And so A Song of Ice and Fire series continues with the third installment, A Storm of Swords. I finished this book in late August / early September and—without going bit by bit through the novel—let’s just say I enjoyed it. It was a strong book and, page count alone, it is about 200 pages longer than A Clash of Kings.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken.

Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival and Uncle, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister Sansa hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. . . .

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others–a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .

From the publisher, Bantam, a division of Random House of Canada

In short, here are some of my thoughts — SPOILER ALERT!

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The good news is that I didn’t cry as much reading Voyager (book three in the Outlander Series) as when I read Dragonfly in Amber. But I still fell hard for the story and the characters. Diana Gabaldon just has a way with words that draws the reader in completely and holds you there.

Warning: Minor spoilers of earlier books are contained in the book description. If you are interested in the series but don’t want to ruin anything, start by reading my review of Outlander, the first book in the series.

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her… and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her…the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland… and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love.

From the publisher, Seal Books (an imprint of Random House)

My only complaint with that synopsis is the last line of the first paragraph: “and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.” It just sounds so cheezy and bad-Harlequin-romance. It annoys me because while, yes, this series does have sex scenes and a romantic plot line, it is so much more than that. Okay, done rant.

Second Warning: I will now talk about the book’s events … look away now if you don’t want spoilers. Otherwise, continue at your own risk!

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Nearly immediately after finishing Outlander, the first book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, I picked up book two, Dragonfly in Amber. [Click here for my review of Outlander]

The first book had immediately drawn me in to Claire and Jamie’s story with adventure, romance, history, and a little bit of science fiction. It ended on a cliffhanger (as all good series tend to) and I picked up the next book in eager anticipation.

I was immediately distressed — Dragonfly in Amber begins twenty years after the end of Outlander. I will admit that I went to read the back of book three (Voyager) to ease my mind and heart. Fortunately, the beginning chapters are set in 1968 to frame the story for new  readers and then proceeds to tell what happened since the end of Outlander.

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones …about a love that transcends the boundaries of time …and about James Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart—in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising—and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

From the publisher, Seal Books, an imprint of Random House of Canada

To be honest, Dragonfly in Amber could stand alone, which is the sign of a good book in a series. With most series, the reader is given repeated descriptions and regurgitated events, which I sometimes felt was a detraction (and insult) to series-long readers. While Diana Gabaldon did explain past events and old characters to new readers, she managed to do so in a seamless way without repeating phrases from the previous book.

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Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is the first in a historical semi-mythical series which includes war and violence, relationships, family and society, questions of morality, honour, and spirituality, love and sex, adventures, journeys, and violence. Truly, this book has everything I could want in a story, and it’s done extremely well. It’s historical, it’s romantic, it’s sci-fi, yet it delves to the core of human beings’ values of love and life.

Diana Gabaldon deftly crafts a strong-willed heroine, a stubborn but extremely likeable hero, and a stunning adventure. Each book in the Outlander Series was written to stand alone, but completely enthralled, I flew through the first book and have picked up the next two already. Squeee! love love love love love!!

So what is Outlander about? Diana Gabaldon admits on her website that she’s never been able to describe it in 25 words or less, but instead chooses to tell this story:

In 1946, after WWII, a young Englishwoman named Claire Beauchamp Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband, Frank.  She’s an ex-combat nurse, he’s been in the army as well, they’ve been separated for the last six years, and this is a second honeymoon; they’re getting re-acquainted with each other, thinking of starting a family.

But one day Claire goes out walking by herself, and comes across a circle of standing stones–such circles are in fact common all over northern Britain.  She walks through a cleft stone in the circle….and disappears.  Back into 1743, where the first person she meets is a gentleman in an 18th-century army officer’s uniform.

This gentleman, Jack Randall, looks just like her husband Frank–and proves to be Frank’s six-times-great-grandfather.  Unfortunately, he also proves to be a sadistic bisexual pervert, and while trying to escape from him, Claire falls into the hands of a gang of Highland Scots, who are also trying to get away from Black Jack Randall–though for other reasons.

In order to avoid being handed over to Captain Randall, Claire is obliged to marry one of the young clansmen.  So she finds herself trying to escape from Castle Leoch and her Scottish captors, trying to get back to her husband Frank, trying to avoid being recaptured by Captain Randall–and falling in love with Jamie Fraser, the young man she’s been forced to marry.   The story rolls on from there…

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I picked up this book when I heard about the series HBO was producing and the guy at the till said “your friends won’t see you for weeks.” Confused, I asked why. “You’ll need to catch up on the entire series.” A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is the first in an epic fantasy series—A Song of Ice and Fire—and the fifth book will be released this summer. A Song of Ice and Fire series will have seven books in total.

Within the first chapter of A Game of Thrones, I was completely drawn in. Each chapter is from the perspective of a different character, which allows the narration to jump locations easily. The chapters left me wanting more—in a good way—yet felt complete like a scene in a play. George R.R. Martin writes tightly crafted prose that rumbles with power, emphasis and forethought.

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall.

At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys.

Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

From the publisher, Bantam (an imprint of Random House)

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