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...
But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings 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. 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...
(from the publisher)
I finished the third installment of a Song of Ice and Fire
last week. The book confirmed for me again that not only is this series one of
the best fantasy series ever written, these books are amazing. Period.
I'll review this in two parts with spoilers under the cut so
that those who haven't read it yet, or are simply following along with the TV
series won't be spoiled.
The action picks up right where A Clash of Kings leaves off.
To recap: North of the wall, Jon Snow has left the night's watch in the north
to join Ygritte and a group of wildlings. Sam Tarly and the other black
brothers have just heard the horn signalling the others are coming to their
place on the Fist of the First Men. In
the Riverlands, Robb Stark has been fighting and winning battles against the
forces of the Lannisters, but Catelyn has let Jaime Lannister escape with
Brienne to trade him for the lives of her daughters. Sansa Stark has been set
free of her engagement to Joffrey Baratheon who is now engaged to Margaery
Tyrell following the battle of Blackwater. Arya Stark has escaped Harrenhal and
is on the run back to the Riverlands. Bran Stark and Rickon avoided Theon
Greyjoy's murderous plans and the burning of Winterfell and are both running away
in separate directions.
One thing I love about this series are all the complexities
to Martin's plotting. You can feel things coming, and sometimes predict events,
but there are so many characters and potential paths for them to take that it
often surprises you. Characters meet up with each other in ways you don't
expect, and when you're sure a character won't be back again, they pop up
somewhere new. Martin's also not afraid to kill off major characters, something
that is a bit of a spoiler but should also come as no surprise to those who
have read the first two books or watched the first two seasons. But I think the greatest thing about the
series is that the motivations of the characters are so real. I love that
characters are not black and white, and you can grow to love a character you
previously hated and vice versa.
Some characters are relatively quiet in the third book. We
hear almost nothing of Theon Greyjoy and little of Rickon Stark. Fan favourite
characters get a lot of action, but I found myself falling in love with new
ones. And without giving away too much, lets just say that not much, if
anything is resolved at the end. That's to be expected though, as the series is
only about half way through at this point (knowing Martin, only a third!).
For those who haven't read it yet, please, please start! The
series just keeps getting better and really is better than the TV series which
is also so amazing. Keep reading under the cut for spoilers.
