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Dan Schwent's Reviews > A Storm of Swords
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
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** spoiler alert **
Three kings contend for the throne and King Joffrey's wedding day grows near. Can he hold the throne with Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon nipping at his heels?
Yeah, that's a woefully inadequate summary but it's not laden with spoilers, either.
Here we are, the third installment of Weddings, Beddings, and Beheadings, and my favorite one so far. In fact, I was thinking about downgrading them to 4's just so I could show how great I thought this one was. Martin outdid himself this time.
First of all, there were quite a few deaths in this one. I wasn't expecting Robb Stark to go out like that. Tywin and Joffrey more than had it coming, however. The Red Wedding was pretty surprising, as was the trial by combat for Tyrion's fate. Speaking of Tyrion, his wedding to Sansa was also quite unexpected. I'm still not sure where things are going with Davos Seaworth but I'm already itching to find out.
Jon Snow continued to be my favorite character, from his stint with the wildlings to his defense of the Wall to his imprisonment and eventual election to commander of the Night's Watch. The prospect of Snow becoming Lord of Winterfell is an intriguing one and I'm anxious to see how it unfolds.
Another plotline I'm particularly enjoying is that of Arya and the Hound. The Hound could easily be a scene-chewing villain but is a surprisingly deep character. Arya is shockingly bad ass for a preteen.
One character I'm surprised I've grown to like is Jaime Lannister. He's an arrogant unapologetic bastard and I love him for it. I'd read a whole book of Jaime's exploits.
Also, how about Petyr Baelish? What a bastard!
I'm giving this five stars with an exclamation point next to it. After a short break, I'll be devouring the two remaining volumes.
Yeah, that's a woefully inadequate summary but it's not laden with spoilers, either.
Here we are, the third installment of Weddings, Beddings, and Beheadings, and my favorite one so far. In fact, I was thinking about downgrading them to 4's just so I could show how great I thought this one was. Martin outdid himself this time.
First of all, there were quite a few deaths in this one. I wasn't expecting Robb Stark to go out like that. Tywin and Joffrey more than had it coming, however. The Red Wedding was pretty surprising, as was the trial by combat for Tyrion's fate. Speaking of Tyrion, his wedding to Sansa was also quite unexpected. I'm still not sure where things are going with Davos Seaworth but I'm already itching to find out.
Jon Snow continued to be my favorite character, from his stint with the wildlings to his defense of the Wall to his imprisonment and eventual election to commander of the Night's Watch. The prospect of Snow becoming Lord of Winterfell is an intriguing one and I'm anxious to see how it unfolds.
Another plotline I'm particularly enjoying is that of Arya and the Hound. The Hound could easily be a scene-chewing villain but is a surprisingly deep character. Arya is shockingly bad ass for a preteen.
One character I'm surprised I've grown to like is Jaime Lannister. He's an arrogant unapologetic bastard and I love him for it. I'd read a whole book of Jaime's exploits.
Also, how about Petyr Baelish? What a bastard!
I'm giving this five stars with an exclamation point next to it. After a short break, I'll be devouring the two remaining volumes.
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Reading Progress
January 29, 2013
– Shelved
February 12, 2013
–
Started Reading
February 12, 2013
– Shelved as:
fantasy
February 16, 2013
– Shelved as:
2013
February 16, 2013
–
Finished Reading
May 11, 2015
– Shelved as:
kitten-squisher
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Jason
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rated it 4 stars
Feb 16, 2013 06:44PM
I'm going to go ahead and "like" this review assuming it is of your usual high quality, but I'm not actually going to read it, because I haven't read the third book yet and, well, you understand.
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Jason wrote: "I'm going to go ahead and "like" this review assuming it is of your usual high quality, but I'm not actually going to read it, because I haven't read the third book yet and, well, you understand."Of course. Without spoilery bits, I'll say it's my favorite one so far.
Dan wrote: "Jason wrote: "I'm going to go ahead and "like" this review assuming it is of your usual high quality, but I'm not actually going to read it, because I haven't read the third book yet and, well, you..."Thanks. I'm looking forward to it!
