Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff
Review: This genre is full of derivative stuff but this is a beauty. While that storyline has some cliche elements, the story and characterizations are carried off exceptionally well. The characters will stay with you a long time and the whole thing is far more evocative and compelling the other books of this type, even good ones like those by Robert Jordan.
Rating:
Summary: A Dark Tale Woven With Intricate Texture
Review: I have never been involved in delirious medieval battle, sword in hand, cutting down my nearest foes. My hands and arms have never felt warm blood spurting from inflicted wounds. I have never felt the impediment heavy armor brings to the natural movement of my body. I have not heard the cries of agony of those wounded and dying, yet within a few pages, George RR Martin envelops all my senses with the reality of ghastly battles of epic proportions. "The battle fever. He had never thought to experience it himself, though Jaime had told him of it often enough. How time seemed to blur and slow and even stop, how the past and the future vanished until there was nothing but the instant, how fear fled, and thought fled, and even your body. "You don't feel your wounds then, or the ache in your back from the weight of the armor, or the sweat running down into your eyes. You stop feeling, you stop thinking, you stop being you, there is only the fight, the foe, this man and then the next and the next and the next, and you know they are afraid and tired but you're not, you're alive, and death is all around you but their swords move so slowly, you can dance through them laughing." Battle fever. I am half a man and drunk with slaughter, let them kill me if they can!" Thus reads an excerpt from A CLASH OF KINGS, the mind-blowing sequel to A GAME OF THRONES. George RR Martin's seducing darkness of the bleak and torn Seven Kingdoms continues as we are presented with old and new characters in this startling but sinister tale of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. Queen Cersei's son Joffrey ascends to the Iron Throne and continues with his sadistic reign of the King's Landing in the south following the death of King Robert. The grim Stannis and Renly Baratheon (brothers to Robert) believe themselves to be the legitimate heirs to the throne. This is the prequel and culminates to the final epic battle against Joffrey and the Lannisters. Stannis relies on the powers of his new faith in the God of Light and Lady Melissandre, yet not everything is what it seems, and darker powers seem to be at work in Stannis. Renly, in turn, relies solely on his charisma to draw and lead a vast army. Rob Stark still battles to avenge his father's execution. Daenerys, the exiled heir of the former ruling family, continues the nurture of her three dragons. Jon, now part of the Nightwatch, travels further north to destroy the Wildlings and its leader, and hopes to destroy the evil threatens the Kingdom, now that the dead seem to walk. My favourite character is Tyrion Lannister, an evil but likeable character, who tries to tame his nephew, King Joffrey, and protect himself from the evil schemes of his sister, Queen Cersei. Martin captures the horror of medieval battles, where survival was not only based on skill, but also on luck. There is nothing sweet, nothing heroic, but Martin leaves you tasting the blood and witnessing the gore of the battle between steel and flesh. The reader is not untouched by this, but is seduced by the pain and terror of these characters. The story is definitely graphic and aimed at the adult reader. Martin is a superb storyteller (the best I have come across) and he infuses his characters with life, purpose and a sense of chaotic morality. The characters move between shades of grey, and are not strictly saints or sinners, but each is fallible in his or her beliefs. This is what makes the story so gripping and interesting. Be prepared for a roller coaster ride gone out of control. You never know what happens next, and it is hard to guess where Martin is going with this tale. In A CLASH OF KINGS evil outwits good, if goodness can be found. Martin succeeds in disguising darkness as light, as it slays those who are deceived by it. The introduction of magic in this book is very subtle, but utterly believable. The only complaint I have about this book, is that Martin is slow to reveal the grandness of the story, and I guess we will have to wait for A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Author desperately in need of Prozac
Review: Mr.Martin is a superb storyteller. He pays great attention to detail and references his past works diligently. My main problem is these books are so depressing. After 8000 years of this civilisations' existence,(8000 years of the Stark name being extant), the people in this story have barely gotten past inventing the wheel. Imagine being stuck in a cold murky castle, with a feudal system of crazed knights, lords and kings for eternity - this is the definition of a nightmare. Does the story line get less depressing with this book? Heck no, it's worse. Maybe after ten 1000 page books, these folks will discover the steam engine. I don't consider this series fantasy - it is pure horror. I will read the next installment in the series, if only to find out how much mileage martin can get out of this well thought out nightmare.
Rating: 
Summary: Could It Get Any Worse?
Review: Greetings, fantasy people. Prepare to be blown away by this horrible book! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but personally, I believe this is the worst fantasy book I have ever read! I picked it up after reading a rather good short story be George R.R. Martin in Legends, a compilation of fantasy and science fiction short stories. It was a waste of a good ten dollars! (several weeks of allowances). Never have I read such atrocious material. All it revolves around is brutality, betrayal, gore, and too many confusing twists! Twists and numerous characters are fun; it was an interesting writing style, but too much is too much. After the first few chapters you are left absolutely bewildered with the plot and character changes. Emotional development is at an all-time low, all you can tell is happening is sadness and fear - and, oh yes, how could I forget, pain! There seems to be constant pain in this book! Literally, folks, I could not make it half way through this book without saying, "Look, I've had enough of this. Jeez, what a waste of money!"
