A Clash of Kings
Ratings786
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings786
Average rating4.3
Five separate factions vie for control of the realm of the late Lord Eddard Stark, while an ancient form of magic, an everlasting winter, and an unearthly army threaten to return
Featured Series
5 primary books6 released booksA Song of Ice and Fire is a 8-book series with 6 primary works first released in 3 with contributions by George R.R. Martin, Linda Antonsson, and 5 others.
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913 pages and misery of 5 months finally come to end.
The end of A Clash of Kings snuck up on me. That's something I hadn't really thought about before, especially with an 874 page monster like this, but it can happen with an ebook. I'm reading along, eager to know what happens next. The chapter ends, I go to the next page, and - Appendix? What do you mean, Appendix! That's nonsense, there's got to be more story here than that! I want to know what comes next, dammit! GIVE ME THE STORY!As it happens, I can start reading [b:A Storm of Swords 62291 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) George R.R. Martin http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298429990s/62291.jpg 1164465] whenever I like, unlike all those poor folk who read this book when it was first released. I think I might need to stop and read a few other books first, though. I did read today's big announcement regarding [b:A Dance with Dragons 2782553 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) George R.R. Martin http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301849720s/2782553.jpg 2936175], but there's no way I can stretch the next two volumes out to last through more than two months until book five actually comes out. I'm sure the delay will be worth it, though!One thing [a:Sam Chupp 11847 Sam Chupp http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219698183p2/11847.jpg] and I have discussed is Martin's marvelous subtlety with magic. It's only barely there at all throughout A Game of Thrones, and can easily be dismissed by anyone who doesn't have direct experience of it. It grows stronger in A Clash of Kings, but it is still something that just about anyone in the Seven Kingdoms would say belongs in tales for children. Not relying on magic for plot takes more discipline as an author, and holding back as he is says a great deal about Martin's careful pace.
Some of the battles made for tedious reading. At the end, I'm still interested in the characters' fates, so on to the next one.
A worthwhile follow up to the first book that doesn't really reach the heights of the previous installment, yet it does have a lot of character building and set up for the next and arguably best book in the series.
