The Sum of All Men .. By David Farland

Before I share my review on this book, that is the first of the series of The Runelords, let me introduce you all to the world that David Farland has created in this novel. 

It is another fantasy set in an ancient landscape where people have the power to borrow or seize a number of endowments, like brawn, beauty, eyesight, metabolism, wisdom etc. from other people. The recipients of these attributes would have enhanced abilities of the endowments. However, the giver will have diminished power of that attribute.

The synopsis of the story goes like this....

Gaborn Orden, the next King of Mystarria is headed to the kingdom of Heredon to ask the lovely Princess Iome for her hand in marriage. Castle Sylvarresta, however, is under attack by the evil Raj Ahten, the Runelord of all Runelords. With thousands of endowments taken from other men and women, he is invincible and takes over Castle Sylvarresta without a single drop of blood being shed. Gaborn, who is endowed with the Gift of the Earth and deemed to be the future king, can see through this ruthless man. Gaborn is destined to defeat Raj Ahten and the secret to doing that lies in the power of earth that he possess himself.

The good thing about this book is that it has a totally different concept about "Endowments" that have never been heard or used in any other novels before and the mystical characters and creatures are well created and unique.

However, to tell you the truth, I was reading this book to get it over with as soon as possible, as I had no idea before I started reading this book that it would turn out to be a total Drag. Throughout the read, I had to encourage myself to go on because it is not in my habit to leave a book unread.

This book is very bad in my view and I think is because it was very poorly executed and the protagonists had weak characterization and dialogues.

I am not going to read the other parts of this book for sure.

Very Disappointing read!!

Empire of the Moghul .. # 6 .. Traitors in the Shadows .. By Alex Rutherford

Here comes the sixth and the final book review of the Empire of the Moghul series. It showcases the life and events of the time of the sixth Moghul Emperor, Aurangzeb and his continuous struggle to capture and rein Deccan, where he put a strong foothold, but unfortunately, couldn't hold it long enough, with Chattrapati Shivaji's constant attacks on his territories.

As per the book, Aurangzeb was a very ruthless ruler and a political and religious conservative and he chose not to follow his predecessors' liberal religious viewpoints. He largely suppressed other religions and also banned alcoholism, gambling, music etc. and also imposed Jizya on non-Muslims. 

Aurangzeb also led a very unsatisfactory life and karma bit him like anything. After imprisoning his father, Shah Jahan, and seizing the throne for himself, he not only lost the support and love of his family, he also became an unrelenting father to his sons, who opposed him on his views and instead supported Shivaji's son, Sambhaji and tried to overthrow him.

The various monuments that he tried to build were also not as fascinating as his predecessors' had been. For instance, the mausoleum that he built for his late wife, Dilras Banu was a poor imitation of Taj Mahal, but is still standing at Aurangabad, known as Bibi Ka Maqbara.

I found this book not as absorbing as other books of this series. Compared to Rutherford's previous novels, this felt very mediocre and a half-hearted attempt to conclude the series. Aurangzeb, the last talked about Moghul Emperor has been judged very critically in this book and his many achievements been shrouded in history.

From here, I too am concluding my reviews on this very interesting series, The Empire of the Moghul, reading which I gathered a tremendous amount of knowledge on Timur and Ghengiz Khan's descendants and took a ride back in history through all six elite generations of Moghuls from snowy mountains of Ferghana, Uzbekistan to the dusty plateaus of mighty Hindustan. It was one hell of a journey!

In case you missed my previous review on the books of this series, please check out the below links -

Raiders From the North

Brothers At War

Ruler of the World

The Tainted Throne

The Serpent's Tooth

Among these, The Tainted Throne is my personal favorite!

Happy Reading!!

The Book Thief ... By Markus Zusak

Markus Zusak is an Australian writer and wrote this book in 2005. This book was acclaimed as a significant success among readers across the world and my opinion is not any different.

It is, in fact, a phenomenal read and is going to absorb your attention thoroughly. The first thing I would like to tell you is that the story is based on the period of World War II and the second interesting thing about it is that the narration of the story is given by "Death", who describes the anticipation of the wartime during which death and destruction is all one could think about. The last thing I would like to mention is, it is the story of a ten-year-old orphaned German girl named Liesel Meminger, who is adopted by a poor family during that period.

Liesel is a bright child and develops a passion for reading that her step-father, Hans constantly teaches and encourages her to do. In the midst of her destructive surroundings, her foster parents hide a Jewish man in the basement of their house, whom Liesel befriends and shares her stories with. She develops a habit of stealing books not only from the Mayor's house but also those that the Nazis are trying to destroy. The story continues with the description of the horrors that the country faced during the Nazi regime and how it takes a toll on Liesel's life and dreams. 

