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A Clash of Kings - A Song of Ice and Fire, Book II
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George R. R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. In his widely acclaimed A Game of Thrones, he introduced us to an extraordinary world of wonder, intrigue, and adventure. Now, in the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come.
Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders--Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon鈥攚ho held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.
As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky鈥攁 comet the color of blood and flame鈥攕ix factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.
A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.
Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.
Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment鈥攁 tale of pure excitement you will never forget.
01/08/2011
This isn't a negative review--just a very, very disappointed one. After Game of Thrones I looked forward to Clash of Kings with huge anticipation. It doesn't deliver. It is very well written and if it stood alone it would be fantastic. However, it is just more of the same. Now a hundred pages into book 3 I realize it was a big mistake to read these consecutively. They are all some more of before. Lots of heads getting lopped off. Lots of what is, for some readers really kinky sex (brother on sister/dwarf on whore) and lots of evil vanquishing good. Lots and LOTS of evil vanquishing good. It's okay if this is the author's world view but after 1600 pages of it I find his perspective tedious and/or depressing. If Martin had written the story of World War II Hitler and Stalin would have conquered the world. Apparently this author believes good is not only naive--it is really really stupid. Eddard Stark is so noble and virtuous he has to tell Cersei he is going to expose her secret!!! Apparently being heroic means being a dumb ass. Early on in Book 3 Catelyn is considering letting Cersei's evil twin go, ready to trust him to do the same for her daughter. I just couldn't bear to see this supposedly strong, intelligent woman behave so stupidly to move a plot along. So this is where I have decided to stop. If Martin wants to write about the sex lives of disfigured dwarves, triumphant evil and moronic virtue, okay. I live in a world far more balanced. And it is not a fantasy of mine to inhabit dark and dumb.
06/07/2011
I love these books. If you love fantasy books, then A Song of Ice and Fire is the series you want. These books do not have the usual "Black and white" characters, each character is their own, fun, dark, lovable, grey, and most of all: Killable. George Martin does a wonderful job of leading you into liking a character, only to kill them off. This is such a change from other fantasy novels that I have read (15 years of reading and hundreds of Fantasy books) that I had to re-read the books several times, and my opinion of each character changed with each time. Reading these books is like reading a person- several people, at once. You never know what is going to happen. For example, throw all the dangerous chemicals, known and unknown to you, into a tub, and these books are what come out.
04/07/2011
Reviews of sequals are a tricky thing. Once you have read the first one then you will keep reading regardless of what anybody else says until you are tired of it. In a best case scenario is you finish satisfied. So it is with this in mind that I write this review to fans who are interested in what other fans think of the different books in the series. Well written and great moments abound in the sophomore outing for this series. It is good all the way threw. Then the last battle comes and knocks you out of the park. I find major battles in books problematic. Never once did I lose place of what was going on and what was at stake. One of the best chapters in the whole series so far comes toward the end when catelyn stark comes to terms with Jamie. That scene is everything this series strives to do. The complaints I have is it feels a little like stalling. Or maybe it is the strengths of the first and third that makes this entry just a tad quieter. All in all I loved this book and the series is the best being written in the fantasy genre.
05/08/2010
Perspective: I cannot stand television as I do not have the patience for the silliness it offers all of us. I'm a finicky reader too, I don't waste too much time on fiction... This series of books is probably the best I've ever read, especially in this genre (which I do not frequent). The author is unbelievably good at his craft. There have been times where I though his writing was getting too "wordy" and I thought to skip ahead- I did not skip and was grateful as the plot opened and included the seemingly unimportant portion I almost blew by. Great job Mr. George RR Martin!!!
02/08/2007
I have been reading fantasy for veery long. As soon as i was of susceptible age, my father gave me a copy of "The Hobbit". Since then, after Tolkiens all time classic had set the ball in motion, I have consumed series after series, author after author, and I have found great pleasure in the genre as well as a profound knowledge and experience in what to expect from a good fantasy book. What this book has to offer (referring to "the game of thrones") is exactly what im talking about. I admit to being somewhat of a mindless deciple of Jordans Wheel of Time greatness, as well as Tolkiens Middle Earth, and I never thought I would encounter an author to rival these giants. But with the song of ice and fire series, Martin has created an immensely believable yet entrancing and magical world. The way he focuses each chapter, by name, on an individual, makes it easier to follow, and towards the end I got frustrated whenever the title of the chapter wasn't "Eddard", which brings me to yet another revelation
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