A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2

First off, I'm a heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time (started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it was all getting too formulaic and cliched. Typical archetype character who turns out to be the missing heir or boy wonder who saves the world against the Dark Lord. So, when I came back to fantasy at the end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . the dark lord is very evil and almost one sided at times . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages. (10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM (1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life. If you have delicate ears, this book may upset you. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. There really aren't any super heroes compared to all the other characters as it's more grittier and no one is shooting fireballs every milisecond or carrying around some super powerful sword. (8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception). While this is realistic of the medieval era, some readers may not prefer this if they want more girl power, so to speak. By the way, if you don't want to commit to a big book until you know the author better, check out his short story, THE HEDGE KNIGHT, in LEGENDS. Overall, this is a great series and I happily purchase the hard cover when it comes out...

Pre-review note for fans of the TV show Game of Thrones: If you've ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I love this show so much I'd like to read the books, but the first season of the show is supposed to be so faithful to the first book, and I don't want to read 800 pages of stuff I already know," and wondered if you should just start with book 2, A CLASH OF KINGS, here is what you need to know. Yes, you are safe skipping book one. You'll miss out on some worldbuilding & backstory, which are neat, but you won't feel lost. And yes, unlike Season 1/Book 1, there are some pretty major differences between Season 2 of the show and A CLASH OF KINGS. The list of changes is long, and some of the differences really surprised me. And now on to the review. I think? Maybe? Because it's hard to write a review when I have no distance. I haven't been so obsessed with a book in a really long while. I haven't felt so immersed or engaged, so eager to find out what happens next (yes, even though I already know). I want to read, and then I want to talk about what I'm reading, and then I want to read some more. This is not my usual sort of book. Good characters meet bad ends. The characters I root for are hurt and hurt and hurt again, and there's no reason to believe they've got a reward in store during the as-yet-unwritten finale. I think: Oh, I should not love Arya so much, I should not love Bran so much, or Daenerys or Tyrion. They can't all win. They're not going to make friends and get along. But I can't help it. It's hard to explain why anyone should read this series. It seems like an act of masochism, doesn't it? That's part of the reason why I avoided it for so long. But a book that can hurt you is a book that can move you in other ways, too. And the good moments, the character growth, the triumphs...man, they are so satisfying. I read a blog post that pointed out something obvious I should have seen myself. The classic fantasy plot is about a young man who becomes King. That's the trajectory; rising to power is success. And this is a novel with ostensibly the same plot -- there's a throne, it's in jeopardy -- but the books are about the people who surround the kings. The wives, the sisters and brothers, the advisors and vassals. The contenders to the throne (with the exception of Daenerys, who starts the book ruling a clan of 50 people) aren't our POV characters. A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is a total inversion...and attaining power, in this world, is just as dangerous as losing it. I love the way that GRR Martin has set up the Houses, with images that stick in your mind like burrowing worms. Winter is coming. The iron price. A Lannister always pays his debts. He keeps this sprawling world and cast comprehensible because the imagery is so succinct and memorable. But each character interprets their own family legacy in a unique way. Despite the importance of family, despite that strong stamp of imagery, biology isn't destiny. Some of the Lannisters are foolish (Lancel? Yeesh), and their family words can be a doom or a blessing, depending on who's talking. Every character can choose, can do what's expected or what's easy or what's safe, to seek advantage or do what's right. So the simple image, the character of the family in the words and the banner, is elaborated, extended, perverted or rejected. The same with gender roles. There are characters -- especially the older characters -- that that fit the common types. Men who fight and lead. Women who look pretty and offer support. But those are the minority. Among the men, key characters include a dwarf, a eunuch, a cripple, a fat bookworm. Awesome characters that you love and root for, and you see how strong and capable they are, even if not a one of them looks pretty sitting on a horse in armor. The women hold their own in politics, but the book includes two key women who are evolving as fighters, driven by vengeance, who don't need to be pretty to be compelling or important. At this point, I feel like the series is about change. The characters who survive are the characters who adapt. I think I have been blathering on for a while now. To sum up: personally, I really enjoyed A CLASH OF KINGS. It pulled me deeper into the world, made me more attached to the characters. This is one of those series where more is really more.

