Martin, George RR: A Storm of Swords. New York: Bantam Books, 2013. Print. 1128 pages.
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SETTING: Similar to the first two books in the series (A Game of Thrones: http://artemisiaeupraxia.blogspot.com/2013/05/27-game-of-thrones.html and A Clash of Kings: http://artemisiaeupraxia.blogspot.com/2013/07/32-clash-of-kings.html)
The story takes place in three separate settings, following three separate, yet connected, story lines:
- The Seven Kingdoms, a nation on the continent of Westeros.
- The Wall (an actual wall made of ice, stone, and magic) that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the Northern wilderness.
- The East, in various cities that are being overtaken by Daenerys and her people.
SUMMARY: The various self-proclaimed kings find themselves having to strategically choose their battles, weighing the consequences of their actions on not only their likelihood of victory, but which allies they will in turn gain or lose via entering into any battle. The Night's Watch is still in confusion over what lies ahead with the Others, and have the added burden of having to deal with the threat of the wildlings trying to break through the wall. Lastly, Daenerys takes her people through varies cities, overtaking one after the other in hopes of building up her kingdom, all the while doubting whether or not she is capable of this task she has set her heart and mind upon of regaining her birthright as Queen of the Iron Throne.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "He had been the thirteenth man to lead the Night's Watch, she said, a warrior who knew no fear. 'And that was the fault in him,' she would add, 'for all men must know fear.'" - page 762.
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I FINALLY finished this book!!! I've been working on it for nearly two months now, and it wasn't for a lack of interest that it took so long. Since school resumed, I've had maybe 6-7 hours every two weeks to read. Combined with the sheer length of this novel, it's no wonder it took forever and a day!
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Things I liked about this book:
- OMG. There were so many times I found myself gasping or gaping while reading, from the very beginning to the very end. I finished the novel while drinking a cappuccino in my favorite coffee shop in DC, and for the last twenty or so pages I was sitting on the sofa with my mouth hanging open, eyes wide in surprise and disbelief. This book is action packed through and through, full of incredible twists and turns. Martin really delivers in this one, and it's plainly obvious that his goal in writing this series was not to add to the plethora of "feel-good" fantasy novels that are out there. He has a goal in writing this story and he is doing it beautifully so far.
- The rawness of the events in the book. There is nothing flowery about this story, and I love it!
- John Snow. He's neck in neck with Arya as my favorite character. I also find it interesting how, in my head, he's never John. It's always John Snow. Anyhow, he endures much through this book, but you can clearly see how it helps him grow as a person and it's fantastically detailed.
- The relationship between Brienne of Tarth and Jamie Lannister. How that changes was interesting to follow as well.
- The epilogue!!!! Absolutely unexpected! Martin may tear our hearts out every 300 pages, but he definitely soothes the injury with some pretty awesome surprises!
- I have NO IDEA where this book is headed and that's so exciting! I'm pretty confused with how this storyline will continue for another four (long) novels, considering how many people have already been killed off. I'm sure there's already a plan at hand, and I need not worry, but I can't help but think on it!
Miscellaneous points:
- I'm starting to feel meh about Daenerys. She's become a bit of a side story, so that's leading me to conclude that she's probably going to pop up in the next few books with some crazy big part. But, as of now, she's a little blah.
- BUT- I do like the prophecy that follows Daenerys ("Three treasons will you know: once for blood and once for gold and once for love") and watching them unfold one by one.
If you've noticed, there's no "Things I didn't like about this book" section because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! I was somewhat bored while reading the second book, but this novel definitely made up for that. I had heard from others that the second book's function is to set up for the events in the third book, and I now agree that that is 100% correct. When I will get around to watching the HBO series is anyone's guess, but for right now I'm content with being caught up (and actually past) the third season's finale because that means I won't be taunted by potential spoilers and covert headlines plastered all over the internet! And I already have the fourth novel in my possession, thanks to a forward thinking cousin, and I can't wait to start it! It'll probably be another two weeks though until that happens :( oh well, tis life!
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Recommend? YES YES YES!!!
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