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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“The truth is all around you, plain to behold. The night is dark and full of terrors, the day is beautiful and full of hope. One is black, the other white. There is ice and there is fire. Hate and love. Bitter and sweet. Male and female. Pain and pleasure. Winter and summer. Evil and good… death and life.”
The first part of a storm of swords promises it to be the best entry in this series yet. By dialling back on the admittedly complex but tedious description of the war from the previous book, more focus can be put into the fantastical elements of the series that have not yet had their time.
the aspect that really lets this book shine is that the characters have a chance to breathe and come into their own. With the first book acting as their introduction and the following centring them all on intersecting pathways during a war. This finally gives opportunity for each characters to have their own equally intriguing storyline without losing the converging complexity of the plot.
One of my biggest grievances with the last book was how little Daenerys changed or developed (granted she was used sparingly). Yet with only a few chapters, herself and her story have become infinitely more enjoyable. Similarly to this, Sansa has unexpectedly become a favourite of mine, even if it may be largely due to the characters she gets to interact with and the politics present in King’s Landing.
Already flourishing characters have continued to do so. Jon’s inner turmoil and relationship with Ygritte had me enjoying his character even more than I had before. Arya while being slightly less compelling as she had been in the previous book, still managed to be thoroughly enjoyable. Tyrion only continues to grow as a character and Davos managed to be a surprisingly great part of the book.
Catelyn isn’t present much and thus doesn’t have the opportunity to impress or disappoint. The weak link however still remains to be Bran. Even though he is only given a couple chapters, his whole character still disappointed me. I do hope his character has some form of development eventually as I cannot see myself lasting him for much longer.
Being able to read from Samwell’s perspective is a very very welcome addition, his character will no doubt only get better. However my favourite part of the book is undoubtedly Jaime and Brienne, I don’t have a particular reason, their story was just the most riveting to read and made both characters some of my favourite of the series.
I very much appreciated the expansion of the world in terms of different ‘non-house’ related factions. Brotherhood without banners opens the story up to common people and their view of the war. Roose Bolton further demonstrates the presence of a darker side to each side of the war. And the wildlings open up the world to so many more possibilities.
In saying all this, this is only the first half of a book. It is hard to jump to conclusions. The only reason I wrote so much was to show that this is the first time so far that I’ve seen this series fully excel. I hope and trust that this quality can continue.
The first part of a storm of swords promises it to be the best entry in this series yet. By dialling back on the admittedly complex but tedious description of the war from the previous book, more focus can be put into the fantastical elements of the series that have not yet had their time.
the aspect that really lets this book shine is that the characters have a chance to breathe and come into their own. With the first book acting as their introduction and the following centring them all on intersecting pathways during a war. This finally gives opportunity for each characters to have their own equally intriguing storyline without losing the converging complexity of the plot.
One of my biggest grievances with the last book was how little Daenerys changed or developed (granted she was used sparingly). Yet with only a few chapters, herself and her story have become infinitely more enjoyable. Similarly to this, Sansa has unexpectedly become a favourite of mine, even if it may be largely due to the characters she gets to interact with and the politics present in King’s Landing.
Already flourishing characters have continued to do so. Jon’s inner turmoil and relationship with Ygritte had me enjoying his character even more than I had before. Arya while being slightly less compelling as she had been in the previous book, still managed to be thoroughly enjoyable. Tyrion only continues to grow as a character and Davos managed to be a surprisingly great part of the book.
Catelyn isn’t present much and thus doesn’t have the opportunity to impress or disappoint. The weak link however still remains to be Bran. Even though he is only given a couple chapters, his whole character still disappointed me. I do hope his character has some form of development eventually as I cannot see myself lasting him for much longer.
Being able to read from Samwell’s perspective is a very very welcome addition, his character will no doubt only get better. However my favourite part of the book is undoubtedly Jaime and Brienne, I don’t have a particular reason, their story was just the most riveting to read and made both characters some of my favourite of the series.
I very much appreciated the expansion of the world in terms of different ‘non-house’ related factions. Brotherhood without banners opens the story up to common people and their view of the war. Roose Bolton further demonstrates the presence of a darker side to each side of the war. And the wildlings open up the world to so many more possibilities.
