A Song of Ice and Fire #3: A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Read: 28 February, 2012

I really can't summarize the book without giving away what's happened in the previous works of the series, but let's just say that it's more of the same. Stuff is bad, it's getting worse, and everyone is too focused on their own concerns to see the bigger picture.

It's incredible that Martin is keeping me at the edge of my seat through the audio equivalent of 3,000+ pages, and leaves me craving more. Even more incredible is that he is able to keep hitting air circulation devices with human waste without it ever feeling forced or giving me anxiety fatigue. It's become a running joke in our household - D will ask how the book is going and I will say: "Everything's gone to hell!" To which my dear gentleman friend replies: "Isn't that what you said last time?"

In Storm of Swords, Jaime Lannister is given a POV and quickly earns his way into my good graces. Martin has done an amazing job at creating convincingly grey characters, and allowing for multiple interpretations of the same events. By giving the reader insight into Jaime's motivations, Martin shows us a man who wishes to honour his vows, and who was willing to break them and sacrifice his reputation to protect the innocent.

Tyrion Lannister is still one of my favourite characters, and we see quite a bit of his development in this book, but there's something that's been bothering me. From the start, he is played as "the clever one." Jaime is a great fighter, Cersei is beautiful, and Tyrion is clever. Yet from the start, he's never struck me as especially smart. He's borderline witty, although he seems to simply subscribe to the buckshot school of wit (make as many japes as possible and hope that some of them land). And, quite frankly, his mocking jokes are frequently ill-timed and just get him into trouble.

I've read a couple reviews mentioning Sansa Stark and how weak and annoying she is. She's no Arya, certainly, but is she really so weak? Arya and Brienne of Tarth are both aberrations in Westeros, and not really an option for females. Sansa is the more realistic of the three. She is a woman and she is acting within the female sphere to survive. Far from being some passive little china doll, I found her to have incredible strength and an active agent in her own right whenever she sees the opportunity. Consider, for example, how she uses Ser Dontos Hollard to escape King's Landing, or how she tries to escape Joffrey by marrying Willas Tyrell. She's afraid, to be sure, but so is Arya. The difference is that Arya survives by using her sword while Sansa survives by using her courtesies. Personally, I admire Sansa's strength, all the more because she carves out her survival in the "woman's domain" (historically speaking) rather than pushing herself into the "man's sphere" as Arya does.

One final note, I am "reading" this via audio book (because it's a hands-free way to stave off boredom while nursing) and it needs to be said that Roy Dotrice is amazing. He makes the characters come to life by giving each a different voice. It was hard for me at first because it shaped my perception of the characters - something that I like the written medium without - but it's grown on me. And Dotrice's range is truly impressive.

A Song of Ice and Fire #2: A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Read: 6 February, 2012

Picking up where Game of Thrones left off, Clash of Kings jumps right into the action. The series reads like a unified whole, separated only to appear less daunting to potential readers (and to prevent back injury, I suppose), so it was hard not to take up book 3 immediately after finishing. I think that says a lot about the quality of this series - 2,000 pages and I'm still hungering for more!

All the plotlines from Game of Thrones are still present, and this next instalment adds more. So by the final page of Clash of Kings there are enough plots and subplots to fill several series. Certainly, the Daenerys, John Snow, and Iron Thrones lines could all easily have been separated. But it speaks to Martin's expertise that he's able to balance all three (including their respective subplots) and interweave them enough that they enhance each other rather than detract. The subplots are sufficiently connected to the main plots to make the world feel even more alive and to heighten suspense without becoming overwhelming.

Game of Thrones had very little magic. That was great for me because I have a lot of trouble getting into stories that are heavy in magic. But although there's quite a bit more in Clash of Kings, I was already so engrossed in the story and the world by the time it was introduced in earnest that I didn't find it jarring.

What's impressed me most about the series so far is how alive the world feels. There are thousands of background characters, and each is given enough detail to seem real, to feel like they could have their own stories to tell. The setting, too, is filled with history. I don't think I've ever read a book - even contemporary fiction - where the world seemed so populated.

I'm still fairly early on in the series, but it has really impressed me and is shaping up to be my favourite fantasy story, if not one of my favourite stories in general. The audio book makes the length far more manageable, which is great if you're reading time is limited, so there's really no excuse not to give it a try!