Rating: 
Summary: Incredible series!
Review: Geroge Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" is rapidly becoming one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. "A Clash of Kings" the second volume in the projected six volume series meets and perhaps excedes the expectations produced by the first book. Unlike many other fantasy series that are simply long this one is long becuase the story it tells is so huge that to tell it in less words would simply be impossible. At times I felt the book was almost too short as sometimes key events are recounted after the fact and with little detail by charaters in the book.The story of ASoiAF is not simply huge it is engrossing. I found it difficult to put down. Not only are the all the interconnected story threads interesting and well written but the back story, which includes such elements as the overthrow of the Mad King a generation earlier, the mysterious parentage of Jon Snow, and the death of Eddard Stark's sister, is equal fascinating and it is real joy to see this other story slowly unfold while to current events are described. Martin has also created a very rich fantasy world. The culture is fully developed, the politics is gritty and realistic, the action is violent and unsanitized. Martin also includes traditonal magical elements such as dragons and wraiths, but rather than being common and trite, magic is a rare thing in Martin's universe which had dissapeared years ealier and is now slowly returning. The characters are diverse and realistic, as well as numerous, but there are not so many the the reader cannot keep track of them all. Each character behaves in a believable way and all the major characters contribute something to the story. And though there are good guys and bad guys in this book, the line between the two is often blurred as the good characacters frequantly do bad things and the bad characters just as often do good things. It's often hard to know who to root for though Martin does give his reader a few truly abominable characters to root against. It is hard for me to say enough good things about this book and this serious, but there ar a couple of minor critisms. The principle one is that each section often ends with a cliff hanger. This in itself is not a problem, but when we return to that character it is often days later and the crisis the character was in has already been resolved. It's kind of like when a TV show goes to commercial break and when they get back the hero is out of danger. It's not actually that bad since Martin always fills the reader in on what had happened but it is a somewhat ackward style and I wish Martin would drop it in later books. The other criticm that could be made, though I don't neccessarily make it myself, is that the book is very violent and Martin is not hesitant about killing off main characters just as he did in the first book. Overall, this is a great book in a series that has the potential to sit next to "The Lord of the Rings" as a true classic of fantasy. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Brevity is the Soul of Wit - And a Plot Makes a Story
Review: After reading A Game of Thrones, I rushed to the library and found it's sequel, A Clash of Kings. I was intensely excited to see what happened to the compelling characters I had been introduced to in the first book of the series. After reading the 728 pages of A Clash of Kings, I still don't know what happens to the characters. Author George R.R. Martin follows the stories of 9 different characters - giving them obstacle after obstacle to overcome as they each pursue their goals, without letting them get even a step nearer to accomplishing those goals through the entire course of the book. I found the book very intriguing on the sentence, or even paragraph level - Martin weaves a vivid world with a great deal of drama, however I found the book to be completely without a plot. A Clash of Kings seemed to be a prolouge for whatever comes next, because a great deal of setting up for its sequel occurred without managing to push more than two or three of his character plots toward a resolution (and neither of those two or three plots furthered the main story). I agree with those reviews that referred to this book as more of a history than a fantasy. However, I would point out that in it's 14 chapters and 1000 pages, my history book manages to cover more than 300 years. Martin, in his numerous (I didn't want to count) chapters and 728 pages, manages to cover perhaps a few weeks, tops, and to leave us completely in the dark as to whether this history will take us to any sort of finalee. Personally, I would be perfectly happy to learn that the next book ends with the death-loving Others of the North coming down and wiping out the entire population of characters we've met - at least they'd achieve some sort of resolution then. And Martin, with his skill in descriptive drama, could probably manage to make the character's deaths intensely interesting. My frustration after spending hours of valuable time reading a book that got nowhere was not compensated by Martin's in depth exploration of his characters. I will not be finishing the series, A Song of Fire and Ice.
Rating:
Summary: What a disapointment
Review: Well, A Game of Thrones was a great book. The characters were the most incredible people I've ever read, and the plot line went along amazingly smoothly, considering that there were many different people and the point of view changed from chapter to chapter. Unfortuatly, all is not well in paradise. A Clash of Kings book is heavy, boring, and cumbersome. While I could stand the sex scenes in A Game of Thrones, they became beyond disgusting in this installment, making me wonder if the author wrote them for his own personal enjoyment. The characters were excellent, but the plot line confusing; more than once did I wonder what on earth was going on. Not the greatest, but I'm sure not the worst. Let's hope that the next book is better.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best, if not the best.
Review: A Clash of Kings continues the epic with as much intrigue and depth and it started with in A Game of Thrones. The plots twist and turn in ways that you could not imagine. Changing how think and feel about every character, a sinister-evil person into someone you could almost trust to be on your side. Magic begins to show its role in a world that was thought to have lost it. Creatures thought to no longer, if ever, exist begin to come to life and claim their place in this land that does not have enough room for the kings trying to rule it. This is a book, or epic, that you could read a hundred times and find new things you never found before or see old things in a new way that completely changes the way you see the story. I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys epic fantasies. Also I am willing to recommend any existing and future books written by George R. R. Martin.
