reason for my opinion is the sheer brilliance of what Martin does with one of the two new character viewpoints he introduces here. To say more would give away too much.

If you've read all three books and just want to see someone else's thoughts on them, because you're still on a high, and everything but the book seems dull and unimportant, what you need is the A Song of Ice and Fire message board on ezboard, where you will be able to discuss the books at whatever intellectual level you are capable of, in minute detail, with hundreds of otherwise sane fellow addicts.

And if you haven't read any of them,and have found your way here by some accident or whim, waste no further time. Order A Game of Thrones from amazon right now. It should take you only a week or so before you are ordering the rest of the series.

WARNING A few pitiable souls are unable to appreciate it, and although I know of many younger readers who adore the series I wouldn't recommend it unreservedly to those under fifteen, due to Martin's readiness to inflict harrowing experiences, injury or death on sympathetic characters, the explicitness of the descriptions of sex and violence, and the language of some of the characters. Some would find it disturbing. But this explicitness is not in the least gratuitous. It is part and parcel of the story. Others find it disconcerting to switch between multiple viewpoints, and don't have the patience to persevere until they adjust to each different "voice", or are frustrated at not having things neatly wrapped up at the end of each volume. But whether your taste is for comedy or tragedy or romance, action or dialogue or description, noble idealistic heroes or cynical flawed anti-heroes, realism or escapism, you will find plenty to satisfy you. Your sympathies will be broadened, and you will be stimulated into thinking for yourself, and adjusting your opinions in the light of later information, not just passively absorbing what you read.

If you like good fantasy, you will like this. If you like good historical novels you will like this. If you like good writing of any kind you will probably like this...