I absolutely loved this poignant novel with a unique story and eloquent narration that gives you the pleasures of reading English Literature. But for those who do not like reading fiction novels, especially the ones that is not fast-paced and easy-going and does not have a happy ending, I would recommend the movie by the same name because I believe that this story is worth reading or watching no matter what.

I would like to bring an end to my review on this book by quoting the profound words used by Death in this book that really provoked a great hatred for war in me, was - "I am haunted by humans".

Trust me when I say - This book is going to hit you like a Tsunami!

The Book Thief is available here. Please click on the link to read the e-book.

Happy Reading!!!

A Storm of Swords # 3.. Game of Thrones .. By George R.R. Martin

This book is third in the sequence of A Song of Ice and Fire series of Game of Thrones and for those of who have not yet started reading or watching this awesome series, I would say, are missing out on an extremely fantastic experience. Not to mention, when the tale has gotten even more interesting after the end of the last book Clash of the Kings.

Let me mention the major pointers of the plot and display few shots of the Game Of Thrones television series to add a spice of interest for you readers and highlight significant differences in the book and television versions of the plot. 

Please be aware that there is a SURPRISE factor for those who have watched the series and not read the books!!! 

• The story continues in the same pattern and picks up after the Battle of Blackwater Bay where Stannis Baratheon gets thwarted by the timely arrival of Tywin Lannister's forces into King's Landing. Davos Seaworth (Hand of Stannis Baratheon), blames the red priestess Melisandre, for Stannis's defeat and is imprisoned for this accusation. 

• In King's Landing, King Joffrey sets aside his betrothal to Sansa Stark in favor of Margaery Tyrell. Sansa, however, is forced to marry Tyrion Lannister (The Dwarf) to enable Lannister's control of the North. However, Tyrion shows a gentlemanly behavior and refuses to consummate the marriage against her will and treats her with respect, unlike Joffrey.

• Robb Stark marries Jayne Westerling, invalidating the promise to be wed to a daughter of Frey House and his mother Catelyn Stark releases Jamie Lannister in exchange for her daughters which she believes is still in captivity in King's Landing. She entrusts this job to Brienne of Tarth house to escort Jamie safely to King's Landing and to bring back her daughters.
• When Lord Tully (Catelyn Stark's father) dies, her brother Edmure becomes the Lord of Riverrun and Catelyn proposes a marriage between Edmure and Roslin Frey, to compensate the loss of Robb's marriage.  

**According to TV version Robb Stark married Telisa, a nurse, traveling among his army during the battle against Lannister forces.

• Arya Stark and her friends are captured by the Bolten forces and sent to Harrenhell from where she manages to escape with the help of Jaqen H'ghar (An Assassin of the Faceless Men from Braavos), who gives her a coin that will give her a free ship passage from Westeros to Braavos if she utters the word "Valar Margulis" to a Bravosi. After escaping she meets the Brotherhood Without Banners led by a Red Priest, Thoros of Myr and also encounters Sandor Clegane, the Hound, who abandoned Joffrey during the battle of Blackwater Bay and kidnaps Arya for ransom at Riverrun.

**In the television version, Arya serves Tywin Lannister as his ward, but in the book she serves Roose Bolten.

• Now this book illustrates in detail the horrific and infamous Red Wedding incident where Walder Frey and Roose Bolton betrays the Stark family and kills each one of them (except Edmure and Blackfish Tully) during the wedding dinner.

• Beyond the Wall, the Nightwatchers are attacked by the Whitewalkers. However, Samwell Tarly manages to kill one of them using a dragonglass and escape with the help of one of the Craster's wives, Gilly with her new-born baby, assisted by a strange man. ** Who I think is Benjen Stark (Not revealed in the book yet), brother of Eddard Stark and is believed to be dead beyond the wall. 
• Bran Stark, Hodor, Jojen and Meera Reed are guided north by Bran's dreams of a three-eyed raven and Sam helps them pass the wall and keeps Bran's survival secret even from his half-brother Jon Snow.

• Jon Snow convinces the wildling leader that he is a deserter of the Night's Watch in order to gain knowledge of their plans and climbs the wall with them and also falls in love with a wildling girl, Ygritte. However, he abandons her when he gets caught in a treason and rides back to Castle Black. The wildlings assault the Castle and the Wall; but Jon takes commands of the defenses and repels several assaults, during which Ygritte is slain.

