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....

Listening Length

47 hours and 34 minutes
Author

George R.R. Martin
Narrator

Roy Dotrice
Audible release date

March 11, 2004
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B00026WUZU
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	47 hours and 34 minutes
Author	George R.R. Martin
Narrator	Roy Dotrice
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	March 11, 2004
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00026WUZU
Best Sellers Rank	#344 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #28 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) #53 in Epic Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) #53 in Fantasy Action & Adventure

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Ploon

For the classical and fantasy reader alike - complex, gripping, exciting, multifaceted... sublime.

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2016

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If you despise fantasy fiction, READ THIS ANYWAY.

GRRM delivers a RARE series - a sophisticatedly written series - it is both mature and complex at every level, and manages to do so without tedium, but quite the opposite. I've found myself hardly able to bear moving to each successive chapter to follow a separate storyline or character due to the gripping story in the one I was reading. But as I switched gears to the next "nugget" in this grandly woven tale, I found myself equally enthralled by THAT storyline.

As far as the cast of characters - it is vast. And character development is sophisticated. You have a vast range of personalities, motivations, biases, vices, scheming, hurts, etc. You watch upon a stage where the marionette has directed their interplay so intricately it is a believable plotline that echoes real life as action and schemes between characters collide. And as time moves forward in the story you experience those characters exult in victory, seethe with hatred, quail in defeat, rage in frustrated schemes, and hope against hope. Not only that - but they grow with their experiences. Their motivations can at times be complex scheming or simple earthy passion (whether that be angry violence or lust or daydreaming). The stage is set with a great cast as well - both men and women each with their subtleties and unique persona. Not every woman is a damsel, just as not every man is a hero - which is fantastic.

As far as the politicking - it is multilayered. You have Lords and Kings vying for position, status, power, peace, justice, or vengeance. This through marriages, treaty, war, subterfuge, assassination, etc. You have the character level politicking where personal vices come into play whether that be noble or ignoble - rooted in either their sense of duty, selfishness, naiveté, or other. Its just so varied and rarely formulaic or repeatable.

I can't necessarily say there are plot twists in the traditional sense of the word (where one can almost feel the author shout 'got ya! - didn't see THAT coming eh?' to the dumbfounded reader). The machinations of each character in this vast stage - competing and colliding with one another's - and that ends up speaking for itself. The reader may cheer or curse depending on a particular turn of events, but that has more to do with the efforts of one party or another succeeding against all others. It's a dose of near-reality. Plans win and fail - and there isn't an overarching "blessed" subset of characters. It is extremely refreshing and entirely spellbinding.

As far as action, magic, and monsters. There is very little compared to what one would expect in the scifi fantasy paperback novels. There are clashes and contests. There are strange creatures and powers, yes. But this isn't your summer 80s Schwarzenegger/Stallone action flick. This is a sophisticated story that has such content in its proper place and not gratuitously. There is fighting but it's not center piece as a simpleton's hack and slash hero-save-princess-defeat-demonprince novel. Nor is this series meager on action. There is plenty - yes there's fighting, but there's also violence, there's action-y physical feats, there's sex. Sometimes it can be raw brutality, exposing the crueler and despicable side found in humanity (torture, rape, etc). GRRM doesn't have wizards bouncing around making things blow up like "Tim the Enchanter" nor do we have some wondrous creature at every turn. The reader will find that yes - magic and monsters do come on stage, but it's not the centerpiece, obviously.

The good vs evil hero's saga akin to Tolkien is great. One will find store shelves littered with lesser versions of that, and in much simpler format. GRRM is on an entirely different track - where multilayered politicking vies against the striving of characters good and bad. Wars, fights, loves, plots, etc - all go into a great tumbler. The protagonists (assumedly so because of their nobler aspirations) don't necessarily win. Plenty of characters whom the reader may come to empathize with may be frustrated (even killed). It's part of the reason why the series is so exciting to read - you are never assured of how things will turn out.

As for myself - I am an eclectic reader. I've enjoyed writings from Hawthorne, Nordic sagas, Homer's Iliad, Shakespeare, Cervantez (Don Quixote), Jane Austin, Dickens, Tolkien, Chaucer, Vonnegut, Alexander Dumas, Michael Moorcock, Victor Hugo, to LRHubbard, etc.

If you've enjoyed any of the authors as such listed above, TRY this series. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. It is very well written.

