A Storm of Swords: Part 2 Blood and Gold (Reissue) (A Song of Ice and… (original 2000; edition 2011)

The Seven Kingdoms are at war as the battle of thrones continues, and another threat comes from the wildlings who are also on the march. One Stark sister has been married to the dwarf and finds her situation hopeless, the other one is on the run, living rough and hiding where she can. Lannister and boy-king Joffrey and his mother Cersei, continue their plotting whilst Daenerys Stormborn sweeps across a distant desert with her young dragons as she plans to regain control of the seven kingdoms. When King Robb and his mother are guests at her brother's wedding blood and betrayal are the name of the game.

Although I think these books are great, there were just too many characters in this one to get my head around and a lot of extra details that could have been edited out. Also (SPOILER ALERT), I was a bit annoyed at the author as he keeps killing off the characters that I really like!! I threw the book aside in disgust at that point, but then had to pick it up again to find out what happens next. Still missing the character of Ned Stark from the first book! ( )

This is probably my favourite book of the series so far as there is so much action and death in this instalment. Martin does like to kill off his main characters and this book is no exception, with some big plot twists this book was just a gripping read. Can't wait to get the next one now!! ( )

I wasn't going to bother reviewing any of the Ice and Fire books after the first one. I just assumed they'd all be solid four-star jobs. But this surpassed all expectations. What a stunning instalment (although I know it's a 'half' instalment really). Where Ned's execution had me in shock in Game Of Thrones there were several scenes in this where I was left similarly reeling.

Martin is quite happy to kill off major characters and I must admit when I thought he'd killed off Arya I was ready to throw in the towel. That would have been TOO harsh !

Anyway, the development of the various threads is engrossing and it's interesting to see how the characters are developing as well as the relationships between them.

I read this at a feverish pace and can't wait to get started on the next one. ( )

The second book of part three of The Song of Fire and Ice series. A direct continuation of the first three books so there isn’t much new I can say, except that Mr. Martin sure likes to kill his characters off. Not that that is a bad thing, it sure keeps me guessing as to how this story will eventually conclude in the years and books to come. The book itself didn’t have much hope for the good guys, but just enough to keep me reading. ( )

In my view this is the best book of the series to date. Certainly more of the main characters are disposed of than of here than in any other book. ( I'm certainly not going to tell you who,though.)Also several of the blackest villains are shown to have hidden depths.
Constructed as before with each chapter headed with the name of a main character,which works extremely well in these thick books.
As for the story-line,well I'm sure the others who have written reviews have all detailed that and it does not need me to add to those reviews. I can say that this series should give all who read them,great enjoyment. ( )