• Across the narrow sea, Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Pentos and asks the masters of the Slaver's Bay to buy an army of Unsullied (warrior-eunuchs) in exchange for one of her strongest dragons. However, after the final payment, she orders the Unsullied to turn on their former masters and frees all the slaves of Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen. However, later she banishes her trusted advisor, Jorah Mormont for betraying her secrets and whereabouts to Varys, while she rules Meereen, where she is known as Misha (the Mother - Breaker of the Chains).
  
• In King's Landing, Joffrey is poisoned on the day of his wedding. Tyrion and Sansa are accused by Cersie for the murder and Tyrion is imprisoned and placed on trial, while Sansa escapes with the help of Lord Baelish (Littlefinger) to the Eyrie (her aunt's place).
• Tyrion Lannister demands a trial by combat and Prince Oberyn Martell, who volunteers to combat against Cersie's champion, Sir Gregor Clegane (known as the Mountain), is mercilessly killed by Clegane during the combat and Tyrion is condemned to death. However, he is freed by Jamie and Varys. 
• Tyrion kills his father, Tywin Lannister in revenge before fleeing Westeros.

Before concluding I would like to mention a very interesting fact from the book, that is not shown in the tele-series and is sure to create a lot of excitement for the fans beyond all possibility - Catelyn Stark is still alive!!

It turns out that she was mutilated after her death and thrown in the river, where the Brotherhood Without Banners, resurrected her by the magic of Lord of the Light. 

How exciting is that! 

However, she is decayed and mute now, because her throat was slit open when she was killed and she has become this cold lady who oversees the killing of two of the Freys present at the Red Wedding. She is now known as "Lady Stoneheart".

At the end of this book, Arya escapes from the wounded and dying Hound's captivity and finally aboard the ship to sail across the Narrow sea to the free city of Braavos.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please let me know your own views on this series in the comment section of this blog or on my facebook page. Will bring the next book of this series review soon. 

Till then keep watching this BlogSpace for more.

Happy Reading!!!

The Naked Face .. By Sidney Sheldon

Let me present the very first novel of one of my favorite suspense thriller authors.

The book was released way back in 1970 and was later adapted as a movie in 1984. It is an awe-inspiring book with breathtaking twists in the plot and a page-turner mystery for sure, however, the ending could have been better as the crafting of the conclusion kind of drifted away after the suspense was revealed.

The story starts with the murder of a psychoanalyst, Dr. Judd Stevens' homosexual patient, followed by another horrific death of his clinic receptionist, leading to the realization that someone is actually trying to kill him. Two police agents, McGreavy and Frank Angeli treat him as a prime suspect, partly due to McGreavy's old personal grudge against Steven, because of his testimony in one of his previous cases that the suspect is mentally ill to go to jail. 

McGreavy does not believe that someone is trying very hard to kill Stevens and to prove his innocence to McGreavy and to gain the truth that he himself is not suffering from paranoid schizophrenia (Patient having delusions that someone are plotting to kill them), Stevens hire a private detective, who suggests him to closely study all his mental patients. This analysis leads to a psychological nail-biting thriller.

The most interesting part of the story is how a psychoanalyst's life gets entangled with and is affected by one of his patients and how he figures out which one.

I don't want to give away the ending, so I would conclude here and would suggest you all go and grab this enthralling novel written by the master of mystery.

Happy Reading!!!

A Tale of Two Cities .. By Charles Dickens

This book does not need a review, as it is a Classic! Yet I would like to share my views on this beautifully written story by Dickens that concentrates on the life of the people of Paris and London during the French aristocratic reins leading to the revolution.

It was the best-selling novels of all time and its popularity has remained steady ever since, as one of the best-loved works of Charles Dickens. 

The book is divided into three parts and I would like to reel off a very short summary of it:

Book 1 (Recalled To Life) -

“Recalled To Life” is a coded message given by a train passenger, Mr. Lorry to Lucie, daughter of Dr. Manette to let her know that her father is alive and has been released from Bastille (French Prison). Lorry takes her to her father, who is unable to recognize her but eventually does. She starts to take care of her father and bring him back to London.

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Book 2 (The Golden Thread) -

During a trial in the British court, a French immigrant named Charles Darnay is tried for treason against the British Royal Crown, but the key witnesses fail to testify against him because Darnay’s attorney presents a doppelganger of Darnay in the court, Sydney Carton, due to which the testimony against him is discredited and he gets exonerated.

