A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5/5 cats
HAPPY SEASON 4 FINALE EVE, NERDIES!!! View Spoiler »
success! i have managed to read this book without getting spoiled ahead of time!! so – ha! to you nerds talking loudly in my sci-fi section about the plot!! i ran to the history wall and hummed loudly until they left. ha! to that jerk at BEA telling his colleagues every. single. thing. that happened in the third book while he stood behind me in that justin cronin line!! i made greg come back from his booth-browsing and hold our place (he has read all of these already), and i scooted over to the chronicle booth and peered around the corner, while greg stood in line wide-eyed and kept making “no, it is not safe yet” gestures and all i heard was the phrase View Spoiler » ha! to all you irresponsible but adorably enthusiastic teenage reviewers of these books with your spoilery status updates in my feed! i have scrolled through quickly quickly and managed to remain completely untainted.
and man, there would have been a lot to get spoiled, here.
and now it is my turn.
HERE IS A LIST OF EVERYONE WHO DIES IN STORM OF SWORDS
View Spoiler »
okay, so that was a tease, and i would never be that much of a jerk. but now i understand. i feel powerful, stuffed to the gills with knowledge. and i am so freaking amped for season three to begin, because i cannot wait to see some of these scenes played out.
but apart from that, i mean, this is the third book in a series. so what can i possibly say in a review?? it is difficult to talk about a “middle” book without spoilers, and the casual goodreader isn’t going to read this “review,” probably, because there has been so much content, so much context, that it would make no sense to someone who has never picked up a book in this series before. i was re-reading some of my third-book reviews, for books that aren’t just a trilogy, and you can see the struggle…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/…
how do you talk about something that is continuing, for people who have no idea what you are talking about?
so, i assume only fans of martin are reading this, and you people know how good this book is, so what can i possibly say? so i’m just going to whitter on about some things i like/feel like whittering about.
oh, dana, i am so sorry about that thing that happens to your beloved character.
oblique spoiler:
View Spoiler »
and in searching for that image, i rediscovered this site that has way more content than it used to, and i got sucked in for about an hour:
which led me to this, which is a book-one spoiler, so careful, uninitiated friends:
View Spoiler »
it is worth a visit to scroll through their archives; i had me some guffaws.
okay, but there were a couple of things that i didn’t like in this book:
View Spoiler »
but those were just minor flaws in what is otherwise a great book. george martin is good at a number of different things. for epic fantasy, which is usually defined by action sequences and the large-scale, his books are so skillful at the quiet moments. don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of HUGE scenes in this book, but there are also so many small conversations that are seemingly inconsequential to the overall storyline, but they go so far towards character development, which is something lost in a lot of genre-fiction. these characters are vivid, and their decisions (mostly – see gripe number 2) make sense in terms of their positions and ambitions and survival instincts. and they will affect you.
i started reading this while i was re-watching the first season of the wire, which is an exercise i strongly recommend. there are so many parallels, in the way that characters operate within the parameters of “the game,” and their individual codes of honor and behavior, and in the rises and falls of characters that are predicated upon such seemingly inconsequential events. the long drawn-out cause-and-effect situations, they are masterful and span seasons/books, which is such a delight to a fan.
which search led me to this:
and, oh, god, i love the internet:
http://asongoficeandwire.tumblr.com/
is there anything you do not have, internet??
this book is “everyone’s” favorite, but for me, i think i like the second book better. yet i understand the feeling people have for this; the great love and the great heartbreak. and – oh – the way he takes things we thought we already understood from as far back as the first book; about jon arryn and about tysha, and he’s all “nahhhh, this is what happened for real.” so very cool. just when you thought you had closure…
it is an easy series to get addicted to. there are some problems, for sure, some of the writing occasionally can be clichéd, and there is some repetition that is a little tedious, but overall, this is a character-driven series that has great scenes of action, is genuinely funny in a lot of places, and the strategies of characters are worth it. remember that as you struggle through the lyrics to “the bear and the maiden fair” for the hundredth time.
incidentally, i would read an entire series of novels featuring jaime and brienne on a road trip.
in closing:
DAENERYS!!!!
i love her so much.
