A Storm of Swords: The bestselling classic epic fantasy series behind the award-winning HBO and Sky TV show and phenomenon GAME OF THRONES: Book 3 (A Song of Ice and Fire)

It seems clear to me that, when Martin originally plotted these books, he probably intended for the key events here to be the mid-sequence climax. It's extraordinarily eventful, with shock building on shock. The Red Wedding, Joffrey's own wedding, Tyrion's final moments with his father, Catelyn's return following the Red Wedding (who in their right mind would get married in Westeros?)... it's all go in Westeros, and makes this one of the most gripping books in the whole arc. Plots seeded years before begin to come to light, and what had seemed to be the set journeys of several characters are overturned entirely. There are dramatic returns, daring escapes, betrayals, maimings, murders, and much more. The Song of Fire and Ice has often been called the fantasy book that finally grabbed women from outwit the genre - a gateway drug for fantasy as a whole. However, it's also clear that it's a gateway drug for men too - a gateway to soap opera! Not that this is a bad thing - for all that this could be Dallas with swords (and a X rating), it's how every bloke would want soap opera to be. it's epic, frightening, and thrilling, and at the same time races to the pulse of characters that we've grown to know very well. I labelled the first book Ned's tale, and the second book Tyrion's. For me, this one is Jaime's story. For the first time we see the world from the Kingslayer's point of view, and it takes little time to see that he's not as black and white as he first appeared. The man who throws children from towers and screws his sister is also a man deeply in love, whose life has been defined by one moment when he both saved a Kingdom, and betrayed his most sacred vows. Maimed and on the run, I watched him evolve, and he's who I think of when I look back on this book.

The third book in this series suprassed A Clash of Kings with flying colours, and even may be slightly better than the amazing first novel, A Game of Thrones. The best thing about it is that each POV feels like it is from a different author, the perspective of the character's so well crafted and individual. So i will review each POV individually. Jaime Lannister One of the two new POV's, it was intriuging to see the workings of Jaime's mind, and learn that underneath all the bloodshed, he's a nice man. The relationship between him and Breinne of Tarth is one of the best in the series. 8/10 Catelyn Stark Her grief for her sons was heart-wrenching, especially since we know their not dead. She is probably one of the most conventional characters in the series, but definitelly more interesting than her son. Robb's dullness made me root for Stannis. All the same, her eyes saw politics in a different light to the other characters, and this was interesting. 7/10 Bran Stark Bran is on an exceedingly selfish journey (he didn't even bother to tell any family members he was alive) to find the three-eyed crow. Bran's few chapters are full to the brim of rainy landscapes, light bantering and Hodor saying "hodor". Mild amuesment aside, it is the weakest of the narratives. 6/10 Arya Stark Arya is one of my favourite characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, a perfect foil to her dumb sister. Her storyline, though, is not as exciting as some of the others, but good all the same, as her, Gendry and Hot Pie make their way across the kingdom. Arya, at ten, is probably more capable than most of the adult characters. 9/10 Tyrion Lannister Although no longer the hand of the king, Tyrion, the witty, clever dwarf of house Lannister, has recovered from his wounds in the Battle of Blackwater Bay, and is cleverer than ever. Tyrion is great, and his storyline here is even better than in A Clash of Kings, espeically towards the end of the book. 10/10 Samwell Tarly The other new POV. Depsite being alot like him in terms of courage, i find Sam's personality quite annoying, and that drags down his chapters. The event's he witnesses, though, are very exciting, and while Jon is in the wildling camp, Sam shows us what is going on in the Watch. 8/10 Davos Seaworth Davos is probably the most bone-deep honest and true character in A Song of Ice and Fire since Ned died, and is the only one who sees Milisandre's evil for what it really is. Although nothing much happens, his influence is water to Milisandre's fire and he is a great addition to the series. 8/10 Sansa Stark Despite annoying me in the first and second books, here it seems that Sansa has, at least partially, grown up. Her marriage to a certain somebody (SPOILERS) brings out a cruel side to her that we thought was gone when Ned was executed, and her sadness is, although nothing compared to Catelyn's, touching. 9/10 Jon Snow In the first two books i saw Jon's chapters as chores to read, but here, everything in the north breaks loose, and while the Others attack Castle Black, Jon infiltrates the wildings, and starts a relationship with one, which tears Jon between the sides, and makes the infiltration harder than it first was. 9/10 Daenerys Targaryen Best for last. In A Clash of Kings, her storyline really dragged, and it was a letdown after hers in the first book had been prehaps the best. It really picks up here, as she becomes a very real threat, and actually does some conquering, like Aegon before her. Very exciting, showing the Mother of Dragons is back on form. 10/10

