--- product_id: 1355935 title: "A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3" price: "215760₫" currency: VND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vn/products/1355935-a-storm-of-swords-a-song-of-ice-and-fire store_origin: VN region: Vietnam --- # A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3 **Price:** 215760₫ **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3 - **How much does it cost?** 215760₫ with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vn](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/1355935-a-storm-of-swords-a-song-of-ice-and-fire) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description THE BOOK BEHIND THE THIRD SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO. Here is the third book in the landmark series that has redefined imaginative fiction and become a modern masterpiece. A STORM OF SWORDS Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons left in the world. As opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a supernatural army of the living dead. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . . A GAME OF THRONES A CLASH OF KINGS A STORM OF SWORDS A FEAST FOR CROWS A DANCE WITH DRAGONS Review: There aren't enough superlatives for this series - I'm going to take a break from reading George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series for a while. But it's not because I'm growing weary of the series; it's because I find myself so engrossed in it that the characters and settings are finding their ways into my dreams. A Storm of Swords, the third book in the series, is also the third book I've read in a row. The series is that good and that engrossing. (And I promised myself I wouldn't gush about never having cared for fantasy novels before as I did in my previous two reviews.) A Storm of Swords carries on the intricately plotted story of Westeros (and beyond) with both familiar characters and new ones. If you thought Martin was unafraid to kill off main characters after the noble-to-a-fault Ned Stark met his fate on the executioner's block in the first book, just wait until you get to A Storm of Swords. No fewer than five major characters meet their ends in these pages, including a couple that will break your heart and at least one who's death you'll cheer. The lives of several other characters seem in jeopardy by the end of the book. (Nope, I'm not going to spoil it for you. Just read the book!) I don't know how Martin does it. He weaves together the lives of several dozen characters over the course of this series. Such a task would be daunting, by Martin makes it look easy as his narrative swoops around Westeros and across the Narrow Sea. He intertwines the fates of the various characters in unexpected ways that, even after reading a couple of thousand pages, can still surprise you. This is epic storytelling at its very finest. Please don't confuse me with a literary sycophant. Martin does have a few minor tics that get under my skin a bit in A Storm of Swords. For one, I appreciate his deft turns of phrase, but in some places they come across as a bit strained and too close to the modern idiom. In one place he has Robb Stark say, "I told you to hold Riverrun. What part of that command did you fail to comprehend?" It seems a bit "modern" in the world of Westeros. Then later on in the book another character uses the expression, "What part of 'yield' do you not comprehend?" Yeah, it's a minor thing, but it just felt out of place to me. My other quibble is the fate of Arya. The poor girl has been wandering around Westeros since the end of the first book, and despite a few near misses she still has yet to reconnect with anyone from her scattered family. I think even Martin realized this since at one point he writes, "Arya was tired of making for Riverrun. She had been making for Riverrun for years, it seemed, without ever getting there." I heartily concur with that sentiment but I'm also guessing Martin has some major plot points ahead for Arya, so I'll be patient with the game of Where in Westeros is Arya Stark Today for a little longer. For those two quibbles I'd deduct maybe a half of a star. That slight deduction is offset by some of the new revelations A Storm of Swords contains. We're introduced in a big way to the Wildings (along with giants, mammoths and even, apparently, a close-up view of one of the Others). I'm particularly fascinated by The Wall and the Night's Watch, so I gobbled these sections up like a shadowcat chewing up a wilding. Then there are new settings such as the Pyke, Dorne, a glimpse of Littlefinger's ancestral home with its plentiful rocks and sheep ... ummm, "poop," plus several exotic cities across the Narrow Sea. As fascinating as some of the new characters are (yep, I'm looking at you, Brienne), the changes taking place in some of the characters who have been around since the first book are just as fascinating. Jaime and Tyrion both seem to be going through some major self-reflection. Jon Snow is growing into a man at The Wall. Even Sansa, my least-favorite character, is blossoming amid the drama that surrounds her. Like I said at the start of this review, I'll be taking a brief sabbatical from Westeros. But after bringing all that I love about this series to mind as I write this review, I don't think my break will last very long. Review: A Solid (and Huge) Installment that Leaves You Wanting More - It's impossible to put these books down. As soon as I finished "A Clash of Kings," I had downloaded and began reading "A Storm of Swords." It follows the example set by the previous book in that it expands upon the plots and themes already established, adds