A Clash of Kings

Rating:
Summary: Although not out yet...I already know it will be excellent.
Review: Hurry up..I can't wait any longer. This is one of the best fantasy series ever written!

Rating:
Summary: This is a great political, chivalrous yarn.
Review: Although it gives hints of future aspects of magic and sorcery; the Song of Fire and Ice is more concerned with the engaging saga of the coming-of-age siblings of a noble family caught up in the intrigues of an empire that is on the brink of destruction due to the incestuous mayhem caused by the ruling royalty. The reader is decisively swept up in rooting for the humanitarian code of honor that the heroes portray, in comparison to the mercenary values of the villain. One wild card in the misshapen dwarf, Tyrion, whose birth and spoken intentions gives allegiance to the antagonist royal family, but his humor and sympathetic circumstance gives an aspect of a wild cannon lose within the narrative, in that the read naturally hopes that such a likable character will cross over to the "good side".

Rating:
Summary: A Review for a book that hasn't been published
Review: A Game of Thrones is simply the best fantasy novel I have ever read. I look forward to the next installment. If you haven't read A Game of Thrones yet...you'll not be let down. It is unlike any other novel in the genre.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I really have not read this book yet because it hasn't been published but I'm sure judgeing on his last book this will be an amazing book!

Rating:
Summary: Too well written for its own good
Review: First off, Martin is a brilliant writer. His fiction is engrossing, never seems trite or forced, and flows with a deftness and skill that puts many fantasy authors to shame. As a novel to be judged on its own merits, the Song of Ice and Fire series is not to be missed, extremely quality work.

Unfortunately, these same attributes are what make the novels such a "labor of love" for me to read. The characters are real enough that the ones deserving of your affections get them in spades. Unfortunately, these same characters usually end up dead, or worse. On the flip side, the equally well crafted villians earn your enmity, only to triumph again and again.

I can appreciate the need for grit in this dark fantasy setting, but would it be so bad for Martin to let the good guys win, once and awhile? This would not be a problem if I was not so engrossed in Martins storytelling, but I am, and I hate it. It seems he enjoys using the power of his prose to tease and torture rather than entertain, and its really too bad. Yet still I can't.... stop.... reading.

To my fellow readers, I can only say, good luck. And if this doesn't sound like the kind of thing you want to spend your time with, for Gods sakes, don't start. Kinda like cigarettes. On a more positive note, I've heard the series gets better after book three, though I can't possibly imagine how. Guess I will find out.

Rating:
Summary: Every bit as good as AGoT!!!!!!
Review: My anticipation of this book was marred by fear that Mr. Martin could not possibly write another book of the same caliber as the first in the series. After reluctantly finishing "A Clash of Kings," I can thankfully say my fears were unneccessary! Martin has put as much work into creating his own world, complete with its own history, mythology, etc., as Tolkien did when creating Middle Earth and it shows -- this is the most realistic depiction of medieval times I have seen within the genre. Some reviewers commented that it bothered them that many main characters were "children" -- well, people, in the Middle Ages kids grew up a whole lot faster. You'd have to, if you expected to die in battle or childbirth or disease before you were 40. Anyway, the characters are as engaging as ever, and not just the main characters; I enjoyed many bit players just as much and hope to see more of them in future installments of "Ice and Fire." Hurry up with that third book, Mr. Martin.... no! Wait! Don't hurry up -- take your time, and create another masterpiece like this one!!!!

Rating:
Summary: It's Still An Overwhelming Story
Review: First, I would like to comment on language. Skip to the asterisks to by-pass a mild rant.

Words are used to convey ideas. No word in and of itself is "bad", and curse words are frequently (and commonly) used to express intensity, disdain, passion, et al. Frankly, anyone who would condemn a story because the language contained within it is living in a fantasy world whose bubble will pop (one can only hope permanently) the first time they bump into something real.
This book, like all the others, contains language that your mommy wouldn't like. People who have grown up don't let this bother them, while others plant their heads under the blanket and hope the boogie knights don't come for 'em.

*****
Apologies. On with the review.

A Clash of Kings continues the story arc, and now things are picking up speed. The king is dead, as is his Hand (if that confused you at all, read the first book) and now the lands are immolated in a power struggle for the Iron Throne.

