A Game of Thrones: A Storm of Swords Part 1 (A Song of Ice and Fire)

There are about 3 different publishers for the third book in the series ASOIAF in India that I know ofBantam and Random House- They publish the entire book in one part (100+ pages) and the quality of pages and font spacing is terrible. Although it will be cheaper than buying two parts but it's not worth itHarper Voyager- This is the one I bought and is excellent. It's the same edition which is sold in the UK and EU. It's a pleasure to read this one and is well worth the extra few hundred bucks

The story is amazing, there is no compromise on Martin's side but I give only 3 stars due to quality. The first I noticed as I opened the book was the paper quality. Com0ared to the previous books this book's paper quality is low, not terrible but it's not that good either. And also the book was damaged at the back when I received it. I don't want to return it because that does not concern me, but there are readers who do not like it if their book damaged. So please take care of that. I bought Harper Voyager published version

BOOK QUALITY:Perfect. No torn pages, page quality excellent. The front cover bends easily, but then again it is a PAPERBACK so that is expected. Perfect quality of book, perfect binding, all pages are present, none missing.CONTENT QUALITY:Font size, perfect. Since this is part 1 of the book, there are enough pages that can be handled. Good in every other way. Enough to read, great page colour and the story is properly divided. MAPS to major places GIVEN at the start of the book, so is the APPENDIX.STORY QUALITY:One of the best parts of the books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire. Love it! Definitely a fine read and a PAGE TURNER. I would RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND.DELIVERY QUALITY:Delivered bang on time, in perfect condition. My address is in a weird location and the competitors usually fail to deliver it on time because of this yet Amazon managed to deliver on time! No bookmark was given, though but otherwise delivery was super fast.Hope I helped.

To any GOT fan, the books are essential. They explain the story much better. Go ahead and buy the entire set of 5. This edition is standard paperback. I know the hardcover would get 5 starts, but the cost differential...

Received the Book within 2 days... Amazing quality of packaging... Completely wrapped in a plastic cover surrounded by bubble wrap too...The quality of the pages is a let down.. The pages weren't as white as I like em to be.. Paperback edition so can't complain much.... Binding is great though... I'll leave the quality of the work inside the book to be decided by YOU !!! :P

The book was from voyager not from Harper voyager hence it is small in size. It should 12.9 cms in height but it was 11. So I returned it since it was not similar to other book that are from Harper Voyager.

The deliver was perfect. Right on time. The condition of the book was awesome. Brand new. The font of the book is quite small which I guess is the complain I have for the publisher of the book. Otherwise amazon did an excellent job.

Faster paced than 1st two books. The plot thickens

"Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever,but if the Wall is breached,no king will live to claim it..."Okay, so I made a promise to myself, years ago, that I would complete A Song of Ice and Fire before I started the TV adaption... Well, I failed, I'm sorry, the pull was just too strong. Being all caught up kind of put me off going back to the book series (stupid), but I've always been adamant that I'd come back. Imagine my surprise when I looked at my (sub par) reviews for the first two entries that two years have passed!Whaaaaaa!?Picking up part one of book three, which, at least so far as in the UK, has been split into two parts, I am furious with myself for leaving it for so long. What is wrong with me? How could I willingly put off such mastery? Despite knowing a lot of plot points thanks to the show, A Storm of Swords is not only a fantastic piece of literature, but also one hell of a fantasy story populated with the richest cast I have ever encountered.SPOILER WARNINGSynopsis (Not a copy from the book, but I always keep my interpretations close.)The war for the Iron Throne wages on.King Robb Stark hasn't lost a battle, but the war is slipping away from him.His sisters, Arya and Sansa, fight different battles to return home, with the latter imprisoned beneath King Joffrey's thumb and the former a hostage of brigands.At the Wall the worst has happened, Jon is stuck as a spy as the Wildling army marches forward and the Night's Watch is decimated by the mystical Others.Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys struggles with her conscience as she builds an army to invade Westeros.None of them will matter if the Others are allowed to rise...Plot - 5/5 StarsI don't feel worthy, I just don't. How do you encapsulate and review a novel such as this? Martin's rich storytelling portrays prejudice, betrayal, hope and a million other things without ever making the plot feel cluttered. Thousands of pages into the series and the quality and fascination do not dip in any way. You're struck by the dozens of small and large battles, breathless with adrenaline, while never forgetting that the biggest battle has yet to come.I'm falling in love all over again.The intricate way threads weave together or splinter apart is still thrilling even though I'm all caught up with the show. And if any reader feels the same way I did, hesitant because of the size of the novels and the fact that the adaption seems a little easier to swallow, pull yourself together! Martin will capture you from page one, and the divergences, both little and large, that separate the books and the show are fantastic little nuggets to find.A Storm of Swords, Part One: Steel and Snow never, ever becomes boring or stale. The sheer amount to take in is never cumbersome, so going on this adventure is nothing but a treat. Even when the author isn't progressing the overall story he upkeeps the quality and world building.Things end a little abruptly, but that's more because the third entry's been split in two.Pace - 4.5/5 StarsA Song of Ice and Fire is a series that will consume your time. The pace is consistent, with intense battles to break up the adventure and exposition, but the quantity and quality will have you up late at night, hooked. But there are a lot of pages, so prepare yourself for when you start, give it time.Characters - 5/5 StarsIt's so easy to slip into Martin's cast of distinct and divisive individuals. The fun comes in the form of a contradiction: No matter whose overall side you're on as the reader, you want some of your 'enemies' to succeed. There are of course the characters you truly love (Daenerys) and the ones you absolutely hate (Joffrey), but the majority have this power to climb inside your emotions and make them conflict.I did have little paragraphs for each main character viewpoint, but after typing them out the review was far too long. What I will say is that there are no duds. There's a purpose and a plot for each character; a destiny that is delightful to journey to, despite how uncertain it is for each character. My personal favourites come in the forms of Catelyn, Tyrion and Daenerys, but the other viewpoints and cast members are no slouches at all.I love how the majority are underdogs on different sides, the story just works so well with them. Maybe in the future I'll go a little more in depth, but for now be assured that the kind of talent that has gone into this cast is hard to come by.Writing - 5/5 StarsWhen I started the series, I was a little overwhelmed by how much the novels contain. Now, I'm in love. I crave all those details. And while there are a ton of things to remember, the handy appendix at the back does wonders for the holes in your memory or knowledge.The smooth way things are set and progress; the vivid and imaginative world; the author's mastery of the English language; all of it is in a league no one can touch, and if I have to repeat myself for each subsequent review, I will be more than happy to.Overall - 5/5 StarsI've got a couple other books I want to jump into before I carry on, but carrying on is in my very near future.

