A Storm of Swords
Encyclopedia
A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire
, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin
. It was first published on 8 August 2000 in the United Kingdom
, with a United States
edition following in November 2000. Its publication was preceded by a novella called Path of the Dragon, which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book.
To date, A Storm of Swords is the longest novel in the series. It was so long that in the UK its paperback edition was split in half, Part 1 being published as Steel and Snow in June 2001 (with the one-volume cover) and Part 2 as Blood and Gold in August 2001 (with a specially-commissioned new cover). In France, the decision was made to cut the novel into four separate editions.
A Storm of Swords won the 2001 Locus Award
, the 2002 Geffen Award
for Best Novel and was nominated for the 2001 Nebula Award
for Best Novel. It was the first novel in the series to be nominated for the Hugo Award
, one of the two most prestigious awards in science fiction
and fantasy
publishing, although it lost to J. K. Rowling
's novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
.
Meisha Merlin, who had previously issued limited, illustrated editions of both A Game of Thrones
and A Clash of Kings
, were planning to release a similar version for A Storm of Swords in two volumes; however, lengthy delays on the release of A Clash of Kings caused Meisha Merlin to lose the printing rights for the book, which were picked up by Subterranean Press
instead. This edition, fully illustrated by Charles Vess
, was released in the summer of 2006.
A Storm of Swords is also the name of the second expansion to the board game
A Game of Thrones
, released in July 2006.
The novel begins in the final months of 299 After the Landing and carries on into the year 300 AL.
Note the UK edition of Storm of Swords was split into two books, and the French edition in four. The plot summary below contains information on the original US edition.
Jaime and Brienne are waylaid by mercenaries known as The Brave Companions (now in the service of Roose Bolton) and taken to Harrenhal. Their vicious leader, Vargo Hoat, chops off Jaime's sword hand, and Jaime is sent back to King's Landing. Brienne, having little value as a hostage, is left to Hoat's mercies, but Jaime returns to rescue her.
Robb's army returns to Riverrun, having smashed Lannister forces in the Westerlands. Robb reveals that he has married Jeyne Westerling of the Crag, invalidating his betrothal to a House Frey daughter, thus risking losing their support. Robb's forces are dwindling as his soldiers are caught between Lord Randyll Tarly and Gregor Clegane. The Greyjoys now hold Robb's home territory of Winterfell. Nevertheless, Robb has a plan to take Moat Cailin from the Greyjoys, but it hinges on winning the support of the Freys, which they are now unlikely to give. When Lord Hoster Tully dies, Catelyn's brother Edmure becomes Lord of Riverrun.
Arya Stark and her friends encounter a group of men known as the Brotherhood Without Banners, led by Lord Beric Dondarrion and the red priest Thoros of Myr. Beric's group, originally sent by Eddard Stark to put down the Lannister raids, has devolved into defending the smallfolk of the war-torn Riverlands. The group encounters Sandor Clegane, former bodyguard of King Joffrey, known as the Hound, and offers him trial by battle
, which he wins by killing Lord Beric. Thoros is able to resurrect Beric using what he calls a gift from his god R'hllor. Arya abandons the Brotherhood, but is captured by the lurking Hound. The Hound decides to take her back to her family to collect a ransom, and they head north.
Robb Stark's army reaches The Twins. Frey agrees to forgive Robb on the condition that Lord Edmure Tully weds a Frey daughter in Robb's place. At the wedding celebration, warriors disguised as musicians produce crossbows and fire at the Stark supporters. The Boltons and Freys kill many of the Stark bannermen. Catelyn is seized, her throat cut, and her body dumped into the river. Robb is beheaded and the head of his direwolf is sewn into its place. Many of the northern lords are either killed or captured.
Arya and the Hound arrive at the outskirts of the castle as the "Red Wedding" is taking place. Realizing that something is dreadfully wrong, Arya attempts to enter the castle, but the Hound knocks her unconscious and takes her downriver. Arya dreams, seeing through the eyes of her long-missing direwolf, Nymeria. In the dream, Nymeria finds the corpse of a woman floating in a river. Arya tells the Hound that her mother Catelyn is dead.
