A Storm of Swords (A Song of Fire and Ice #3) by George R. R. Martin

Of the first three books of the Game of Thrones legend I have read thus far, A Storm of Swords (Song of Fire and Ice #3) is by far the fastest paced, most exciting, and contains the most jaw dropping moments.  If you thought you had any notion of where George R.R. Martin was taking the tale, you would definitely reconsider after everything is uprooted.  Wow and fantastic are the best way to describe this masterpiece.  Also, for those who like to compare the book and the television show, the first two books and the first two seasons parallel each other pretty well, but season three and book three start to diverge.  Characters missing, or there events being replaced by others, people at different places in the realm, and the most surprising is that where season three of the television show ends, there is still about another half or full season worth of story left in the book.  I would not be surprised if the television show starts to drag out and make multiple seasons out of the books, perhaps to make more money, but more than likely (in my opinion), to allow George R.R. Martin time to finish writing and releasing book 6 and 7 before the show catches up.