A Storm of Swords

A Song of Ice and Fire Book Three

by George R.R. Martin, 973 pages

This image is an artist's rendering of The Wall which separates the civilized kingdoms of Westeros from the wild and dangerous North. I listened to all 39 discs of the audiobook, which took me nearly a month. Normally a book that long has a lot of padding, but with the complex plot and the huge cast of characters, Storm doesn't read that way. As in the earlier volumes the viewpoint shifts from character to character, and Martin manages to leave you hanging when the character is in a particularly perilous spot. Once again, Martin has no problem with killing off major characters, but to balance this bloody-minded quirk, he adds some compelling new characters.

Caution: spoilers ahead!

Though Joffrey Baratheon is still the king in the capitol, King's Landing, war still rages in the midlands. His uncle, Stannis Baratheon, the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, plots from his stronghold on Dragonstone with the help of the mysterious and sinister sorceress, Melisandre. Instead of the Stag of the House Baratheon, Stannis's new banner features a burning heart, symbol of the god R'hllor, the "Lord of Light". R'hllor is a blood-thirsty deity who requires fiery human sacrifices. Melisandre is opposed by Stannis's other advisor, Lord Davos, a battle-hardened veteran of the Battle on the Blackwater.

Robb Stark continues to win victories in the Midlands of Westeros, and returns to his uncle's seat at River Run with a new bride. His mother Lady Catelyn fears this breach of promise by the King of the North will have dire consequences for Robb and his cause. His little sister Arya travels toward River Run herself, but is first held captive by outlaws, then by The Hound, a henchman formerly in Joffrey's service.

Robb's other sister, Sansa is no longer King Joffrey's fiancee, but though she longs to return home to Winterfell, she is forced into a marriage with Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of Queen Cersei. Neither of them wants this marriage, though Tyrion tries to win Sansa's affection.

But the most interesting "couple" in the book are Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. Lady Catelyn arranges for Jaime to escape the dungeons at River Run so she can get her daughters Sansa and Arya back from the Lannisters. However, she charges the warrior maiden Brienne of Tarth to make certain that Jaime makes it back to King's Landing for the exchange. They are hunted across the midlands and fall into bad company. While initially loathing one another, each of them earns the other's respect. I found this new aspect of Jaime's character surprisingly likeable, even though he remains something of a blackguard. The flawed characters of Jaime and Tyrion are in the end more interesting than the more honorable Starks, implacable and unyielding as they are.

The plot is already Byzantine, and even in the fourth book new characters, cities and lands are explored. The series is supposed to be 7 volumes and it is entertaining in its own twisted complexity. Though Martin will never equal Tolkien by my reckoning, he has some skill with world-building. And you never know which characters will be dead by the end of the book!