George R. R. Martin's A Clash of King is the second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. I gave Game of Thrones a 5-star rating. Five stars is a hard rating to come by and a hard rating to match and while I didn't give A Clash of Kings 5-stars (I give it 4), it is only because some of the novelty of the style in which Martin tells his story is no longer new. Outside of that, A Clash of Kings was a rather breathtaking book that carries the story forward from where A Game of Thrones left off and mixes in some new viewpoint characters along the way. I counted 9 viewpoint characters throughout the novel (10 if you can't the Maester in the prologue, who we never return to). Some of these characters we are familiar with and some of the them are new. Some of the new viewpoints are familiar characters, like Theon Grayjoy, but this is the first time we see things unfolding from his eyes. Others are new to the story, like Davos. There are three things that I think Martin does masterfully in A Clash of Kings (and remember, I am a recent convert to epic fantasy, thanks to A Game of Thrones): 1. He carries the epic forward in such a way that our interest is ever increasing, but without ever revealing too much at once. 2. He build on the characters so that we become as familiar with them as our own friends and family. 3. He build the world in such a way as that we become as familiar with it as our own surroundings. One of the things that impressed me about A Game of Thrones was that the "magic" in the story was only hinted at. People knew that magic used to exist, but much of it had disappeared. There wasn't a good explanation for this, but that's because no one really seemed to know why. It wasn't until the very end of the novel that we started to see some hints of magic that still lingered in the world. In A Clash of Kings, we see more magic than we saw in the first book (indeed, we see some at work in the Prologue). Throughout the novel, we see more and more, just enough of it to keep us interested, but only marginally more overt than the first book. And yet, as the magic takes place, we also learn why it is growing stronger and that reasoning, so far as I can tell, falls completely in line with the story as laid out so far. But the book is about much more than magic. It's about the struggle of 5 men to become king of the realm. What I found rather remarkable about the events in A Clash of Kings is that when you get to the end of the book and see everything that has happened, it all makes perfect sense, and it all flows from what happened at the beginning of A Game of Thrones. As someone was saying on a podcast I was on the other night, you want to scream at Eddard Stark when he agrees to leave Winterfell to become the Hand of the King: "No! Stay behind! Don't go!" The world is a very different place than it was when things started out. Another remarkable aspect of A Clash of Kings-for me at least-is that the characters are by now so well developed that as a reader, I felt like I knew them and could guess their reactions to various events. When one of the key players in the struggle to become king was killed, my first thought was: oh man, what is Tyrion Lannister going to think about that? When Davos led the fleet into the river before King's Landing, wondering if there was some sort of trap, I wanted to scream at him. As these events unfolded, I found myself wondering what the various players would think of them, in much the same way I do when some juicy piece of gossip reaches you at work. ("Wow, I wonder what so-and-so will say when they find out that project has been killed.") It takes some measure of skill to build characters so rich and deep and distinct from one another. I wish I could do this as well in my own writing. In addition to the characters, the surrounding world has become more familiar in all of its aspects. Often times, in epic books like these (those that I have read), I easily get lost in trying to deal with all of the places and people and their spacial relations to one another. But Martin is so subtle about how he introduces places anad characters, so vivid in his description horrendous of them, that it all seems clear in my head and when we follow characters to places, be they sites of battle or big cities, I never feel lost. And there must be hundreds of minor characters, but the more prominent of them are as clear in my mind as the major players. Perhaps my favorite scene in this book was the battle scene on the river in front of King's Landing, especially when Tyrion Lannister leads a troop into battle. That scene reminded me very much of the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. It was remarkable and during the time that I read that scene, the entire world around me fell away and I was very much there in the middle of that attack. I will be very interested to see how HBO managed to pull off that scene in Season 2 of A Game of Thrones. I also loved that we got to go beyond the Wall in this book. I'd say that there might have been some slow parts early on (the book is 1,000 pages long), but "slow" is a relative term and the change in pacing that I experienced might have been due to the fact that I couldn't read the book every day. I was just too busy. But a number of people have told me that the first two books are really just a build-up to the third book, A Storm of Swords. Already I can't wait to get more into that one. In the end, A Clash of Kings carried the story forward in a masterful way and has convinced me that George R. R. Martin really does know how to tell a story the right way. (This review originally appeared on my website: [...])

