Sunday 8 January 2012

A Storms of Swords- review


A Storm Of Swords by George R.R.Martin is the third book of the song of ice and fire series.It has the most shocking death of two major character,reveals the most deadliest villain of  the bunch(not the Lannisters), a wedding that one never had expected to happen,and finally the death of three kings.This is why I'm so hoked to these books,all the characters are not so good or so evil.
I'll break the plot through characters the characters.

Bran Stark
-believed to be dead,Bran and his companions travel to the north to meet the three eyed crow and Bran starts to learn his warg abilities that he could slip into his wolf Summer when he is dreaming .

Jon Snow
-Joining the wildlings as a spy,Jon Snow had no other way to prove his false loyalty with the Mance Ryder,the kings of wildlings by sleeping with Ygriette who he starts to have some affection towards her.Realising his loyalty towards the watch  and since he had managed to extract enough information on the wildlings,Jon Snow escapes with the help of Summer(Bran in his warg form)

Catelyn Stark
-Catelyn released Jaime  and made a deal with him to release hr daughters Sansa and Arya.She ordered Brienne of Tarth to escort Jaime to Kings Landing and bring  back  her daughters.This action angered  the some of the Lords  and decides to leave Robb who had been winning all the battle he had participated.Robb marrying Jeyne Westerling after falling for her kind heart made things worse as he had broken the promises he had given to Wlader Frey that he will take his daughter as his Queen.This made both Robb and Catleyn to arrange the marriage of Catelyn's brother the Lord of Riverrun in Twins,Edmure Tully with one of Wlader Frey daughters as an apology and to strengten their alliance.Robb also names Jon as his heir,although being not being his father trueborn(Jon is a bastard) son due to his love to his brother jon and felt Jon is a Stark no matter what is his last name.

Sansa Stark
-Still hold as a hostage ,Sansa was glad that her engagement with King Jofferey had broken and Joffrey is now engaged to Margaery Tyrell ,the widow of Renly Baretheon in order to achieve their alliance.However her happiness was not for long as she was  forced to marry  the  dwarf,Tyrion Lannister.She finally gain some courage on their wedding night  and said to Tyrion that she doesnt desire him.Tyrion was devastated and the fact she was so young for him,he said he will not touch her until she wants him to.

Arya Stark
-Being caught by the Brotherhood Without Banners(BWB),she along with Gendry is being brought to Riverrun  to her mother and brother in order to collect some ransom..but on the way ,she was kidnapped and by Sandor Clegane(also known as the Hound) and brought to the twins where Robb and his mother will be attending the wedding of their uncle which will be later known as the Red Wedding.

Davos Seaworth
-A knight serving  for Stannis Barratheon,losing the battle at kings landing in the previous book,he was washed away to a nearby island where he saw heard the voices of the Gods angry at him for serving Stannis who had been using sorcery and black magic to win the war through MelissandreWhen he returns to Stannis, he decides to save Stannis from Mellisandre and for now just go along with her plans and strike her when the time is right.Using Melissandre black magic,Stannis prayed for three deaths,three of the kings,Joffrey Baratheon,Robb Stark and Balon Greyjoy.Balon Greyjoy was the first king to die.

Jaime Lannister
-On his way back to King's Landing,Jaime confessed to Brienne that he killed the king only because he knew the war was over,the king had lost and intended to burn the whole city including its citizen so that  no one will get the city.That gained him the name Kingslayer and always seen as an oath breaker and a man with no honor but in truth he just wanted to save the citizen of the of King's Landing and the fact the king was so cruel.He also confessed that the only wrong he did was pushing Bran from the window and confessed he didn't send the man who was hired to kill Bran when he was crippled.

Catelyn Stark
-During the wedding ,the Freys betrays Robb and his army and breaks the guest right(any man or woman who had eaten under the host roof will be given safety until they leave).Robb is stabbed and Catelyn begs for Lord Frey to leave him and kill her as he is the only son remaining to her.Lord Bolton also betrays Robb and stabs him to the heart and killing him.Robb's head was cut off and his direwolf grey Wind's head is sewn to his body.Catelyn along with Robbs army was killed.

Arya Stark
-reaching the wedding,she found men fighting and dying.When she realised Robb was death she start to run into the castle wanted to see if that is true but is hit and stopped by the Hound in order to save her life.Through her warg form,she found that her mother was dead too and killed two man who tortured her and the people in Harrenhaal in a bar fight.she leaves the injured Hound and takes a ship to bravosi land realising all her family members had died and only her brother Jon is left for her.

