Rating: 
Summary: Best Fantasy Book
Review: I would have to say without a doubt that A Storm of Swords is the finest fantasy tale I have read in the entirety of my life.The story is grand, the characters realistic and likeable, and the world is so complex. Not only that, but the story isn't the traditional fantasy formula where one hero uses his magical powers, or his magic sword to defeat legions of evil beings, but it is a bit more realistic. Armies battle, heroes die and strange things lurk in the darkness =) If you like fantasy at all, do yourself a favor and read this series. I wish A Feast of Crows (4th book title i THINK) would hurry up and come out, I hate being left hanging!
Rating:
Summary: quality fiction - not just fantasy!
Review: I have, in my 20 something years, read a lot of books, including all the Sci-fi/fantasy greats like Feist, Eddings, Williams, Tolkien, Herbert to name a few and also classics like Dumas, in my opinion, however, George R R Martin surpasses them all. I read each book in the series in one sitting and actually found myself so engrossed with the characters that I was sub-consciously thinking about them in my sleep and whilst I was at work. I don't know how he does it, yet he makes it seem so easy, there are very few clear cut good/bad characters, every one is a shade of gray and somewhat flawed - this makes you truly care about what happens to them. This is a an epic classic in the making, I truly believe that if the entire series was written 10 years ago and had the time to be read by a wider audience - it would have beaten lord of the Rings to the coveted title of 'book of the last century'. If you have yet to read the books in this series - do not delay - this is literature at it's finest and only the most uptight snobs would lable this series a genre piece.
Rating:
Summary: Desde Puerto Rico
Review: He leeído los tres libros de la serie A Song of Ice and Fire, escrita por George R. R. Martin y la recomiendo como una de las mejores. Una pena que Martin no haya terminado aún el Libro 4, el cual definitivamente adquiriré tan pronto esté disponible. Recomiendo que se inicie la lectura de esta serie con el Libro 1.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Kind of Fantasy #3
Review: Mr. Martin's epic continues. In A Clash of Kings, we had five kings contending for the throne. In A Storm of Swords, that number drops, but with the promise of more kings to come. And the terrors beyond the Wall reveal themselves, and we start to find just how deadly they are, and we start to think, like the Night's Watch, just how ridiculous it is for the nobility to be squabbling over the throne when the true threat is beyond the Wall. Not that Mr. Martin's work is ridiculous. The character perspectives are realistic, and we see how it is easy for the contenders to forget the Wall: it has been forgotten for generations, and other than a few people who actually chose to become part of the Night's Watch, the ranks of these men who guard the Seven Kingdoms from the Others and their wights are men convicted of some crime or who fell a-foul of their local lord, or in the case of some, who had joined the losing side in this or that struggle. Also, other than the barbarians and their occasional raids south of the Wall, there has been no signifigant threat, and the Others are but tales told to scare children. The Seven Kingdoms will learn that they are a fact, and this book starts that.
Betrayal, alliances, ambition, honor, necessity, these are all part of the story, and Mr. Martin does not keep the action out of the story, and new character add their perspectives. That does not mean that they are safe, for at least two of the characters whose perspectives we saw in the earlier books are dead by the beginning of this book, and probably more will die in the series.
He continues to write in the character-per-chapter style that makes this series so different. The only complaint I have is that that style makes it easy for a person to become impatient, and skip to another chapter, or to pick it up at the wrong chapter. That does not impact the quality of the books, however, and the reader need not lose heart: the character developement in this story is tied up in the action in perhaps the best blend I have ever read, and it is a fast-paced series. The quest element I saw in the second book is still there in this one, and we are introduced to the enigmatic character known only as Coldhands. I believe him to be signifigant, though not the hero by any means.
Those who like involved stories will like this book, as well as those who like action. Those who like flesh and bone characters will like this series as well. I like this series for its original approach and the fact that the quest element is not so obvious and immediate in the story, and I like this series for the realistic characters, the most realistic that I have probably ever read.
The Song of Ice and Fire has rapidly joined The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings in my personal canon of original, high quality fiction.
