9788496208247

More superbly enjoyable epic storytelling. I find myself incapable of now doing anything other than picking up the next volume ( )

As entertaining and full of so many characters as the previous volumes, nothing else to be said in review... ( )

The dialogue was tedious at times but the book was a fun read. ( )

← Part 2

“Valar dohaeris,” I replied, placing both parts of A Storm of Swords on the counter along with my debit card.

“Valar satchelis?” she asked, cocking the crossbow with her hand and cocking her eyebrow with the muscles in her face.

“Uh, sorry, my High Valyrian is a bit rusty," I said, blushing. The lady behind the till rolled her eyes, scanned the books, and swiped my card. I was trying to figure out how she'd done all this without taking her hands off the crossbow when she spoke again, this time in the common tongue.

“Do you want a bag?” she asked.

“Yes please,” I said.

“Okay.” And she slid the books into a bag.

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

I took the bag from the counter and waited to see if anything else was going to happen. Nothing happened. And kept not happening. “Bit mundane, this part, isn't it?” I ventured. The lady gave me the kind of look that could peel a banana at ten paces.

“It's the nature of the saga,” she said. “A Clash of Kings ended on so much carnage that this part will inevitably feature a lot of introspection to start with, and it'll presumably build up to full-blown shenanigans in part two.”

“If you say so.” I looked around the bookshop and noticed a group of people congregating in one corner. “Hey, what's going on over there?” I asked till-lady.

“Oh, some author is giving a reading of his new book. It's called Wed.”

“Strange name for a book,” I opined, but till-lady was already serving the next person in line. With nothing better to do I headed over to the corner, humming The Rains of Castamere to myself.

Part 4 → ( )