In saying all this, this is only the first half of a book. It is hard to jump to conclusions. The only reason I wrote so much was to show that this is the first time so far that I’ve seen this series fully excel. I hope and trust that this quality can continue.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
#37: A book that you've seen the TV show of but haven't read
“Why ask for truth when you close your ears to it?”
NOTE: For simplicities sake, I will write a single review for both Parts 1 and 2 in order to review A STORM OF SWORDS as a single volume. That way, I can be lazy. Yay! The overall rating for the book is: FOUR STARS
The sound went on and on and on, until it seemed it would never die. The ravens were flapping and screaming, flying about in their cages and banging off the bars, and all about the camp the brothers of the Night’s Watch were rising, donning their armour, buckling on sword-belts, reaching for battleaxes and bows. Samwell Tarly stood shaking, his face the same color as the snow that swirled down all around them. “Three,” he squeaked to Chett, “that was three, I heard three. They never blow three. Not for hundreds and thousands of years. Three means—”
“Others.” Chett made a sound that was half a laugh and half a sob, and suddenly his small clothes were wet, and he could feel the piss running down his leg, see steam rising off the front of his breeches.
This is usually where I’d write a paragraph that is, in some way, related to the book that I am reviewing, followed by a description of the novel’s plot. However, every now and then you stumble across a book that is so complex, so rich with story arcs and devices that are important in their own ways, that you cannot write a synopsis for two reasons. One: because nailing down even a few plot points would be too hard; two: because revealing even a few of the “minor” arcs would risk spoiling major events that are best enjoyed without being expected. Of course, this is A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series often spoiled by the craze revolving around its TV adaptation Game of Thrones (I knew that Ned Stark would have his head lopped off losing before I even considered reading A GAME OF THRONES because of the show), but you get the idea.
A STORM OF SWORDS, released in 2000 and the third instalment in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, is a massive improvement from A CLASH OF KINGS, which I struggled to get through due to the low quality (in comparison to its predecessor). Not only is it easier to understand and less confusing, but it is also a great deal more exciting; while A CLASH OF KINGS culminated with the Battle of Blackwater Bay, which didn’t really justify the slow pacing that came before it, almost every non-action scene in A STORM OF SWORDS contributes to the story through the distribution of information, while the fight scenes are exiting, and have considerable consequences on future events, be it from the death of a certain character (or two) or the implications or causes of the battle. While this isn’t an action-packed novel, a majority of the scenes in A STORM OF SWORDS feel important, the gravity of the war tearing through Westeros lining the dialogue with excitement that you find in legal dramas. This is also the book that takes the no-one-is-safe status quo from the TV series and delivers the most shocking deaths since Ned Stark’s beheading in A GAME OF THRONES.
“Still, night falls for all of us in the end, and too soon for some.”
The multiple story arcs that give A STORM OF SWORDS its bulk are each interesting in their own ways (well, most of them are, but I’ll get to that); from Jaime and Brienne’s quest to King’s Landing to Jon Snow’s infiltration of the wildling army preparing to attack the Wall and lay waste to the North, most of what occurs in the different plots all seem to contribute to the overall story. Even if they don’t, they provide enough entertainment to keep readers turning the pages.
The characters are also well-developed and either enjoyable or annoying to read about, depending on their purpose in the story. One character I like is Davos, whose moral compass is akin to that of the heroic Ned Stark, and who has great love for his sons and his wife. It was quite sad to read about his emotions following the Battle of Blackwater Bay, at which about four (?) of his children were killed. I also liked Tyrion due to how his personality is so different to those of his fellow Lannisters, and how he always has his wits to make up for his stunted legs and short size.
Martin does a fair job of getting across the gravity and horrors of the war that started towards the end of A GAME OF THRONES, raged through A CLASH OF KINGS and continues in this tome take this quite as an example:
A thin grey finger crooked them on. It was rising from the south bank several miles on, twisting and curling. Below, Jaime made out the smouldering remains of a large building, and a live oak full of dead women.
The crows had scarcely started on their corpses. The thin ropes cut deeply into the soft flesh of their throats, and when the wind blew they twisted and swayed. “This was not chivalrously done,” said Brianna when they were close enough to see it clearly. “No true knight would condone such wanton butchery.”