Rating: 
Summary: Not without its Faults
Review: I'm noting an distressingly increasing trend among fantasy writers- to write history books, not stories. These authors apparently believe that to make things exceedingly complicated, exhaustive and immensely detailed (thus skimping on the character development; theres no room for it!) makes it enjoyable. Actually it basically turns the whole thing into a history book (e.g. The Wheel of Time. Wheres the plot, theme or anything similar? I see 1000 minor plots, but hardly a major theme or vision). And there are a lot of fans who want to dive into the mass of details and just forget about reality. Martin comes real close to this unfortunate practice in his second book but thankfully, doesn't wuite fall into the trap. The book is pretty good, no doubt about it. But it could have been a lot better. There are likeable characters (Arya, Tyrion) but the lack of a protagonist or even two makes for tedious reading at times. Often character development is supplanted by simple narration. However, there's still a lot of excitement, and the book does make you want to read it... for a while. The book could have and should have been shorter. Don't these people know what brevity is? More words = higher price but not better story. If you liked the Game of Thrones (I liked it) then you'll probably want to pick this up, if only to continue the series. If you're new, start from the beginning; and if you hated the first book then this one's not for you either.
Rating:
Summary: A Really Slow Clash of Kings
Review: After reading "A Game Of Thrones" (this book's predecessor) I expected much more from "A Clash of Kings". The first book truly "unfolded" before my eyes, and introduced the world and its inhabitants to me in a very intriguing way. In contrast, I found this one slow and a bit confusing through most of the book. There was so much information about such a large number of characters that it was often hard to figure out who was doing what to whom and why. It was as though I was being force-fed character development information and background info in preparation for a test the next morning. Yikes! I will still read book 3 when it is released, in hopes that it is closer to the "feel" of the first book. If you are of the same mind, you'll want to trudge through this one so you don't miss part of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Get on with it.
Review: I loved A Game of Thrones and promptly bought copies for all my friends when it came out in paperback. I eagerly awaited A Clash of Kings. Well, I liked it (I wish we could give half stars because I would have given it 3.5 stars), but I felt after reading 950 pages that I wasn't much further along in the story than I was at page 1. Some of the characters I like trememdously, such as Arya and Tyrion and Catelyn. Theon is interesting in his folly. So, as a character study, it is a very interesting story. Arya grows in her journey as does Jon Snow. I like the conflict that goes on within Tyrion. However, after I read the last word, I just asked myself, "Ok, what happened story-wise in this novel?" Answer: not enough to justify 950 pages. Still, I'm looking forward to reading Book 3. I just hope there is some form of movement in the story in that one. I gave up on Robert Jordan's series, and I really don't want to do that to Martin's. The characters are quite interesting. I just don't want to feel as if I'm being led around to buy sequels obsessively just so the book company can get my dollar.
Rating:
Summary: A Clash Of Kings
Review: Well what can I say? this book was so compelling i just could'nt put it down! Why you ask? because of the limitless twists and curves that kept you on the edge of your seat in this roller coaster ride of imagination. I have not read another author's work that can compare. George R.R. Martin is truly a master of Fantasy...
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Developed Characters and Storylines
Review: George R.R. Martin has taken a fundamental fantasy plot-style and made it his own. His characters come to life and keep you glued to the pages waiting to see what happens to them. I have read thousands of science fiction and fantasy books - this series is definitely up there on my list of favorites. If you enjoy getting your monies worth from large volumes of excitement, this series is a must add to your list to read.
Rating:
Summary: from strength to strength.
Review: It's amazing how quickly George R R Martin has become the premiere author in Fantasy. The Song of Ice and Fire series has supplanted the long running (and frankly aging) Wheel of Time series as an icon of the best work in the genre. Martin picks up from the riveting first entry in the series called a Game of Thrones. This work is longer but the pace is as breathless as ever. The Seven Kingdoms are still at war and the warring families such as the Starks, Lannisters and Baratheons enter a critical period beset by tragedy, treachery, treason and heroism on all sides. What is it about the Song of Ice and Fire series that makes it so good? Well, where to start? The charcters have more depth than ten of the average fantasy characters stacked on top of each other. The subplots, which threaten to drown other works such as the Wheel of Time, instead drives this work forward. The writing is crisp and refreshingly visceral, reflecting a world that is fantastical in its mythos, but very plausible in its portrayal of society. The story is charcter driven rather than plot driven. As in the previous book, the chapters alternate between the views of principal characters on all sides, this is refreshing in that it keeps a sense of balance in the writing and the reader awaiting the fate of his or her favourite character need not wait too long. There are some shocking surprises as in the first book but things are not always as they might seem at first. The book ends at a pivotal point in the book with more questions raised than answered, the only way this series will lose its magic will be if Mr. Martin chooses to turn this series into a protracted 10 part exercise on page filling money machines as Mr. Jordan has done. Let us hope that that will not happen. In conclusion, this is a sophomore entry that raises the bar on the current standards of Fantasy fiction and one that Mr. Martin should be proud of, this is simply put, excellent excellent fantasy.
| 