32 people found this helpful

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Travis Bughi

Yep, good

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020

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Another winner. I anticipated nothing less. The first half of this book started a little slow, but the second half was like a drug and I just could not put it down. Thankfully I was camping in the mountains so I had all day to read, and I literally did read ALL day, for all 3 days I was there.

Many, many, many deaths in this one (even for the series). It could have almost been called a Dance of Death as apposed to a Storm of Swords. Some were pretty bad, but thankfully, some of those deaths were finally people who really needed a knife shoved in their throat. For all the good who perished, at least the bad got it just as well. Seemed a lot like real war to me. No matter who wins the war, the accumulation of deaths makes everyone a loser.

This series is at the point now where I'm just not sure it can continue to improve. You all know what I'm talking about. The need to improve and beat the prior the work tends to lead to a level of complexity and increasing liberty with the need to suspend reality in later work. I am hopeful that GRRM won't fall into this category, and the next novel will lend its greatness not an attempt to eclipse the others, but instead lead off in a new direction of awesome. We shall see, but just to make sure I'm well rested, I'm going to read a different work first.

My brain feels half fried from that giant shake of information I just inhaled through my eyes.

One person found this helpful

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Sally Pink Reviews

Engrossing!

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016

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Martin pens a novel full of adventure, betrayal, and greed with “Storm of Swords,” book 3 in the “Song of Ice and Fire,” series. The novel is over 900 pages – not for the faint at heart – and a bit daunting. It’s taken me months to finish, and while it’s been long for me, it’s been an adventure.

Martin uses several point of view characters to tell the “Storm of Swords.” There’s Tyrion, smart and clever, yet a dwarf who is the butt of his nephew’s cruel jabs. There’s Robb, the King of the North, who must win the Frey’s favor or lose all he has gained. Jon, on the Wall, must find out information on the Wildlings and the Others, using all of his cunning to survive. Jamie must not only use his sword, but his wits to make it back to King’s Landing. Arya escapes the city only to find herself a captive and pawn to various outlaws who would use her as a hostage for their benefit. Stannis must prove himself a king, so he travels to the Wall, hoping to save it. Then there’s Daenrys, who learns how to use her swords to conquer, but she must learn to rule before returning to Westros.

Every story involves violence, sword play, and cunning. As the realm loses its tenuous grip on the various kingdoms, secrets are revealed, proving a precursor to the upcoming battle between ice (the others) and fire (the dragons).

The characters are honest, real, and interesting. There’s good and bad and even some in between – like the “Hound,” Sandor Clegane. Everyone has a distinct motivation to do what they do, even if unknown to the reader. I’m always wondering what is driving a character.

A “Storm of Swords” grows the story, looks deeper into the players, and takes the reader on an adventure of a lifetime!

8 people found this helpful

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Donnah

Best one yet…

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2022

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…in the 5 book series. It has so many unexpected twists and turns and I have been on the edge of my seat for what is going to happen next throughout the entire book. Things have occurred that I was completely not expecting and I am one of those people who can read a book or watch a movie and often predict what is going to happen. Not so with this book at all! I think it surpasses book 1. If you like phenomenal character development and a complex story plot, this is the series for you! Even if you don’t normally like this genre of fiction, give it a try becasue it does not disappoint. I have also watched the season 1 tv show and it is the closest to the book movie/series that I have ever seen. Outstanding choice of actors to play the parts and amazing cinematography and screenwriting. Read the books first though!..so much better.

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Greyskull

Rewarding, but it makes you work for it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2019

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In my opinion 'A Storm of Swords' is an improvement on it's predecessor, 'A Clash of Kings', which was a bit arid, with lots of scene-setting, genealogy and heraldry to contend with. This one still feels like a very long book with many extended passages where nothing much happens, thankfully interspersed regularly with some thrilling action that keeps you enthralled. The author's choice to start every new chapter with a different lead character from the chapter before and therefore a different story line, means that the narrative leaps around a lot. He has so many lead characters all with their own story, that it can be many chapters before you pick up the thread of any one story line again. This can be frustrating, as it can be a while before you remember what is supposed to be happening. Somehow that does happen, usually within a few paragraphs. I'm not sure how else the author could have structured the book, though, without cutting out some of the characters or reducing the number of plot lines - surely the story would have been poorer for that! Having said that, the narrative associated with some characters really seems to drag on and maybe could have been edited somewhat? I groaned inwardly whenever I saw 'Bran' as a chapter heading. 'Arya' and 'Sansa' chapters are better, but not by much! On the other hand, life is never dull around 'Tyrion' or 'Jaime', nor of course 'Daenarys', all superb creations. Again, with this book, the list of supporting characters is VAST, and the more you read the longer it becomes. I found it more than a little difficult to place everyone. Just as an example, who the hell was Beric Dondarrion, and should I care? There's no way to find out without referring back to the last book and hunting for him. I've come to the conclusion that it would take 3 or 4 readings to get it all down. I fully expect this epic series to be the subject of a university course in years to come! I decided not to even attempt to remember all the houses and characters and where they come from and just relax and go with it.
On balance, because of some of the boring fluff and other frustrations which mar the story a bit I'm going to give this 4 rather than 5 stars, but I do think this is a great book. The author has taken on the task of describing a World War in fantasy form. It is epic, fascinating, and ultimately rewarding.

