A Storm of Swords

To be honest, this is more of the same (swords and sex and betrayal and monsters and magic and the like), but it is ridiculously engaging. There may be one character that doesn't interest me hugely, but for the others, I am virtually gagging to find out what happens to them (it is a very good sign when you actually get out of your chair and do a happy-dance for something that happens to a literary character). Mr. Martin is very, very good at keeping the tension up, especially since he tends to kill off major characters when you're not expecting it. My favorite character is still alive (yey!), but I'm still not naming that character or they will undoubtedly be the next to fall. This is fantastic stuff when you want an epic tale show more absolutely bulging with plot-twists. show less

Reseña de Fantasía Mágica

El mejor libro de la saga (al menos hasta ahora).
Como dejé pasar un tiempo entre éste y Choque de Reyes, al empezarlo sentía una especie de emoción por la anticipación de retomar esta historia, y también un cierto temor de no recordar a algunos de los personajes. Pero una vez más Martin demuestra que todos son memorables, muchas veces por los apodos tan simples e inteligentes que ha creado:

"—Derríbalo y hazlo rodar —dijo Jon—. Con cuidado, si te pasa por encima de un pie terminarás como Bota de Sobra."

Me gusta que, como en toda buena saga épica, hay canciones, éstas se intercalan de a pedazos entre los diálogos, y sólo raramente aparecen enteras.

Este hombre no deja de sorprenderme. Está show more escrito de forma impecable y resulta totalmente adictivo. Cada vez que decidía parar de leer al terminar un capítulo, empezaba otro de un personaje que me hace seguir un poco más, o ocurría un suceso completamente inesperado que cambiaba la perspectiva de todo.

En este libro conocemos más de cerca a personajes que sólo vimos de lejos, desde los ojos de otros protagonistas.
Hay algo maravilloso en la forma de escribir de Martin que me fascina constantemente: al tener tantas historias narradas desde diferentes puntos de vista, llegado un punto entendemos la mente de todos los personajes principales y uno se encuentra en una disyuntiva sobre a quienes apoyar y a quien no. Todos tienen un lado bueno y uno oscuro, igual que un buen motivo para hacer lo que hacen. Es dificil tomar partido por alguien.

Cada capítulo se adapta a la mente de cada personaje con una precision increible. Hasta cuando se trata de un lobo, uno realmente cree que narra un lobo. Son muchas novelas en una. Es genial como se van entrelazando las historias en el momento menos pensado, y personajes que parecen lejanos de repente se cruzan o se desencuentran por poco.
George Martin aclara al comienzo que los capítulos tienen diferente ubicación temporal y distinta duración, así que muchas veces la causa de algunos sucesos se conocen después de que vimos cómo ocurrieron. Y éstos nos sorprenden.

Hay períodos en los que hay algo similar a la calma, pero no duran mucho. Dan la sensación de que estan todos estáticos, esperando, recuperando el aliento. El futuro de muchos personajes es tan incierto que no da lugar a especulaciones, algunos que fueron protagonistas ahora a penas son nombrados, y la intriga política y la manipulación están más vigentes que nunca en Tormenta de Espadas. Cada giro es más sorprendente que el anterior, y finalmente conocemos la explicación (también sorprendente) de muchos de los misterios que nos tuvieron en vilo durante los libros anteriores.

George R. R. Martin es realmente un verdadero maestro de la sorpresa, y provoca en el lector una dicotomía entre admirarlo por su indudable genialidad e imaginación, u odiarlo por su crueldad y sadismo.

El final es impresionante. Los hilos de este constante Juego de Tronos están movidos por muchos y a la vez por muy pocos.

Son libros largos, escritos de forma elaborada y muy pensada. Es de esas sagas que uno espera que no se terminen nunca. show less

I honestly think this is the best book in the series so far.

Also, I honestly think I'm starting to hate GRRM... 1) for not having this series done already, as I'm ever so patient and 2) for writing in this point of view style that makes me unable to stop reading.

Every chapter (just like the other two books) is told from a character's POV and he makes the action interesting enough, that I want to keep reading to the next chapter focusing on the character I just finished reading... only that chapter is several chapters away, and when you are finally done, and you need to put down the book because bedtime was two hours ago, the next chapter is always one you can't resist because you want to see what's happened to that character, after show more all.

I think the other reason I liked this book so much is that a couple of outcomes I was waiting for happened, some wonderfully grey characters managed to get greyer, and a couple of the (major) deaths were wonderfully delicious to read. show less

I really enjoyed the first two books of this series, but the third book took me completely by surprise. I absolutely could not put it down. There is a lot that happens in this book, much of it shocking; the groundwork Martin lay down in terms of character development pays off even more dividends here, because I was desperate to follow the characters through the explosive events of the book. The sheer number of storylines is also impressive, considering that Martin had to juggle them all in order to tell a coherent story. Not only is the story coherent, it is powerful, and gut-wrenching, and addictive. Don't pick this up until you have a week with nothing else to do, because it won't get done.

Honestly, what can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? This book is utterly fucking phenomenal. It's incredible from the opening words of the first chapter to the last words of the final chapter.

Let's start with the prologue. It's ominous as fuck. GRRM is amazing at making you feel the harshness and rawness of this world, especially in POV chapters that take place in the north. His descriptions of the cold are so detailed that he manages to transport you into this unforgiving world where people die like flies to the forces of nature. In addition, this chapter reminds you of the true threat Westeros faces. The majority of the series's focus so far has been on the political squabbles and the War of the Five Kings, but show more this book immediately reminds you of the true danger and the true enemy that our heroes must eventually face. It is why the "Samwell" chapters are probably my favorite in this book. However, choosing a favorite POV character in this book is like choosing a favorite child. All of them are just so fucking good.