a few more layers to keep things interesting, and somehow manages to be better than the book that came before it. Spoilers follow. It wouldn't be possible to adequately sum up everything that happens in this book in an appropriately succinct manner, so I'll just give a brief, bare-bones overview. Westeros is still caught up in the war raging for the Iron Throne. With five claimants competing to rule the Seven Kingdoms, it doesn't look like there's an end in sight for the violence and destruction. Things are also brewing in the North, where the Wildlings beyond are organizing an attack to break through the Wall, overwhelm the severely undermanned Night's Watch, and invade. Meanwhile, in the East, Daenerys continues to amass resources to aid in her plans to attack for the Throne. She moves through the cities of Slaver's Bay, gaining support and exercising her growing authority as both the Khaleesi and the Mother of Dragons. I'll start by addressing perhaps the most obvious characteristic of "A Storm of Swords:" it's huge. Granted, if you downloaded it for your Kindle like I did, the monstrous size of the novel might not be as immediately striking, but you'll undoubtedly notice pretty quickly that it's over a thousand pages long. Books this long tend to be one of two things: unnecessarily descriptive with plenty of filler to pad out the pages or complex with an intricately layered story that fills the pages with content. I'm pleased to say that this book is definitely the latter of the two possibilities. It would perhaps be feared that the middle book of a lengthy series, especially one with a humongous page count, would be repetitive and full of fluff and padding, serving only to lengthen the series and sell more books. Again, that simply isn't the case with "A Storm of Swords." The plot doesn't stall at all; in fact, every chapter moves the story forward and works to develop the overall plot. The story is exciting with so many power players devising and implementing their own schemes as well as the war raging over the Iron Throne. Martin has a lot to say about his world, which makes for a fascinating story and guarantees that none of the thousand-and-some-odd pages are boring. With the pace being consistent throughout the novel, you'll be flipping through pages with the desperate need to know what happens next to your favourite character or faction. For the first time I can recall, I finished a thousand plus page novel thinking that it wasn't long enough! Martin's story is so enthralling, unique, and captivating that you'll want more than even a book this long can offer. I'll also note that the story is far from predictable. I've mostly given up trying to guess what will happen because the actual events typically far exceed my predictions. I'll probably end up mentioning this in every "Song of Ice and Fire" review, but I ended up taking a bit of a break from fantasy due to being frustrated with the same plots and tired clichés that seemed to crop up in every book. Martin has actually managed to write not only a unique fantasy novel, but a series that stands above many others simply because he strays from the commonly tread path. Pretty much anything can happen to anyone; good characters aren't given immunity and bad characters aren't doomed to death (and really, calling characters good and bad isn't completely accurate since most are various shades of grey). The plot twists and turns like crazy, but it's handled deftly and the author clearly knows where he's going, putting the reader an exciting ride and a gamut of emotions. And just when you think you've got it figured out, something comes up that throws your predictions out the window. It's a nice change from being able to guess everything before it happens, as tends to be the case with other books in the genre. It's well established by this point that Martin doesn't shy away from the violence of war...and "A Storm of Swords" practically has blood dripping from its pages. With the war for the Iron Throne in full swing, the death count in this book is high. The horrors of battle are portrayed in all their gritty glory; these aren't nice people and they don't do nice things. As I've mentioned in other reviews, neither the violence nor the sex present comes off as gratuitous (for the most part), but instead works to flesh out Martin's world and reinforce the concept that no one is safe. Yes, this is the book with the Red Wedding. There are a couple weddings that take place, so it's not immediately obvious which one will be THE wedding if you haven't already been informed. And yes, some well-loved characters meet their end in this bloodbath, families betray one another, alliances change...all the jazz that one can expect from such an event. There are also other grisly surprises that determine the fate of some, well, not as well-loved characters. In the East, Daenerys is faced with the brutality of slavery and the effects of anarchy as she conquers the Slave Cities, and it's not pretty. If you were bothered by the dark content of the two previous books, you probably shouldn't read this one because the author has really upped his game in that aspect. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the grittiness adds authenticity to the world, but I've always preferred a darker, more realistic setting. While I usually don't find the sex and violence in these books to be gratuitous, there is one instance of it that I'll have to complain about; and weirdly enough, it's probably one of the more "normal" sexual relationships we see in the book: Jon and Ygritte. I totally get the significance of Jon breaking his vows with Ygritte, both in terms of his background as a bastard and as a member of the Night's Watch, and I enjoyed seeing him struggle with his conflicting emotions on the matter. However, I got a little tired of reading about them getting it on in detail multiple times every night. Sure, a few times is fine to give us an idea of Jon's situation, but the frequency came off as really unnecessary. Of all the gruesome things one could complain about in this novels, that's what stuck out to me as being gratuitous and over the top...who'd have thought? The characters just get better and better with each book. That's not to say they necessarily become better people (in the brutal world of Westeros, that almost never seems to happen), but they definitely grow and become more intriguing with each installment. With so many storylines and characters, it would be easy to shove a couple off to the side, but, again, Martin seems to have this under control and every character is more than adequately fleshed out. The changing point of view in each chapter works well because it ensures that every story and every character continues to move forward. Each chapter, and therefore each point of view, is in some way significant; I never finished a chapter wondering what the point of it was or what it added to the story. The characters continue to be portrayed in shades of grey, each one unique and changing and none of them fall into the typical archetypes. You'll be frustrated with some and cheer on others and, as I mentioned earlier, some well-loved characters (and some that we love to hate) meet their ends in "A Storm of Swords." You never know what the characters are going to throw at you (or at each other, as the case often is) or who's going to make it out alive...and in a book as brutal as this one, that certainly adds a level of suspense and excitement. "A Storm of Swords" adds Jaime as a point of view character, and he quickly became one of my personal favourites, especially with Tyrion's viewpoint also being maintained throughout the book to provide a different Lannister perspective. Jaime is an incredibly nuanced character and begins to undergo a lot of change in this novel, and much like Tyrion, he walks the line between protagonist and antagonist, never really being one or the other. With his background and unique perspective, I hope we see Jaime as a point of view character (and, indeed, that he survives whatever the next books throw at him) in future books. This is also the book where certain characters began to stand out to me as being just plain annoying and, surprisingly, boring. As I've mentioned in my other reviews, "A Song of Ice and Fire" is so great partially because different characters will resonate differently with each reader, so your favourite character may be someone else's least favourite. As I was reading this book, I found that the character that tended to make me groan aloud when I started a chapter and saw his name was Bran. That's not to say he's a poorly written character; he just doesn't really appeal to me. Perhaps it's because there are so many other plot lines to focus on, but I found him and his story to be a tad boring. I don't doubt that he and his quest will be significant since he's one of the few characters that encounters magic (a rarity in this world), but his position as the wise, future-seeing, up-and-coming mage just doesn't interest me personally. Despite my couple complaints (which are really more personal in nature than anything necessarily "wrong" with the book), "A Storm of Swords" is a solid entry in the series. It takes the themes and plots from the first two books and builds upon them to create a novel that is better, darker, and more intriguing than the first two. The plot is still steadily moving forward, building momentum and adding layers of story with each book. With the cast being as massive as it is and the number of storylines being many, I find myself wondering how Martin will tie everything together. He's proven to be a capable writer so far, so I'm sure he'll figure it out. At any rate, this monstrous book is one Hell of a good read. Five stars! ## Images ![A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91YM9LNnpxL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ There aren't enough superlatives for this series *by W***Y on April 17, 2012* I'm going to take a break from reading George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series for a while. But it's not because I'm growing weary of the series; it's because I find myself so engrossed in it that the characters and settings are finding their ways into my dreams. A Storm of Swords, the third book in the series, is also the third book I've read in a row. The series is that good and that engrossing. (And I promised myself I wouldn't gush about never having cared for fantasy novels before as I did in my previous two reviews.) A Storm of Swords carries on the intricately plotted story of Westeros (and beyond) with both familiar characters and new ones. If you thought Martin was unafraid to kill off main characters after the noble-to-a-fault Ned Stark met his fate on the executioner's block in the first book, just wait until you get to A Storm of Swords. No fewer than five major characters meet their ends in these pages, including a couple that will break your heart and at least one who's death you'll cheer. The lives of several other characters seem in jeopardy by the end of the book. (Nope, I'm not going to spoil it for you. Just read the book!) I don't know how Martin does it. He weaves together the lives of several dozen characters over the course of this series. Such a task would be daunting, by Martin