7 people found this helpful

J. Davey

The best so far

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2017

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This series has been one of the most riveting I have read in some time; Martin is a master craftsman of works and characters, and thus far I think this is the best book if for no other reason than because the stakes have been massively raised and things are finally starting to happen, as opposed to the last two books which were very much scene-setting. I can't wait for the next in the series to download so I can get right back into the thick of the drama!

2 people found this helpful

Richard Wright

The Kingslayer's tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2012

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It seems clear to me that, when Martin originally plotted these books, he probably intended for the key events here to be the mid-sequence climax. It's extraordinarily eventful, with shock building on shock. The Red Wedding, Joffrey's own wedding, Tyrion's final moments with his father, Catelyn's return following the Red Wedding (who in their right mind would get married in Westeros?)... it's all go in Westeros, and makes this one of the most gripping books in the whole arc. Plots seeded years before begin to come to light, and what had seemed to be the set journeys of several characters are overturned entirely. There are dramatic returns, daring escapes, betrayals, maimings, murders, and much more. The Song of Fire and Ice has often been called the fantasy book that finally grabbed women from outwit the genre - a gateway drug for fantasy as a whole. However, it's also clear that it's a gateway drug for men too - a gateway to soap opera! Not that this is a bad thing - for all that this could be Dallas with swords (and a X rating), it's how every bloke would want soap opera to be. it's epic, frightening, and thrilling, and at the same time races to the pulse of characters that we've grown to know very well. I labelled the first book Ned's tale, and the second book Tyrion's. For me, this one is Jaime's story. For the first time we see the world from the Kingslayer's point of view, and it takes little time to see that he's not as black and white as he first appeared. The man who throws children from towers and screws his sister is also a man deeply in love, whose life has been defined by one moment when he both saved a Kingdom, and betrayed his most sacred vows. Maimed and on the run, I watched him evolve, and he's who I think of when I look back on this book.

Nerf_Herder_69

A Storm of Swords

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2014

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These books are taking over my life, I have never found a series of books so addictive. When I'm not reading them, I'm anticipating my next journey into Westeros.

The Song of Fire and Ice series is fantasy for adults. Plenty of sex and violence, sure, but with a rich world and interesting, relatable characters, who are never really "good" or "bad", but are simply trying to survive their brutal existence as best they can. George RR Martin really brings the world to life with his descriptive prose (he seems to have a particular interest in describing clothing in detail, but you soon get used to that). He's also not afraid to kill off characters, even major ones, at any point in the story by any means. This adds a real sense of danger.

As with most fantasy, there are dragons and giants and the like, but mostly the story revolves around the power struggle of the knights and lords in the seven kingdoms of Westeros. The chapters are each told from a different character's perspective, which is really refreshing.

My only slight complaint would be that occasionally too many characters are introduced in quick succession. This can be overwhelming, and you find yourself not remembering the important ones later on.

On to a Feast for Crows, then...

Suzi3

Winter is here

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2013

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The story continues, develops, takes on some unexpected twists and turns. I found myself sympathising with characters I had previously loathed, whilst still despising them; while I could predict some of the action, there were moments when I was taken completely by surprise.

Martin writes believable characters in the midst of some totally weird situations; characters behave in really complex ways, just like real people do and I like the way Martin captures the way people don't always do the things you think they will do. I also like the way, because it is written from different perspectives, you get a variety of view points and you get a glimpse into how miscommunication, misinterpretation and confusions come about.

I couldn't put it down until I got to that point where you know that if you read for too much longer, you will finish the book but you don't want to finish the book - oh the agony of that dilemma! I now have to decide how long I can put off buying the next one.

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