Rating:
Summary: The Dialogue Of George RR Martin
Review: Make no mistake about it, this man can write. He can tell a story, weave intricate plots, make us worry for a bad guy, and sometimes just want to throttle the good guy. Why then does he find it necessary to write dialogue as if his characters were from the 21st century? Catch phrases out of every day modern speech, language that has no place in a modern novel let alone a fantasy novel, and basic dialogue that sounds like it came from either a business meeting on Wall Street or a gutter in the Bowery. Martin has proven that he is a talented tale-teller. As such, I know he has the ability to write dialogue that is apropos to the medieval world he has taken such great pains to create. To give anything less, is a disfavor to himself, us and the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Superlative series; GRRM does it again!!!
Review: First off, I'm a heavy duty fan of GRRM. I've read over a 100 different fantasy authors in my time (started at 12; I'm now 32). Took about 5 years off from the genre b/c I felt it was all getting too formulaic and cliched. Typical archetype character who turns out to be the missing heir or boy wonder who saves the world against the Dark Lord. So, when I came back to fantasy at the end of 1999, I read the usual: Goodkind, Jordan, etc. and then someone told me about GRRM and man, that was the kicker! Here are the reasons to choose GRRM. I've also listed the reasons not to choose him to make it fair b/c I know their are certain personalities who won't like this series: WHY TO READ GRRM (1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . the dark lord is very evil and almost one sided at times . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old. (2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back. This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished. (3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR. (4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright. (5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing. (6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions. (7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow. (8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue. (9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages. (10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three. (11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done. (12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that. (13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels. (14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too. (15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it. REASON TO NOT READ GRRM (1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned. (2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes. (3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you. (4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life. If you have delicate ears, this book may upset you. (5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on. (6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil. (7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters. There really aren't any super heroes compared to all the other characters as it's more grittier and no one is shooting fireballs every milisecond or carrying around some super powerful sword. (8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig. (9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception). While this is realistic of the medieval era, some readers may not prefer this if they want more girl power, so to speak. By the way, if you don't want to commit to a big book until you know the author better, check out his short story, THE HEDGE KNIGHT, in LEGENDS. Overall, this is a great series and I happily purchase the hard cover when it comes out...
Rating:
Summary: Not a fantasy reader
Review: I'm generally not an avid fan of fantasy novels. I tend to gravitate towards the more classic writings of Roald Dahl or Hemingway, and the harder-edged work of Hunter Thompson or Bukowski. But, as I sat in a bookstore last year, I watched a woman scurry towards the sci-fi/fantasy section and pluck a just-released copy of the heafty "A Storm of Swords" off a pile. (The book was so new that the bookstore clerk was just putting them out for the first time.) All the while she had a cell phone in her ear - she uttered into it with zeal, "I've got it!", and rushed off. Needless to say, someone this excited about a book perked my interest. I read the back of Storm, traced its beginnings to "A Game of Thrones", and bought it. I am now 500 pages into Clash. These books are eloquent, historical, vivid, consistent, dense with plot and characters, and utterly personal. Truly great reading. Well written.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy Doesn't Get Any Better!
Review: The first book in the series was fantastic and I eagerly looked forward to the second in the series, A Clash of Kings. I only hoped the same high standard would be applied in the second book and I was not disappointed. Character development continued on a high level and the political intrigue that ran throughout the book kept you continually guessing what would happen next. I had read most of the major fantasy series but this book and all the others in the series seemed destined to stand with other greats of the genre. The author's style is very evocative with sights and smells of battle almost jumping from the page. I would recommend this book highly to anyone, not just those familiar with the fantasy genre.
Rating:
Summary: The series slows a trifle, but remains great
Review: "A Clash of Kings" is the sequel to George R. R. Martin's masterful first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series. As a sequel, it suffers from facing extremely high expectations. It almost lives up to those expectations. Unlike its predecessor, "A Clash of Kings" has a few slow spots. However, it still merits four stars and is highly recommendable. Why do I like this book? 1) The technique of rotating viewpoints is again used to perfection. It lets the reader see situations and characters from inside and out, and from different viewpoints, resulting in a fuller, richer understanding of everything. It also allows the otherwise-unthinkable option of an apparently crucial main character dying. 2) The writing and editing are near-flawless. I remember no logical contradictions, no editing errors, and only a few slow spots. It's a huge book, but it moves fairly well. I've read smaller books that had more slow spots. 3) Some of the characters begin transforming from what they were in the first book. Or, are the readers just getting a fuller understanding of these characters? Either way, evolving is going on. 4) Possibly because of the shifting-viewpoint technique mentioned above, the author is able to create a plot that is extremely complex and intricate, but still coherent. I wish 4.5 stars was an option, as that fits this book.
Rating:
Summary: It just got better
Review: With the Wheel of Time came a series like none other, with a scope of unimaginble size and amazing characters. While this series still remains great today, many have lost faith as the latter books have begun to go downhill, dragging the series on and providing no hope of a conclusion any time soon. But now a series has come that may have taken all of Jordan's wonders and left out all of the nightmares, leaving us with an epic masterpiece that just keeps getting better and better. With three great voumes already out and three more promised to come, A Song of Ice and Fire has provided what it has promised, and has promised to continue what it has started. A Clash of Kings was an awesome follow-up to A Game of Thrones, bringing in more plot threads, more magic and more battles to provide an intruiging story line. The first book only begun to explain how great this series is. THe third book, which I have just started today, seems like it will continue the pace, and just jacket cover makes me wish taht I could read ten times faster. I already can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. Like the Starks said, Winter is Coming.
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