Arya and the Hound encounter his brother Gregor Clegane's men. They fight free, but the Hound is wounded. His wound becomes infected, but Arya refuses him the mercy of a clean death and leaves him. She finds a ship from the Free City of Braavos, but the captain refuses her passage until she offers him the coin that Jaqen H'ghar gave her and says "Valar Morghulis", as instructed. The captain replies "Valar Dohaeris", and they set sail for Braavos.
In the Epilogue of the book, it is discovered that a re-animated Catelyn Stark is alive with the Brotherhood Without Banners, eager for revenge against those who betrayed and murdered her and her son.
King's Landing welcomes the Tyrells as liberators. King Joffrey agrees to set aside his betrothal to Sansa Stark and marry Lady Margaery Tyrell instead. Sansa is soon compelled to marry Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion treats Sansa gently and refuses to consummate the marriage against her will. Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands offers an alliance, but Tywin Lannister, Joffrey's grandfather and Hand, spurns it.
Word reaches King's Landing of the death of Robb Stark, followed by news that Balon Greyjoy has died as well, under suspicious circumstances. Margaery and Joffrey's wedding is held, but Joffrey suddenly chokes and dies. Cersei Lannister has her brother Tyrion arrested as a poisoner and put on trial. Meanwhile, Sansa is smuggled out of the castle and taken to Littlefinger, who admits responsibility for Joffrey's death. Littlefinger, with Sansa, departs King's Landing for the Eyrie with a new scheme: to woo Lady Lysa Arryn, Catelyn's sister, into marriage.
Davos Seaworth receives a message from the Night's Watch, begging for aid against Mance Rayder and the Others. Melisandre convinces Stannis to sacrifice Edric Storm, a bastard son of Stannis's late brother, King Robert, to the flames to wake the dragons, but Davos smuggles Edric to safety. Stannis prepares to execute Davos for treason.
Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth reach King's Landing to find that Joffrey's younger brother Tommen has inherited the throne but is not yet crowned, Tyrion is on trial for Joffrey's murder, and the Tyrell bannermen blame Brienne for King Renly's death. Jaime becomes Lord Commander of the Kingsguard but refuses his father's offer to make him heir to Casterly Rock. He also refuses to believe Cersei's claims that Tyrion killed Joffrey. After a quarrel, Jaime rejects her advances.
Tyrion is seemingly doomed, as Cersei has recruited many people to give evidence against him, including Varys the spymaster, and Shae, Tyrion's whore. Tyrion is approached by Lord Oberyn Martell of Dorne, who offers to fight for him in a trial by combat against Cersei's champion, Ser Gregor Clegane, "the Mountain that Rides." Oberyn nearly emerges victorious, but a mortally wounded Gregor kills him. Tyrion is again condemned to death, but escapes from his dungeon with the help of Jaime and Varys. Jaime reveals that Tyrion's beloved first wife had not been a prostitute as their father Tywin had told him, but had actually been a crofter's daughter. Tyrion sees this as an unforgivable betrayal and swears vengeance. Entering Tywin's chamber, he discovers Shae in his father's bed and kills her. He confronts Tywin as he sits on the privy. When taunted, Tyrion shoots Tywin through the bowels and leaves.
Jaime frees Brienne, and gives her a sword reforged from Ned Stark's sword of Valyrian steel. He tells her to keep her oath to Lady Catelyn, to find Arya and Sansa and return them home. He also tells her that the real reason he betrayed his oath and murdered King Aerys many years back was that Aerys had planned to destroy the city and everyone in it, rather than let Robert Baratheon take the city. He carried out his most infamous act to save the innocent.
At the Eyrie, Sansa lives in fear of her increasingly psychotic aunt Lysa. Littlefinger intervenes, unceremoniously pushing Lysa out the 'Moon Door' to her death. Sansa learns that Littlefinger instructed Lysa to poison her husband Jon Arryn and blame the Lannisters for the crime.
, or "dragonglass". Some of the men of the Watch mutiny and kill Lord Commander Jeor Mormont at Craster's Keep. Sam escapes with the help of one of Craster's daughter-wives, Gilly, and they make their way south towards the Wall. They are helped on the way by a strange figure riding an elk, whom Sam calls 'Coldhands'.