I finished "A clash of kings" and I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I heard some people to complain about how long and confusing those series are. I disagree- I am not native English speaker but I read first two books in English and I understood them pretty well. Those books are huge but actually the language is quite easy and this is definitely a fast to read book. The main disadvantage of "Clash of Kings" is probably that it is a sequel. The GOT, the first one, was a great story- if you start you will never put this book down: lots of suspicion, great characters, interesting, smart, twisted plot. What else do you need for a great fantasy book? If "A clash of kings" was a totally new story with new characters, it would be probably easier to build something great again. But this book is a sequel. And Martin took a great challenge. That is to make this book at least not worse than the first one, which was, as I think, one of the best fantasies stories ever written. I have to say, he managed this task pretty well. As any good sequel, you will meet some new characters. Old ones will be still the same. The style of the book pretty much follows the style of the first one which is both bad and good. Bad- because you probably expect something new and different from the sequel. Good- because Martin's writing skills are pretty darned good in this style. He still makes you get attached to those characters and make them feel sorry for them. He plays with you by putting those characters on the edge between life and death; and you just can't help yourself except for keeping reading to find out what will happen with them. While some characters will survive, others won't be so lucky.... Those series are that kind of books where people can and do die. That is probably the strongest part because in this case pretty much everything can happen. In the sequel, there is also more magic. Not fancy, Harry Potter style but dark and dangerous one. I think that made the book even better and a bit creepier. Despite the fact that the story grabs you and never let go, there are still some disadvantages. The main one is talking. Especially in the first half, the characters constantly talk, plan but never do too much stuffs. When I read first 250 pages I suddenly found out that, except for Arya, nothing too important happened yet and that made me sad. Talking, talking, not much action and that can make you bored. On the other hand, if there was no so much talking, Martin's books probably never would be so great and unique. You get attached with the characters, they do lots of stupid stuffs but you would never understand their motives without this long prologue (about the first half of the book) where everything is described without so much of action. Martin's style makes his books alive. The closer it is to the end, the more stuffs happen. The last 200 pages, I would say, perfect. I couldn't go to sleep- just kept reading. As I said, the biggest disadvantage is that it is a sequel. Look, for example, on Harry Potter books. All seven ones hold one storyline but each book is also a separate story with the beginning and the end. In "The song of Ice and Fire", it is one big plot divided in several books. That can be quite tricky sometimes. It is like reading half of the book, then quit and then continue reading it but only from the half of the book again. The book never seems complete. You want more but when you get it by starting reading the next one, you need some time to get used to the characters and the plot again. It is not like getting familiar with the new story like in Harry Potter- it is reading the same story from the last book. In other word, those books have neither beginning nor end and that can be quite annoying sometimes. It is the same way with Lord of the rings- one story and three books. However, nowadays you have all three books available in the store. You just read it as one story and you don't need to wait six years for a continue to come out. That is what makes the whole series a bit confusing- starting with a clash of kings and further, books never have beginning or the end. Anyways, it is still a great story. I don't regret that I started it. A Clash of Kings is a bit worse than The Game of thrones but it still holds you tight and everything you can do is to beg for more.