makes it look easy as his narrative swoops around Westeros and across the Narrow Sea. He intertwines the fates of the various characters in unexpected ways that, even after reading a couple of thousand pages, can still surprise you. This is epic storytelling at its very finest. Please don't confuse me with a literary sycophant. Martin does have a few minor tics that get under my skin a bit in A Storm of Swords. For one, I appreciate his deft turns of phrase, but in some places they come across as a bit strained and too close to the modern idiom. In one place he has Robb Stark say, "I told you to hold Riverrun. What part of that command did you fail to comprehend?" It seems a bit "modern" in the world of Westeros. Then later on in the book another character uses the expression, "What part of 'yield' do you not comprehend?" Yeah, it's a minor thing, but it just felt out of place to me. My other quibble is the fate of Arya. The poor girl has been wandering around Westeros since the end of the first book, and despite a few near misses she still has yet to reconnect with anyone from her scattered family. I think even Martin realized this since at one point he writes, "Arya was tired of making for Riverrun. She had been making for Riverrun for years, it seemed, without ever getting there." I heartily concur with that sentiment but I'm also guessing Martin has some major plot points ahead for Arya, so I'll be patient with the game of Where in Westeros is Arya Stark Today for a little longer. For those two quibbles I'd deduct maybe a half of a star. That slight deduction is offset by some of the new revelations A Storm of Swords contains. We're introduced in a big way to the Wildings (along with giants, mammoths and even, apparently, a close-up view of one of the Others). I'm particularly fascinated by The Wall and the Night's Watch, so I gobbled these sections up like a shadowcat chewing up a wilding. Then there are new settings such as the Pyke, Dorne, a glimpse of Littlefinger's ancestral home with its plentiful rocks and sheep ... ummm, "poop," plus several exotic cities across the Narrow Sea. As fascinating as some of the new characters are (yep, I'm looking at you, Brienne), the changes taking place in some of the characters who have been around since the first book are just as fascinating. Jaime and Tyrion both seem to be going through some major self-reflection. Jon Snow is growing into a man at The Wall. Even Sansa, my least-favorite character, is blossoming amid the drama that surrounds her. Like I said at the start of this review, I'll be taking a brief sabbatical from Westeros. But after bringing all that I love about this series to mind as I write this review, I don't think my break will last very long. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Solid (and Huge) Installment that Leaves You Wanting More *by K***N on April 1, 2015* It's impossible to put these books down. As soon as I finished "A Clash of Kings," I had downloaded and began reading "A Storm of Swords." It follows the example set by the previous book in that it expands upon the plots and themes already established, adds a few more layers to keep things interesting, and somehow manages to be better than the book that came before it. Spoilers follow. It wouldn't be possible to adequately sum up everything that happens in this book in an appropriately succinct manner, so I'll just give a brief, bare-bones overview. Westeros is still caught up in the war raging for the Iron Throne. With five claimants competing to rule the Seven Kingdoms, it doesn't look like there's an end in sight for the violence and destruction. Things are also brewing in the North, where the Wildlings beyond are organizing an attack to break through the Wall, overwhelm the severely undermanned Night's Watch, and invade. Meanwhile, in the East, Daenerys continues to amass resources to aid in her plans to attack for the Throne. She moves through the cities of Slaver's Bay, gaining support and exercising her growing authority as both the Khaleesi and the Mother of Dragons. I'll start by addressing perhaps the most obvious characteristic of "A Storm of Swords:" it's huge. Granted, if you downloaded it for your Kindle like I did, the monstrous size of the novel might not be as immediately striking, but you'll undoubtedly notice pretty quickly that it's over a thousand pages long. Books this long tend to be one of two things: unnecessarily descriptive with plenty of filler to pad out the pages or complex with an intricately layered story that fills the pages with content. I'm pleased to say that this book is definitely the latter of the two possibilities. It would perhaps be feared that the middle book of a lengthy series, especially one with a humongous page count, would be repetitive and full of fluff and padding, serving only to lengthen the series and sell more books. Again, that simply isn't the case with "A Storm of Swords." The plot doesn't stall at all; in fact, every chapter moves the story forward and works to develop the overall plot. The story is exciting with so many power players devising and implementing their own schemes as well as the war raging over the Iron Throne. Martin has a lot to say about his world, which makes for a fascinating story and guarantees that none of the thousand-and-some-odd pages are boring. With the pace being consistent throughout the novel, you'll be flipping through pages with the desperate need to know what happens next to your favourite character or faction. For the first time I can recall, I finished a thousand plus page novel thinking that it wasn't long enough! Martin's story is so enthralling, unique, and