Despite being far longer than the two previous books, nothing about it feels like "filler." A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, though both excellent, do have a few chapters in their opening thirds that feel a bit slow. They drive the world building a little more than the plot, and don't necessarily feel like they're propelling the stories of the main characters. But every chapter of Storm feels essential, and the "big events" start coming early. And often.
Martin bites off a number of challenges in the writing of this book, and masterfully achieves them all. He makes Jaime Lannister a perspective character, letting us inside his head. We first met him when he shoved a little boy out a window in book one, so it shouldn't be possible to redeem him. But by the end of book three, he's lost a hand, been forced to redefine his entire sense of self-worth, begun a journey of disillusionment with his sister, and saved his brother's life (at the expense of his father's). And damned if he isn't now sympathetic.
Later comes the plot twist that sets everyone's lips wagging, the Red Wedding. After Ned's memorable and shocking death in the first book, it really shouldn't be possible to surprise the readers again like that. Another challenge met. After first believing the series would embrace the trope of the noble hero, most readers then embrace the trope-adjacent notion that it would be about the hero's children avenging him. Nope, not that either. Not that the Red Wedding is purely about upsetting expectations (and readers) either. It also seems to be (narratively) about cutting the last connection for Arya and Sansa, who are left with nowhere to run to but toward their own independent destinies.
Lest a reader start to despair that only terrible things happen in this series, Joffrey's wedding comes along to give you a reason to stand up and cheer the book you formerly wanted to throw. But this too serves many purposes. It isn't mere wish fulfillment, but drives the story in amazing new directions. A conspiracy begins to reveal itself, and fan favorite Tyrion loses all the rest of the power that had already begun to slip away from him.
The book then ends with a one-two punch that leaves readers breathless and hungry for more: Tywin is murdered, putting Tyrion on the run; and Lysa is revealed as the killer of Jon Arryn, the single pre-series event that really put the entire story inevitably into motion.
A Storm of Swords is tightly wound and masterfully written, with Martin's best prose of the series. Really, the next book couldn't possibly have been anything but a letdown after it, even if readers had not been forced to wait five years only to receive a whole tale cleaved in half. But that will be a matter of discussion when I come to reviewing the next book. For now, I leave on an immensely satisfied note. A Storm of Swords is an A, the absolute cream of the crop.
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