While in Paris, Darnay’s uncle, a much-hated aristocrat, Marquis St. Evrémonde accidently kills a peasant’s child by ordering his driver to recklessly drive his carriage and abuses the peasant by throwing a coin as a compensation towards him. However, the Marquis gets killed in his sleep by the same peasant.

In London, Darnay and Carton both fall in love with Lucie. However, Darnay gets to marry her. On the morning of the marriage, Darnay reveals his real name and family lineage (Relation to the Aristocratic Evrémonde’s family) to Dr. Manette, for whom this is an extremely shocking news, for reasons he does not reveal to his daughter.

After few years, when Lucie and Darnay are happily settled and raising a daughter in London, the storming of Bastille takes place in Paris and throughout the countryside, local officials and other representatives of the aristocracy are dragged from their homes to be killed. Darnay finds a letter from his uncle's servants who has been imprisoned by the revolutionaries, pleading for the Marquis to help secure his release. Without telling his family or revealing his position as the new Marquis, Darnay sets out for Paris.

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Book 3 (The Track of a Storm) -

In Paris, Darnay gets arrested for being a French Aristrocrat. 

After few years, Darnay is tried in the presence of his family, who arrives in Paris. Even after Dr. Manette, who is viewed as a hero for his imprisonment in the Bastille, testifies on Darnay's behalf at his trial, he gets arrested again under new charges brought in front of the court, that is the written account of Dr. Manette’s imprisonment at the hands of Darnay's father, which was hidden in his cell and was found while the storming of the Bastille.

The written account of Dr. Manette contains a tragic story of the horrific acts conducted by the Evrémonde brothers and describes how they imprisoned Dr. Manette after he refused their offer of a bribe to keep quiet of what he witnessed. 

Dr. Manette is horrified, but he is not allowed to retract his statement. Darnay is sentenced to be guillotined the next day. However the story concludes, when Sydney Carton sets up a plan to save Darnay and his family by impersonating him in the prison and sacrificing himself in place of Darnay and helping Lucie, whom he truly loved and her family to safely pass out of the country.

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In my opinion, it is one of the greatest classics of English literature and I love this story since I first read it and the way he portrayed the barbarism and perverted law of the French Revolution will always stick with me. Every person in the story had a purpose, and Dickens brings it all together beautifully. 

The mention of this book cannot go without Dicken’s famous opening passage that truly describes the drama and the atrocities that the French Revolution brings:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

                                                                              -Charles Dickens

Happy Reading !!!

Empire of the Moghul # 5 .. The Serpent’s Tooth .. By Alex Rutherford

This is the fifth published version of the Empire of the Moghul sequel and very significant as well because this one features the evergreen era that gave us the symbol of love and loss and wonderment that till date is still the most beautiful monument in the world to look upon. I am of course talking about, the lovable tribute given by the emperor Shah Jahan to his dearest wife - “Taj Mahal”.

As soon as Shah Jahan succeeded as the fifth Moghul Emperor, he started basking in the glory of all the luxuries of his kingdom and happiness of the secured position of his rule, without his half-brothers to fight against him for the throne and his entire family and most importantly his beautiful and caring wife, Mumtaz Mahal, together with him. 

He ordered to make the most beautiful peacock throne for himself for which he himself selected and weighed the most precious gems from his treasure vault. He also was a very generous ruler and tried his best to widen his empire as much as possible. 

But he was also the most unfortunate of all!

Soon after gaining the kingdom, he set forth to capture Deccan from the Maratha rulers and as always his loving wife adamantly refused to be left behind in Agra and ventured with him to stay in the so-called ill-omened fort of Burhanpur while he tries to gain the South-Western Province. However, everything sort of fell apart for Shah Jahan after reaching Burhanpur. The great famine hit India during that time. Not only did his entire kingdom suffer because of lack of food and water. His wife died, giving birth to their daughter Gauharara. After which, he lost interest to all the things that once mattered to him the most, even his children.

He only cared for creating the greatest resting place for his wife, whose last wishes were to be laid to rest under the most beautiful tomb ever constructed in the history of mankind. For which he appointed a Persian, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, as the architect and spent lavishly on the construction of Taj Mahal, which took almost 20 years to get completed, during which time, he himself oversaw the designing of this white marvelous beauty, that till date stands on the banks of Yamuna as a testimony of the Emperor’s love for his wife.

This book also tells us, how after years of trying to hold his life back together, Shah Jahan sort of drifted apart from his children, especially the younger ones. Sensing that he is finally losing his touch, they rebelled against each other for the throne. 