Rating:
Summary: GRRM knows how to weave a tale
Review: I've read some of the reviews that others have written and it seems to me they keep saying the same thing: GRRM doesn't mind killing off main characters. I say this is wrong. The characters he kills off aren't the main characters, just supporting ones. The real focus of these stories is the Wall and the impending doom from the Others, everything else is just window dressing. I think it's brilliant, however, that GRRM can weave the story so that you forget all about the Others--just like the characters in the story--and concentrate on the Game of Thrones happening in the south. The characters he kills off--while enagaging and very interesting in themselves--would never play a part in the battles with the Others, which is why it doesn't hinder the story to kill them off...the fact that he makes you love these otherwise minor characters, and care what happens to them just shows what a great developer of characters he is. It's all so subtle, so sneaky, and oh so brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely fantastic!
Review: Definitely recommended for those enjoying the Wheel of Time. DO NOT get attached to the characters. You never know what is going to happen next. This series has kept me on the edge of my seat! It takes alot to catch my attention and hold it. This one does not seem as good as the first two of the series, but I find myself anxiously awaiting the next book. Crude reality mixed with fantasy - REMARKABLE. Thanks Mr. Martin!
Rating:
Summary: Martin serves another superb story...
Review: This is really shaping up to be some saga...I just hope Mr. Martin doesn't crash and burn as the other 'venerable' authors of the day have (read: Jordan and Goodkind, who need to be end the pain of their readers, and fast).
At any rate, this novel picks up where the last one left off in story (duh) and in spirit, with new twists and turns, more gore, quite a few more surprises and many hours of contentment.
The story is rife with intrigue, and supposedly minor things that occurred in the first book are just now taking seed and it makes the story all the more complicated.
In that way, the novel is very realistic with endless factions and scheming and every person working only for their own gain. There are no good people in this book, everyone is flawed and while that is depressing, it is also very true to life (how many paragons have you met recently--I've met two my whole life).
Plus, if you're a history major, the book is chock full of historical parallels and little tweaks on various historical groups (for example, the Unsullied seem to be the perfected Roman Legionary).
Highest, highest reccommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: hmmm make it 2.5
Review: i kinda find this book a bit... boring. i forced myself to finish the 1st and 2nd book, but i can't take it anymore!!!
i put it down before even finishing the first half of the 3rd book!!! MArtin had created so many twists unnecesserily. and the way he make my hopes fly sky-high and then let them just plumet again to the basement. not to mention how ridiculous some characters act, this made me want to (...)!!! it's like waiting for someone to dig his (or in this case her) own grave because she had to be stubborn. i can't stand it!!! if you like those books where you get to know lots of charaters really well and then wait for them to die one by one, this is your book
Rating:
Summary: Storm Of Swords
Review: This book is very good. The unpredictability is almost verging on predictability...in its unpredictability! Did that make sense? I LIKE IT!
Where's the next!?!
Rating:
Summary: 5stars, no more, no less
Review: I keep reading in these reviews how George is not afraid to "kill off" main characters. Now first off I dont think I totally agree, and secondly I dunno if I would want to mention that in a review. I know that when my first "favorite" character bit the dust (no names, but he was a solemn lord) I was a bit shocked. This guy had been DEVELOPED for petes sake!! Well, Let me just say that I bet George doesnt Want to kill off anyone, but probably has to. We all read History, just look at the Turnover to Communist Russia, poor Czar. There was a REAL game of thrones. I digress tho, dont I? George, sees that in this brutal land, and war, people die. Good, bad and ugly, no one escapes. I read alot of names in book two that were no more than that. But I betcha some cash that Ole George Has them characters figured out too. The meat and mead of this series folks, rises and falls with its characters. the plot twists and turns, as it should, but its the Characters that make us care. SO, if you dont like character driven, and plot twisty books, and/or Fantasy, please dont buy these books...correction, buy em, and endorse an amazing author.
We are all eagerly awaiting the next installment, to be sure, me as much as anyone, so lets read our present copies to tattered remnants, and look to a day when book 4 is out. Ryan Z
PS, Winter is Coming...no really...in Canada its snowing and miserable. :-)
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