A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

This is the third book of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire well-loved epic saga and the author doesn’t let up, whether in terms of the plot, the pace, the characterizations, the twists, or the quality of the work in general. Just as before, despite the numerous story threads that the reader must follow, no one feels overwhelmed by a story that’s becoming more and more complicated. Martin takes care to tell his story clearly so that the reader isn’t confused by numerous events taking place. And just as before, Martin writes beautifully, incorporating elements of foreshadowing being careful to place hints here and there indicating that there’s more to the story that needs to be uncovered and that each plot thread may not be what it seems, in the process keeping the reader’s interest glued squarely on the book. No one notices its length, which is probably the biggest so far in the series.

Picking up from the story Martin started with A Game of Thrones and continued with A Clash of Kings, and although it has the feel of being a middle book with no beginning and ending, his writing seems to be getting better. And things in Westeros are getting messier. We continue to follow the march of Robb Stark, who although he continues to win his battles against the Lannisters, his situation is getting worse. Meanwhile, his siblings aren’t faring any better. Arya is still lost and continues to try to find her family, and on the way meets one of the most feared men in the land, Sandor Cleagane. Brandon, is escaping the fate that has befallen the Starks home at Winterfell and discovers talents that he never had before. Sansa, the poster-child of spoiled princesses the world over, finds herself still alone in King’s Landing and a pawn of people eager to use her Stark name. And Jon Snow, the one character whose tale follows the more traditional “coming-to-age” story of a lost boy (and therefore becomes one of the favorites of the story), finds himself caught in the midst of another Northern horde preparing to descend on the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

Stannis Baratheon retreats from the defeat he suffered in the Battle of Blackwater Rush and contemplates his next move along with the mysterious and deadly Melisandre who seems to have an agenda of her own. Tyrion Lannister finds his relationship with his family deteriorating as fortunes seems to be turning towards the better for the Lannisters. And across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen, becomes more and more in control of her future as she braves every challenge coming her way while her army grows around her – an army poised for an invasion of Westeros and which may include one very frightening mythical monster.

Martin also introduces other POV characters, most particularly interesting that of Jaime Lannister as readers begin to understand his character and motivations. It is a testament to Martin's great writing that a character once reviled as almost a monster in the first two books, begins to shine in a different light, becoming a character in which readers can almost sympathize. And the author doesn’t just stop at that. Like before, he never lets his reader become secure with the direction his plot. Anything can still happen. Any one major character can still die, including the favorites. Martin weaves such a beautifully complicated yarn where the characters become quite messed up that by the end of the tale almost every major character’s story turns to a drastically and almost shockingly different direction in some of the biggest twists of tales written in the genre. And nobody, I repeat, nobody would ever be prepared for the final page of the book. Kudos to George R.R. Martin!

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Rating: 4 out of 5

At a time when fantasy authors published almost carbon-copy stories of each other, Guy Gavriel Kay chose to approach fantasy in a different way – by creating stories of places whose cultures and geo-political situations are an almost-mirror-image of a real historical time and place. In one fell swoop, he eliminated the need for himself to engage in one necessary activity of fantasy writing: world-building. He did it first in the book, Tigana, which set his story in a world evoking images of Renaissance Italy, and again with A Song for Arbonne which depicts southern France (Provence and the troubadour culture). The Lions of Al-Rassan is inspired by Medieval Spain during the Reconquista (the war between the Christian kingdoms and the Moorish or Muslim states of Andalusia or Al-Andalus, the Moorish name of Spain).

The story is set in a peninsula that is divided between two regions and religions: The south, where the Asharite (Moorish) Caliphate once ruled but is now fragmented into small quarrelling city-states bent on dominating Al-Rassan; and the north, where the Jaddite (Christian) kingdoms of Esperana are starting to take advantage of the new balance of power and finding ways to work together, albeit reluctantly, to conquer their way south. Caught in the middle are the Kindath (Jews), trying to live their lives as best as they can, strangers in Asharite or Jaddite lands, tolerated, never fully accepted, and most of the time hated.

