Okay, so that was interesting. As tempted as I am to talk about the various plot developments that took place in A Clash of Kings, I’m going to leave off and just encourage you to pick up this series for yourselves and enjoy it.

I truly think there is something in this series for everyone. Just don’t demand that any one character remain alive, intact or unmoved. George R.R. Martin made no such promises with the first book, and he reiterates the point with dramatic success in the second. And now, we move onto the third installment.

A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in the fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire. The Seven Kingdoms are in the grip of civil war. Five Kings simultaneously fight for control of a continent: Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon, and Stannis Baratheon. But those are not the only armies in the field: winter is coming and ominous signs light the sky. Monsters walk the earth, or at least the earth beyond the Wall.

I was amused to read Martin’s comments after A Storm of Swords lost the 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novel to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He said: “Eat your heart out, Rowling. Maybe you have billions of dollars and my Hugo, but you don’t have readers like these.” Is it a bad thing that I’m a huge fan of both authors? Must I choose?