Bran Stark, along with Jojen and Meera Reed, fleeing the ruins of Winterfell, are guided north by Bran's strange dreams of a three-eyed crow. They reach the Wall and meet Samwell Tarly and Gilly. Sam guides them to Coldhands, who will take them north, whilst Sam returns to Castle Black, agreeing to keep the truth of Bran's survival a secret.
Jon Snow is taken to Mance Rayder and is able to convince him that he is a deserter from the Night's Watch. He learns that the Others are driving the wildlings south towards the Wall. Mance seeks the legendary Horn of Winter which will shatter the Wall when sounded, but has been unable to find it. Jon escapes from the wildlings and reaches Castle Black ahead of Mance Rayder's army.
The wildling army, over forty thousand strong, reaches Castle Black and assaults the Wall. Jon leads a tenacious defense but it seems that the Watch must be overrun. Rayder now has the Horn of Winter, but would rather cross the Wall than destroy it, as the Wall is the only thing that will keep the Others at bay. The surviving army of King Stannis arrives, and Rayder is captured and imprisoned. Stannis reveals that Davos Seaworth convinced him that a true king would protect the Seven Kingdoms' northern boundary from invasion. Melisandre believes the wildling invasion to be the forerunner of the return of The Great Other, the sworn foe of her red god R'hllor. Stannis offers Jon Snow Winterfell in exchange for his support, but Jon is chosen by the Night's Watch as its new Lord Commander through the cleverness of Samwell Tarly, and refuses Stannis in favor of keeping his oath.
s of Astapor. After Daenerys is declared their new mistress, she orders her new army of Unsullied to turn on their former masters and sacks the city. She then frees all the slaves of Astapor. Daenerys' combined Dothraki/Dragon/Unsullied horde then advances on the slaver city of Yunkai. Many Yunkai mercenaries are killed, the remainder switch sides to Daenerys' growing horde, and Yunkai easily falls. However, the lords of Meereen antagonise Daenerys by killing child slaves and burning the land to deny her resources. Daenerys besieges the city to no avail.
Daenerys discovers two false persons in her camp, but the natures of their deceptions are very different. Ser Jorah Mormont was spying for Varys the spider, informant to the late King Robert Baratheon; Arstan Whitebeard is actually an alias of Ser Barristan Selmy, the humiliated former Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard, who has come seeking the true Targaryen ruler. Daenerys offers both men the chance to make amends: by sneaking into Meereen to free the slaves and start an uprising. Meereen soon falls. She forgives Barristan Selmy and makes him Lord Commander of her Queensguard; however, Mormont still insists that he did nothing wrong, and thus she banishes him for his betrayal. Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen and learn to be the queen that Westeros needs.
is the best-known publisher of fantasy author Robert Jordan
, and "Trebor" is "Robert" backwards. A ship named the Cobblecat is noted as the vessel Davos Seaworth had been sailing on when he first saw the Wall; Martin's short story "A Beast For Norn" features a cobalt panther, called a "cobalcat."
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
. It was first published on 8 August 2000 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
edition following in November 2000. Its publication was preceded by a novella called Path of the Dragon, which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book.
To date, A Storm of Swords is the longest novel in the series. It was so long that in the UK its paperback edition was split in half, Part 1 being published as Steel and Snow in June 2001 (with the one-volume cover) and Part 2 as Blood and Gold in August 2001 (with a specially-commissioned new cover). In France, the decision was made to cut the novel into four separate editions.
A Storm of Swords won the 2001 Locus Award
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
, the 2002 Geffen Award
Geffen Award
The Geffen Award is an annual literary award given by the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy since 1999, and presented at the Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, ICon Festival...
for Best Novel and was nominated for the 2001 Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novel. It was the first novel in the series to be nominated for the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, one of the two most prestigious awards in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
publishing, although it lost to J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
's novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on 8 July 2000.The novel won a Hugo Award in 2001, the only Harry Potter novel to do so...
.
Meisha Merlin, who had previously issued limited, illustrated editions of both A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones is the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on 6 August 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award, and was nominated for both the 1998 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award...
and A Clash of Kings
A Clash of Kings
A Clash of Kings is the second novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin expected to consist of eight volumes. It was first published on 16 November 1998 in the United Kingdom, although the first United States edition did not follow until March...
