A Storm of Swords is the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. [Here my reviews of the other books.]

Plot:
A Storm of Swords picks up slightly before the end of A Clash of Kings. There are still five kings fighting for the Iron Throne and the rule of Westeros. But in all their squabbling with each other, it may be that they miss the real threat coming from the north.

I don’t know if I can say anything else about this book that I haven’t said about the previous two already: They’re really good. You should definitely read them. Just plan a lot of time because it takes a while.

[SPOILERS]

I guess the book could have been a little shorter. But I’d be hard pressed to point anything out that should have been cut, so that’s not really a complaint. The book didn’t drag or anything – it was just really long.

But there still wasn’t enough Daenerys. [And I peaked at the characters that appear in Feast for Crows because I wanted to know who I’d hear nothing about for the time being – and she’s not in it. That will hurt.]

I loved that we got Jaime’s point of view. And I think he’s fascinating, completely different from what I expected. Well, almost completely. And the ending with Tyrion and him almost broke my heart.

What really did break my heart was the Red Wedding. Just when they thought that they’d caught a break, Arya included… It was like a kick in the gut. Speaking of Arya – she and Sandor made for a strangely awesome team and I was kinda sad when she left him behind. But I’m excited to see where she’s going now.

I also made my peace with Sansa as a character. I just had to accept the fact that she’s ever so slightly dim and suddenly, everything was a little better. Though she’s still the character I care the least about.

Who I also don’t care that much about is Sam. I know it’s an awful thing to say but he’s so goddamn insecure I want to throttle him most of the time.

In any case! Let’s see if I can put off reading number four a little longer than I put off number three. Because the wait then will be horrible.