Product Description

Here is the third volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin’s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

A Storm of Swords

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world....

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1946 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-04
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 1216 pages

Amazon.com Review
Is George R.R. Martin for real? Can a fantasy epic actually get better with each new installment? Fans of the genre have glumly come to expect go-nowhere sequels from other authors, so we're entitled to pinch ourselves over Martin's tightly crafted Song of Ice and Fire series. The reports are all true: this series is the real deal, and Martin deserves his crown as the rightful king of the epic. A Game of Thrones got things off to a rock-solid start, A Clash of Kings only exceeded expectations, but it's the Storm of Swords hat trick that cements Martin's rep as the most praiseworthy fantasy author to come along since that other R.R.

Like the first two books, A Storm of Swords could coast on the fundamentals: deftly detailed characters, convincing voices and dialogue, a robust back-story, and a satisfyingly unpredictable plot. But it's Martin's consistently bold choices that set the series apart. Every character is fair game for the headman's axe (sometimes literally), and not only do the good guys regularly lose out to the bad guys, you're never exactly sure who you should be cheering for in the first place.

Storm is full of admirable intricacies. Events that you thought Martin was setting up solidly for the first two books are exposed as complex feints; the field quickly narrows after the Battle of the Blackwater and once again, anything goes. Robb tries desperately to hold the North together, Jon returns from the wildling lands with a torn heart, Bran continues his quest for the three-eyed crow beyond the Wall, Catelyn struggles to save her fragile family, Arya becomes ever more wolflike in her wanderings, Daenerys comes into her own, and Joffrey's cruel rule from King's Landing continues, making even his fellow Lannisters uneasy. Martin tests all the major characters in A Storm of Swords: some fail the trial, while others--like Martin himself--seem to only get stronger. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
The third volume of the high fantasy saga that began with A Game of Thrones and continued in A Clash of Kings is one of the more rewarding examples of gigantism in contemporary fantasy. As Martin's richly imagined world slides closer to its 10-year winter, both the weather and the warfare worsen. In the north, King Joffrey of House Lannister sits uneasily on the Iron Throne. With the aid of a peasant wench, Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, escapes from jail in Riverrun. Jaime goes to the other youthful ruler, Robb Stark, to secure the release of Joffrey's prisoners, Robb's sisters Arya and Sansa Stark. Meanwhile, in the south, Queen Daenarys tries to assert her claim to the various thrones with an army of eunuchs, but discovers that she must choose between conquering more and ruling well what she has already taken. The complexity of characters such as Daenarys, Arya and the Kingslayer will keep readers turning even the vast number of pages contained in this volume, for the author, like Tolkien or Jordan, makes us care about their fates. Those two fantasy greats are also evoked by Martin's ability to convey such sensual experiences as the heat of wildfire, the chill of ice, the smell of the sea and the sheer gargantuan indigestibility of the medieval banquet at its most excessive. Perhaps this saga doesn't go as far beyond the previous bounds of high fantasy as some claim, but for most readers it certainly goes far enough to command their attention. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The "beloved fantasy saga," regular old ordinary fiction, continues. Bonnie Smothers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

The Best of the Best
I tore through this series, and while I would obviously recommend all the books, as they are essential to progressing the tale, A Storm of Swords seemed to stand above the others just slightly. I will not get into spoilers, as I would have hated to been spoiled on some of the plot twists that occur (there are quite a few!). I will say that at one point in the book I couldn't get to sleep because my heart was pounding so hard from the dismay and utter disbelief of what turn the plot took. A Storm of Swords is one of those books that you will pick-up to read before bed, look at the clock, and suddenly it is 3am in the morning... which seems like a great time for just one more chapter. If you have made it this far in the series, you owe it to yourself to pick-up this book, and continue on the epic journey through Westeros, the far east, and beyond the Wall.

BREAKS ALL THE RULES
I've got two books of my own published and have worked like a dog to achieve that. And here comes George R. R. Martin with this gigantic book and larger series and breaks every rule--and charms me! Totally. I have to say--I'm mad at the literary establishment. The teachers and professors at writing conferences tell us don't do this: And then Martin does, and it works.

But who needs a 1200+ page novel? This cult favorite breaks every rule of the literary fiction/creative writing major/MFA crowd. It's got more characters than an ant hill has ants. A hundred story lines moving forward in a dizzying, incomprehensible maze. Names. Dates. Serial numbers. It's huge. Martin makes no attempt at creating a beginning, middle and end to this multi-volume epic--not to the whole thing or any volume. He just ends the thing--probably when he couldn't lift the manuscript any more--leaving threads untied, tales unfinished. Readers drooling.

My editors and writing coaches would ring their hands at this monster. But they haven't sold like Martin does, and they haven't created a very large jewel like this, either.

I loved it and started the next volume immediately. I'm not even done with that, and I'm asking my daughter, "Wasn't there a sequel on the way?" "Did you say there's a chapter to be downloaded?"

It's addictive and I'm addicted. No one can describe pageantry or create an imaginary world like Martin.

I gave the book 4 stars rather than 5 because of the publisher's cruelty to the reader. Packing this mother around was painful. It could be marketed as a form of exercise or maybe even a weight loss program. It's just too big. Why couldn't they have packaged it into two 600+ page books rather than this gigantic phone book? And why the submicroscopic print in the mass paperback versions? Please, you've got addicts, treat them nicely.

I'm midway through book 4 of the series and expect to wait, panting, for the next volume.

I FINISHED IT, THANK GOD--I MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY
Phew. I finished it. Who needs a 1200+ page novel? This cult favorite breaks every rule of the literary fiction/creative writing major/MFA crowd. It's got more characters than an ant hill has ants. A hundred story lines moving forward in a dizzying, incomprehensible maze. Names. Dates. Serial numbers. It's huge. Martin makes no attempt at creating a beginning, middle and end to this multi-volume epic--not to the whole thing or any volume. He just ends the thing--probably when he couldn't lift the manuscript any more--leaving threads untied, tales unfinished. Readers drooling.

My editors and writing coaches would ring their hands at this monster. But they haven't sold like Martin does, and they haven't created a very large jewel like this, either.

I loved it and started the next volume immediately. I'm not even done with that, and I'm asking my daughter, "Wasn't there a sequel on the way?" "Did you say there's a chapter to be downloaded?"

It's addictive and I'm addicted. No one can describe pageantry or create an imaginary world like Martin.

I gave the book 4 stars rather than 5 because of the publisher's cruelty to the reader. Packing this mother around was painful. It could be marketed as a form of exercise or maybe even a weight loss program. It's just too big. Why couldn't they have packaged it into two 600+ page books rather than this gigantic phone book? And why the submicroscopic print in the mass paperback versions? Please, you've got addicts, treat them nicely.

I'm midway through book 4 of the series and expect to wait, panting, for the next volume. Numenon (Bloodsong) (Bloodsong)