Here, Martin uses Brienne to convey to reads the savagery that the war has brought out, especially when—to her horror—she learns that such a vile act was committed by those loyal to Robb Stark, meaning that these women were slaughtered by people who were meant to be on the right side of the fence.
However, despite what I liked about this book, my overall rating is four stars as opposed to five. Why? Well, quite a few factors hampered my reading of A STORM OF SWORDS, one of which being Daenerys. Now, I understand that she has a lot of fans, and I can see why…but she kind of slows down the story here, meandering uselessly in some parts and doing odd things for odd reasons in others. It’s admirable for her to be trying to free slaves, but do the chapters have to be so much longer than the other characters’, interrupting the action going on in Westeros? I feel the same about Bran’s chapters: although they’re interesting, they get a bit tedious.
A STORM OF SWORDS blends the political drama of A GAME OF THRONES with the gritty war-time action of A CLASH OF KINGS to create an epic that is possibly better than both (although I’m not so sure about it being better than the first). I will try to read A FEAST FOR CROWS, but reviews I have been reading and comments from people I know don’t seem to be too kind to the next instalment in the series.
The sound went on and on and on, until it seemed it would never die. The ravens were flapping and screaming, flying about in their cages and banging off the bars, and all about the camp the brothers of the Night’s Watch were rising, donning their armour, buckling on sword-belts, reaching for battleaxes and bows. Samwell Tarly stood shaking, his face the same color as the snow that swirled down all around them. “Three,” he squeaked to Chett, “that was three, I heard three. They never blow three. Not for hundreds and thousands of years. Three means—”
“Others.” Chett made a sound that was half a laugh and half a sob, and suddenly his small clothes were wet, and he could feel the piss running down his leg, see steam rising off the front of his breeches.
This is usually where I’d write a paragraph that is, in some way, related to the book that I am reviewing, followed by a description of the novel’s plot. However, every now and then you stumble across a book that is so complex, so rich with story arcs and devices that are important in their own ways, that you cannot write a synopsis for two reasons. One: because nailing down even a few plot points would be too hard; two: because revealing even a few of the “minor” arcs would risk spoiling major events that are best enjoyed without being expected. Of course, this is A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series often spoiled by the craze revolving around its TV adaptation Game of Thrones (I knew that Ned Stark would have his head lopped off losing before I even considered reading A GAME OF THRONES because of the show), but you get the idea.
A STORM OF SWORDS, released in 2000 and the third instalment in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, is a massive improvement from A CLASH OF KINGS, which I struggled to get through due to the low quality (in comparison to its predecessor). Not only is it easier to understand and less confusing, but it is also a great deal more exciting; while A CLASH OF KINGS culminated with the Battle of Blackwater Bay, which didn’t really justify the slow pacing that came before it, almost every non-action scene in A STORM OF SWORDS contributes to the story through the distribution of information, while the fight scenes are exiting, and have considerable consequences on future events, be it from the death of a certain character (or two) or the implications or causes of the battle. While this isn’t an action-packed novel, a majority of the scenes in A STORM OF SWORDS feel important, the gravity of the war tearing through Westeros lining the dialogue with excitement that you find in legal dramas. This is also the book that takes the no-one-is-safe status quo from the TV series and delivers the most shocking deaths since Ned Stark’s beheading in A GAME OF THRONES.
“Still, night falls for all of us in the end, and too soon for some.”
The multiple story arcs that give A STORM OF SWORDS its bulk are each interesting in their own ways (well, most of them are, but I’ll get to that); from Jaime and Brienne’s quest to King’s Landing to Jon Snow’s infiltration of the wildling army preparing to attack the Wall and lay waste to the North, most of what occurs in the different plots all seem to contribute to the overall story. Even if they don’t, they provide enough entertainment to keep readers turning the pages.
The characters are also well-developed and either enjoyable or annoying to read about, depending on their purpose in the story. One character I like is Davos, whose moral compass is akin to that of the heroic Ned Stark, and who has great love for his sons and his wife. It was quite sad to read about his emotions following the Battle of Blackwater Bay, at which about four (?) of his children were killed. I also liked Tyrion due to how his personality is so different to those of his fellow Lannisters, and how he always has his wits to make up for his stunted legs and short size.
