George RR Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire is loved by readers, critics and fellow authors alike. I struggled to get into the first two books: A Game of Thrones and Clash of the Kings but reasoned that the fault may lay with me rather than the books. I gave A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow my complete and undivided attention and was richly rewarded with one of the finest fantasy reads that I had experienced in a long time. Read the full review by clicking on the following link: A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow book review.
This work is the author’s re-telling of the Wars of the Roses. It was a delight to read, the pace never lets up and the standard of storytelling is excellent throughout. The sheer number of characters demands your attention and concentration but if you are willing to spend the time familiarising yourself with the enormous cast then you will be richly rewarded. A Storm of Swords shows that all humans are capable of being kind yet cruel, intelligent yet foolish, brave yet cowardly. I think that only Robin Hobb and Steven Erikson can be held on the same level as George RR Martin among our present day fantasy authors. I would highly recommend A Storm of Swords and the other works of George RR Martin because they offer an extremely enjoyable experience. A Song of Ice and Fire is the history lesson you wished you had in school.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:57 am
A pity that “Song of Ice and Fire” is sadly incomplete and that Martin continues to miss publication deadlines. The latest is that the installment supposedly due in September won’t be out until Spring ‘09 …
but martin has time to go to all these cons and work on cr*p like “Wild Cards”! Stay home and finish it, old man! >:-(