A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)

I LOVE this series. But, the quality of the book itself is nowhere near as good as the illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones. You can tell they went cheaper: the binding is flimsy, the texture is printed on, the color pictures are grouped together in three places instead of being spread throughout the book, and the black and white pictures are also less numerous. I hope the illustrated edition of A Storm of Swords shows improvement.

All characters are interwined well.We the reader follow the Starks and all those that were in their world from Game of thornes. Horrors and triumphes {Robb to Bran. I laughed and sat in edge of my seat. Well worth a read.

Book had good plot.

Great sell! They sold me a signed copy for GRRM for $5. 10/10 would but again

"A Clash of Kings" is the second book in George R.R. Martin's remarkable "Song of Fire and Ice" series. The novel picks up seamlessly where "A Game of Thrones," left off. The story deepens and becomes more complex as, (at least), four claimants battle for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and unimaginable darkness and disaster threaten from the North. This riveting, multi-layered epic saga reads, in part, like superb historical fiction, (the novel is based more on history than on legend or myth), and in part like dark fantasy, with a huge cast of vivid, well developed human characters - and a few of the supernatural kind also. As with the first book, there is an Appendix at the back of the novel with the names of all the royal houses, their kings, queens, knights, histories, and mottos. The ten year-long summer of peace has come to an end, and the darkness of a harsh, frigid winter is about to descend on the now splintered Seven Kingdoms. An ominous blood red comet, thought by some to be an omen of evil, by others a portent of good, blazes across the sky. In just a short period, war has ravaged the land. King Robert Baratheon, and Lord Eddard Stark, enforcers of thirteen years of peace, have been murdered - victims of political treachery in the game of thrones. Robb Stark of Winterfell has been proclaimed King in the North and battles, along with his liegemen and their armies, against the Lannisters, while dead King Robert's brothers, Stannis and Renly Baratheon, fight each other for crown and throne in the South. The House of Lannister attempts to hold on to their power through young heir apparent, Jeoffry Lannister Baratheon, the child of incest, who rules like a tyrant from King's Landing. His evil, manipulative mother Cersei and his uncle, Tyrion, the dwarf, dominate the sadistic young king and rule through him. Tyrion, called the Imp, tries to check his nephew's arrogance and cruelty and his sister's power plays. At one point he comments that he is all that stands between the family and the population, who despise him, and chaos. Deadly political intrigue is the name of the game at court. King Balon Greyjoy, of the Iron Islands, has marshaled his forces in his own play for power. Meanwhile, major armies are massing against King's Landing from all points on the map, and from various sources, all with their own interests at stake. There is an extraordinary battle scene which occurs during the last 200 hundred pages that is detailed, intense and mind-boggling in scope and creativity. I don't like military/war/battle descriptions, yet I was absolutely riveted to the page. This is really superb writing! Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons and royal heir from the previous dynasty, plans, from a continent away, to travel with her unlikely brood across deserts and wastelands to take back the crown that is rightfully hers. Sansa Stark, Robb's sister, is held captive at King's Landing waiting for an opportunity to escape. Arya, the sec

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 intri

During one of those endless nights when I just couldn't put Clash of Kings down, I wondered: "Why aren't there more books like this?" George Martin has created one of those most deeply involving and satisfying series out there. In only two books, he has crafted real characters involved in the horrors of war. Many of the reviews below accurately describe the way that Martin creates characters of grey, rather than comic book black and whites. Many of the scenes in the book fit well with dark and somber lighting. This is not your daddy's fantasy novel.Martin's characters bring a more realistic spin on knighthood and war. Cersei describes it best to young Sansa when she destroys the young girl's romantic view of knights by remarking that knights are for killing, nothing more or less. And kill they do. The battle scenes are raw and unglamorous, like the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. Its all very realistic and gritty and heck, it makes sense: what do you really think happens when a not-so-sharp sword is swung haphazardly at another person: I've never seen it firsthand, but I'm sure its not pretty. It may be an oxymoron to claim that a fantasy book can be realistic, but this series is: after seeing the battle scenes in Braveheart or Gladiator, I have a deeper understanding of the horrors of sword fighting in, say, the medieval times in English history. Martin's story is realistic in the sense that it doesn't gloss over the horror and pain and terror of battles and the rage of the people who fight them.Martin's series is a hardcore fantasy adventure for adults. While other authors cater predominately to a younger fantasy audience, Martin seems to write for the "college and beyond" crowd (at 31, I'm well beyond). Sex scenes, like the battles, are not glamorous in the least. Whereas characters in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series constantly blush and stumble at the very thought of even kissing a girl, Martin's characters think lewd thoughts, perform graphic sex scenes, etc. Yes, its not for all ages, or for every taste, but for those of us who are tired of the same old antiseptic stuff, Martin is a mature breathe of fresh air.Meanwhile, he continues to awe me with his story telling. The different kings are now in open conflict with each other. Whereas Game of Thrones focused on the Starks v. the Lannisters, in this installment, it seems as if the entire land is in termoil, with no less than six kings fighting each other and attacking each other. The battles are terrific, including the climactic battle. (no spoilers here) One other note I feel compelled to make is that Martin has created strong and independant female characters in his series. People might assume, based on the reviews, that this is a male-dominated story. Nothing could be further from the truth. Martin spends as much time writing about the female characters (Sansa, Arya, Catelyn Stark) as the male characters, and the female characters rule (i.e. Cersei) and fi

Continuing and expanding the excellent story begun in "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings" takes us further into the chaos that has descended upon the land of Westeros now that king Robert Baratheon is dead. The "Seven Kingdoms" are fracturing, war and madness reign, and through it all George R. R. Martin ties the plot together and cranks up the volume notch by notch.All of us who dove into this series are now frothing at the mouth waiting for the next book... "Clash" ends with so many cliffhangers that I spent a decent amount of time lying awake at night wondering what in god's name was going to happen NEXT. This series is one of the best fantasy epics I have ever read, and I have faith that Martin will keep the pressure on, and fan interest up, unlike Robert Jordan.If you have not started this series, go NOW and read the first book, and then (slowly!) read "A Clash of Kings", as the third book (Supposedly titled "A Storm of Swords") is not due out till Fall of this year. Hang on!

Of all the fantasy series on the market, only three, to me, combine page-turning plotlines, characters you could cry over, solid writing--and believable worlds. Martin joins Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and early Katharine Kerr as the best of what modern fantasy has to offer. I know how popular Salvatore, Eddings, Feist, et al. are; but read them again, and what you get is good story with junior high school-level writing ability. Terry Goodkind spins a good yarn, but he's too derivative of Robert Jordan (why no copyright infringement lawsuit?) and his writing is average at best. Martin's series, though... wow. Tad Williams remains, to me, the best-written of all series, Jordan's plot is perhaps the most captivating, and early Kerr was so real you could smell the horse and steel. Martin is not the best in any one area, but he does it all so well you'll find yourself staying up all night turning pages. My only anger is the year-long wait until the next installment. I know some will chafe at the fact that this second volume is mostly build-up, with just about nothing getting resolved. But what a build-up; the tension gets so thick you want to scream at the characters to get a clue and see what's really coming. If your idea of fantasy is two-hundred pages of improbably-named Dungeons and Dragons cliches killing monsters plagiarized from Tolkien, go back to your Salvatores. But if you're into believable worlds crafted by authors who obviously have done some homework into late medieval history to flesh out the details, and characters who are _human_, with human failings, do yourself a favor and buy A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Better yet, wait until the series is done before you start, or you'll find yourself in agony, like I am now.