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wiki_s's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
petersimpson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zifia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
seyahrue's review against another edition
4.0
I was a bit worried going into this book. Whilst I still enjoyed A Storm of Swords part one, I found a large part of it to be quite dull and slow, so I didn’t have especially high expectations for part two.
I was definitely wrong to be worried. A Storm of Swords part two is infinitely better than part one. There was barely any time that I found the book to be dragging, only in maybe one or two of the chapters, because so much happened in this story.
Only read ahead if you’ve already read it because there will be spoilers from here on out.
Firstly, The Red Wedding was absolutely brutal. Whilst I don’t enjoy Catelyn Stark as a character - I find her chapters to be some of my least favourites in the series - I was gutted to read those chapters. I still stand by the fact that for the most part, those chapters should have been in Robbs point of view. However, saying that, this chapter worked so well coming from Catelyn, especially right towards the end. It made me remember that Robb really was still just a child and it was just all so well done, I thought this whole part of the book was great.
It was also so sad to see how close Arya was to finally getting back to her family, only for t to be ripped away from her moments later. Arya’s chapters with the Hound were some of my favourites in this book, I love their character dynamic and I’m kind of sad they’ve gone their separate ways. That being said, Arya now travelling to Bravos is really exciting - I love those pets of the TV show so i’m intrigued to see how they differ in the book.
The battle between the Wildlings and the Nights Watch at the Wall was good, if a little underwhelming. In the show, that gift is one of my all time favourite episodes, but in the book it all felt a little anticlimactic, especially Ygritte’s death. I love John, and I really like his story, but I grew a bit bored of the chapters at the Nights Watch, especially when they were being narrated by Sam.
Joffrey’s Death was amazing. The whole wedding chapter was brilliant. Sansa really is starting to grow on me, and rather than being annoyed by her I’m actually starting to want her to win, her character growth has been great and I’m really looking forward to seeing where that goes. Then the whole trial with Tyrion and the battle between The Mountain and The Viper which ended - brutally - in Tyrion’s sentence and that whole section was probably my favourite part of the entire book, it was so good. Especially Tywin’s death, that was so satisfying.
The last two chapters - Sansa at the Eyrie and the reemergence of Catelyn Stark - were also brilliant. I didn’t think I’d ever say it, but I was so glad that Catelyn showed up in that scene. I’d vaguely heard of Lady Stoneheart, but I didn’t know much about her going in, so this reveal was really shocking. I can’t wait to see where this is going to go on the next few books, it’s such an interesting idea.
The best part about this book? There was only one Bran chapter! I hate Brans chapters so much, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that his story was hardly in the book, and that the chapter that was here was actually kind of interesting.
Again, the audiobook is done really well, I have massive respect for Roy Dotrice for sitting and reading this 50 hour long book. He pronounces some things oddly, bit for the most part he does a brilliant job.
Overall, I ended up giving this book 4.5 stars. The writing, as usual, was great - Martin is such a good author and I always enjoy his work. The reason I haven’t given it 5 stars is I do still feel these books are too long, and get padded out with unnecessarily long chapters and excruciatingly long descriptions in places. Hopefully these parts turn out to be relevant in the future, but reading them right now makes the book really seem to drag in places.
I would definitely recommend this series though - it’s such an epic story and I can’t wait to read more of it!
I was definitely wrong to be worried. A Storm of Swords part two is infinitely better than part one. There was barely any time that I found the book to be dragging, only in maybe one or two of the chapters, because so much happened in this story.
Only read ahead if you’ve already read it because there will be spoilers from here on out.
Firstly, The Red Wedding was absolutely brutal. Whilst I don’t enjoy Catelyn Stark as a character - I find her chapters to be some of my least favourites in the series - I was gutted to read those chapters. I still stand by the fact that for the most part, those chapters should have been in Robbs point of view. However, saying that, this chapter worked so well coming from Catelyn, especially right towards the end. It made me remember that Robb really was still just a child and it was just all so well done, I thought this whole part of the book was great.
It was also so sad to see how close Arya was to finally getting back to her family, only for t to be ripped away from her moments later. Arya’s chapters with the Hound were some of my favourites in this book, I love their character dynamic and I’m kind of sad they’ve gone their separate ways. That being said, Arya now travelling to Bravos is really exciting - I love those pets of the TV show so i’m intrigued to see how they differ in the book.
The battle between the Wildlings and the Nights Watch at the Wall was good, if a little underwhelming. In the show, that gift is one of my all time favourite episodes, but in the book it all felt a little anticlimactic, especially Ygritte’s death. I love John, and I really like his story, but I grew a bit bored of the chapters at the Nights Watch, especially when they were being narrated by Sam.
Joffrey’s Death was amazing. The whole wedding chapter was brilliant. Sansa really is starting to grow on me, and rather than being annoyed by her I’m actually starting to want her to win, her character growth has been great and I’m really looking forward to seeing where that goes. Then the whole trial with Tyrion and the battle between The Mountain and The Viper which ended - brutally - in Tyrion’s sentence and that whole section was probably my favourite part of the entire book, it was so good. Especially Tywin’s death, that was so satisfying.
The last two chapters - Sansa at the Eyrie and the reemergence of Catelyn Stark - were also brilliant. I didn’t think I’d ever say it, but I was so glad that Catelyn showed up in that scene. I’d vaguely heard of Lady Stoneheart, but I didn’t know much about her going in, so this reveal was really shocking. I can’t wait to see where this is going to go on the next few books, it’s such an interesting idea.
The best part about this book? There was only one Bran chapter! I hate Brans chapters so much, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that his story was hardly in the book, and that the chapter that was here was actually kind of interesting.
Again, the audiobook is done really well, I have massive respect for Roy Dotrice for sitting and reading this 50 hour long book. He pronounces some things oddly, bit for the most part he does a brilliant job.
Overall, I ended up giving this book 4.5 stars. The writing, as usual, was great - Martin is such a good author and I always enjoy his work. The reason I haven’t given it 5 stars is I do still feel these books are too long, and get padded out with unnecessarily long chapters and excruciatingly long descriptions in places. Hopefully these parts turn out to be relevant in the future, but reading them right now makes the book really seem to drag in places.
I would definitely recommend this series though - it’s such an epic story and I can’t wait to read more of it!
brilliantsky's review against another edition
4.0
Continuing the saga and does it very well, think this should be thought of as one long book though and probably going to be a 5 star event.
mansireanna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I am having fun with this series and book 3 overall has been the best so far, though I will admit it’s a bit dense and not all story lines are equally compelling. This one had some iconic moments though - the red wedding, the purple wedding, Tyrion’s trial etc. Down to read more but definitely far from perfect.
kellygoesgeocaching's review against another edition
5.0
Loving this series, wishing I wasn't closing in on the end!
m00plays's review against another edition
5.0
This has to be the best book in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series so far! George R R Martin is so brutal in making you love a character and then taking them away at the drop of a hat. What an imaginative book and so fast paced compared to the others! If you're struggling through the series then I'd recommend sticking at it just to read this one. Thoroughly enjoyed, especially the epilogue!
brisingr's review against another edition
I think it's safe to say that, after 3 years, I probably will NOT finish this book any time soon, so it can move to DNF-land. Some things happened and some characters I was really into are not that much of a focus anymore, and I lost interest - and I don't see myself being engaged with the series any further.