, were planning to release a similar version for A Storm of Swords in two volumes; however, lengthy delays on the release of A Clash of Kings caused Meisha Merlin to lose the printing rights for the book, which were picked up by Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction...
instead. This edition, fully illustrated by Charles Vess
Charles Vess
Charles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha...
, was released in the summer of 2006.
A Storm of Swords is also the name of the second expansion to the board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones (board game)
A Game of Thrones is a strategy board game created by Christian T. Petersen and released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2003. The game is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series by George R. R. Martin...
, released in July 2006.
Plot introduction
The series is set in a fictitious world reminiscent of Medieval Europe, primarily on a continent called Westeros. In this world the seasons can last for many years, sometimes decades.Plot summary
A Storm of Swords picks up the story slightly before the end of its predecessor, A Clash of Kings. The Seven Kingdoms are still in the grip of the War of the Five Kings, with the remaining Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon, and Stannis Baratheon fighting to secure their crowns. Stannis Baratheon's attempt to take King's Landing has been defeated by the new alliance between House Lannister (backing Joffrey) and House Tyrell. House Martell has also pledged its support to the Lannisters though the forces of Dorne have yet to take the field. Meanwhile, a large host of wildlings are marching toward the Wall under Mance Rayder, with only the tiny force of the Night's Watch in its path; and in the distant east, Daenerys Targaryen is on her way back to Pentos, hoping to raise forces to retake the Iron Throne.The novel begins in the final months of 299 After the Landing and carries on into the year 300 AL.
Note the UK edition of Storm of Swords was split into two books, and the French edition in four. The plot summary below contains information on the original US edition.
The North / The Riverlands
At Riverrun, Catelyn Stark strikes an unauthorized deal with her captive Jaime Lannister: his freedom in return for that of Catelyn's daughters. Jaime agrees, and is sent south, escorted by Brienne of Tarth.Jaime and Brienne are waylaid by mercenaries known as The Brave Companions (now in the service of Roose Bolton) and taken to Harrenhal. Their vicious leader, Vargo Hoat, chops off Jaime's sword hand, and Jaime is sent back to King's Landing. Brienne, having little value as a hostage, is left to Hoat's mercies, but Jaime returns to rescue her.
Robb's army returns to Riverrun, having smashed Lannister forces in the Westerlands. Robb reveals that he has married Jeyne Westerling of the Crag, invalidating his betrothal to a House Frey daughter, thus risking losing their support. Robb's forces are dwindling as his soldiers are caught between Lord Randyll Tarly and Gregor Clegane. The Greyjoys now hold Robb's home territory of Winterfell. Nevertheless, Robb has a plan to take Moat Cailin from the Greyjoys, but it hinges on winning the support of the Freys, which they are now unlikely to give. When Lord Hoster Tully dies, Catelyn's brother Edmure becomes Lord of Riverrun.
Arya Stark and her friends encounter a group of men known as the Brotherhood Without Banners, led by Lord Beric Dondarrion and the red priest Thoros of Myr. Beric's group, originally sent by Eddard Stark to put down the Lannister raids, has devolved into defending the smallfolk of the war-torn Riverlands. The group encounters Sandor Clegane, former bodyguard of King Joffrey, known as the Hound, and offers him trial by battle
Trial by combat
Trial by combat was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession, in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the fight was proclaimed to be right. In essence, it is a judicially sanctioned duel...
, which he wins by killing Lord Beric. Thoros is able to resurrect Beric using what he calls a gift from his god R'hllor. Arya abandons the Brotherhood, but is captured by the lurking Hound. The Hound decides to take her back to her family to collect a ransom, and they head north.
Robb Stark's army reaches The Twins. Frey agrees to forgive Robb on the condition that Lord Edmure Tully weds a Frey daughter in Robb's place. At the wedding celebration, warriors disguised as musicians produce crossbows and fire at the Stark supporters. The Boltons and Freys kill many of the Stark bannermen. Catelyn is seized, her throat cut, and her body dumped into the river. Robb is beheaded and the head of his direwolf is sewn into its place. Many of the northern lords are either killed or captured.
