Book Review: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

When I dove into A Song of Ice and Fire, I was immediately enthralled by Game of Thrones. I tore through the pages like a fiend, devouring the characters and fretting over their fates as they played the game. In the last month I have come to cherish almost every character in the story, even those that might be deemed unsavory.

The third book in the series, A Storm of Swords, quickly became my favorite in the series to date, leaving me breathless and with teeth often clenched tighter than King Stannis. There were so many shock and awe moments throughout this book it kept me up well past 2:30 in the morning most nights because I couldn’t put it down for fear of leaving someone in a lurch.

“If I go to bed, Tyrion might not be alive when I wake up in the morning,” I squeaked. “If I turn off the light, Jon Snow might have his head lobbed off by Mance Rayder while I’m sleeping.”

My efforts to keep reading often did little to protect the characters from the wrath of their creator, but the telltale signs of a good storyteller prove he’s not afraid to torment and kill his babies. While I won’t give anything away for those who’ve yet to read this far into the series, I will say this: Martin is definitely not afraid to kill his characters. Other reviews I’ve read claimed Martin’s willingness to make his creations suffer is a bad thing, and some have even said they stopped reading when the blood started to wash the walls of every castle in Westeros, but in a game as deadly as the one played in this series, how can we expect everyone to survive?

Since book one Tyrion Lannister intrigued me, and my love for him as a character has only continued to grow. One of the most delightful surprises in A Storm of Swords, however, was how quickly Martin warmed me to characters I’d previously loathed with a passion. I found myself actually feeling a hint of fondness for both Jaime and The Hound, and even a little sympathetic toward Stannis Baratheon.

I only have a few minor complaints about A Storm of Swords. For one, I would have liked to follow Bran’s path a little more closely toward the end, and the lack of attention paid to his journey made him feel sort of like he disappeared entirely. Perhaps, considering Bran’s actual situation, that was Martin’s intention. I’m not sure.

I was also thrown off by the number of typos I came across in the Kindle version. I’m not sure if these were Kindle exclusive typos, but one example that really stands out around 41%: “”Yet Ser Axell proposes we swoop down on the homes they left behind, to rape their windows and put their children to the sword.” Oops! Watch out, windows of the fallen men. Stannis’ men are coming for you.”

Despite the number of typos, and occasionally feeling like Bran was all but invisible, I still give the book five out of five stars. It gripped me. I’ll read it again, and I highly recommend it to high fantasy lovers.