The third book in the A Song of Fire and Ice series is A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. The battles get bigger and the stakes are even higher in this novel. Find out who survives and who is left fighting for the crown in Westeros!
Be forewarned, there are spoilers ahead and you should wait until you finish the last book in the series A Clash of Kings before reading this review.
A Storm of Swords Summary
The war between the five kings is still going on from the last novel. One of the five kings has fallen and I won’t spoil it for anyone. The remaining four kings are still fighting for the kingdom and allegiances and loyalties are being tested. The Kingdom in the North faces adversity when decisions are made without input and may have dire consequences.
For Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch, the war being fought for the kingdom is irrelevant. They are getting ready to fight wildings and are vastly outnumbered. Mance Rayder has united the different tribes of willings and plans to take down the Wall and invade Westeros.
And finally, we are seeing Daenerys Targaryen come into her own as she conquers kingdoms with her new army and fast-developing dragons. However, she doesn’t have the army or the resources to conquer Westeros or cross the sea dividing her from Westeros. But she has new-found power and influence and people are listening to what she has to say.
Commentary
Like always, my short summaries do little justice to the Game of Thrones world. There are so many characters I didn’t mention and other events going on that are important to the novel. But that summary should be more than enough to show Westeros has many stories to tell without spoiling much.
Just like its predecessors, A Storm of Swords is eventful and a lot happens. All the main pieces are moving towards the end goal and Martin picks up the pace. That means characters and plots aren’t dragged out as much as in the previous two novels. There are many epic battles left and the dragons are coming!
Conclusion
Reading this novel made me eager to read the next one and finish this epic series. While the books do get longer and longer, the payoff is worth it. If you have been reading the previous novels, then this is a great reward. And if you are debating about getting into the series, know that there is a lot of reading but the adventure is unlike anything else!
I took a 3 month break in the middle of this one, but I can’t wait to finish the series!
Its a long book so totally understand. And the series is still ongoing