A Storm of Swords (Fantasy Novel)

Kings. Mothers. Eunuchs. Betrayals. Long Awaited Revenge. Weddings. Leeches. Unexpected Allies. Magic.

 A Storm of Swords is the third book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series and the 2001 winner of the Locus Fantasy Award. The novel is long and epic. It continues the major story lines from A Clash of Kings and A Game of Thrones. A Storm of Swords has unexpected twists and turns. It resolves some of the nagging mysteries from the earlier novels. It is beyond a doubt violent, yet at the same time Martin creates empathy for characters that are not so easy to care about. He shows characters growing up and evolving.

Very, very briefly, lots of people die. Some people rise to the occasion and do heroic and honorable acts.

After finishing A Storm of Swords, I feel A Song of Ice and Fire is worthy of the Hugo Award for a series, which to the best of my knowledge has only been given out once, for the Foundation Trilogy. I am awed by Martin’s ability to weave the storylines and draw me into the story. At the same time, I almost put down the novel and gave up on the series because it is so long and so overwhelming. As I often do, I found myself living in the story, and I do not want to live in such a tumultuous world. Yet, as I type, the next book in the series is coming my way.