Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. Filled with the stench of death and decay from the destructive dynastic war, Daenerys is gathering allies and strength for an assault on King's Landing, hoping to win back the crown she believes is rightfully hers. But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings bent on overwhelming the Seven Kingdoms arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. And as the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest in the quest for victory until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . . Brilliantly conceived and grand in scope, A Storm of Swords is the incredible tale of a world of harsh beauty and powerful magic, torn by treachery, ravaged by brutality, and consumed by greed and ambition. It portrays a war-torn landscape in which nobles and commoners, heroes and villains, the freeborn and the enslaved, all struggle to survive and to find their destinies...along with the dazzling bounty and wondrous enchantment that was once their birthright in the Seven Kingdoms.

Sending as a RABCK. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for this RABCK! I am looking forward to reading it soon...

This series just keeps getting better. It is huge - both in length and scope - and I took my time with it, pausing for other books that I had reserved or was doing for group reads, but never totally stopping.

Covering a world in turmoil, this novel has the various houses vying for control of the Iron Throne. Joffrey has ascended with the assistance of his mother Cersei and grandfather Tywin. But Stannis Baratheon is massing against him as is Robb Stark, son of the murdered Eddard, in the North. There is also Dany, the queen of the Dothraki, Khaleesi, mother of Dragons, who is coming to claim the throne as the Targaryen heir - she is amassing an army of liberated slaves. Finally there is Jon Snow, a Black Brother and bastard son of Edward Stark who has seen the other threat to the world - the Others who are coming from the world beyond the Wall. There is much that happens in this novel - if you've read this (or seen the series), you know that weddings are not exactly happy events in the GoT world and if not, please read / watch first unless you like spoilers.

There is a lot happening and we find out some of the backstory on some of the characters. It is easier to see Jaime Lannister in a sympathetic light after hearing some of what he was forced into. Of course, one of the things I like best is that none of the characters are cardboard cutouts - they are not stereotypes. We see that no one is all good or bad, there are gradations in all. So you can like Tyrion and yet see some of his actions as not so good (but still understandable given his character), just like the Hound is pretty much despicable and yet sometimes comes across as a sympathetic guy.

I will be diving into the next one, in a while, as these are so well written and yet such a commitment.

Quotes to remember:

It's dangerous being free, but most come to like the taste of it.

I dreamt I saw a shadow with a burning heart butchering a golden stag, aye. I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with sea-weed hanging from his wings. I dreamt of a roaring river and a woman that was a fish. Dead she drifted, with red tears on her cheeks, but when her eyes did open, oh, I woke from terror.

Old stories are like old friends...You have to visit them from time to time.

The night is dark and full of terrors.

To go north you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.

Life is warmth, and warmth is fire, and fire is God's and God's alone.

If we leave our smells behind us when we leave a room, surely something of our souls must remain when we leave this life?

Everyone wants something...And when you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.

Sending in a box of books as a RABCK - need to move these on.

I haven't read any of this series yet, but of course have heard a lot about it. In the box of books from bkind2books. Thank you so much for sharing!

I'm a very special book. I'm traveling the world in search of new friends. I hope I have found one in you. If you are my new owner please make a brief journal entry with my BCID number. You can read and release me for a new friend to read or keep me. It's your choice!

If you are new to bookcrossing and want to join please consider listing bamaforever as your referral. Welcome to bookcrossing!

Happy reading!