Yeah.... well, what you can expect from the book:

Magic: While it obviously existed in the first book, it wasn't addressed. Martin starts ramping up the power curve here, taking his time and introducing things slowly. Make no mistake, the magic in this world is NOT fluffy and light, but rather dark, mysterious (it's magic, after all) and scary as hell in some places.
It fits very well.

Battle: People want power, and when might makes right, people will reach for it when it's available. There's a TON of fighting in this book, and the descriptions are pretty impressive.

Death, treachery: This happens when people fight. No war is bloodless, and should never be thought so. Most folks check their honor at the door when it comes to surival. It happens throughout the book.

I've read that some people are unhappy with the unpredictability of the story. No, I'm not kidding. For them, I suggest the "See Spot Run" series, which is nice and controlled, and if they can tear it from the hands of the Language Police they should enjoy it.

Martin doesn't spoon-feed plot to us, and fore-shadows with some subtlety, which can leave an inattentive reader behind.

I love that. I like reading a book that I can get more out of by re-reading it, and this is that kind of story.

If you enjoyed A Game of Thrones, Heir to the Empire and/or 13th Warrior, you'll probably like A Clash of Kings.

Rating:
Summary: The Floodgates of War are Opened
Review: In "A Game of Thrones," George R.R. Martin's first novel in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series, the tenuous peace of the Seven Kingdoms was shattered with the murder of King Robert and his right-Hand man, Ned Stark. A mad scramble for power ensued, both on the battlefield and in the royal courts, but despite carnage, betrayal, and death, nothing was resolved, and the novel ended with an already war-torn nation contemplating its riven future.

"A Clash of Kings" spins the complex yarn of the various pieces in this magnificent chess game . . . and one wonders how Martin himself can keep things straight. Like the first novel, "Clash" uses each chapter to tell the story from a different character's perspective. This daring scheme works, and works well. Martin gives each character a unique voice as well as perspective on events, and he is even able to "simplify" the story whenever a younger person is providing that perspective. The scheme also works because as Martin jumps from character to character, each chapter offers another opportunity for a tantalizing cliff-hanger. Sure, it can be difficult to say sayonara to a character for 80-odd pages, but the reunions between reader and character are fun.

The Seven Kingdoms are a martial land, to be sure, and most of the characters are rather grim -- not surprising, given the circumstances. Fortunately, Martin allows the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, to tell much of this story, and Tyrion is a blessedly conflicted combination of Falstaff, MacBeth, and Dr. Evil, and the reader can delight in Tyrion's clever wickedness and his shreds of honor. The novel allows few opportunities for humor, but Tyrion insists on finding them even under the most dire of circumstances.

Martin proves himself to be a master of writing vivid battle scenes as well as dialogue, as the epic battle of Blackwater comes to horrifying life.

And through it all, while the Seven Kingdoms are torn apart by civil war, the feuding warlords ignore two separate-yet-lethal looming threats -- the rise of the Dragonqueen in the lands across the sea, and the growing drumbeat of war rising in the North, where the undead Others are emerging from legend.

Combining the mythic scope of Tolkein with the crisp writing style of Bernard Cornwell, Martin continues to build his masterpiece, "A Song of Ice and Fire." While it may stress your patience with its 700-odd pages, a reader should definitely read "A Game of Thrones" before diving into "A Clash of Kings" -- this is a story much too rich to cut corners. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: If you have read the book, then you know that it is great, and I have nothing to say that has not been said by better people. The five star people are right.

If you have read game of thrones and hated it (which I cannot imagine), then do not bother continuing with Clash of Kings because it is just like the first.

If you read Game of Thrones, loved it, and have not read Clash of Kings yet, then know this. The book is good. Real good. The first was not a fluke. This man has talent that is scary. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Dustjackets
Review: The series is great - read it.

Now for my criticism and vent. I've spent something like $60 or so expecting a uniform dust jacket series and now it's been up-and-changed. I read somewhere that Martin said at a convention it was to bring it in line with the series, but I don't believe that. No, this is a matter of simple economics. It's a gimmick to bleed the faithful readers to re-purchase for uniform art, and it comes close to making me drop the series altogether. Of course, I won't do that because Martin's a great writer. Neither will I re-purchase the earlier books in hardcover, and I encourage other readers to do the same. I'm rather infuriated over the whole arrangement. Way-to-go whoever thought up this deal. Thanks for honoring your customers (that was sarcasm, you moron).