Walter’s Reviews > A Storm of Swords > Status Update

At 75% Storm of Swords feels like a relentless storm. The pace is brutal: weddings turn into horrors, walls into battlefields, and loyalties shatter. What makes it great is the constant question......who will survive? It’s harsh, yet impossible to stop reading. Martin’s world is cruel, but gripping beyond measure.

At 60% of Storm of Swords I’m amazed by how much Martin packs into this whopper of a book. Arya’s path with the Brotherhood blurs justice and vengeance, Jon struggles between love and loyalty, Jaime’s journey after his maiming grows compelling, and Sansa remains trapped in politics. Dany’s rise with the Unsullied feels unstoppable. Dark, complex, and addictive.

At halfway through Storm of Swords, Martin’s storytelling is at its sharpest. Jon’s climb with the wildlings balances love and betrayal, Jaime’s maiming reshapes him entirely, Tyrion and Sansa’s forced marriage shows politics at its cruelest, Arya witnesses miracles and violence, and Dany becomes a true player with the Unsullied. Dark, layered, and impossible to stop reading.

At 35% of Storm of Swords I’m struck by how layered the story has become. Tyrion navigates politics in Tywin’s shadow, Sansa’s forced marriage shifts her from dreamer to survivor, Arya hardens with the Brotherhood, Jaime reveals unexpected depth, Jon walks the razor’s edge among the wildlings, and Dany emerges as Breaker of Chains. Dark, tense, and utterly gripping.