(A Song of Ice and Fire #3)
My Rating:
Why? As far as fantasy books are concerned, Martin writes one of the largest, most in-depth casts of characters I've ever seen. It's really impressive.
Plot Tease
Of five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne. Lord Stannis stands defeated, the victim of a sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. Young Robb Stark still rules the North, plotting against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, with the only three dragons still left in the world...But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. No one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...
Full Book Review
If the last two fantasy books in this series were rife with drama and intrigue, A Storm of Swords compounds it all. Essentially, the entire kingdom is in utter turmoil at this point. No one has solid footing, and certainly there is no plain frontrunner for the position of king. All that said, Martin works his magic once again and there are some really fantastic plot points that come into play.
Every character is at risk - no one is safe - and that really increases the dramatic tension and suspense. This book review is going to be a little different, because I'm only going to talk about one character: Jaime Lannister, quite possibly one of the biggest tools in the series.
