A review by btlitell
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Every man must die, Jon Snow. But first he must live.

So many things happened in this book that it's hard to remember here at the end everything that happened.

Red Wedding - I stopped reading for a day. I was so devastated by that.
Everything that happened north of the wall was interesting and complex. I really enjoyed all of the really strong development that Jon and Samwell had in their time ranging. I've had a soft spot for Samwell since he showed up in the books, but seeing his POV has made me enjoy his character more. I was getting a bit annoyed by the "you know nothing, Jon Snow" quote (sorry, Ygritte) right around the time that it stopped being said in response to what felt like everything Jon said.
Purple Wedding - The aftermath was more upsetting than the events of the wedding itself.
Jaime feels more like a person now. Seeing his POV rather than hearing about him has certainly taken some of the poker chips off of his "what is wrong with this man" pile, but he also added a few more back on later.
Seeing Brienne match him in their duel was exciting. He needed that humbling.

Tyrion remains the only Lannister that I have not found a reason to dislike. He's cunning and wiley, but in a house of lions, I'd say that's the only way his lived as long as he has.
Tywin deserved that crossbow bolt in the gut. It pleases me that Tyrion was the one to do that, as surprised as I was that it happened.

I'm curious to see what happens with Bran in the next book.
It made me so happy that Jon Snow saw Bran's direwolf before he escaped from the wildlings.


There is a long league's worth of difference between willful and stupid.

Everything is still so very complex in this world and the overall story. I'm quite baffled by the extreme attention paid to all of the minute details, especially with how massively large these books are. I didn't think 21 days would be a long enough library loan to read this, but I ended up finishing it with 8 days to spare. I think that alone speaks for the quality of this book and series.