A Storm of Swords

This is by far one of the best fantasy books I've ever read to date. This is one of those books that I both had to put down and couldn't wait to pick up. I say had to put down because, after I'd finish with each viewpoint, I would need to mull over what had just happened, and think about how this would reflect on the other characters in the future. At the same time, I could not wait to pick it up again and continue to see how the world of Westeros would continue to descend into chaos, as kings battle other kings, and the local villagers continue to suffer for it. Many fans consider this to be the best book in the series, and it is not difficult to see why. There are many different things that happen here, and they all ratchet up the tension, especially by the end of the book.

My favorite viewpoint in the book would have to be Jamie Lannister. With this viewpoint, we see someone who has been dispicable in the last two books gain some amount of respect, if not sympathy. We see, through a significant event, Jamie become more humble, and we see that has has changed through this novel, more than some characters throughout the entire series to date. He was fascinating to see travel from one various area to another on his physical and metaphorical journey, despite knowing that he was one of the catalysts for the entire situation currently taking place in Westeros.

As for the worst...I would say either Davos or Daenerys. I just could never get into why I should care about Davos' POV, and for some reason, I have not really identified with Daenerys POV either. Daenerys gets a lot more to do in this book, and she actually becomes threatening, but she never managed to grab me, like the other characters did.

I also feel that, like many of the things in a book over 1000 pages, some things do begin to drag (like Area's plotline, for instance), and then there is so much detail that it can get a tad overwhelming at times. I don't need to know about some fifth Lord's cousin slain at a battle fifteen years ago, and how it affects a squire that Catlyn is talking about on a random march unless it has to do with the main plot.

However, don't let that stop you. This novel is excellently done, even with the gripes I had above. If you maybe were hesitant about getting into this series because of the investment, then I would say not to worry, This novel is far better than the last installment, and I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.