【 A STORM OF SWORDS: BLOOD AND GOLD 】

book #3, part 2 of the A Song of Ice and Fire series

Genre: Fantasy (epic)
Audience: Adult
Author: George R.R. Martin
Published: August 2000
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 639 (paperback)

This is clearly the book where everything gets real. Being part 2 of book 3, things went up a gear in terms of battles, character deaths and general plot progression. I lost count of the number of times I was shocked in this book!

I do love this series. I love how unexpected every turn is, and how you can think things are going one way, only for Martin to really surprise you the next minute. Part one felt positively calm in comparison to this instalment, that’s for sure.

I’ll try not to give too much away, but if you haven’t read the previous books, then what are you doing still reading this? I’m obviously reviewing book 3 in two parts here, as I’ve read the split version, so this is from the events when Jon Snow escapes the Wildings onwards. That is pretty much where part one wraps up, so we plunge back into the action here.

This instalment covered the most famous part of Game of Thrones: the Red Wedding. And I had no idea what it was until after it happened. I was shocked by those events (though it sounds far less intense than the TV series’ interpretation), but I was equally shocked by other events that happened. Namely, the other wedding that happens later on was a complete surprise to me (I thought we were going to be stuck with the character that dies there for a long time), and I was on edge for every single chapter from Jon’s perspective too. The ending has left me with so many questions, and Sansa’s final chapter had me picking my jaw up off the floor.

I knew the ending of book 3 was bound to leave off in an exciting place, but I have to say even that took me by surprise with the final character appearance to tie things off in the epilogue. This really was a rollercoaster and I’m thoroughly enjoying the saga. It felt like so much happened in this book, that I can’t even begin to imagine what the next 4 (albeit while we’re still waiting on the last book) will hold in store for us.

At this point, the character perspective I’m most excited to continue reading is Jon’s. He’s been through a lot, and without even hinting at what happens to him in this one, I think we’re in for one heck of interesting time going forward with him.

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Title: A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire
Author: George R.R. Martin
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The Starks are scattered.

Robb Stark may be King in the North, but he must bend to the will of the old tyrant Walder Frey if he is to hold his crown. And while his youngest sister, Arya, has escaped the clutches of the depraved Cersei Lannister and her son, the capricious boy-king Joffrey, Sansa Stark remains their captive.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, Daenerys Stormborn, the last heir of the Dragon King, delivers death to the slave-trading cities of Astapor and Yunkai as she approaches Westeros with vengeance in her heart.