I admit I am hooked now. And the world needs to wait until I finish all the books in these series. A Clash of Kings begins dramatically just as the first book did. With Robb Stark declared as the King of North, the late king Robert’s brothers, Stannis and Renly have becomes as well. With one too many contender for the Iron Throne, the plot thickens. Catelyn Stark wants to trade the Kingslayer, Jaimie Lannister for her daughters, Sansa and Arya but Robb is not too enthusiastic about it. In the King’s landing, Joffery proves himself foolish, arrogant and the worst kind of king that the realm can have. Tyrion arrives as the hand of the king and has to match wits with his cunning sister who wants to undermine him at any cost. At Winterfell, Bran Stark is having his wolf dreams at increasing frequency and unexpectedly he gets friends who believe his dreams, Jojen and Meera Reed. He also discovers that he could inhabit his wolf’s body and hunt at night – a prospect that is exciting and also equally dangerous for him. Robb sends Catelyn to parley with Stannis and Renly and to join forces with him to overthrow Joffery and avenge his father’s death. The talks fail and a shadow kills Renly – a black magic killer created by Melisandre, a priestess who accompanies Stannis. Fleeing from the murder scene, Catelyn takes away Brienne Tarth, a lady knight along with her, who swears fealty to Starks. Theon Greyjoy who was introduced in the first book has individual chapters in this one, indicating that he has a bigger role to play in the later series. Sansa Stark is stuck between hell and high water in the King’s Landing. She has no illusions about Joffery’s character now yet she is forced to act innocent and loving towards him. Surprisingly it the imp, Tyrion Lannister who is kind to her. A world apart, Danearys is in search of an army to take over the Iron Throne. She gets welcomed everywhere because of her exotic dragons but is largely unsuccessful in procuring an army. The house of undying beckons her with a promise and there she sees many visions of what the future might bring forth to her. Stannis attacks King’s Landing and is defeated thanks to Tyrion’s wildfire idea. He also arranges alliance for Joffery with Margery Tyrell, who was wedded to Renly Baratheon, thereby securing their wealth and military help. But sadly he is cast aside despite his efforts as his father takes over the role of Hand. Jon Snow in the meanwhile has marched with his band of Brothers to fight with the wildings. His progress is slow and full of surprises. The wildings are fleeing and many are rallying in the army of Mance Rayder, a self proclaimed king, who was once a brother of the night’s watch. I liked Arya’s journey in this plot. She starts out as a boy, gets captured by the Tyron Lannister’s army and brought to Hallenhell where she changes her identity to a girl. Adapting to rapidly changing circumstances, she is one smart girl. It is through her eyes, we see the devastation that the country is going through thanks to the game of thrones. She meets an intriguing assassin whose life she saves. He promises her three lives and she names of her tormenters and later realizes that she could have named Joffery or the queen as well! I loved the multi-dimensional characters that Martin builds here and he gives access to even the most vilest of characters in the book. The conversation between Jaimie Lannister’s and Catelyn Stark is most revealing and interesting, promising a deeper mystery. And Jaimie Lannister’s revelations about the mad king (whom he killed) brings forth a different angle to the story. Plus Points: Addictive, Addictive and Addictive. Please don’t read this when you are cooking. You might just burn that curry to hell! Minus Points: I was bored during the narrative of onion knight. But the author brings his perspective in to describe the war and I wonder whether he would play a bigger role in the series to come. Verdict: Get ready for a long haul. You are not going to rest until you find answers to the following - Who was Jon Snow’s mother? Why did Jaimie Lannister slay the old king? Who is the baby that Daenerys sees in her vision? Will Arya Stark ever meet her family again? Will Sansa ever get back home?

The writing is a visionary Wonder! This is such an awesome read but a book you would not want to read out of order so a reader must read The Game of Thrones first or they would be completely confused of the reasoning's behind the conflicts and drama's. I have many conflicting emotions concerning this second book. Yes it is very good but aggravating because it seems the good guys have no luck and are all destroyed. The author does keep the reader hooked to every sentence in hopes that the good guys will prevail. I'm looking forward to jumping into the third book "A Storm of Swords". There is too much going on in this 700 plus pages to explain every detail but below I'm listing notes on some of the characters I either hate or love: Joffrey - spoiled rotten brat (13 yr old new king) that needs to be killed along with his mother Cersei and his hound Sandor Clegane - talking about a twisted individual - one sick puppy that is lethal. Cersei - another person I hate and hope she gets her head chopped off in front of her son Joffrey. Stannis Baratheon - King that needs to be slapped for getting messed up with a sorceress - get ready for all kinds of evil foul magic Renly Baratheon - shamed he got killed but in a way he was a dumb greedy bastard like most of these kings and lords. Jaime Lannister - the Kingslayer - sick and cruel individual that I hope gets killed. He is twin to Cersei and father to Joffrey (yes incest). Right now the Starks and Tullys have him captured. Tyrion Lannister - Brother to Jaime and Cersei, one of the better ones in that family but very sly. Though he is a deformed midget I like him and find him humorous at times. I like his new protector Bronn, he is lethal. I like his new men Shagga and Timett - I love their bantering and love how they think. I feel sorry for Tyrion in a way, his family is so mean to him and I hope he finds away to destroy them all and will be able to find happiness with Shae. It is funny how Tyrion has more honor and wisdom then his family, I admire him for leading his men to victory when they went to war to fight. Grand Maester Pycelle, Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger/master of coin), Janos Slynt (commander of gold cloaks),and Varys (Spider/spy-master of whisperers) - they're conniving instigators galore! CUT THROATS! Power Hungry pieces of Crap and un-trust worthy. Robb Stark - New King of the North at the age of 15 yrs old - I like their whole family except for his sister Sansa and it seems they are being killed off one by one - I hope they get a break of luck soon. Lady Catelyn - Robbs mother - one strong woman and very smart and wise. Sansa - Robb's sister - I can't stand her, she is a snooty beotch and deserves what she gets. She is so blinded by fairy tales up until this second book and now she isn't getting such a fairy tale ending since her betroth Joffrey had her fathers (Ned)head cut off and he has her beat. However now Joffrey puts her aside for another and her life outcome is in the open - will she remain a captive and be rapped or will she escape???? Arya Stark - I love this 10 yr old, she is an all out Tom Boy. When reading I look forward to her chapters and hope she comes back and kills everyone that has done her family wrong. Bran Stark - I love this kid too and think it is neat that he is a Warg - a shapeshifter in dreams, one with three eyes or a crow with 3 eyes. He can see through his DireWolf,s eyes. He and his brother Rickon (4yr old) are survivors Jon Snow - Ned Starks bastard child - I love him and his direwolf. He is a Warg also. I look forward to his adventures beyond the Black Wall and I hope he learns of the old magic and will prevail in the coming wars. The Direwolf's - love them all - Nymeria, Summer, Shaggydog, and Ghost. Though Winterfel has been burned and destroyed I hope the Starks make a comeback - they are the good guys. The kids are scattered all over, will they all come back in the end????? Daenerys Targaryen - the queen across the waters - Mother of Dragons. I think she is cool but her journey is taking too long, will she make it back over with her 3 dragons???? Will she reclaim her throne???? There is not much action happening now with her so I look forward to her drama mixed with the kings. I also hope that the Dragons will grow and reproduce. There is so much to this series and just within the two books I have read, it is so complex and mind boggling. One thing for sure and that is it keeps you on the edge of your seat, your laughing one moment and freaking out the next. The writing is a visionary wonder! Excellent read!