The book wastes no time. It immediately continues where we left off with our characters in the last one. The aftermath of the various battles and important events are still being felt, but the book wastes no time in building on these events and continuing the overall story. Despite how large this book is, it still feels relatively fast-paced. Yes, there are some slower chapters here and there, but they all serve two important purposes: to continue building this massive world and to continue developing these complex characters. One of the most developed characters in this book is Jamie Lannister. In the previous two books, you saw him purely as a piece of shit with no honor. In this one, however, he's revealed to be exceedingly complex, with very interesting motivations and an incredible backstory. By the end, you actually start to root for him as you realize that he still has honor in him, he wants to help Brienne with her task of finding the Stark daughters, and he loves his brother Tyrion (one of the primary protagonists of this series) dearly. Yes, he did some unforgivable things in the past, but a lot of his actions are also revealed to be morally grey due to the complexity of the decisions he constantly has to make.

Perhaps the most infamous aspect of this book is the downfall of Robb Stark's kingdom. Yes, his kingdom started fragmenting in the last book when Theon Greyjoy betrayed him, but this is where we really start to see Robb lose his foothold on the North and the riverlands. It's fucking heartbreaking, man. Things constantly go from bad to worse, and the end of this arc is one of the most tragic moments in all of fiction. The Red Wedding is notorious and infamous for all the right reasons; it is utterly merciless, but it makes perfect sense. It is set up so well that, after it happens, you wonder how you didn't see it coming, but, when reading for the first time, you are utterly blown away by the sheer brutality of the scene. It is no understatement to call GRRM an evil genius.

The entire second half of this book is genuinely one the craziest things you will read in your entire life. I've already mentioned the Red Wedding, but there's so much more that happens in the final 30 chapters of this book that you honestly can't catch a breath. Main characters are dying left and right, and you are put in this state of dread, wondering if your favorite character will live to see another day. When you think about it, all of the incredible moments in Season 3 and Season 4 of the show (considered by many to be the best seasons of the show) happen in this book. It's just plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. The character who goes through the most is Tyrion Lannister. At first, he is accused of murdering Joffrey Baratheon, and you think he's a goner. The situation goes from bad to worse as more "evidence" is brought against him, but he finds an unexpected path to salvation with someone whom he thought would be a major pain in his ass: Oberyn Martell. The Dornishman champions his cause spectacularly, and you think Tyrion might have escaped his fate, but, at the last second, he is BRUTALLY murdered by Gregor Clegane, and now you think there's truly no way Tyrion escapes his plight. But, with the help of Varys and Jamie Lannister, he does, and Tywin Lannister is killed in the process (for good reason; that Tysha backstory is utterly devastating).

It's not just Tyrion's last chapter that blew me away; practically every POV character in this story has an incredible final chapter. It really does feel like the end of a trilogy and the first major arc of this series: the Lannisters triumph over the Starks in a war that started in the first book; Jon Snow decides to remain a brother of the Night's Watch instead of accepting Stannis Baratheon's deal to become Jon Stark (Lord of Winterfell) after Robb's death; Sansa Stark finally stars playing the "Game of Thrones"; Arya Stark is about to begin her training as a Faceless Man with Jaqen H'ghar; Tyrion escapes the Lannisters after much ambivalence towards their behavior in recent years; and Daenerys Targaryen chooses to remain in Essos and rule over her people instead of sailing to Westeros and letting them fend for themselves. I really wish there were only six books in this series instead of seven (books four and five are basically one large book) as this really feels like the halfway point of the series with so many plot threads being resolved.

If I had to criticize this book, I would say that it's a bit too long as there are a number of chapters (Arya's chapters, in particular) where not much really happens. A bit too many chapters take place in the riverlands, and you are starting to see the beginning of this series's inexorable increase in length and plot threads. Ultimately, however, my complaints pale in comparison to my praises. I'm not sure I even mentioned everything I love about this one because there's just so much. It truly is one of the best fantasy stories ever written. show less

This book was heavily political, far more than 'A clash of Kings'. The subject matter was dismal and depressing to be honest, but I couldn't put it down. George R.R. Martin has done his research. The fight over the kingdom, the plotting, and the treatment of the common folk was actually very close to the truth of what happens in times of war. His writing is very good, and I couldn't put the book down. The fighting scenes are fast paced, and Martin didn't shy away from telling the truth about knights in shining armor, which I absolutely appreciate. Those that are called heroes are no more than plunderers, murderers and rapists. Martin shows us the torment of war, and what it does to the men who are engaged in it. But most of all, he show more shows the suffering of the common people, and how little their lives mean to those who use them as cattle. The knights are juxtaposed with men who truly seek to do good and defend the common people. It's more than a war for the Iron Throne. In this book, we see a war between people who are trying to exact justice, against those who have power and seek to destroy everything, just for the sake of destroying. A war between gods, between the realm of chaos, and an organized kingdom. I'll even go as far as saying, that there's a war between life and death. Martin did an excellent job. This isn't a book that you want to breeze through. You want to read it, pay close attention to the players and their chess pieces. show less

I seriously need a "Whoa!" or "WTF?!" shelf for these books. They are seriously in a league of their own when it comes to... well, everything. I just finished, and the last chapter (before the epilogue) literally (and I mean literally) had me reading with wide, disbelieving eyes. This, despite all that I've seen before in these books. And that's a lot.

I love these books, and I am mentally kicking myself for never having read them before. The characters are fantastic, so real they practically step off the page. The story is amazing, and holds nothing back, and keeps me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It's a testament to how good these are that I feel almost too nervous to read them. I'm afraid of what the next page turn show more will bring... who will enter into the story - and who might leave it.

This series is a story for story lovers. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend it.

Excuse me while I go hump GRRM's leg for writing this series. show less