The second in GRRM’s "Dunk & Egg" series, "The Sworn Sword", is really equaled only by Neil Gaiman’s entry in the Legends II anthology, "The Monarch of the Glen". Following Dunk and Egg on their progression through life, the story opens a year and a half after the events of "The Hedge Knight" (also reviewed here) and finds the two in the midst of a terrible Summer drought in the Reach (which itself followed the Great Spring Sickness, which slaughtered tens of thousands in Westeros, including King Daeron the Good and his two most immediate heirs). Dunk has sworn his sword to Ser Eustace Osgrey, an old, done knight who dwells on the dual-losses of his family and its ancient honors. Gnawing at the bones of faded glory, Ser Eustace draws Dunk and Egg into a potentially-fatal conflict.

When it was announced that GRRM would be releasing an original novella set approximately 90 years before A Song of Ice and Fire, there was quite a lot of excitement in the fan community. I recall buying the book on the date of release from my university’s bookstore and reading it even as I made the 45-minute walk home in 90 degree weather (the dustjacket—and the actual cover itself—did not particularly appreciate that).  Among all the fine stories in Silverberg’s collection of original tales from various masters of the fantasy genre, this was the best (something which was acknowledged by its being a nominee for the 1999 World Fantasy Awards, along with fellow Legends alumni Ursula K. Le Guin and her Earthsea story, "Dragonfly"). Seven years on and having spawned a gorgeous and successful graphic novel adaption, the story itself seems to be withstanding the test of time quite well.

The highly anticipated third volume in Martin’s best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series closes the first "movement" of the series. With the series brought just shy of the halfway point, and only three novels left to go, many expected a certain amount of firm closure on many of the major plot threads. Instead what they got were more twists and turns than can be enumerated. Being veterans of the major discussion boards for the series, we can testify to the fact that very few of the sudden turnarounds and revelations were predicted by the dedicated fan base, even when (or especially when?) Martin had laid out plenty of clues. In hindsight several of the revelations led to the thundering sound of many hands slapping foreheads. Unsurprisingly, most fans wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

Picking up shortly after the events in A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings begins slowly but soon accelerates as events foreshadowed in the previous novel come to fruition. The beginning is the weakest part of it all (save for the fascinating prologue which brings into the reader’s view one of the characters who major events will centre on), as Martin takes his time to refresh memories and to carefully put the pieces on the board. But once they’re there, tension builds to a crescendo which explodes into yet more chaos. There’s several major battles, some on-stage, some off-stage, and the horrors of warfare are emphasised by the journey of one of the characters. Once-fertile, scorched lands surround the human cruelty and misery which falls so hard upon the peasants who are caught in the midst of the lords’ wars.

In a day and age where door-stopper fantasy series with no apparent endings are hitting the bestseller lists, it’s often hard to consider new entries into this particular sub-genre with any seriousness. After all, if Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind are the heights of the field, what’s the point of trying anything else? But each book (or series) should be judged on its own merits - and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire proves that there’s still room for diamonds among the rough.