This book is definitely an improvement over the second but not quite as engrossing as the first. Quite short in comparison to the other two but it is a two-parter. The story picks up the pace from the slightly waffly second book and actually gets to the point much quicker and you can really see the story unfolding. This compares to the TV series in essence but there are a few minor differences here and there and for fans of the show, you can see where they have used artistic licence and expanded certain stories beyond the details given in the books. Enjoyed this read and now making a start on part 2.

If you have started at the first book in this series, you will now, like me, be a hopeless addict dreading the day when the saga ends. This book makes so many other books seem feeble by comparison. It is a book to get lost in with realistic characters who you either like or hate or (as in real life) never know if you can trust. Everyone will have their favourite character whom they hope will survive and although there are a great many characters, (which for me, means I'll forget them if I don't meet them for a while) they are so vividly painted that you do remember them and loathe Joffrey, the nasty boy king and hope Tyrion find happiness and admire Arya who, at 10, has more resourcefulness than many adults. This is a cross gender book with lots of action as well but for me it's the people I will remember and the amazing picture of a land that is easy to imagine and different cultures that interact (or don't).As with all the other books in the series this one has a helpful section listing the characters and their relationship to each other and a (slightly difficult to read) map of the land. It is set up so that a right or left click on the navigator button on your Kindle will take you forward or back a chapter so that you can remind yourself where you last left a character

This is the impression I got when reading this tome. To a large extent, it is because there are fewer major events happening. With the exception of Daenerys, which, at last stop travelling pointlessly and taking baths (I've lost count of the number of times we have seen her taking baths since Game of Thrones!), there are no great battles. However, there is plenty of other things happening.One of Martin's habits, or at least it is getting into a habit, is to introduce into each of his volume some new features of his fiction world. In this one, we get at least two. The first is linked to Daenerys and to Slavers' Bay, where we get introduced to the brick slaver cities, with their square pyramids and their slave merchants. I couldn't help trying to guess what inspired him here. Perhaps it was the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Anyway, the slave soldiers seem to be a bit inspired by the Turkish Mamluks and the Ottoman janissaries, except that they also seem to be eunuchs. Another nice piece that most "fans" have probably loved (me included) is that we see the dragons in action, fire and all.The second piece that interested me is what is happening in the war-torn central part of Westeros in the absence of major battles: the "day-to-day life" in a war-torn zone infested with marauders from all sides. This is heavily inspired by the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses, with war bands from both sides digging themselves into the various castles and fortresses that they might have taken, living of the country, and raiding whatever territory is controlled by the other factions. This is very much the situation that prevails between the Twins and Kings Landing and we get a glimpse at some of the various bands of warriors and mercenaries serving on each side, and sometimes changing sides.Regarding the characters, there are a few comebacks, such as Beric Dondarion and Thoros of Myr, the Red Priest, both of which are much changed. We also see quite a bit of the Hound, Sandor Clegane, who, after escaping from King's Landing and the Lannisters, travels with Arya and runs into the two characters mentioned above. The main comeback, however, is that of Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, who manages to get back to his side but is no longer the dashing, rash and near-invincible swordsman that he used to be. Finally, we have the continuing adventure of Jon with the wildlings which he manages the get rid of at some cost.Anyway, volume 1 of Steel and Snow is still rather good, if perhaps slightly less so than the previous instalments.I definitely agree with another reviewer on Amazon.co.uk - this is bordering 4 stars, but not quite that - although we happen to be coming at it from two opposite directions.

Despite having to write a dissertation over the past couple of months I've found myself getting more and more addicted to the Song of Ice and Fire series, both in book and television format. I decided to read the books first, as is always the best way, and this book was a very good read. Although it is slightly irritating that the book has been split into two parts in the UK, this first half was very good, showing no signs of the decline that some have hinted at. Although the book ends at a seemingly random point, unlike some others I found it to be a decent cliff hanger, finishing with one of my favourite characters in a compromising situation.I have not bought the next one (yet!) as I am forcing myself to finish my work before enjoying more nights (and days) with this great series. Some of the characters in this I found a bit irritating (Samwell Tarly) but on the whole it lived upto the previous high standards. Tyrion was still funny and conniving, I found myself continuing to root for Arya, Jaime and Brienne's story gave some interesting backround. However, Jon Snow's story probably has the most significant development in this (half) of Storm of Swords.Overall it was a really good read, and I can't wait to progress with the next part!