Aurangzeb, the most ambitious of all took over the kingdom, imprisoning his father and declaring himself the sixth Moghul Emperor, whilst his father lived.

It was kind of depressing to read this book because the story of Shah Jahan made me really sad, as to how, disliked by his step-mother, he had to wander around as a nomad while trying to win his father’s affection back. Then when finally he thought that life is kind of stable, he lost his wife, afterward, he lost the closeness with his children as well and finally his throne and then his life.

The narration was, however, no doubt, superb and captivating. 

With this let me bring you very soon, the finale book of this series, “Traitors in the Shadows”.

Till then, Happy Reading!!!

Tuesdays with Morrie .. By Mitch Albom

Not only the one greatest lesson, it teaches you so many valuable things that we as humans usually take for granted. 

This is a short story that tells us about the relationship, Mitch Albom had with his old college professor, who was dying from  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a terminal neurological disease and how Mitch ignored him after graduation, moving on with his life and never looking back to know what happened to his favorite teacher, even though after promising to keep in touch. It tells us about their reunion, how his professor remembered his former pupil despite the lapse of 16 years.

The story continues when Mitch goes to visit his professor every Tuesdays until his professor’s dying day because Tuesdays were the time of the week when they both used to meet during college days to take a walk around the campus or to sit and talk about Mitch’s dreams of being a pianist and about how they also called themselves “Tuesday People”. 

They both talk about acceptance; about fears and about how death can end a life, but never a relationship. There are so many such blessed conversations he has with his teacher that is surely going to move your emotions out of control and will make you think back in time, where you wasted your time, arguing with friends and family members or bitching about people or worrying about meaningless things.

Would like to quote a saying from this book, that touched me more than anything else:

“If you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it! They will look down at you anyway. And if you're trying to show off for the people at the bottom, forget it! They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.”

I recommend you all to read this book, as this is not your average fiction novel but a teaching that will help you think about life and will make you understand that once you learn how to die, you will learn how to live and why do you want to wait till then?

It was a truly enlightening experience and a wonderful example that gives you the ultimate moral of a lifetime.

Happy Reading!!!

Zero Day .. By David Baldacci

As promised, let me bring you another of David Baldacci crime novel review, which is an intense drama mixed with mystery and is the first of John Puller series.

First, let me tell you something about John Puller, our hero of this suspense thriller. He is an ex-military man and has selflessly served his country almost his entire life. Now, however, he has taken up another job with the US military CID commission to fight internal crime, but of greater significance. 

The story starts when he is called upon to investigate the murder of a family of a Colonel in a small coal-city called Drake, West Virginia. Together with a smart local sergeant, Samantha Cole, he is faced with an assignment to probe a staged and well-planned homicide committed by a professional. And it is up to him to find out, why and by whom? His investigation leads him to a much darker and terrible secret that has the power to destruct his country and himself.

I liked this moderately staged dilemma of John Puller much more than was my expectation. However, it has nothing exceptional to offer to you, but if you are a fan of action-packed thrillers with some military mind reading into the criminal’s psychology, you will thoroughly enjoy this.

I would also like to point out the similarities of this book of Baldacci with the John Carr’s Camel club series. This is almost the same without the camel club members to help him. The elite ex-military man, John Puller is on his own but is faced with the same US government departmental politics and the pressure and one’s own conscience to catch the bad guys before it's too late.

Even though I enjoyed it, I was expecting a little more non-cliched thriller with a fast-paced story. However, I liked the fact it has less number of characters than his other books and all of them were likable enough to have a good read. 

Keep watching this space as more exciting stuff is coming soon.


Happy Reading!!!

Empire of the Moghul # 4 .. The Tainted Throne .. By Alex Rutherford

Here comes the review of the fourth book of the Empire of the Moghul chain. I am not going to lie to you guys, I am absolutely loving the series! This is already in my favorites collection and I think I am already living in that era these days. It's kind of hard for me to come back to the reality that seems boring after deep diving into this magnificent period.

This book continues with the story of Jahangir, who after Akbar’s death is proclaimed his successor and is immediately faced with a rebellion from his eldest son Khusron. Although he captures and imprisons his son, he is on a constant lookout for trouble from his other son, Khurram (Later known as Shah Jahan). However, Khurram turns out to be a docile son, ready to accept any responsibility given to him and proves an effective commander during campaigns.

