A Song of Ice and Fire Book 3: a Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin

Advantages: Great fantasy for adults, lively characters.
Disadvantages: The wait till the authors finishes writing the next one.

A Storm of Sword's is George R.R. Martin 3rd instalment in his critically acclaimed saga 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. I am anxiously waiting for the next volume to get published (the author's official site says it's November 2005) so I wanted to get more people interested in Martin's work. I chose to review the 3rd volume because it's the one I read most recently. In short, the book is just great. Really great. But it's definitely not short. In fact ...
...out. I read it in a single breath (one of those month-long breaths, you know) and enjoyed it all the way. In Storm of Swords, nations continue to war each other and a number of kings, queens and other protagonists are killed and as a result the contenders for the Iron Throne get reduced in an alarmingly fast rate. There are very few chapters, if any at all, that you just want to read through to get to the next one. There are plenty of sudden turns ... Read review

Advantages: Inovative style, fantastic storyline
Disadvantages: Have to buy more books to find out the ending

...was changed the category for A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1 disappeared and it ended up in the category for Book 3, I'd be grateful therefore if you could take absolutely no notice of this review, and rate accordingly, i.e DONT!! Cheers Emma I discovered George R.R.Martin when browsing through my local W.H. Smiths and it was on offer, as a huge fan of Eddings, Feist, Gemmell, etc. I decided to give it a go. I am now hooked on the whole series! ...
...others, it takes one character a chapter and go's through their adventures. There is Lord Eddard Stark, the warden of the North, his wife Catelyn and their children, Rickon,Robb, Bran, Arya and Sansa who is to marry the incest-gotten, half-mad Prince Joffrey. Arya, Eddard and Sansa travel to Casterly Rock for Sansas wedding where Eddard is betrayed. To tell you more would spoil the story!! Other characters include Tyrion Lannister, the hunchback ... Read review

Advantages: An Exellent read, that leaves you craving more, MORE !!
Disadvantages: long time for next book to be released, but its well worth it!!

(Edited to be a bit less s***e, as the book deserves much better than my paltry attempt, plus I can spell a bit better now!) Now it's not often that a book can make you keep your faith in an author for such a long time. About 4 years, this is the time that separates a Storm of Swords and G.R.R.Martins next book a feast for Crows. Now i'm not usually a very patient person, but I would wait another 4 years if he could produce anything close to the ...
...Not only has he encapsulated a whole world so lavishly detailed into one set of books, he pulls it off with style, sheer ravishing style. The series so far is; A Game of Thrones A Clash of Kings A Storm of Swords (One book in the US, split into two in the UK) - Part 1 / Steel and Snow - Part 2 - Blood and Gold A Feast for Crows A Dance of Dragons The Words of winter A Time for Wolves (Though this title is purely speculation, Martin initially ... Read review

Advantages: Engrossing, amazing, ingenious.
Disadvantages: Leaves you craving for more. A big series.

...book so great to warrant a whole household to fight over the only copies in the house (well in my house anyway!). It is written in the most compelling detail, with characters you would love as your own friends and family and characters that are hateful, deceitful and absolutely vile that they either deserve your admiration for having that kind of ambition or your unimaginable loathing. With fantastical backdrop of Westeros, we are given the many ...
...it. With feuding “Kings and a Queen” it is a series with no clear cut winner. The story begins in the north of Westeros with the House Stark and its Warden Lord Eddard Stark, ten odd years after the revolt of the kingdom against King Aerys II. A mad king from the House of Targaryens, (in which the resulting war obliterated the House and only two survives who fled to the Summer Isle) was succeeded by Robert House of Baratheon. The House Stark is thrown ... Read review

Advantages: Blood, intrigue and sex
Disadvantages: Whos that? Related to who? Why did he just kill him/her/them?

A workmate of mine lent me the first of these books while I was working in a call centre. I read it at my desk, thinking it would be the usual 'good triumphs over evil' fantasy story, boy was I ever wrong! The story is complex and convoluted, with no two characters having the same motivations or methods. Some want revenge, some power, wealth or just to survive. Plenty of plot takes place behind closed doors - from the readers point of view - making ...
...to chapter, generally staying with a 'main cast' of around fifteen to twenty characters, but the writing is devious, bringing in new characters for a chapter or two and then never hearing from them again. You may find your favourite characters absent for a long time before their suprise re-introduction, or a new character appears, only to be brutally murdered after their brief appearence. Unlike many books, in this one anyone can die, wether a surf ... Read review