As enthralled as I was by A Game of Thrones, the first book in this series, I really expected to take a break and read in some other genre after I finished that book. Oh, I tried; but it was not to be. About 100 pages into the history I chose I found myself wanting to know more about the epic struggle in Westeros and how the events in the first book were casting ripples from Westeros, across the Narrow Sea and to the lands beyond. I'm convinced George R.R. Martin is producing literary crack with his stories of the battles and the intrigues of this fictional land. I almost referred to Westeros as a "mythical" land, but that would have fallen short as a description. Mythic has always seemed to refer to larger-than-life characters. In A Clash of Kings the characters are life-sized and very human. They are also very complicated, neither entirely good nor entirely evil. Even when they may do evil things, their motivations seem truly human and understandable. There are no "classic" bad guys who chortle with glee when their nefarious plans come to fruition. I even found myself empathizing with Cersei and her son, King Joffery, who are arguably the least likable characters. Not only does Martin produce fascinating characters, but the world of Westeros is masterfully built. Rather than throw tons of exposition at readers all at once, Martin lets the kingdoms blossom slowly and we are constantly making new discoveries. Take, for example, his decriptions of the religions of Westeros. In A Game of Thrones he offers some details of the new gods and the old gods. In A Clash of Kings he adds new details that enhance what has come before. The technique adds layers of depth to the story. Likewise, the world Martin created is a morally neutral one. Evil sometimes triumphs. Good sometimes get corrupted. Even the most noble characters can die (as we learned in the first book). Martin isn't afraid to turn the conventional wisdom of fantasy on its head (or even shake them up, toss them in a literary food processor, and serve up the results to readers). As a result - at least in the first two works - you get a series weaving traditional fantasy threads through a world that feels very natural and organic. I've purposely avoided discussing the plot of A Clash of Kings. That's partly because any synopsis I could write would pale in comparison to Martin's complicated, yet readable, plotting. That he can keeps us reading while his plot runs from battlefields to bedchambers to the froze land beyond The Wall to the Red Waste across the Narrow Sea is nothing short of amazing. Couple that with some of the most fascinating characters I've ever encountered between the covers of a book and you have an absolute winner. Tyrion, Jon Stark, Arya, Caitlyn ... I'd almost swear these were flesh-and-blood people who allowed me to look over their shoulders. It's nearly impossible to heap enough praise on Martin's series, but allow me one more observation: rather than taking a break after completing A Clash of Kings, I've already downloaded the next in the series, A Storm of Swords, and will eagerly dive into it tonight.

Martin pens a worthy follow up to his fantasy epic, "A Game of Thrones," with "A Clash of Kings." Mainly set on the land of Westros, several men fight for the crown of the seven kingdoms. Will there be a winner? In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons, seeks to find a way to return to Westros. The story opens with the main characters observing a comet in the sky. Each has their own personal interpretations of the comet - good and bad. What I liked about Martin's use of the comet was how he evoked "an impending sense" about what was going to occur and what was inevitable. This tone lingers in the reader's mind as the story enfolds. Stannis, the previous king's rightful heir, has turned to sorcery and believes the time is right to attack Westros and secure his throne. With his backers and sorceress, he sets out to accomplish his inevitable mission. In King's Landing, the 13-year-old king, Joffery, demonstrates cruel brutality and little concern for the subjects who follow him. It's up to his uncle, Tyrion Lannister, to defend the city and carry out justice. Tyrion has quite a challenge considering the obstacles in his path. Tyrion's father, Tywin, fights north of King's Landing, but is unable to defeat Robb Stark's forces or secure his son, Jaime's, freedom. Ayra Stark finds herself at Harrenhal, serving first the Lannisters, than Robb's man, Bolton, and she must rely on all her wits to stay alive. Will Syrio's lessons prove enough? To the west, Balon Greyjoy, self-styled king of the iron islands, attacks the northern coast. His son, Theon, returns to a prodigal greetings and finds his sister holds much favor with their father. Wanting to earn prestige in his father's eyes, he attacks the Starks at Winterfell. Bran and Rickon flee Winterfell and are presumed dead. North of Winterfell, Jon Snow and the Night's Watch explore beyond the wall in order to determine the nature of the impeding threat. Catelyn Stark journeys to Storm's End and has an adventure before returning to Riverrun where she is determined to support her son, Robb. An explosive confrontation with Jaime Lannister towards the end of the story settles several issues for her. In the south, Renly Barathron makes plans to attack King's Landing, but first he must deal with his brother, Stannis. In the far the far east, Daenerys leads her Khalhaser through barren land before finding hope in the city of Quarth. Martin's story is told from several perspectives, giving the novel its epic fantasy feel. The writing is sharp and never lingers, moving from event to event at a crisp pace. Martin's characters give the story its heart. For Daenerys, her character continues to grow in inner strength and resolve. Theon's deception is heartbreaking, while Tyrion's honest approach as the King's Hand had me rooting for him despite the darkness behind the Lannister's bright colors. "A Clash of Kings" stirs a passion within the soul, making the reader feel as if they're a knight in Westros. The only drawback, while minor for me, were the open plot points at the end of the novel. While several ends were tied up, new ones developed. There's no feeling of satisfaction at the end just a restless anxiety that promises to continue with "A Storm of Swords." Martin, though, has me hooked, so I'll read to find out what happens next. Some, however, may find the unresolved ending frustrating. Who will be the king of the 7 kingdoms? Joffery? Renly? Stannis? Balon Greyjoy? Robb Stark? "A Clash of Kings" promises surprises, fast-paced action, and will leave the reader anxious to read the next book in the series. Overall, "A Clash of Kings" will leave you breathless and wanting to know what happens next.

Even though I already knew the main plot lines, having watched the TV show prior to reading the books, it still amazes me how awesome of a writer and worldbuilder George Martin is. His prose is superb, full of archaic words and expressions, yet it never tires the reader. The text is seamless; the descriptions are rich, but not excessive, and the depth of characters and storylines are outstanding. I'm well into the third book (A Storm of Swords) and I'm confident to say that the whole series is a must read for the fans of the TV show and fans of fantasy fiction in general.

Im zweiten Band der Reihe "A Song of Ice and Fire" wird die Handlung nahtlos fortgesetzt. Die Erzählung erfolgt erneut aus den Perspektiven verschiedener Personen, die insgesamt gesehen, die wichtigen Handlungsschauplätze abdecken, so dass man stetig auf dem Laufenden ist, was die einzelnen "Könige" veranstalten. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf Tyrion und Arya, was mir entgegenkam, denn ich liebe diese beiden Charaktere. Gerade Tyrions Abschnitte sind aufgrund seiner sarkastischen Art sehr unterhaltsam. Martin zeigt dabei, wie schon im ersten Teil, nicht nur Momente, die für den Fortgang der Geschichte notwendig sind, sondern auch Momente, die die Charakterzüge der einzelnen Personen näher definieren. Dadurch sind manche Passagen zwar weniger interessant, weil ich beispielsweise einige Charaktere nicht mochte und deshalb auch nicht mehr über diese erfahren wollte, aber lässt die Geschichte insgesamt realer wirken. Wie schon im Vorgänger sind die Landschaftsbeschreibungen und Charakterzeichnungen aussagekräftig und umfangreich, jedoch schafft es Martin den Leser damit nicht zu erschlagen, obwohl etwas weniger einen Tick angenehmer gewesen wäre. Die fantastischen Elemente nehmen in diesem Buch im Vergleich zum Vorgänger zu, in dem immer mehr Magie einfließt und andersartige Wesen auftauchen. Diese werden so in die Geschichte eingeflochten, dass es nicht überdreht oder unwirklich erscheint. Wie schon beim ersten Teil ist das Ende so gestaltet, dass der Leser erneut zum nächsten Buch der Reihe greifen muss. Vor allem wurde im hinteren Viertel nichts mehr zu Robb erwähnt. Man weiß also nicht, wie es um ihn und seine Gefolgsleute steht. Fazit A Song of Ice and Fire bleibt weiterhin ein Lesegenuss der Extra-Klasse. Umfangreich, episch, spannend und tiefgründig ist es eine Empfehlung für Fantasy-Fans, die nicht von einer überfantastischen Welt erschlagen werden wollen, sondern lieber ein real erscheinendes Werk bevorzugen.

The story is gripping and the narrative compelling. The characters intriguing and the world beautiful, terrible and brutal. Sometimes a bit hard to remember each story thread with the chapters structure but otherwise brilliant.

Really love this book! Was on perfect conditions!

The aftermath of book one, A Game of Thrones is at the core of this book, driving it forward. The first book had me hooked and engaged – A Clash of Kings made me fall in love with the series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Somehow, George R. R. Martin upped the stakes and made everything bigger in this fantasy book. The stakes are higher – there are factions and rebellions, new and dangerous characters, and the world just keeps getting bigger. Tyron truly came into his own in this book. He commanded the story and had my favourite arc. Sansa’s chapters were difficult to read but offered a glimpse into the mind of the boy king that we didn’t get (much of) anywhere else. Cat and Robb had a steep hill to climb and their struggle really hit home hard. Bran’s story was quite slow but it’s beginning to pick up the pace. Jon’s arc was brilliant – I want more of that! Arya was on a bit of a travelogue – if a bit of a dark one – which was so much fun to be on because the world was amazing to explore. Daenerys had a hell of a journey, but it’s not over yet. This section is spoiler free, so I can’t really talk about what happened in more detail than that! All you need to know is that continuing with the story is worth it – it’s exciting, bloody, brutal, and engaging. The characters are all fantastic and unique within this world. And the world itself feels so epic, it’s impossible not to get lost in it all. SPOILER SECTION Stannis was a great character to introduce in this book. He felt like a real contender to the Iron Throne, and even though I felt like he couldn’t win because Tyrion was a defender of the city, I was still surprised when he lost. That’s always a good feeling, when a writer can do something like that. His storyline also introduced an element of magic to the books that was previously unseen, much of the time. Davos is a great character to follow for these scenes and I hope to see more of him in the future – despite knowing that George R. R. Martin has to qualms about killing off whoever he likes! Robb really came into his own as King of the North. His storyline, also told through Cat, was exciting and intriguing. I wasn’t expecting so much battle planning to be present in the book. He made a mistake, so he’s got to work through that, but otherwise his arc is brilliant. Theon was another new character to follow in this book. He’s a dick. George R. R. Martin does an amazing job of making the reader hate Theon, but you also feel for him. He’s an outcast in his own family, in his own country, and he wants to prove himself. I hate him, but I also wish him well… Jon’s storyline felt quite slow, even though it was still progressing forward. The introduction of Ygritte was an interesting twist for his character, but it was when he killed Qhorin Halfhand that I realised that his story was going somewhere interesting. Bran’s story was very slow, but again, at the end it seemed like he was finally moving forward (literally and in a plot sense). Daenerys’ story was really good in this book. She overcame the threat of starvation, for herself and her people, found somewhere safe to stay, and then she had to fight her was out of it again. At parts, it felt slow, but for the most part I loved the characters involved and I’m excited for what comes next.