What readers think of A Storm of Swords, plus links to write your own review.

A Storm of Swords is an example of a fantasy novel that gives the fantasy genre a good name (much like The Lord of the Rings). George R R Martin's writing style is gritty, dark, and realistic; the reader is challenged to say the least. The main charactor body count is at a career high in this volume, and bad charactors unexpectedly show likeable qualities. The dialogue and prose are outstanding, and different plots continue to develope and evolve in interesting and unpredictable ways. Bring on A Feast for Crows!

It takes a lot of guts for a writer to develop great characters over hundreds of pages and then <<edited for potential plot spoiler content>>. Way to go Martin! Lucky for his readers, Martin actually understands that things don't always work out well for the "good" guys, and that "bad" guys have a tendency to behave in consistent manners over time. Martin stays true to his characters and the theme he introduced with his first novel. True, sometimes a reader's desire to see a nefarious act avenged has to wait until a later novel, but for the most part it always comes--and in wonderfully detailed ways. I like this series, especially because Martin isn't afraid to use the word <<edited>>.

After reading to page 300 I have given up on this series as a meandering waste of time. This series started with characters of depth and fell into predictable characters. The "evil" guys got worse and the "good" guys started dropping like flies . Poorly developed characters replaced well written ones in a stream of deaths that led nowhere. Martin's Fevre Dream drew me in and I read through looking forward to what was happening. I couldn't care one bit about what happens in this story. This is proof The Internet Top 100 SF/Fantasy List is flawed

Can somebody introduce Mr Martin to an editor?

A truly "epic" fantasy - but all the detail and complexity is worth it! The world Martin has created is fantastic, yet down to earth - an oxymoron that works. I loved the fact that everything doesn't resolve into some ribbon-wrapped package, where our "heroes" (or heroines) emerge unscathed from every perilous situation. People you really come to care about die in these books. Horrible things happen to good people. It seems to mirror real life in a way that, for example, Tolkien's world never did. (I mean, c'mon, against all the evil forces of Sauron, only Boromir dies?)
I can't wait for the 4th book!!

Absolutely astonishing work of literature. If you read it the seconed time around you will notice all the foreshadowing before the Red Wedding...but the first time it was one hell of a shock! All those who read it will understand what I'm talking about.

enjoyed it. they should make a movie out of it. i liked the way he used sword fighting romantasizm in the book.

The only thing holding this book back from being among the best I have ever read is the increasingly foul language. I don't believe it is necessary for such graphic descriptions of the sex acts in the book. Each book has had more and more of this until the third one, which has so much it threatens to overrun the storyline. Other than that I love it.