captivating that you'll want more than even a book this long can offer. I'll also note that the story is far from predictable. I've mostly given up trying to guess what will happen because the actual events typically far exceed my predictions. I'll probably end up mentioning this in every "Song of Ice and Fire" review, but I ended up taking a bit of a break from fantasy due to being frustrated with the same plots and tired clichés that seemed to crop up in every book. Martin has actually managed to write not only a unique fantasy novel, but a series that stands above many others simply because he strays from the commonly tread path. Pretty much anything can happen to anyone; good characters aren't given immunity and bad characters aren't doomed to death (and really, calling characters good and bad isn't completely accurate since most are various shades of grey). The plot twists and turns like crazy, but it's handled deftly and the author clearly knows where he's going, putting the reader an exciting ride and a gamut of emotions. And just when you think you've got it figured out, something comes up that throws your predictions out the window. It's a nice change from being able to guess everything before it happens, as tends to be the case with other books in the genre. It's well established by this point that Martin doesn't shy away from the violence of war...and "A Storm of Swords" practically has blood dripping from its pages. With the war for the Iron Throne in full swing, the death count in this book is high. The horrors of battle are portrayed in all their gritty glory; these aren't nice people and they don't do nice things. As I've mentioned in other reviews, neither the violence nor the sex present comes off as gratuitous (for the most part), but instead works to flesh out Martin's world and reinforce the concept that no one is safe. Yes, this is the book with the Red Wedding. There are a couple weddings that take place, so it's not immediately obvious which one will be THE wedding if you haven't already been informed. And yes, some well-loved characters meet their end in this bloodbath, families betray one another, alliances change...all the jazz that one can expect from such an event. There are also other grisly surprises that determine the fate of some, well, not as well-loved characters. In the East, Daenerys is faced with the brutality of slavery and the effects of anarchy as she conquers the Slave Cities, and it's not pretty. If you were bothered by the dark content of the two previous books, you probably shouldn't read this one because the author has really upped his game in that aspect. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the grittiness adds authenticity to the world, but I've always preferred a darker, more realistic setting. While I usually don't find the sex and violence in these books to be gratuitous, there is one instance of it that I'll have to complain about; and weirdly enough, it's probably one of the more "normal" sexual relationships we see in the book: Jon and Ygritte. I totally get the significance of Jon breaking his vows with Ygritte, both in terms of his background as a bastard and as a member of the Night's Watch, and I enjoyed seeing him struggle with his conflicting emotions on the matter. However, I got a little tired of reading about them getting it on in detail multiple times every night. Sure, a few times is fine to give us an idea of Jon's situation, but the frequency came off as really unnecessary. Of all the gruesome things one could complain about in this novels, that's what stuck out to me as being gratuitous and over the top...who'd have thought? The characters just get better and better with each book. That's not to say they necessarily become better people (in the brutal world of Westeros, that almost never seems to happen), but they definitely grow and become more intriguing with each installment. With so many storylines and characters, it would be easy to shove a couple off to the side, but, again, Martin seems to have this under control and every character is more than adequately fleshed out. The changing point of view in each chapter works well because it ensures that every story and every character continues to move forward. Each chapter, and therefore each point of view, is in some way significant; I never finished a chapter wondering what the point of it was or what it added to the story. The characters continue to be portrayed in shades of grey, each one unique and changing and none of them fall into the typical archetypes. You'll be frustrated with some and cheer on others and, as I mentioned earlier, some well-loved characters (and some that we love to hate) meet their ends in "A Storm of Swords." You never know what the characters are going to throw at you (or at each other, as the case often is) or who's going to make it out alive...and in a book as brutal as this one, that certainly adds a level of suspense and excitement. "A Storm of Swords" adds Jaime as a point of view character, and he quickly became one of my personal favourites, especially with Tyrion's viewpoint also being maintained throughout the book to provide a different Lannister perspective. Jaime is an incredibly nuanced character and begins to undergo a lot of change in this novel, and much like Tyrion, he walks the line between protagonist and antagonist, never really being one or the other. With his background and unique perspective, I hope we see Jaime as a point of view character (and, indeed, that he survives whatever the next books throw at him) in future books. This is also the book where certain characters began to stand out to me as being just