Martin does a fair job of getting across the gravity and horrors of the war that started towards the end of A GAME OF THRONES, raged through A CLASH OF KINGS and continues in this tome take this quite as an example:
A thin grey finger crooked them on. It was rising from the south bank several miles on, twisting and curling. Below, Jaime made out the smouldering remains of a large building, and a live oak full of dead women.
The crows had scarcely started on their corpses. The thin ropes cut deeply into the soft flesh of their throats, and when the wind blew they twisted and swayed. “This was not chivalrously done,” said Brianna when they were close enough to see it clearly. “No true knight would condone such wanton butchery.”
Here, Martin uses Brienne to convey to reads the savagery that the war has brought out, especially when—to her horror—she learns that such a vile act was committed by those loyal to Robb Stark, meaning that these women were slaughtered by people who were meant to be on the right side of the fence.
However, despite what I liked about this book, my overall rating is four stars as opposed to five. Why? Well, quite a few factors hampered my reading of A STORM OF SWORDS, one of which being Daenerys. Now, I understand that she has a lot of fans, and I can see why…but she kind of slows down the story here, meandering uselessly in some parts and doing odd things for odd reasons in others. It’s admirable for her to be trying to free slaves, but do the chapters have to be so much longer than the other characters’, interrupting the action going on in Westeros? I feel the same about Bran’s chapters: although they’re interesting, they get a bit tedious.
A STORM OF SWORDS blends the political drama of A GAME OF THRONES with the gritty war-time action of A CLASH OF KINGS to create an epic that is possibly better than both (although I’m not so sure about it being better than the first). I will try to read A FEAST FOR CROWS, but reviews I have been reading and comments from people I know don’t seem to be too kind to the next instalment in the series.
It was a little slow at the beginning, but boy, oh, boy does it pick up towards the middle. My favorite character chapters this time around were Jaime's, Tyrion's (duh), and Sansa's (from about the middle point onwards). I've already bought the next one and must fight the urge to just start delving into it. I'll be up until 6am AGAIN!
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow, is part one of George R. R. Martin's third installment to his A Song of Ice and Fire series. In the first novel, A Game of Thrones, we are introduced to the world and characters, in the second book, A Clash of Kings, we begin to see stakes being heightened, and in this third installment, the repercussions of all the past events slowly unfold. The snails pace and dryness of George R. R. Martin's writing is still present, but more events and intensity are woven around his brilliantly written prose.
One of the most striking qualities of part one to A Storm of Swords, is the budding character development. We see characters change within pages of delicately written obstacles and situations that force them to change and self reflect. Something fantastic about each book in this series, is the reasoning behind character decisions, and how each character is not simply self serving, but rather just reacting in the ways they know to situations out of their control. I love Martin's writing, it is dry and slow, but I find it rich and immersive. As fantastic as the writing is, it is the characters that make this story what it is. No matter the terrible things they may do, we see the humaneness to them and qualities that we like and may even relate to. Many writers struggle to write two dimensional characters, let alone morally grey ones, but Martin exceeds to the point where you come to love characters who you once believed you never would. The theme of identity ties all these differing characters together, and it is such a meaningful and moving experience to watch them struggle and grow to understand who they are, in a world that demands they be so many differing things. I cannot wait to read part two, especially knowing the distress that is to come. This series tortures my heart and yet somehow I love it.
One of the most striking qualities of part one to A Storm of Swords, is the budding character development. We see characters change within pages of delicately written obstacles and situations that force them to change and self reflect. Something fantastic about each book in this series, is the reasoning behind character decisions, and how each character is not simply self serving, but rather just reacting in the ways they know to situations out of their control. I love Martin's writing, it is dry and slow, but I find it rich and immersive. As fantastic as the writing is, it is the characters that make this story what it is. No matter the terrible things they may do, we see the humaneness to them and qualities that we like and may even relate to. Many writers struggle to write two dimensional characters, let alone morally grey ones, but Martin exceeds to the point where you come to love characters who you once believed you never would. The theme of identity ties all these differing characters together, and it is such a meaningful and moving experience to watch them struggle and grow to understand who they are, in a world that demands they be so many differing things. I cannot wait to read part two, especially knowing the distress that is to come. This series tortures my heart and yet somehow I love it.
