Lisa (Harmony)

I really loved the first volume, <i>Game of Thrones.</i> Definitely five-star worthy, even if a couple of things kept me from continuing on--for years. Ironically both reasons had to do with Martin making me care very much for his characters, so much so I was reluctant to become further invested. For one, at the time I'd read the first book, it had been five years since he'd published the most recent installment. I feared Martin would never finish this series, but leave us hanging. Second, it's a hard, hard thing to love a Martin character. He's not reluctant to be brutal, even kill off, very appealing characters, and what he did to one of my favorites in the first book was a shock, and hard to forgive him for.

Well, Martin did publish a fifth installment since, there are only supposed to be one or two volumes to go, and supposedly with the HBO miniseries he has reportedly divulged enough of the overall series plot to the producers assure the story wouldn't die with him. And a friend who loves the series, both filmed and print urged me to read on. And I did see how Martin's way with his characters had a pay off in the second book. Knowing no character is safe ups the stakes and the suspense. And I was impressed how Martin could introduce new characters, new points of view and make me care.

But not as much as I had with the first book--which is why I gave the second volume four stars. It was still good. In fact, just having read a popular YA book just before the second book, <i>A Clash of Kings</i> I was newly impressed with Martin's world-building and skill in interweaving the very themes of the title, "a song of fire and ice" and "game of thrones" into his intricate plot. But in the end, the book felt more like a middle, a continuation--a good yarn, but not as involving to me and I wondered if, as with so many series, each book would provide diminishing returns.

Well, if anything I love this book even more than the first one, and like the first, but not the second, it provided emotional--well, highs. There was one moment in this book that made me want to cheer myself hoarse--if those in the next room wouldn't have thought me a loon. Characters I'd written off as evil turned out to have sympathetic sides and a capacity for change I didn't expect, but managed to be credible. Sympathetic characters, while staying sympathetic, managed to show sides that were much, much darker than I'd have suspected--while still feeling like themselves. It provided it's own share of surprises and shocks--and if the end of the first book gave me shivers, this one made me shudder--in a good way. So I'm moving on to the fourth book, <i>A Feast of Crows</i> with great expectations. I've heard not-so-good things about the latest book published in the series, <i>Dances with Dragons</i>, that it was a disappointment, and felt rushed. But if <i>A Storm of Swords</i> showed me anything, it's that Martin can recover from what might feel like a decline and come back stronger than ever. So here's hoping that'll be true of the closing books in the series.