plain annoying and, surprisingly, boring. As I've mentioned in my other reviews, "A Song of Ice and Fire" is so great partially because different characters will resonate differently with each reader, so your favourite character may be someone else's least favourite. As I was reading this book, I found that the character that tended to make me groan aloud when I started a chapter and saw his name was Bran. That's not to say he's a poorly written character; he just doesn't really appeal to me. Perhaps it's because there are so many other plot lines to focus on, but I found him and his story to be a tad boring. I don't doubt that he and his quest will be significant since he's one of the few characters that encounters magic (a rarity in this world), but his position as the wise, future-seeing, up-and-coming mage just doesn't interest me personally. Despite my couple complaints (which are really more personal in nature than anything necessarily "wrong" with the book), "A Storm of Swords" is a solid entry in the series. It takes the themes and plots from the first two books and builds upon them to create a novel that is better, darker, and more intriguing than the first two. The plot is still steadily moving forward, building momentum and adding layers of story with each book. With the cast being as massive as it is and the number of storylines being many, I find myself wondering how Martin will tie everything together. He's proven to be a capable writer so far, so I'm sure he'll figure it out. At any rate, this monstrous book is one Hell of a good read. Five stars! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Probably the best book of the entire series *by M***H on March 31, 2013* Which book in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R.R. Martin is the best? Many would argue that the third entry in the series, A Storm of Swords, is the most likely candidate. There is no question that it is the largest of the four books published to date; in fact, in England it was published in two volumes (Steel and Snow and Blood and Gold). At Amazon.com A Storm of Swords has 822 reviews, with an average of 4.50365 (90.07%) with 76.6% of reviews selecting the top 5 star review. The book preceding A Storm of Swords is A Clash of Kings and it has a slightly higher average review of 4.50857 (90.17%) but they are less numerous (700) and has a lower percentage of 5-star reviews (71.6%). The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, is the most well-known, naturally, since it was published first. It has by far the most number of reviews, 1,840 with an average of 4.38587 with 71% being 5-star reviews. The fourth book, A Feast for Crows, is the least popular book of the series so far and most harshly reviewed (an average score of 3.206557 based on 915 reviews). The fifth, A Dance with Dragons, will be released on July 12, 2011. I would generally agree with the crowd at Amazon.com that A Storm of Swords is the best book of the first four in the A Song of Ice and Fire series that I have read so far. The book's impact is not just based on it's length, though, as in most things, size does matter. There are so many important, stunning and horrifying plot twists which affect the characters we have grown to love and hate that several times I had to re-read sections of the book because I was reading so quickly to find out what was going to happen I realized I had missed an important event that had happened. In this third book in the series the story that began in A Game of Thrones has progressed in surprising directions. It is almost impossible to review this volume without giving away important plot developments which a first-time reader should really experience unspoiled. I can say that the structure of the book follows the form of the previous entries in the series, with point-of-view chapters from various characters following one another seamlessly to reveal the overall storyline. There are POV chapters from Lannisters (Jaime, Tyrion and Cersei), Starks (Catelyn, Sansa, Arya and Bran) and their associates (Daavos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, Jon Snow). Daenerys Targaeryen also returns and makes progress towards establishing herself as a true Queen of Westeros far away in the East. The main storylines (internecine political conflict in King's Landing, Jon's foray beyond The Wall to learn the truth about the wildlings, Daenerys' quest for an Army and a crown, the impact of the War of Five Kings on Westeros' citizens as experienced by several of our main characters) are told with expert deftness and intriguing suspense. You literally do not know who will survive or perish, even if they have a chapter named after them (hint!). Some say that Martin is trying to dethrone J.R.R. Tolkien as the universally acknowledged king of fantasy, and it may be true. Others say that Martin may actually have higher aims such as joining Shakespeare in the canon of literature. I'll leave it up to future readers to decide, but the decision of whether or not to invest the time and energy to read these books should be an easy one for anyone who delights in the pleasure of fiction itself. Title: A Storm of Swords. Author: George R.R. Martin Length: 1008 pages. Publisher: Bantam. Date: May 28, 2002. OVERALL GRADE: A+/A (4.167/4.0). PLOT: A+. IMAGERY: A. IMPACT: A+. WRITING: A. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vn/products/1355935-a-storm-of-swords-a-song-of-ice-and-fire](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/1355935-a-storm-of-swords-a-song-of-ice-and-fire) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vietnam* *Store origin: VN* *Last updated: 2026-05-20*