In my opinion the most devastating of this series (at least, so far), A Storm of Swords takes as few prisoners as its characters as the War of the Five Kings rages on. Daenerys, Stannis, and Jon are all forced to decide what type of leaders they will be, as Sansa struggles when faced with the reality of marriage in this world and the real Arya runs more or less free as a fake Arya marries a Bolton in her place. Martin weaves a complex and harrowing tale that is as well written and fast paced as the first two volumes.