Arya and the Hound arrive at the outskirts of the castle as the "Red Wedding" is taking place. Realizing that something is dreadfully wrong, Arya attempts to enter the castle, but the Hound knocks her unconscious and takes her downriver. Arya dreams, seeing through the eyes of her long-missing direwolf, Nymeria. In the dream, Nymeria finds the corpse of a woman floating in a river. Arya tells the Hound that her mother Catelyn is dead.
Arya and the Hound encounter his brother Gregor Clegane's men. They fight free, but the Hound is wounded. His wound becomes infected, but Arya refuses him the mercy of a clean death and leaves him. She finds a ship from the Free City of Braavos, but the captain refuses her passage until she offers him the coin that Jaqen H'ghar gave her and says "Valar Morghulis", as instructed. The captain replies "Valar Dohaeris", and they set sail for Braavos.
In the Epilogue of the book, it is discovered that a re-animated Catelyn Stark is alive with the Brotherhood Without Banners, eager for revenge against those who betrayed and murdered her and her son.
The South / King's Landing
Davos Seaworth washes ashore on a rocky island after the Battle of the Blackwater. He is found by King Stannis's men and taken to Dragonstone. Davos blames the red priestess Melisandre for Stannis's defeat, and he is immediately locked up for treason. Melisandre asks for Davos simply to be true to his king. Stannis releases Davos and asks him to serve as his Hand. Melisandre has performed blood rituals to awaken 'stone dragons,' which she thinks are the great statues that guard the castle, with Stannis' cooperation. (Chronologically, this happens shortly before the Red Wedding.)King's Landing welcomes the Tyrells as liberators. King Joffrey agrees to set aside his betrothal to Sansa Stark and marry Lady Margaery Tyrell instead. Sansa is soon compelled to marry Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion treats Sansa gently and refuses to consummate the marriage against her will. Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands offers an alliance, but Tywin Lannister, Joffrey's grandfather and Hand, spurns it.
Word reaches King's Landing of the death of Robb Stark, followed by news that Balon Greyjoy has died as well, under suspicious circumstances. Margaery and Joffrey's wedding is held, but Joffrey suddenly chokes and dies. Cersei Lannister has her brother Tyrion arrested as a poisoner and put on trial. Meanwhile, Sansa is smuggled out of the castle and taken to Littlefinger, who admits responsibility for Joffrey's death. Littlefinger, with Sansa, departs King's Landing for the Eyrie with a new scheme: to woo Lady Lysa Arryn, Catelyn's sister, into marriage.
Davos Seaworth receives a message from the Night's Watch, begging for aid against Mance Rayder and the Others. Melisandre convinces Stannis to sacrifice Edric Storm, a bastard son of Stannis's late brother, King Robert, to the flames to wake the dragons, but Davos smuggles Edric to safety. Stannis prepares to execute Davos for treason.
Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth reach King's Landing to find that Joffrey's younger brother Tommen has inherited the throne but is not yet crowned, Tyrion is on trial for Joffrey's murder, and the Tyrell bannermen blame Brienne for King Renly's death. Jaime becomes Lord Commander of the Kingsguard but refuses his father's offer to make him heir to Casterly Rock. He also refuses to believe Cersei's claims that Tyrion killed Joffrey. After a quarrel, Jaime rejects her advances.
Tyrion is seemingly doomed, as Cersei has recruited many people to give evidence against him, including Varys the spymaster, and Shae, Tyrion's whore. Tyrion is approached by Lord Oberyn Martell of Dorne, who offers to fight for him in a trial by combat against Cersei's champion, Ser Gregor Clegane, "the Mountain that Rides." Oberyn nearly emerges victorious, but a mortally wounded Gregor kills him. Tyrion is again condemned to death, but escapes from his dungeon with the help of Jaime and Varys. Jaime reveals that Tyrion's beloved first wife had not been a prostitute as their father Tywin had told him, but had actually been a crofter's daughter. Tyrion sees this as an unforgivable betrayal and swears vengeance. Entering Tywin's chamber, he discovers Shae in his father's bed and kills her. He confronts Tywin as he sits on the privy. When taunted, Tyrion shoots Tywin through the bowels and leaves.