This book takes you into another world. This series is the first fantasy book series I'm reading, and it's awesome. It's just incredible. Page quality in this book (from this publisher) is poor, but manageable.

Zunächst möchte ich anmerken, dass ich zuerst die TV- Serie "Game Of Thrones" gesehen habe, bevor ich in die eigentliche Literatur "A Song Of Ice And Fire" eingestiegen bin. "A Storm Of Swords" umfasst die dritte Staffel und wohl auch die kommende vierte. Jedenfalls handelt Staffel 3 der Serie lediglich von der Hälfte des dritten Buches. Hiermit empfehle ich auch allen, die des Englischen mächtig sind, sowohl die Serie als auch die Bücher in Originalsprache zu genießen. Mit der deutschen Übersetzung geht doch einiges an Flair und Originalität verloren, sowohl im TV als auch in der Literatur. Als ich das erste Buch auf deutsch geschenkt bekommen habe, musste ich doch bei Namensübersetzungen á la "Jon Schnee" statt Snow und "Theon Graufred" statt Greyjoy arg die Nase rümpfen. Ich bin absolut kein Freund dieses Übersetzungswahns. Diese Versionen der englischen Bücher sind übrigens auf sehr dünnem Papier gedruckt und machen optisch nicht allzuviel her, damit habe ich allerdings kein Problem. Zum Inhalt des Buches: Die Story führt die Handlungsstränge aus "A Clash Of Kings" konsequent fort. Wer sich allerdings schon etwas mit GoT auskennt weiß, dass George R.R. Martin kein Fan davon ist, seine Charaktere ewig am Leben zu erhalten. So kann man sich darauf einstellen, nicht nur vom Ereignis der "Red Wedding" überrascht zu werden, prinzipiell bietet fast jeder Handlungsstrang, egal ob bei Sansa in King's Landing, Jon hinter der Wall, Robb in Riverrun oder Arya auf ihrer Reise nach Norden seine Twists und Turns. Fans der Serie sei gesagt, dass in der zweiten Hälfte des Buches noch so einiges passiert und auch in der nächsten Staffel der TV- Serie nicht mit Toden von mehr oder minder "wichtigen" Charakteren gegeizt wird. Das Buch befasst sich außerdem recht intensiv mit der Lannister- Familie und man erfährt noch einiges mehr über Tywin, Tyrion, Jamie und Cersei (natürlich auch Joffrey) als in der Serie. Zumal dort auch noch nicht das Haus Martell behandelt wurde. Dieses Haus aus dem Süden (Dorne) spielt für die Story auch noch eine wichtige Rolle. Klare Leseempfehlung!

Chegou rápido e estava tudo de acordo, muito obrigada!

I had to order the whole set once the series came out on TV. The books don't necessarily follow the TV series but are pretty close. Hollywood of course takes complete artistic licence and strays from the books (someone passes away in the books but not in the series - or at least he survives when he doesn't in the books). I enjoyed reading each one though and was hooked after the first book. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy fantasy style books! It arrived super fast and in excellent condition.

Arrivato puntuale, ottimo prodotto. Nulla da dire, sono soddisfatto dell'acquisto e non ho nulla da ridire. Sono un amante della saga e leggere il libro anche in inglese mi regala un'esperienza unica.