I'm definitely looking forward to what you think of the next two.
Yes, this was definitely my favorite. If you haven't started #4 yet, be warned: It is NOT a complete book. At the time, it really pissed me off, not because it was incomplete, but because of the WAY it was incomplete. (Rather than break it in the middle chronologically, the viewpoints are split in half... so no Tyrion at all, etc. I spent the whole book wondering if Tyrion was dead or something.) Of course, you'll be able to move right on to #5, so you should be fine. :) I loved you review, especially "Weddings, Beddings, and Beheadings"!
You're blazing through these books! And no wonder, if they're as good or better than the series...
"In fact, I was thinking about downgrading them to 4's just so I could show how great I thought this one was. Martin outdid himself this time."So true. Damn this book was amazing. I saw Storm on the shelf at the used book store I was at the other day, and whispered sweet nothings to him, just to let him know I was still in love.
At first I was confused why he was there all alone... but then I realized that his series-mates probably got really tired of being constantly outshone, and so they abandoned him in the donation bin.
He's like, the lead singer of the band, dude. ;)
Hildred wrote: "I'm definitely looking forward to what you think of the next two."I want to read Red Country and The Daylight War before I tackle the next two. I was thinking I might read Feast of Crows and A Dance with Dragons simultaneously so I don't have to go Tyrion-less for so long.
Nice review. This is one of my all time favorite books. I havn't read Dance yet, but I think you'll enjoy Feast since you are keeping in mind that there's no Tyrion and it's mostly concened with the Western continent. Reading about Dorne was awesome.
I might have to return to the series earlier than I thought. I'm having a hard time being interested in books that don't involve the Starks or Lannisters.
You know, I felt the same way after reading Feast. Life is short, man. Read Feast. Never know when an asteroid's gonna hit and that book list goes to shit. :)
Guillermo wrote: "You know, I felt the same way after reading Feast. Life is short, man. Read Feast. Never know when an asteroid's gonna hit and that book list goes to shit. :)"You are wise, Guillermo.
Carpe diem, young Dan! ;) Im sure when they excavated Pompeii, they found a bunch of "to read" lists as well.
Guillermo, Dan, hilarious and spot on hahahaha ;-D
I carped the hell out of that diem, Guillermo. 100 pages in and no regrets.
Good job, Dan. Push through that thing with no regrets. Let me know what you think.
Great review.I have not started reading the series yet but am not too worried about knowing who is dead and gone because a) I will probably have forgotten by the time I read them b) I am always pleased reading books about shites knowing they will get their just deserts c) I was already well aware that from what i have heard the corpses littering the stage would make Hamlet look understated.
Excellent review. I got to liking Jamie as well, and the Hound, although I've always like Arya. Am so glad Joffery got his due; am on the 5th book an hope Queen Cersei finally gets what she deserves. I've had friends say this series if just violent and dirty. Hey, what do they think it was like in the Middle Ages and living through the Spanish Inquisition?
I'm on the fifth book too. Lots of people are due for a comeuppence.
Dan - I couldn't have said it better! Your analysis and personal thoughts were a mirror of my own. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one reading this with my emotions off in left field.
Ambs ♥♥ wrote: "Dan - I couldn't have said it better! Your analysis and personal thoughts were a mirror of my own. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one reading this with my emotions off in left field."Thanks! Do you have the next two books on hand? It's hard to stop the avalanche once you start reading these books.
The best in the series, unfortunately it's down hill from here.
Paul wrote: "The best in the series, unfortunately it's down hill from here."Yeah, that's where I'm at with it. As time passes, I'm cooling on the books after this one.
Page 711 status is hilarious. I'm somewhere in book two so didn't read the review. I thought I'd heard book three was a lesser book, so i'm glad to hear you think otherwise.
Timothy wrote: "Page 711 status is hilarious. I'm somewhere in book two so didn't read the review. I thought I'd heard book three was a lesser book, so i'm glad to hear you think otherwise."Three was unquestionably my favorite. Now, I've lost faith in GRRM ever finishing the series and plan to mostly follow the TV show.
