This will be my review of the Game of Thrones third book, A Storm of Swords, from the series of The Song of Ice and Fire, written by the best-selling author George R.R. Martin. The books have been adapted into the successful show from HBO: Game of Thrones.
GENERAL THOUHGTS
First of all, I have to say this has been my favorite book so far from the series, I haven’t finished reading them, though, so we still have to wait for the final verdict. I liked a lot of things about this book, starting with the characters. I looove the characters, and I am pleasantly surprised by the ability George has to create such complex characters, each completely different from one another, round, with personal conflicts, unique personalities and relatable. I found myself asking how someone can make you hate a character so much in a book or two, only to make you relate or even love it in another. It was the aspect I liked the most about the book.
PLOT
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the plot, the many conflicts and the surprises this book left me with. I can’t say the first two books were boring, they weren’t, however the lacked, in my opinion, something, because while the whole work wasn’t dull, there were some chapters I found myself not really into, reading them just because I had to, I felt connected to a few characters only and that certainly didn’t help. Nevertheless, this book fixed many of those problems, I was impressed by the number of plot twists and deaths featured in this book. I was way more invested in each character, making me love the story even more, especially the second half of it. I admire the author’s creativity, since he surely needed a lot to be able to weave such a story.
POLITICAL TOUCH
In addition to this, the political, astute and cunning factor of the story allowed me to see not only books, but also life with a different perspective, which I really appreciate. It’s always good when a book, or a series of books in this case, leaves a mark on you. I’ll confess I wasn’t really a fan of it at first, I mean I thought it was interesting and knew that it would certainly give something unique to the story, but it wasn’t until this book, now that I know and understand the characters better, that I have come to love it. It makes me question the character’s actions and try to foretell what they’ll do next, it has left me with a small, yet existing, sense of inquisitiveness, which I’m a 100% sure will inflict on my reading and analyzing process positively…or so I hope.
WRITING STYLE
Furthermore, because it is
the third book I’ve read by this author, I’ve become somewhat used to his writing style and the language he uses, which was a big factor on my fondness for this book. It was hard for me to get used to it though, because I had never read anything like it, but once I got used to it, I was able to see beyond my prejudices and understand why it was so important for the author to have used it. It gave the story a more realistic tone to it.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Regardless of all I mentioned above I wouldn’t put it on my all-time favorite books list…yet. While I did love this book, I still had some issues with it, like the fact that I had to take a nearly two-week break from it. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the language or some chapters, but this series has been hard to read for me. That break was before I read the last 500 pages of it, if I had gotten to them earlier I would not have, by any means put down the book; however, I did, and that tells me something, it tells me it’s not a favorite, it tells me I was not completely enveloped in the story, it tells me that those first 500 hundred pages lacked something vital. I know I must not blame the book alone, I admit to having been an idle reader.
IN CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half of it, and it is my favorite so far of The Song of Ice and Fire series, it has left a mark on me, it has taught me to see things from a different perspective and without a doubt I can say the characters were my favorite part. Sadly, for the reasons mentioned above, I cannot name it an all-time favorite. I give it 4 out of five stars, and recommend it to anyone who loves action-packed stories with a strong political side, full of round and incredibly smart characters, and a great plot, full of twists and surprises that will make you squeal in utter and complete shock.