Jaime frees Brienne, and gives her a sword reforged from Ned Stark's sword of Valyrian steel. He tells her to keep her oath to Lady Catelyn, to find Arya and Sansa and return them home. He also tells her that the real reason he betrayed his oath and murdered King Aerys many years back was that Aerys had planned to destroy the city and everyone in it, rather than let Robert Baratheon take the city. He carried out his most infamous act to save the innocent.
At the Eyrie, Sansa lives in fear of her increasingly psychotic aunt Lysa. Littlefinger intervenes, unceremoniously pushing Lysa out the 'Moon Door' to her death. Sansa learns that Littlefinger instructed Lysa to poison her husband Jon Arryn and blame the Lannisters for the crime.
On the Wall
A detachment of the Night's Watch awaits word from Qhorin Halfhand and Jon Snow. The Watch comes under attack by wights, but manages to withdraw. Samwell Tarly kills one of the Others with a strange blade of obsidianObsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
, or "dragonglass". Some of the men of the Watch mutiny and kill Lord Commander Jeor Mormont at Craster's Keep. Sam escapes with the help of one of Craster's daughter-wives, Gilly, and they make their way south towards the Wall. They are helped on the way by a strange figure riding an elk, whom Sam calls 'Coldhands'.
Bran Stark, along with Jojen and Meera Reed, fleeing the ruins of Winterfell, are guided north by Bran's strange dreams of a three-eyed crow. They reach the Wall and meet Samwell Tarly and Gilly. Sam guides them to Coldhands, who will take them north, whilst Sam returns to Castle Black, agreeing to keep the truth of Bran's survival a secret.
Jon Snow is taken to Mance Rayder and is able to convince him that he is a deserter from the Night's Watch. He learns that the Others are driving the wildlings south towards the Wall. Mance seeks the legendary Horn of Winter which will shatter the Wall when sounded, but has been unable to find it. Jon escapes from the wildlings and reaches Castle Black ahead of Mance Rayder's army.
The wildling army, over forty thousand strong, reaches Castle Black and assaults the Wall. Jon leads a tenacious defense but it seems that the Watch must be overrun. Rayder now has the Horn of Winter, but would rather cross the Wall than destroy it, as the Wall is the only thing that will keep the Others at bay. The surviving army of King Stannis arrives, and Rayder is captured and imprisoned. Stannis reveals that Davos Seaworth convinced him that a true king would protect the Seven Kingdoms' northern boundary from invasion. Melisandre believes the wildling invasion to be the forerunner of the return of The Great Other, the sworn foe of her red god R'hllor. Stannis offers Jon Snow Winterfell in exchange for his support, but Jon is chosen by the Night's Watch as its new Lord Commander through the cleverness of Samwell Tarly, and refuses Stannis in favor of keeping his oath.
In the East
Heading for Pentos by sea, Daenerys Targaryen learns that large slave armies can be bought in the cities of Slaver's Bay. Daenerys agrees to give up one of her beloved infant dragons to entice the Slavers to sell her the entire host of the Unsullied, the feared warrior-eunuchEunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
s of Astapor. After Daenerys is declared their new mistress, she orders her new army of Unsullied to turn on their former masters and sacks the city. She then frees all the slaves of Astapor. Daenerys' combined Dothraki/Dragon/Unsullied horde then advances on the slaver city of Yunkai. Many Yunkai mercenaries are killed, the remainder switch sides to Daenerys' growing horde, and Yunkai easily falls. However, the lords of Meereen antagonise Daenerys by killing child slaves and burning the land to deny her resources. Daenerys besieges the city to no avail.
Daenerys discovers two false persons in her camp, but the natures of their deceptions are very different. Ser Jorah Mormont was spying for Varys the spider, informant to the late King Robert Baratheon; Arstan Whitebeard is actually an alias of Ser Barristan Selmy, the humiliated former Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard, who has come seeking the true Targaryen ruler. Daenerys offers both men the chance to make amends: by sneaking into Meereen to free the slaves and start an uprising. Meereen soon falls. She forgives Barristan Selmy and makes him Lord Commander of her Queensguard; however, Mormont still insists that he did nothing wrong, and thus she banishes him for his betrayal. Daenerys decides to remain in Meereen and learn to be the queen that Westeros needs.
