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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
(Spoiler free)
"If ice can burn," said Jojen in his solemn voice, "then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one." "One," his sister agreed, "but over wrinkled."
Blurb: The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the Northern Wastes, a horde of hungry, savage people steeped in the dark magic of the wilderness is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. And Robb's defenses are ranged against the South, the land of the cunning and cruel Lannisters, who have his young sisters in their power.
Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the Wall is breached, no King will live to claim it.
The story moves forward in a slow but steady pace. I love how the characters are developing in this book and we get to see nuance in their personalities. Even the bad guys aren't completely evil and we get a little insight into what motivates them to act the way they do. Almost all of the characters go through some sort of dilemma and emotional turmoil and nothing is ever black and white. Martin's writing is absolutely amazing and the worst it gets for the good guys the more entertaining it is to read. Can't wait to read part 2.
"If ice can burn," said Jojen in his solemn voice, "then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one." "One," his sister agreed, "but over wrinkled."
Blurb: The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the Northern Wastes, a horde of hungry, savage people steeped in the dark magic of the wilderness is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. And Robb's defenses are ranged against the South, the land of the cunning and cruel Lannisters, who have his young sisters in their power.
Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the Wall is breached, no King will live to claim it.
The story moves forward in a slow but steady pace. I love how the characters are developing in this book and we get to see nuance in their personalities. Even the bad guys aren't completely evil and we get a little insight into what motivates them to act the way they do. Almost all of the characters go through some sort of dilemma and emotional turmoil and nothing is ever black and white. Martin's writing is absolutely amazing and the worst it gets for the good guys the more entertaining it is to read. Can't wait to read part 2.
The book is told from the point of view of ten different narrators, switching between them as the story develops. We start off just before the Battle of Blackwater (which is where the previous book in the series finishes off). Tensions are increasing: Jamie Lannister is being held captive by Catelyn Stark and the Tullys, King's Landing is trying to rebuild itself in the midst of fractions in the Lannister family, the Red Lady has an ever-increasing hold over Stannis Baratheon, and Jon Snow is becoming truly a member of the Wildlings.
As the book develops, Catelyn sets Jaime free in the hope that it will help her see her children again, whilst things take a turn for the worse for the Starks when Robb reneges on a marriage alliance to a supporting faction and marries for love instead. Arya's recognised for being a Stark and loses her anonymity as a wild 'boy', instead gaining a hefty target on her back worth a lot of gold. Over the sea, Daenerys is building her army and meets the Unsullied.
This is such a massive tome that it's really hard to summarise quickly without either giving everything away or ranting on forever. However, just writing this post has made me remember just how much I loved reading the series - maybe 2020 will be the year I finally complete it? The book really delves into the heart the stories of some of my favourite characters: we see Tyrion recover from the battle of Blackwater and how this changes him, and some of the scenes between Daenerys and the owners of the Unsullied are incredible.
This is for sure a 5 star read for me. If you're a fan of high fantasy, or want to push the boat out with some big books this year, I'd really recommend this.
As the book develops, Catelyn sets Jaime free in the hope that it will help her see her children again, whilst things take a turn for the worse for the Starks when Robb reneges on a marriage alliance to a supporting faction and marries for love instead. Arya's recognised for being a Stark and loses her anonymity as a wild 'boy', instead gaining a hefty target on her back worth a lot of gold. Over the sea, Daenerys is building her army and meets the Unsullied.
This is such a massive tome that it's really hard to summarise quickly without either giving everything away or ranting on forever. However, just writing this post has made me remember just how much I loved reading the series - maybe 2020 will be the year I finally complete it? The book really delves into the heart the stories of some of my favourite characters: we see Tyrion recover from the battle of Blackwater and how this changes him, and some of the scenes between Daenerys and the owners of the Unsullied are incredible.
This is for sure a 5 star read for me. If you're a fan of high fantasy, or want to push the boat out with some big books this year, I'd really recommend this.
4.5 Stars.
This was really good, but not as good as the first book, and I like seeing all the differences between the book and the show.
This was really good, but not as good as the first book, and I like seeing all the differences between the book and the show.
Getting better and better. Can't wait to see what happens next!
The main thing I enjoyed about this book was reading from Jaime Lannister's POV, it was a nice addition to the usual POV characters.
I found myself starting to care a little less about Bran's storyline but found myself warming to Sansa which I never thought I would.
I cannot wait to read the second half of A Storm of Swords to see how things develop.
Overall a good, solid read that lived up to the reputation of the first 2 books.
I found myself starting to care a little less about Bran's storyline but found myself warming to Sansa which I never thought I would.
I cannot wait to read the second half of A Storm of Swords to see how things develop.
Overall a good, solid read that lived up to the reputation of the first 2 books.
I’m beginning to love this series more and more! I have given this one 5 stars because I can’t fault it anymore. I previously haven’t been giving this series 5 stars because I felt it hasn’t blown me away or overwhelmed me. I think it didn’t do this because it’s an extended series and I’m more accustomed to shorter series. So once my mind frame has been adjusted to the idea of long game fantasy, this series is really well balanced and extremely well done.
I’m fully invested in the characters, and even though there are POVs that I thought I wouldn’t be interested in, Martin still manages to weave interesting and layered narratives for everyone. The word building is so strong and comprehensive, and I love the complex history that informs everything, including the dialogue and actions of our main POVs. I’m super excited to see where this series goes!
I’m fully invested in the characters, and even though there are POVs that I thought I wouldn’t be interested in, Martin still manages to weave interesting and layered narratives for everyone. The word building is so strong and comprehensive, and I love the complex history that informs everything, including the dialogue and actions of our main POVs. I’m super excited to see where this series goes!
Yet again I really enjoyed the beginning and the end, but found the middle part to be lacking. Don't get me wrong there were some brilliant bits in the middle but I just found some of it a bit tedious. Arya and Jon Snow are really starting to stand out for me along with Tyrion, I just hope that there parts carry on to be as exciting in the next book.
A very engrossing read from start to finish. Really liked the chapters of Jon, Samwell and Dany.
Although there is a huge influx in the numbers of characters present at a time, I choose to ignore the unimportant ones. I also found it hard to follow the storyline of Vargo and the bloody companions, but a wiki of ice and fire came handy.
Other than that, really enjoyable sequel to A Clash Of Kings.
Although there is a huge influx in the numbers of characters present at a time, I choose to ignore the unimportant ones. I also found it hard to follow the storyline of Vargo and the bloody companions, but a wiki of ice and fire came handy.
Other than that, really enjoyable sequel to A Clash Of Kings.
It's quite hard to review this as it's only part one, and so I'm holding back some opinion until I've finished part 2, but I enjoyed it and it had a lot more twists and turns that took me by surprise, which I liked. It was let down by the unnecessary smut which was felt out of place a lot of the time, I get that these books have that element but it was just a waste of pages here. Really enjoying the series overall though, impossible to put down.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes