Customer Reviews

A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two

5 star:		(391)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'm not sure how the author does it, but while other sprawling fantasy epics can have the characters and plotlines blend togther to the point where no one really cares anymore, this guy manages to make many different viewpoints and people distinct and three-dimensional. He juggles what seems to be an insane number of contenders for the throne to the Seven Kingdoms, and makes you realize what makes everyone different, and differently (or not) qualified to rule.
He is not afraid of killing his characters and what I also like is that everyone is believably shaded, morally. To often there are books like this with a hero that has one, single stock flaw, fighting villians that are plain crazy or evil without reason. These books have people that range all over the moral chart and it's refreshing.

By now, most fantasy fans have heard of this popular series. The hallmarks of George R.R. Martin's series have been political intrigue, swift and deadly violence (even main characters are killed without a second thought), and gritty, "realistic" fantasy. If this sounds like your cup of tea, dig in. If not - maybe you like a little more magic, a little more flash - tread carefully.

Here in volume 2, Martin picks up where he left off on A Game Of Thrones (quite literally) and further expands his epic masterpiece. In this second volume, A Clash Of Kings, Martin again pits lords and ladies, armies and rogues, and warring factions against one another in a sprawling, massive tale.

Featuring a huge page count and a tremendous cast of characters, this tome is dense, even moreso than A Game Of Thrones. More subplots are thrown into the mix than before, and more storylines are twisted together into ever tighter knots, expending the scope of the already lengthy tale. Like the first volume, Martin pulls this off by using fairly short, punchy chapters, each focusing on a different character and each serving to move the plot forward and keep this otherwise hefty book moving along at a rapid pace.

That's not to say Martin doesn't stumble slightly here and there. Unlike A Game Of Thrones, which was the leanest 900-page book you'll ever read, not every page in A Clash Of Kings is vital. A few of the subplots are given too much time, developing over a longer period than they need to; they serve only to slow the narrative. Also, several chapters appear to fill time rather than push the plot forward or offer an important revelation.

But these criticisms are minor. Martin weaves and twists plots as well as any, paints characters we can truly believe, and builds builds builds to a rousing, thrilling and surprising climax that is superior to the wrap up of volume one. All in all, this installment lives up to the expectations set by the first. And they were lofty expectations indeed.

Without question George R.R. Martin has once again given readers one of the best fantasy novels to hit the bestseller list in a long, long time. This is some of the best the genre has to offer right now and is a must read for any fan of epic, gritty high fantasy.

A Clash of Kings is a great follow up to The Game of Thrones. The story is heavy with political intrigue. Even more so than the first of the series. If you are looking forward to exciting battle scenes you will have to wait until the final 100 pages.

The characters' stories and back stories are what I love most about this series. A Clash of Kings follows the same main characters as The Game of Thrones, with some interesting new ones added to the mix. Everyone is written with great care and detail. There are no stereotypical heros or villians. All of the characters are complex with clear, identifiable motivations.

This book continues where the last left off, with twists and turns, many of which caught me by surprize. I have yet to encounter a predictable story line in either of the first two books in this series. I enjoy the type of story where no one is safe and the plot is unpredictable. Nothing comes easy for the people of this fantasy world and seldom do things turn out as you would expect.

If you are interested in delving into a world of King's, Queen's, magic and betrayal take up this series. It is not a light read and at around 1000 pages each the first two books are substantial. That said, there are no lulls in the story and it flows easily from one story line to another.

A Clash of Kings is another superb read from George R. R. Martin in the continuing series of his original Song of Fire and Ice. The tale of Winterfell and the Lannisters gets more involved, along with Daenerys and her Dothraki clan in Qarth. The struggle for The Iron Throne intensifies and the reader cannot wait to see what happens next.The thrill of dragons, struggles and devastation of war, the craziness of Theon Greyjoy keep the pages turning at a fast rate as the characters fight, betray, and love their way through the saga. Another great read by Martin and his cast of superb characters. Highly recommended!!

If you thought #1, A Game of Thrones, was good, get prepared for a Clash of Kings!

In an incredible feat of storytelling, Martin has upped the standard yet again, something I thought could not be done after the monumental achievement of A Game of Thrones. The intrigue continues, more hell breaks loose, and power never seems to stay in one place for long.

For those that read Martin's first book in the series, he delivers again--the plot is just as unpredictable, the characters are developed some more, and new POVs are added to the roster (Theon and Davos). For those thinking they can start from here--I wouldn't try it. There is a huge cast of characters in very intricate situations layered in shady motives, loyalties, and betrayals--starting here would be very difficult. That is not to say that this book is confusing, however; all the characters are realistic and memorable, so fans will find they know House leaders, retainers, and knights without really making an effort to learn them in the first place.

A lot happens in this book, and by the end, you'll be shocked. Martin is peerless when it comes to holding an audience; more is always revealed, but newer, more urgent questions always arise. I think you will not be able to keep yourself from reading #3, A Storm of Swords, immediately afterwards! ;)

And the second book, A Clash of Kings, is a great, fast read. Like other readers, I appreciate the complexity Martin lends his characters, and I think Tyrion, the Imp, is the most interesting character in the book-- simply because he is the conduit through which we learn of much of the action in the book, which centers around the intrigues at King's Landing (where he seems to be the only figure with any moral tendencies at all). I also enjoy that some of the foreshadowed developments are finally beginning to take place, i.e., the rediscovery of elements of magic in the world, what with Daenerys with her dragons and the delving into what mysteries lie behind the Wall in the north (after a disappointingly long time without any information about the mysterious "Others", who, alas, aren't really that elaborated on in this installment either)

However, I want to point out to all those interested in comparing this series to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, or to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, that the comparisons of "realistic" or "fast-paced" versus "prosaic" or "stilted" do not necessarily sum things up. I am not, by the way, agreeing, as I adore Tolkien, and have enjoyed the Wheel of Time series. I would simply point out that the main point of difference here is that we are reading in the Song of Fire and Ice series what seems to be a story about essentially human conflict, which takes shape in a very convoluted, complex, unfailingly grey-shaded world. Tolkien and Jordan write, on the other hand, about very black and white, metaphysically important conflicts. In Wheel of Time or The Lord of the Rings, what is at stake is the universe itself and "life as we know it". Reality is under attack. In Martin's world, what is at stake? Well, the stewardship of the land. Yes, the conflict does mean life or death to many of its characters, but not to the whole of humanity or existence (at least yet, it's not been finished yet).

So, there is a point to keep in mind. It is not in any way a failing of this series, it is rather a strength, as you can see from the many reviewers who would rather read about a gripping, human struggle than some striving that takes them away from the human plane and toys with metaphysical ideas of reality. I myself prefer the more idealized versions, but I will definitely give A Clash of Kings a solid 4-star rating as a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to picking up the next book in this series.

First, I would like to comment on language. Skip to the asterisks to by-pass a mild rant.

Words are used to convey ideas. No word in and of itself is "bad", and curse words are frequently (and commonly) used to express intensity, disdain, passion, et al. Frankly, anyone who would condemn a story because the language contained within it is living in a fantasy world whose bubble will pop (one can only hope permanently) the first time they bump into something real.
This book, like all the others, contains language that your mommy wouldn't like. People who have grown up don't let this bother them, while others plant their heads under the blanket and hope the boogie knights don't come for 'em.

*****
Apologies. On with the review.

A Clash of Kings continues the story arc, and now things are picking up speed. The king is dead, as is his Hand (if that confused you at all, read the first book) and now the lands are immolated in a power struggle for the Iron Throne.

Yeah.... well, what you can expect from the book:

Magic: While it obviously existed in the first book, it wasn't addressed. Martin starts ramping up the power curve here, taking his time and introducing things slowly. Make no mistake, the magic in this world is NOT fluffy and light, but rather dark, mysterious (it's magic, after all) and scary as hell in some places.
It fits very well.

Battle: People want power, and when might makes right, people will reach for it when it's available. There's a TON of fighting in this book, and the descriptions are pretty impressive.

Death, treachery: This happens when people fight. No war is bloodless, and should never be thought so. Most folks check their honor at the door when it comes to surival. It happens throughout the book.

I've read that some people are unhappy with the unpredictability of the story. No, I'm not kidding. For them, I suggest the "See Spot Run" series, which is nice and controlled, and if they can tear it from the hands of the Language Police they should enjoy it.

Martin doesn't spoon-feed plot to us, and fore-shadows with some subtlety, which can leave an inattentive reader behind.

I love that. I like reading a book that I can get more out of by re-reading it, and this is that kind of story.

If you enjoyed A Game of Thrones, Heir to the Empire and/or 13th Warrior, you'll probably like A Clash of Kings.

I loved the first book (maybe even an A+) but was disappointed in this one because of some of the things that pleased me in the first. Primarily the way that he lets awful things sometimes happen to good characters he's developed (like disability or death) - you really didn't know what was going to happen. He also was developing some very interesting deeper structures outside the basic warring noble families. The second novel keeps that going, but it seems like at times he's just casting dice to decide on plot lines. It may be he (rightly) feels his world and characters are robust enough to cope with such haphazard treatment, and that it reflects the context of the massive uncertainty of a civil war - but some sort of direction is enjoyable in a novel. The larger things are still there (the mysterious atrocities rising beyond the wall; the return of magic with Danerys and her dragons), but there's not much of a sense of a deadline with them.

In one way this may be good - you can just enjoy the interaction of substantial characters in a coherent fantasy world without it being forced into a typical exposition-rising tension-climax-dénouement structure. But I didn't enjoy it as much because the first did always seem to be more clearly going somewhere. Furthermore, while this is recounting the descent into treacherous conflict, the sheer volume and ubiquity of sickeningly brutal murder, molestation and mutilation of innocents is a bit overwhelming. George, are you just getting a little too much pleasure out of all this? I mean, it's your world and your narrative - you don't have to linger quite so long or often over these accounts. Or you could even pick things up a little!

I hope he doesn't go too Orson Scott Card, but there are getting to be a few too many world/era changing characters. The only one I've seen get away with this is Saberhagen in his Swords series. Each of a dozen God-forged swords are world shakers, and each book resolves itself, but the swords pop up here and there, interacting in novel ways, and could keep doing so indefinitely.

A Song Of Ice & Fire is by far the best book series I have ever read (I don't read a whole lot tho), there are so many surprising and quite sad twists & turns, I bought multiple copies as gifts to friends and relatives and they all love this series. I am sure the Game Of Thrones TV adaptation on HBO really helped to make this more popular cause I would have never heard of it otherwise. I am on the 5th book that was recently released (2 more novels planned to end the series) and I love them all but one, A Feast Of Crows is a bit of a snore fe(a)st I guess the 4th book was to long and George decided to split it in two, in doing so it seemed the 4th book was to short so he added A TON of filler that made it quite boring, it was focused on less popular (except for about 2) and new characters which made it less interesting as well. A Feast Of Crows is still good but doesn't stand to well against the other amazing books tho it is still a must read cause you will be lost otherwise. If you like medieval, fantasy, suspense and adventure then this is a must read.

all good, delivery was prompt and product was in perfect conditions. all good, delivery was prompt and product was in perfect conditions.