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Summary: The most intriguing and trecherous plot you'll ever read
Review: George Martin keeps you turning pages till you drop. I thought the Riftwar and Serpentwar sagas were the top fantasy series but The Song of Ice and Fire beats them all.
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Summary: Fantasy fan? Martin's your man!
Review: Martin's 2 books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" are among the best novels I've ever read. If you are a fan of fantasy; enjoy intrigue, swords, sorcery, intelligent & adult writing; look no further than this book & it's predecessor. I would compare it to "The Mists of Avalon", Tolkien, the best parts of Simmons' "Hyperion", Card's "Ender" books, "Titus Groan", Donaldson's "Covenant" books and Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" trilogy. Truly-Martin is a magnificent talent & you owe it to yourself to read the 2 books in "A Song of Ice and Fire". Would have given this 6 stars if I could!
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Summary: A mature read for fantasy addicts. Well read!
Review: With Jordan's detail, Tokeins charcterization, and a mature appeal that can make Dr. Ruth blush. A must for any bookshelf.
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Summary: Just when you thought fantasy was getting boring...
Review: In a genre where you find one gem in a collection of 100 lumps of coal this diamond is sure to put the sparkle back in Fantasy. Using complex characters to weave complex plots, Martin manages to keep the reader interested in a dozen different personal intrigues while continually furthering the overall plot of the story. "A Clash of Kings" is the second of the series starting with "A Game of Thrones", and for those fans of exciting and intelligent literature in the fantasy genre, these books are a must for your collection. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment.
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Summary: "Game of Thrones" (Vol. 1) Just Slightly Better...
Review: Sure, "Clash" is Great, but because there's so much plot to get through to the readers, Martin had to leave out many of the clever and witty pieces of dialogue and description that made "Game" an enjoyable read. Also, the chapters involving Catelyn are, frankly, boring and the chapters involving Stannis and Davos weren't followed through in the second half of the novel(gasp! critism... of Martin?! Nay!). The ending is much, much more grim than that of "Game", which is a mixed blessing. For those who have read the book, I'd just like to say that I can't wait for Arya to get to Braavos, to see what Jon's destiny will be and to see Dany get to Asshai. I loved the visions Dany saw in the Tower of the Undying (The king with a wolf's head siting at a feast of corpses, Aegon's birth, the false sorcerors, etc.), as well as Jon's vision of the wildling army digging something huge out of a gigantic glacier. Great series in general, although it will take more than a decade to see it's end the way it's going now. Oh well.
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Summary: FANTASTIC! Thomas Covenant, LOOK OUT!
Review: First, let me tell the only negative thing about this book: IT ENDED! I read the first in the series the day it came out on paperback, and upon finishing it, I pre ordered (by SEVERAL months) the hard back edition of "A Clash of Kings" here on Amazon, and actually got it before public release. Enought drabble...This book is incredible! I hope Mr. Martin will excuse the comparison, but I've not felt so APART of a created world since "The Land" in Donaldson's books. Martin paints such a vivid and REAL picture that I can actually see myself walking the King's Road to Winterfell. The characters are ALIVE and feel like my friends. I travel every week for business and Martin's novel was my constant companion until I turned the last page (which came entirely too quickly!). I love his masterful work of magic in the novels. It's not poured all over you! It's this horrible/mysterious thing you KNOW exists, but many deny it. But when it's used on rare occasion, LOOK OUT! I like how NO ONE is safe in his novels! When Eddard died, I thought I would too, but what PURPOSE his death served! My last thoughts are this: READ THESE BOOKS! My only word of caution would be you MIGHT want to wait until ALL of the series is complete. The wait from one book to the next is agonizing! Mr. Martin, KEEP IT UP! Behold, the new master of a genre!
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Summary: Give me more stars to work with!
Review: I just read GAME OF THRONES 4 days ago in one sitting. I just bought (hardcover) CLASH OF KINGS yesterday and finished it this morning. These books are by far & away of higher quality that Jordan's massive tomes or Feist's formulaic plots. Don't mistake me, I have all of tWoT except for PATH OF DAGGERS, which I couldn't finish, and almost every one of Feist's works. Only Feist's "Empire" novel's coauthored with Janny Wurts has anything remotely close to as much texture as George R. R. Martin has put into his world. Anyway, I'll be buying the hardcover edition of the next book once it gets on the shelves
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Summary: Simply Awesome!! A.S.O.I.A.F may be the best ever...
Review: What can one say? Wow! I received "AGoT" as a X-Mas present, opened the pages with some doubt, as I was caught in the formula fantasy trap. My doubts were wiped away in an instant...it was the best book I had ever read, comparable only to what I once considered the "incomparable" works of Tolkien. Brilliantly conceived, with the perfect balance of fantasy and realism, a masterpiece. A "CoK" kept me entranced, once again masterfully written, the plot is breathtaking, the characters so real you feel as though you breathe with them, feel with them, hate them and love them. I can't wait for the next installment of this epic fantasy...but as long as it is this good, Mr.Martin can take all the time he needs to make it so. And come on, surely gallant Ser Loras, the Knight of Flowers, won't be a thug for that pathetic boy king.
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Summary: Fantasy at its best - excellent writing and convincing plot.
Review: There are no two ways about it. The Song of Ice and Fire is in a class of its own in modern fantasy writing. After some of the very poor writing (Brooks, Goodkind etc.) that has tended to saturate the fantasy market it is a breath of fresh air to read such excellent literature in this genre. The multilevel plot lines are quite brilliant with the characters being extremely convincing in that most show both "good" and "bad" personality traits and actions. The Clash of Kings is a worthy sequel to the first book although it takes quite a while to get going. Although I have given this book 5 stars, to my mind it is not without its faults. As others (no pun intended) have already mentioned Martin's use of different viewpoints for each chapter can be annoying at times - especially when it seems to break the flow of the story rather than enhance it. I would also hazard to guess that Martin (with no little encouragement from his publishers, no doubt) is succumbing to that terrible literary affiction of "Jordanitus" - a terrible propensity of keeping a series going on too long. Don't do it George! Along with a number of characters' (Theon Greyjoy for one) insatiable wenching you might also notice that Mr Martin tends to describe the meals in great detail - perhaps we are learning a thing or two about the author himself (please forgive me George). All in all, this is a brilliant book and I take my hat of to Mr Martin.
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Summary: An excellent read.
Review: I usually don't buy hardcover books, but I couldn't wait for this to come out in paperback. Kudos to Martin for creating believable characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. I've read quite a bit in this genre and these things stick out: 1. He takes extra special care to describe (with detail) the clothing and people of his novels. 2. He's also in the habit of using italics to let the reader know what the character is thinking when in conversations with other characters. Very interesting, as it reveals some of that character's schemes. 4. A lot of gratuitous sex and violence. If I were a 13-year-old kid reading this book I'd be gleefully hiding the book under my mattress. Nonetheless, it's hard to put down. I haven't been too impressed with a lot of the fantasy I've read lately. Maybe I'm getting too old for it. But George R.R. Martin is worth checking out!
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