While living and enjoying his life in this new found glory, Jahangir also pursues his love interest from Kabul, the exquisite and brave girl, Mehrunissa, wife of Sher Afgan, a Moghul courtier of Jehangir from Bengal province. After getting her husband killed, he marries her and gives her the title of “Nur Jahan” (Light of the World).

Mehrunissa, however, turns out to be extremely cunning in dealing with stately affairs and always ensures she is benefitted in all the decisions taken by Jehangir. She supports the marriage between Khurram and Arjumand Banu (her niece; who was later known as Mumtaz Mahal) and then deceives both of them, when she feels insecure by the growing bond between father and son and fears that Jehangir might name Khurram his heir and in turn making Arjumand as the Empress, instead of her. So, she manipulates her husband to send Khurram away on an expedition to the south.

In Khurram’s absence, Mehrunnissa becomes an important member of Jahangir's court and wields considerable influence by gathering Jehangir’s favor over his own family. She continuously supplies him wine mixed with opium to befuddle his consciousness and take important court decisions herself on his behalf.  Prince Khurram resents the influence Nur Jahan hold over his father and is angered at having to play second fiddle to her favorite Shahriyar, his half-brother, and her son-in-law.  This fear brings Prince Khurram to rebel against his father with a few supporters of his own and only his wife and children for company and all this follows even more thrilling tale ahead.

I found the fourth book following Jahangir's ascend to the throne, the most interesting story of all, mostly because of Mehrunissa, who was like a soul-mate to Jehangir. And yet, she harbored many ambitions within her and wanted more and more power and was ready to stop at nothing.  

The book is well written and the narrative is fast paced and if you still have not started reading this awesome saga, the time is ripe now. Meanwhile, continuing the tradition, let me bring you the beautiful, yet tragic love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and the history behind Taj Mahal, in the fifth book “The Serpent’s Tooth” very soon.

Happy Reading!!!

A Clash of Kings ... By George R.R. Martin

Back again with the second installment of A Song of Ice and Fire series, which is all the more fascinating, brutal, bleak and unyielding than the first.

After the death of Robert Baratheon, his son Joffrey proclaims himself the King, while Robert’s brothers, Renly and Stanis Baratheon challenge Joffrey’s claim to the throne, not to mention also against each other and assert themselves to be the true heir.

While in the North, Robb Stark, eldest son of Ned Stark declares himself ‘King of the North’ and wage war against the Lannisters with the support of the kingdoms in the north, the Tullys of Riverrun and Walders of the Twins, while Balon Greyjoy declares himself ‘King of the Iron Islands’ and his son, Theon (Ned Stark’s ward) attacks Winterfell and takes Bran and Rickon (youngest sons of Ned Stark) as captives.

So, in Westeros, while the five kings claiming the Iron Throne are waging war against each other, Tyrion Lannister (By far the most interesting character) becomes the new Hand of the King by planning marriage alliances of his niece and nephew with the two great kingdoms, Highgarden and Dorne, in order to secure King’s Landing and plotting cunningness so uncommon, to make his sister’s life difficult.

If you are wondering what happens to our favorite family, the “Starks”! Be prepared for some bad news because while Ned Stark was beheaded, the others get separated from each other. Robb is busy fighting wars, while his mother acting as his counselor is trying to persuade the Baratheon brothers to support Robb. Arya escapes King’s Landing by impersonating a boy, to take the extremely difficult journey back to the North, whereas Sansa is left behind to bear the torture of Joffrey and his mother. Bran and Rickon are taken captives by Theon. And Jon Snow and the other Black Brothers travel North of the Wall to try and capture the Wildlings.

This book also features Daenerys Targaryen, who travels with the remaining Dothrakis and Jorah Mormont, after the death of her husband and with her three baby dragons to the magic city of Qarth where she faces unknown enemies who are trying to steal her precious dragons from her.

A very beguiling character was also introduced in this book, ie. the Red Woman from Asshai, Melisandre who is the priestess of the Lord of the Light and who sees visions in the fire and predicts future. She assists Stannis Baratheon in his campaign and attributes a very dark nature.

I think this is an acute summary of this enthralling book without giving out the spoilers. It was like the most intoxicating drug to me with the most interesting mythology, culture and history mixed together with all the more fascinating characters. I particularly enjoyed the Battle of the Blackwater Bay with the wildfire and Cersie’s bitch full attitude during the coup.

Again, I want to say that I am stunned at how Martin came up with this overwhelmingly exciting imagination of a story with so many interesting plots that could arouse one’s curiosity of fascination to the point of reverence.

I'd say, go for it! Because you won't regret the 768-page long trek of this wonder.

Happy Reading!!!