Review: A Storm of Swords

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t know how much justice I can do for this mammoth of a tale, but here goes.

A Storm of Swords kicks off following the events of the previous book, and many of the characters are where they left them. The pretender king Joffrey 'Baratheon' sits on the throne, supported by the Lannisters and now the Tyrrells. Turion, having survived an Assassination and further disfigurement finds his star waning, as he is once again pushed down the ladder. Sansa Stark, still a hostage, tries to keep her head down and survive even as all sides try to use her as a valued piece.

Robb Stark, having declared himself the king in the north, has been winning every battle against the Lannisters, in a war that is nonetheless in a stalemate. His position goes ever more precarious with the iron borne who have invaded the North, taken hold of Moat Cailin, razed winter fell and denied him access to the North. To the south, the Lannisters-Tyrell alliance and victory at Blackwater has made Jeffrey's forces stronger than ever.

The one true king Stannis Baratheon licks his wounds in Dragonstone having lost the battle, and lost most of his bannermen to death or desertion. His red priestess and Davos the onion knight have to find a way to turn things around if Stannis is to fulfill his destiny.

North of the wall, the great ranging that was organized by Lord Commander Mormont has encountered the forces of the white Walkers and was shattered. The reminder of the night's watch limps back to the safety of War constantly hounded both by the violence as well as the white. Jon Snow, taken captive by the free folk after having killed Lord half hand, is still performing his duty Behind enemy lines, to gain information about the horn of winter as well as the king beyond the wall Mance Rayder. But as the days pass, he finds himself getting closer to these people, especially the spearwife touched by fire, Ygritte who is in love with him.

Arya Stark, having escaped Harrenhal now travels the land with her companions Gentry and Hot pot hiding her identity, and hoping to reunite with her mother and brother, with danger looming all over.

Jaime, freed by lady Catelyn and wardened by Brienne, tries to sneak through the river lands to King's landing, while trying to evade Stark as well as Lannister forces.

Far far away, in Essos, Daenerys Targaryen sails with her motley crew, to Slaver's Bay, to buy an army in her campaign to conquer Westeros.

It might’ve been said a thousand times before, yet it needs to be reiterated. Martin’s command on history, world building, character development and intermixing them with a high fantasy setting is monumental. The sheer depth and richness of the world he has created, down to its culture, religion and even cuisine, along with the diversity of fictitious ethnic and cultural groups he is able to incorporate in them is awe inspiring. At no point do you feel a break in the immersion; for the 1000 odd pages which the story spans, you live in Westeros and the known world.

Martin puts great emphasis and attention to detail, as to what his characters wear, eat, drink, pray, and keep consistent across their respective social groups. And what they do, how they do it, determine their actions to a large degree.


Just to take an example; gender roles. South of the wall, which includes the ‘North’ as well as those lands south of Moat Cailin, women are largely treated as commodities, following the Puritanical, western European feudalism model for courting, marriage and inheritance. More often than not, women, even of high birth, are commodities, to be wed off to some prospective ally, to secure their alliance, and strengthen the family. The feelings of the bride to be are rarely taken into question. As we see how, Sansa Stark and even Cersei Lannister are forced into marriages against their wishes for gaining political strength. Same goes for the rules of primogeniture. The first born son is the heir to a lord, even if there is an elder daughter or two which can take the role. Yet again, we see how Cersei Lannister, despite being the queen chaffs after being ignored as heir to Casterly rock, in favor of Jaime, who doesn’t even want the lordship. Much of her actions are driven by some subconscious desire to show her father she is his worthy heir.

Now let us take the Wildlings, or as they call themselves, the Free folk. A cornucopia of tribes and groups who inhabit the cold lands north of the wall, they are distinct, diverse, and are separated as much by language, religion and cultural practices, as they are by which entities they serve. But one common theme amongst them, perhaps paralleling the Viking raider culture of the 8th to 11th century, is how men are allowed to break into women’s abodes and essentially kidnap them away, making them submit and make them their consorts. While at first glance, this might be an even worse treatment of women, what sets the free folk apart, is the agency given to the abductees. A warrior who makes a woman submit can make her his own, but he had to first make her submit. As we have seen with spearwifes, a.k.a Viking shield maidens, they’re quite fierce warriors in their own right. And making them submit, is as much about physical dominance, as is earning their respect. If not, you might find yourself with half a member and a back full of scratches. Women of the free folk are treated as equals to men, and have the right to choose whom they bed with.

And unlike the lands south of the wall, where a woman's maiden hood is something sacred, meant only for her lord and husband, amongst the Free folk, sexual relations are much more casual. Children born out of wedlock are not shunned, like one sullen Jon Snow, but treated as any other. So it is curious that the so called Barbarians of Westeros seem to possess a better treatment of the sexes and sexual encounters, than the supposedly civilized people of the seven kingdoms.

And this is just one aspect of the writing which drew my attention. I could sit here all day, and note down the motley of nitty gritties and subtle references which are littered across the story, which define the characters and world. Which is something you need to read to fully appreciate.

One might notice that so far I’ve mentioned very little of the others (the white walkers) which are meant to be the OG threat of the series. That’s because, except for a few attacks on the Night’s watch, and one Other going up against Sam the Slayer, they really do not have that much of a presence in the story. I read somewhere that the whole series is an allegory for climate change; how the whole world is fighting and bickering over things which don’t matter, while the true threat to all life is slowly descending upon them. Which is true in the Storm of Swords. Except for the men of the Night’s watch, who know the true severity of the threat that the White Walkers present, no one gives a shit about talks of supernatural creatures coming to snuff out all life. Most are busy playing their game of thrones, until it is all too late. And even the brothers of the night’s watch are mostly concerned with thwarting the wilding threat, and play internal politics.

Only Stannis the Mannis, the one true King of the seven Kingdoms, knows the seriousness of the threat, and is willing to sail all the way to the wall to give aid to the outnumbered, beleaguered defenders of the wall. But his force is far too lacking after the crushing defeat at Blackwater. But one of the things which I’m excited to read about in the future books, is his campaign in the North against the Boltons, uniting the various northern lords.

A Storm of Swords is often cited as the best entry into The Song of Ice and Fire, and Martin’s best writing. One can see why. In addition to his command of history, and archaic phrases and prose, Martin writes about scenes, backgrounds and people that make his words flow like fine butter. The chapters are meandering yet contrarily, to the point. We travel the length and breadth of Westeros, among the frozen wilderness beyond the wall, to the hot deserts and wastelands of Slaver's Bay, and never are we bored. The geography of the places as well as the people we meet, are quite entertaining. And this, all the time keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace. Many times, characters come within a stone’s throw of one another, without meeting. There was this one instance, where Jaime and Brienne visit and leave an Inn, a few chapters before Arya and her group visit the same Inn. But neither meet, and even if they had, I’m not sure either would know the other.

Brick by Brick, a scene at a time, Martin builds up to the big ‘AHA’ moments. And there are quite a few in this Book; The Red and Purple Wedding, along with the defense of the wall to mention a few. It is only towards the end which you feel some drag, as if storylines are abruptly made to end; but that might be because the original manuscript for the book was much larger, and Martin had to split them up into A Storm of Swords & A Feast for Crows.

At around 1000 pages, and with little over 414000 words, A Storm of Swords is a literal door stopper. But throughout its extensive reading length, it never loses your attention or interest. There is quite a lot to explore in the story, within the book, and within the extended compendium of the world. A must read for fans of High Fantasy.

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