A Storm of Swords
The volume where Martin cashes in every promise he made about consequence, at a wedding readers have never quite recovered from.
The third and longest volume brings the war to its turning points, and does it with the two set pieces the series is best known for. Martin had spent two books teaching readers that survival is never guaranteed, and here he collects on that lesson at the moments it costs most. Around the shocks the story keeps widening, through a campaign beyond the Wall and an alliance that curdles at a feast.
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