Mini Reviews: A Song of George R.R. Martin’s Storytelling

Dunnnn, dunn, dun dun, dunnnn, dunn, dun, dun, dunn, dunn, dun, dun, dunn, dunn dun dun dunn dunn…
Yeahhh, I’ve pretty much had the Game of Thrones theme tune stuck in my head for the entire time it took me to write this post. I feel like I’m going slightly insane now! So yes, while Becky has been somewhat silent on the blog, in real life she has been busy, shifting through thousands of pages worth of Westeros, where dragons reign and people fight over a really uncomfortable chair. Woohoo! (Weirdos). After watching the season 5 shocker finale on TV, I was a little distraught and desperate for more George R.R. Martin, not to mention ANSWERS. I’ve also recently rewatched the entire show with the boyfriend because I am trying to educate him on all things nerdy (it’s working, slowly). All of this led to me feeling determined to try and catch up with the books in time for the release of season 6 and the next novel,Winds of Winter. So here are my reviews of books 3-5!

A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow by George R.R. Martin Review 4/5

Overall Impression: An entertaining read full of emotional, political and bloody battles.

(To read my review of the previous book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings click here.)

This book was all kinds of awesome. George R. R. Martin, you’ve done it again!
For those who don’t know, the UK version of A Storm of Swords is split into two parts (I know, annoying right?) so I kind of feel weird reviewing a book when I’ve only read half of the originally intended material, like I might not be judging it fairly because it cut off before its intended finale. Having said that, I enjoyed book 3 part 1 immensely, and now I can’t wait to dive into part two!

Please note: For those of you that haven’t read the previous books, this review will contain spoilers about plots and characters from those books. However, this review will not contain any spoilers for A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow.

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin Review 4/5

Overall Impression: An action-packed gritty adventure with vivid characters.

(To read my review of the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones click here.)

After devouring the first book in this series I vowed that I would take a decent break before tackling the second novel, A Clash of Kings. Partly so I could recover from the immense page length but also so that I would appreciate the story more. However, after reading only two other books I soon found myself yearning for more of the world of Westeros. Instead of forcing myself to read other books when I wasn’t in the mood for them I decided to give into the inevitable, and thus began my journey though this 708-paged beast of a book!

Please note: For those of you that haven’t read the previous book A Game of Thrones, this review will contain spoilers about plots and characters from that book in the first two paragraphs only. However, this review will not contain any spoilers for A Clash of Kings.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin Review 5/5

Overall Impression: A bloody battle of wits, armour and cunning, but not everyone is playing fair.

I am desperately in love with all things A Game of Thrones. As an avid follower of the TV series and a big fan of fantasy novels, I couldn’t not read this book. I have been looking longingly towards its place on my bookshelf for months. (Well, actually it was on top of my bookshelf because there’s no shelf space left, oops.) I love what this series has done in terms of making high fantasy more mainstream. There are many discerning people who look down on the genre, so I think it’s great that so many people have gotten behind this series. With the summer months spiraling out before me, I finally felt like it was time to pick up the 803 page doorstop and get lost within its pages!

In the game of thrones, you win or you die.
As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must… and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, a vengeance-mad boy has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities beyond the sea. Heir of the mad Dragon King deposed by Robert, he claims the Iron Throne.

This is an intimidating book to review, its sheer length, complexity and endless characters make it difficult to summarise in a way that promotes its awesomeness but prevents giving away spoilers. Plus, I think the less you know the more intense the reading experience is. Essentially the one sentence version is that a bunch of power hungry people are fighting over the Iron Throne that rules over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and some of them have more legitimate claims than others.