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

George R. R. Martin

Jan 2003 · A Song of Ice and Fire Book 2 · Sold by Bantam

About this ebook

THE BOOK BEHIND THE SECOND SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO.

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK TWO
 
In this thrilling sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any we have ever experienced.
 
A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which 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, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Ratings and reviews

A Clash of Kings continues the story with the war of the five kings developing in Westeros. At the end of A Game of Thrones, Robb had declared himself King in the North, Stannis and Renly had fled to Dragonstone and Storm's End, respectively, Joffrey is just getting started with his sadistic rule, and the whole kingdom is holding its breath. The start of A Clash of Kings was slow, to be blunt, and I was so bored until like the first third of the book arrived - there is a lot of talking, and not much action going on. Considering A Game of Thrones managed to drop important backstory without boring me, I was kind of disappointed with A Clash of Kings for not being able to do so. After the first third, though, things improved and the plot developed to the main arc - the war of the five kings, with Greyjoy entering the fray. This book, while technically mostly a battle book, is more about the subtle political maneuvers and blackmailing - shady stuff, basically. And also a lot of grey morality - there are characters who you think are all honorable and stuff, but their idea of morality and the contemporary idea of morality are distant cousins. For example, Stannis, who seemed like the least to bend to anything, is now embracing a new religion. By the way, religion is starting to gain a foothold in the politics of this saga. In the first, it was like - all religions, even those besides the Seven, are practiced in harmony with others. But now, it is developing into a free-for-all, with the religious ideologies also playing a part in the alliances. Meanwhile, we still get a lot of character-centric arcs. The great thing about this series is that there are many individual stories (that are complete in their own way) threaded into this giant main arc, and they sometimes intersect but often they are also independent. Catelyn and House Tully feel independent from the main war, even though they are related to people in the main war. Arya's story also feels independent as she lives mostly with the peasants during this book, presenting a different view of the rivalry between the houses - the peasants don't care who is squabbling with whom, as long as they aren't caught up in the crossfire. We get new character POVs in Davos Seaworth and Theon Greyjoy, two diametrically opposite characters whose lives are running in different directions from their lords. The plot is, for the most part, captivating with the exception of the start and the battle at King's Landing. Roy Doytrice is an excellent narrator but sometimes I can't guess the age of the character when he gives even a 14 year old the same bass in the voice like an elderly character. In any case, though, his voice acting is excellent and gives an emotional weight to the performance. Meanwhile, other problems still linger from the first, namely the blatant use of sexual violence as a plot device. I am tired of encountering a mention of rape in nearly every few pages, and it is getting too old now. Yes, we get it - the kingdom is horrible to women, and even though we have strong women characters, they are threatened by the possibility of sexual violence the most. I would like to mention a scene where Tyrion calls out Joeffrey for this - saying he would never treat a boy servant the same as he was treating Sansa. Overall, an interesting addition to the series, but probably not as amazing as the first.

A Clash of Kings was an amazing sequel to book one A Game of Thrones. As usual George R.R. Martin never Ceases to amaze. The book starts out with a point of view for characters that were not in the first along with those who were. Being the amazing writer he is makes each character seem almost real to a scary sense, all of their actions and decisions are completely realistic and totally original for each character. George Martin is definitely the master at making a complex and compelling story.

Martin kept me engrossed throughout A Clash of Kings. One aspect I liked was the approach to battles. While some were written from the view of those participating in them, rather than play each one out as a major dramatic scene, other times the reader learns of them second-hand, along with the character they're following, long after they're done. Not only does this keep us from re-reading essentially the same thing over and over, but it also immerses the reader further into a world where news isn't instantaneous and you have to relay on scouts to track your enemy and plan your next move. The story remains strong, although some of the descriptive language I enjoyed in the first book seems to have faded away.

About the author

George R. R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons—as well as Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, Dying of the Light, Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle), and Dreamsongs Volumes I and II. He is also the creator of The Lands of Ice and Fire, a collection of maps from A Song of Ice and Fire featuring original artwork from illustrator and cartographer Jonathan Roberts, and The World of Ice & Fire (with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson). As a writer-producer, Martin has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.