Characters
The tale is told through the eyes of 10 main characters, a one-off prologue POV and a one-off epilogue POV character, for a total of twelve narrators.- Prologue: Chett, a brother and hound-keeper of the Night's Watch.
- Ser Jaime Lannister, eldest son of Tywin Lannister, brother of Tyrion Lannister, held captive by the King in the North at Riverrun
- Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark. A sworn brother of the Night's Watch
- Lady Catelyn Stark, of House Tully, widow of Lord Eddard Stark
- Tyrion Lannister, youngest son of Tywin Lannister, a dwarf, brother of Ser Jaime Lannister
- Princess Sansa Stark, eldest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, held captive by the King on the Iron Throne at King's Landing
- Princess Arya Stark, youngest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, missing and presumed dead
- Prince Bran Stark, son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, Prince of Winterfell, heir to the North, believed dead
- Samwell Tarly, obese and cowardly son of Lord Tarly and a sworn brother of the Night's Watch; also the former heir to Horn Hill
- Ser Davos Seaworth, a smuggler turned knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon
- Queen Daenerys Targaryen, Stormborn, of the Targaryen Dynasty
- Epilogue: Merrett Frey, a member of the numerous Frey family.
Allusions and references to other works
A character named Trebor Jordayne of the Tor is mentioned in A Storm of Swords; Tor BooksTor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
is the best-known publisher of fantasy author Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
, and "Trebor" is "Robert" backwards. A ship named the Cobblecat is noted as the vessel Davos Seaworth had been sailing on when he first saw the Wall; Martin's short story "A Beast For Norn" features a cobalt panther, called a "cobalcat."
Translations
- BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
: Bard (2001): "Вихър от Мечове". - ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 重庆出版社(2007): "冰雨的风暴". - CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
: "Oluja mačeva" - Czech: Bouře mečů
- DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: Two volumes, Luitingh-SijthoffLuitingh-SijthoffLuitingh-Sijthoff is a publishing company based in the Netherlands that releases fiction and nonfiction books for the Dutch language market. It is a subsidiary of Dutch conglomerate NDC VBK de uitgevers.-History:...
(2001, 2002): "", "" - FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: Two volumes, Kirjava (2005, 2006): "", "" - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Four volumes (Hardcover: Pygmalion (2001, 2002, 2003); paperback: J'ai Lu (2003, 2004)): "" (hardcover) / "" (paperback), "", "", "" - GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Single volume, Fantasy Productions (2005): "". Two volumes, Blanvalet (2001, 2002): "", "". - GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Two volumes, Anubis (2006, 2007): "". - HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: (Two volumes) - HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Single volume, Alexandra: "" - ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Three volumes, Mondadori (2002, 2003): "" (The Storm of Swords), "" (The Rivers of War), "" (The Darkness's Portal). - Japanese "剣嵐の大地” (The Vast Land of the Sword-Storm) HC 2006-2007, three volumes. Hayakawa Publishing Corporation
- Korean: "검의 폭풍"
- Polish: Two volumes, Zysk i Ska (both 2002): "", ""
- PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Two volumes: Saída de Emergência (2008): "", ""; Single volume, Editora LeYa, first edition in September 1st, 2011. "", 884 pages, ISBN: 9788580442625
- RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Three volumes, Nemira (2009): "" - RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: "" - Serbian: ""
- Slovene: "Vihra mečev" (2010)
- SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Two volumes, Gilgamesh (2005): "", "". - SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
: Three volumes,"Kampen om Järntronen" (1997, 2005), "Kungarnas Krig" (2006), "Svärdets makt" (2007)
Awards and nominations
- Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
– Best Novel (Nominated) – (2001) - Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
– Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (2001) - Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
– Best Novel (Nominated) – (2001) - Geffen AwardGeffen AwardThe Geffen Award is an annual literary award given by the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy since 1999, and presented at the Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, ICon Festival...
– Best Fantasy Book (Won) – (2002) - Ignotus Award – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2006)
External links
- A Wiki Of Ice And Fire Wiki dedicated to A Song of Ice and Fire
- A Storm of Swords at Worlds Without End