Customer Reviews

A Storm of Swords (Part One) - Steel and Snow: Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Unabridged)

Steel and Snow is the first part of the third volume of the saga, A Storm of Swords. So far it has lived up to the expectations created by the climatic ending of A Clash of Kings, but this review feels incomplete because most of what happened in Steel and Snow is a build-up to the second part, Blood and Gold.

In the aftermath of the Battle of the Blackwater, the losers are licking their wounds while the victorious are capitalizing on the momentum by building new alliances, so expect more politics and less warfare. Unfortunately we get less of Tyrion, whose role is hampered by the arrival of his father to King's Landing, but his chapters are enjoyable as always. Even though the Starks keep winning in the battlefield, their position has never been more fragile.

North of the Wall, Jon Snow joins the wildlings to learn everything he can about them, but will find out that living as a spy is even harder than he supposed it would be, not because of his wary enemies, but because of new unexpected friendships. We also get some chapters from the point of view of Sam Tarly.

In the East, Daenerys continues her struggle to raise an army capable to get her throne back.

In my opinion, the first half of A Storm of Swords makes me believe it will be the best book of the saga so far. The War of the Kings and Jon Snow storylines keep up the high standards we got used to. However, the Daenerys storyline really kicks off, as the last Targaryen shows the world she is no longer the na�ve princess that was presented to us in Pentos. But the real surprise for me was the addition of Jaime Lannister as a point of view character. His chapters were absolutely stunning, showing us a lot more than a simple minded villain who only cares for his sister or fighting.

+: Jaime Lannister added as POV character; Daenerys finally rises as a real menace to those who oppose her

-: Tyrion being pushed to a more secondary role

=: This first part really sets high expectations for Blood and Gold; all storylines are compelling from the start, which is something the previous two volumes lacked; less Tyrion is fully compensated by much more Jaime and Daenerys

Well, here's an oddity. An American book published as one paperback volume in the US, yet split into 2 in the UK. It's usually the other way around.
It is perhaps a little unfair to have this split into two. It's one book, and designed to be read as such. After all, no one is going to pick up part one, being the third book in an ongoing series, without reading part two as well. Besides, all of the big, widescreen moments happen in the second half, and the first volume is left without even a partial resolution or cliffhanger.
That said, this is brilliant. Make sure that there is a clean spot on the carpet in front of you before you start reading this, because your jaw is going to be spending a lot of time on the floor. If you thought the first two books in this series were amazing (they were), then you ain't seen nothing yet.
Martin's biggest strength is his characters; no one is good, no one is evil, everyone is just shades of grey. His second strength is his plotting - just when you think you know what's about to happen, he pulls the rug out from under you, and the exact opposite occurs. Things that should happen don't. Things that shouldn't happen do. Bad things happen to good people, and there ain't no justice.
This book left me scratching my head wondering how on earth one man can conjure all this out of his imagination.
But perhaps the best thing I can say about this is that after 3 books and 3,000 pages, we start to get a glimpse that perhaps Martin is not telling us the story that we thought he was...
Let's hope we get more of Daenerys next time round.
Valor Morghulis...

With a complex weave of fantasy and reality, George Martin continues to write this stunning series with an amount of depth and attention to character that I can't remember seeing recently in any high fantasy series. He continues on with his brutal look at a realistic world where no man or woman is spared from the bad things in life.
Characters are so believeable in their creation with a heavy dose of flaws and range of emotion. The look at the world as a whole and lands outside of the main continent are terrific giving the whole tale a mighty scope that only whets your appetite for more.
This third book finally starts to bring in the more magical aspects of the universe with subtlety and then smacks you over the head with a couple of stunning twists. The great thing is that the magic doesn't overshadow the deadly court intrigue and human wars, but mingles with it so perfectly that it seems very natural for it to be included.
Unfortunately I see that the next book isn't going to be released for over a year! Aye caramba! I don't know that I can hold out that long to find out what's going to happen next. I can't say enough positive things about this series. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys reading, not just those fantasy geeks like myself. It's a very fulfilling ride that just gets better with each page.

This series is amazing. However with this particular book I found the content hard to grapple with. It is like the author is intentionally throwing 'curve balls' (to use an American adage) just to show us that he is not afraid to kill anyone or anything. Characters that I felt could eventually go on to be facinating reads in the future just get wiped out.

On the upside of this however is that I truly do not know how GRRM is going to finish the series. Will my favourite characters survive? Will the 'good guys' even win?? You really can't tell and it is because of this reason that this series is better than most (if not all) of the fantasy I have ever read.

Things to look out for in aSoS: the emergence of the Red Viper of Dorne (a chillingly cool character), Jon Snow and Ghost (things really start developing here) and Jaime Lannister given a voice, which as some people have argued already, is a masterstroke - I agree.

Great continuation of a great series thus far. I was introduced to it late but I am not sorry - 5 stars!

...like the way your favourite characters are brutally killed off and the story veers off past their barely cold remains...
...or the way that Martin switches your point of view full 360 degrees and the villain of the piece you've been hoping gets his or her come-uppance for two lengthy tomes, you now find yourself plotting with and rooting for.
...let me not forget (or forgive) the fact that key chapters of the story, which you're desperate to see unfolding, happen 'off-camera' as it were and you only find out about the dramatic events in a short third-hand and maybe untrustworthy report.
If I'd been writing these books House Stark would have been triumphant long before we reached book 4 but Martin's genius is that he tramples on and overturns all the clichés of the fantasy genre and still leaves you hungry for more. 5 stars dammit!

Excellent book, this series is one of the most exciting i have read in a long time, i just cannot put them down, am now on the 4th book and just don't want it to end.

Having seen series 1 and 2 of the TV show, and deciding I couldn't wait for the 3rd season to start, I decided to start reading the books. Books 1 and 2 in the series have been faithfully recreated in the TV show - I can't read the books without seeing the characters from the show (although Joffrey is supposed to be stunningly handsome in the books, with golden flowing hair. The chap in the TV show wasn't blessed in that way, although I'm sure he's a jolly nice chap). Anyway, this book starts the journey past the TV timeline, and along with the 4th book (confusingly, the '3rd' book, but 2nd part of it :-\ eek ), this superbly carries us on in the world of these characters.
Along with the second part of Storm of Swords, these are my favourite parts of the series so far.

Bought this book since I could not wait for the next season tv series to be released. And I am going to buy the next book

I think A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (Reissue): Book 3 Part 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Song of Ice & Fire) is the same as the whole series of George R R Martins great Saga. I have been unable to put down any book in this series I am compelled to buy each new one as soon as I finish the previous. The author is a born story teller and has so many irons in the fire at once that you wonder how he kept the characters under control. On very isolated occasions I get a bit peeved when the rhythm of american swear words jar on the minds ear because they are so out of place in the context of a mediaeval Fantasy. That's my only complaint. My favourite characters are Jon Snow and Tyrion I do thoroughly recommend this whole series of books including the specific title here. The story telling has been spellbinding. Save up though because as you get further along in the series the book prices escalate even on kindle it costs in excess of �12 for A Dance With Dragons. Which I think is a bit steep but then I cannot but praise the work. So I say treat yourself, buy them all.

This book carries on the excellent story line of the previous books in the series. Still makes for late night reading and drowsy mornings.