George R.R. Martin – A Storm of Swords (2011)

Nagu ikka olen endamisi kedranud, on see raamat kolme esimese osa kliimaksiks – avanevad mitmed saladused ja hunnik tähtsaid päid lükatakse tegevusest (kui nad muidugi hiljem surnud peast üles ei ärka). Draamat pakuvad eelkõige Starkid ja nende kaotused – Robb näeb võimalust Põhja tagasi vallutada, aga ei; Aryal võimalus emaga Vetevool kohtuda, aga no ei; Sansal tekib lootus abielluda mingil moel huvitava mehega, aga ei; Catelyn loodab tütreid tagasi saada, aga hoopis järjekordne põrgu pääseb valla. Nojah, ja siis Brani jalutus ning Joni teadmatus. Eks näis, milline fuuria on Catelynist saamas.

“From the way Robb looked at her, she could tell that it had been a long while since anyone had dared speak to him so bluntly. “When they told me Winterfell had fallen, I wanted to go north at once,” he said, with hint of defensiveness. “I wanted to free Bran and Rickon, but I thought... I never dreamed that Theon could harm them, truly. If I had...”
“It is too late for ifs, and too late for rescues,” Catelyn said. “All that remains is vengeance.” (Catelyn, lk 200) 

“She is old enough to be Lady of Winterfell once her brother is dead. Claim her maidenhood and you will be one step closer to claiming the north. Get her with child, and the prize is all but won. Do I need to remind you that a marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside?” (Tyrion, lk 437) 

“She lowered her big brown eyes and mumbled, “I'm Arya Stark.”
Jaime had never paid much attention to Arya Stark, but it seemed to him that this girl was older. “I understand you're to be married.”
“I am to wed Lord Bolton's son, Ramsay. He used to be Snow, but His Grace has made him Bolton. They say he's very brave. I am so happy.” (Jaime, lk 999)

Siit algab siis Dorne'i intriigide esiletõus, mis järgnevas kahes raamatus aina rammusamaks läheb – miks see Martinile nii oluline on, pagan teab (samas on siin Greyjoy'd tagaplaanil). Oberyn on muidugi eepilist mõõtu ebaõnnestuja, aga milline tegevusse sisenemine ja duell! Võitlus Müüri pärast on parem kui Kuningalinna lahing – osalt vist seepärast, et siin osaleb kõiksugu mammuteid ja värke, ning kuna Kuningalinnas näeb paljut Sansa silme läbi, naised ja nende palvetamised ja intriigid, see pole just täiega lööv. Ja mida küll Stannis reaalselt loodab Müüri abil teha, kuulsust koguda riigi kaitsjana Teiste eest? Lannisterid saavad võimule, aga kuidagi... sihitult; see sihitus hakkab sügelema siis peale tunnustatud ja tunnustamata ideoloogide kaotust (aijaa, jällegi pigem järgmiste raamatute teema).

“I dreamt I saw a shadow with a burning heart butchering a golden stag, aye. I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings. I dreamt of a roaring river and a woman that was a fish. Dead she drifted,with red tears on her cheeks, but when her eyes did open, oh, I woke from terror. All this I dreamt, and more.” (Arya, lk 302) 

“But who would be mad enough to contest Joffrey's rule now, after what had befallen Stannis Baratheon and Robb Stark? There was still fighting in the riverlands, but everywhere the coils were tightening. Ser Gregor Clegane had crossed the Trident and seized the ruby ford, then captured Harrenhal almost effortlessly. Seagard had yielded to Black Walder Frey, Lord Randyll Tarly held Maidenpool, Duskendale, and the kingsroad. In the west, Ser Daven Lannister had linked up with Ser Forley Prester at the Golden Tooth for a march on Riverrun. Ser Fryman Frey was leading two thousand spears down from the the Twins to join them. And Paxter Redwyne claimed his fleet would soon set sail from the Arbor, to begin the long voyage around Dorne and through the Stepstones. Stannis's Lyseni pirates would be outnumbered ten to one. The struggle that the maesters were calling the War of the Five Kings was all but at an end.” (Tyrion, lk 814)

Beric on ja jääb üheks parimaks tegelaskujuks, lihtsalt, eksole, eepiline. Beric & Thoros, need me sõbrad kahekesi. Ja no ei saa jätta tsiteerimata seda ühte ja sama lõiku, see väsinud mälu ragin ning maailmaväsimus.

“A scarecrow of a man, he wore a ragged black cloak speckled with stars and an iron breastplate dinted by a hundred battles. A thicket of red-gold hair hid most of his face, save for a bald spot above his left ear where his head had been smashed in. /-/ One of his eyes was gone, Arya saw, the flesh about the socket scarred and puckered, and he had a dark black ring all around his neck.” (Arya, lk 463) 

“Can I dwell on what I scarce remember? I held a castle on the Marches once, and there was a woman I was pledged to marry, but I could not find that castle today, nor tell you the color of that woman's hair. Who knighted me, old friend? What were my favorite foods? It all fades. Sometimes I think I was born on the bloody grass in that grove of ash, with the taste of fire in my mouth and a hole in my chest. Are you my mother, Thoros?” (Arya, lk 536)

Nagu ikka, ei saa mainimata jätta, et Daenerys on igav ja tüütu. Sest nii see on ja parata pole midagi. Oli hall lootus, et ehk teleseriaalis saab parema elamuse, aga ei, samasugune tüütus nääps oma ogarate unistustega.

“No squall could frighten Dany, though, Daenerys Stormborn, she was called, for she had come howling into the world on distant Dragonstone as the greatest storm in the memory of Westeros howled outside, a storm so fierce that it ripped gargoyles from the castle walls and smashed her father's fleet to kindling.” (Daenerys, lk 106)

Pisinäpp... see saatan. Värdjastunud Napoleoni kompleks?

“Why should I wish him dead?” Littlefinger shrugged. “I had no motive. Besides, I am a thousand leagues away in the Vale. Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game.” (Sansa, lk 841) 

“You told me to put the tears in Jon's wine, and I did. For Robert, and for us! And I wrote Catelyn and told her the Lannisters killed my lord husband, just as you said.” (Sansa, lk 1114)

 ulmekirjanduse baas