A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold – by George R.R. Martin

Synopsis: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.

Title: A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold, Book 3 Part 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire Series
Author: George R.R. Martin
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 656
ISBN: 9780007447855

Rating: 

Oh. My. Gosh. A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold is easily one of the top three best books read this year, it can’t come first simply because I can’t choose a favourite. Wow. Just wow.

I started reading it on the way to Thailand; I figured a 10 hour flight would give me enough time to get a decent amount of reading done. I was wrong. I read a chapter and fell into a restless sleep for the rest of the journey.

However, I somehow managed to see all of Bangkok and 3 cities in Cambodia and read all 656 pages in less than a week. This is how good the book is: I didn’t slept, suffered from awful bags under my eyes but it was worth it!

This isn’t going to be a long review, as I don’t want to give away spoilers so can’t really say anything but I will say this: George R.R Martin is an incredibly talented writer, who manages to stay detached enough from his characters to kill them off when most effective, and constantly adds new characters without the story becoming too disjointed.

Saying this, I don’t think I could ever forgive him for the Red Wedding.

A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold made me laugh, cry, shout, scream and swear at my kindle… Loudly… In a lot of airports… Over 3 countries. I think it’s safe to say it’s a damn good book.

I may have to break with my November TBR and read the 4th book straight away. I just have I know what happens next.