Sansa Stark
-On the wedding day for King Jofferey,Sansa had devised a plan with Dontos(who decided  to help her as he owed her) to escape from King's Landing far from the war and the Imp to somewhere else as she realised all her family had died.On his wedding day ,King Jofferey choked in his wine and dies in front of everyone.Sansa taking this a a chance,she escaped from King's Landing and then realised Dontos was hired by Petyr or Littlefinger(the guy who betrayed her father in the Games of Thrones).He promises her that he gonna  bring her to Eyrie to her aunt Lysa who he will be marrying.At Eyrie ,Sansa finds that it was Petyr that asked Lysa to kill her husband Jon and asked Lysa to write a letter that Lannister killed Jon  Arryn and making the Lanisters and Stark to fight.

Catelyn Stark
-Catelyn is resurrected using black magic  by the BWB,and  wants to avenge her son's death.

Jon Snow
-He reached the wall and fought against the wildlings and becomes the Commander of the Nights Watch.


Review
Before I start ,I have to say that AStorm Of Swords is probably the best book in the series.What I liked in this book is that its packed with surprises.No one can predict the events that happens in the book.There are three weddings that comes out of nowhere and each three weddings gives a deep impact differently.
In this book we get to see the development of the Lannisters.The reader  gets to see Tyrion's  selfishness through some events and get some grasp on why Cersei is a Alpha bitch.

The character development of Jaime,the Kingslayer is equally surprising.Readers manages to see softer side of him and starts to pity him.As the book progresses,the readers realises that the Lannisters are not the dangerous player of this game of thrones.We are introduced to the guy who was always quiet and cunning ,the master plan of all the stuff that had happened from the start of the first book.Just like playing a chess ,he had brilliantly used people to remove his adversaries for the throne.

SPOILER:The Red Wedding is the most shocking event after Ned's execution.I never thought George R.R.Martin would kill Robb as he is the only Stark who still haven't a POV.Robb dying is so sad because just like his father he was a honourable man and was so righteous.To die of betrayal was what made me so angry.I wouldn't be that disturbed if he died during war or fighting and seeing him die through his mothers eye was so painful.The part where Robb names Jon as his heir is moving.Robb gave Jon something no one gave not even his father Ned gave what Robb gave.Robb gave him blood status and name him a Stark.

Jon Snow's arc finally gets more interesting.Lots of funny charismatic characters are introduced in his arc.The usage of giants,necromancy and warg  are introduced subtly and  creates a  a mature magical world.

Finally the part where everyone was waiting since the first book,Joffrey gets what he deserves in a cruel way in his wedding day.Although I was longing to see him dead,just like Sansa I was not sure whether to be happy or sad when this happens.This was a kid who was raised by the worst parents you could find and was constantly seeking for acceptance just like his parents.So kudos to George for making me feeling confused for the most hated character in ASOIAF.

A

2 comments:

Belgie said...

This book was utterly phenomenal. Old villains are seen in a new light, and old heroes as well. You keep turning the pages and turning the pages. Martin's style is neither sparse nor long-winded, and the story is really no longer than it has to be. By the end of the story, you have an idea of what the plot of the series is about.\ The fact that Martin kills major characters almost at a whim (though we all know it's not) just serves to help you empathize. It's hard to fear for a character in jeopardy in a book where you know they'll never die. On the other hand, when your favorites can die suddenly, every time they're in the slightest bit of trouble, you can't help but feel a sense of terror every time they're even on the page. One particular scene is so perfectly written that you can see what's coming, but you can't stop reading, and it all seems to go in slow motion, to the point where I was actually shouting "No!" in my head, in slow motion, really deep like I was actually in the scene. This man's a genius, the sort who makes aspiring writers like me think "Why bother. I can't even approach this." I only have a few fears. One, that I won't live the next year to read the next. Two, that by the time he finishes the fourth book, EVERYBODY will be dead. Three, that the series will end when it's supposed to, leaving me unable to get any more fixes. And four, that the series will peter out and keep going on and on and on and on until a six book series winds up going at least twelve. We've all seen that, haven't we?

F.FRANKLIN said...

@Belgie ..yeah I agree with everything you said..lol..You think he would be able to release the sixth book in time?He seems to be quite slow in writting and I heard even spending 5 years for the fifth book ,he is not that satisfied with it.Oh George please We need the sixth book ;)