In the middle of this powder keg are the principal characters. Ammar ibn Khairan is an Asharite warrior, poet and assassin and advisor to King Almalik of Cartada. Rodrigo Belmonte is one of the finest cavalry captains in the Jaddite kingdoms (primarily based on the real-life figure of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar – or El Cid). Both men find themselves betrayed by the rulers they serve, exiled and forced to make a living as mercenaries in an Asharite city where they cross paths with Jehane bet Ishak, a beautiful Kindath physician who captures the heart of both men.

Written like historical fiction in a world where magic is not visibly manifested, The Lions of Al-Rassan evokes a very real and tragic story of peoples unable to live alongside each other solely because they do not have the same faith – a problem that still exists into real-life present times, where with all the sorrow and horror that all this unjustifiable hatred causes, one has to wonder if anybody throughout the centuries has learned anything at all.

Beautifully written by Guy Gavriel Kay and well-researched, he gives his readers, through a story which is entirely speculative, a condensed version of the Spanish Reconquista, a glimpse of the life of El Cid and the tragic end of the Moorish society that has given so much beauty, culture and learning to the Iberian peninsula. He does this through the stories of well-defined characters, both primary and supporting, each representing the best and the worst of their cultures. Beautifully written, funny at times and also heart-rending, The Lions of Al-Rassan is a story that will leave images for the reader to contemplate for a long time.

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire

Rating: 5 out of 5

Picking up where A Game of Thrones left off, this second book of A Song of Ice and Fire series not only continues the breathtaking saga that has created a sensation throughout the fantasy world, but also surpasses the first book in grandeur confirming the series as a landmark of the genre, and establishing George R.R. Martin as a giant (demi-god, even) in fantasy.

King Robert Baratheon is dead. Eddard Stark, one of the main characters in the first book, has been treacherously executed, his children separated from one another, and in a flash, the whole of Westeros has plunged into war. Eddard’s eldest son and heir, Robb has been proclaimed as “King of the North” and marches off to do battle against the Lannisters who placed the cruel boy-king Joffrey and his mother Cersei on the Iron Throne. But the claims to the throne doesn’t end there as King Robert’s two brothers, Stannis and Renly Baratheon discovers that Joffrey is not Robert’s son but the result of an incestuous relationship between Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, each now claiming the throne as their own. While Theon Greyjoy, a former ward of Eddard Stark, plots to help his father regain the power once held by his family.

The story is still seen through the points of view the main characters – those who survived the first book and some new ones, like the mysterious Lady Melisandre, priestess of the Lord of Light, who attaches herself to cause of Stannis Baratheon for reasons unknown, and with frightening powers at her command. We follow the march of Robb Stark as he wins battle after battle against the Lannisters who do everything they can to keep control of their power. We follow the machinations of the Stannis and Renly Baratheon, whose actions undermine the victories gained by the Starks. And we follow the other Stark children after their father’s death: Sansa trapped in King’s Landing and being forced to marry Joffrey, Arya who is lost trying to get back North to her home, Bran and Rickon back at Winterfell unaware of the danger close to home, and the bastard Jon Snow, who joined the Night Watch as they protect the far North from what seems to be the coming invasion of some other dangerous force, as if Westeros didn’t have enough problems of their own. And all the while, there is Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of the king deposed and killed by Robert’s forces as she travels another continent gathering her forces an planning her own invasion of Westeros to regain what was lost by her family.

A complicated story effortlessly written by a masterful George R.R. Martin, who seems very much in control of the story as he weaves the numerous plotlines as skillfully as a master-weaver creates fine cloth. In A Clash of Kings, Martin seems to put head down and crash head on into battle himself as he approaches this book with more of a military epic take on it, climaxed by one of the most intense battle scenes ever written. Here, Martin continues to be as “realistic” as possible, not shying away from showing the realities of a life lead at a time and place similar to our own Middle Ages, where brutality, treachery and cruelty abound. An in a way, his style serves to increase the impact of the actions of the story hitting the readers like a hammer as never felt anywhere before in a fantasy story.