Rating: 
Summary: Song of Death and Beauty
Review: George R.R. Martin is the last person I would ever have suspected of a secet desire to write heroic fantasy. Perhaps that's why his Song of Ice and Fire is so unexpectedly great. Martin, known better for his hard sf, draws together threads from dozens of books, transforming them as he goes: I've noticed his hat tipped to Tad Williams, Robert Jordan, Poul Anderson, Lois McMaster Bujold and Dave Duncan as well as Feist and Eddings and the whole pantheon of fantasy writers. This is a huge work, packed with characters, and written in a realistic, uncompromising style. Feudalism, with all its glory, honor, and starving peasants, has lasted for a millenium on this world; perhaps due to the weak grip of religion, or perhaps because of the decade-long winters caused by the wobbling axis of the planet. In the longest winters, the eerie dwellers in the frozen north can extend their sway into the lands of men, slowed only by the exiles of the Night's Watch who guard against the dark powers. It's all about honor and might of arms: you can gain a kingdom by force, but can you hold it without the consent of the governed? Does a lord deserve fealty if he rules unjustly? There are no clear-cut heroes in this book, and no simple moral choices. The evil and the less-evil rule, and only those able to play the game of thrones survive; and as the humans struggle for advantage in the warm southern kingdoms, the brutal wolf-winter gathers and inhuman creatures with glowing blue eyes mass to crush the warmblooded intruders forever. Across the sea, little Princess Dany and her dragons may be mankind's only hope. Caught between the grinding armies and maneuvering lords, a host of interesting characters rise and fall, advance and retreat, weep and rejoice. Fire and Ice? Love and Hate? All the extremes are here. The White Walkers in the north can match humanity hate for hate, sword for sword, strength for strength. Winter is coming, and only honor and love can burn hot enough to turn it back.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the first one
Review: I disagree with those saying the book is in a "holding pattern." Perhaps that's the "in" thing to say about fantasy series after Jordan's latest. But while I definitely felt that way about Jordan's, A Clash of Kings was an enthralling book. Events do happen which are extremely significant (people do die) and there is that ever-present sense of mortality. Martin does an excellent job of bringing a sense of reality to the genre. You get a great sense for the lethality of warfare compared to the typical heroes slaughtering faceless hordes.The series so far does lack a sense of fantastic grandeur or the sense of massive history that Tolkien and others bring to bear, but on the other hand it presents a grippingly ruthless and exciting adventure, as well as intricate and involving political intrigue with believable characters.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting realistic fantasy
Review: Martin roots his fantasy firmly in the patterns of history, giving it a weight and heft that other fantasies often lack. Where a lesser author builds their book on cool magic- magic is only one of the elements that make this tapestry rich. For the squeamish out there, it's worth noting that A Clash of Kings doesn't pull it's punches. Children are not spared just for being children and sex (even rape) is given its accurate role in the field of war. Just because it's a fantasy novel, doesn't mean it's for children. My only real complaint is that it's probably going to take so long for the next book to come out!
Rating:
Summary: Real-istic fantasy. Martin is the Heir of the Kingdom!
Review: Of all the fantasy series I read in the last years this is the most exciting and thrilling one. A real masterpiece for the genre: epic, honor, violence, human feelings, lust and evil mixed up. A brand new interpretation of classic fantasy style, a sort of new writing philosophy of genre. Martin is the Heir of the Kingdom after Tolkien, Eddings, Williams, Jordan and Goodkind. Can't wait too long for the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond fantasy
Review: Both Song of Ice and Fire books go beyond standard fantasy conventions and present real worlds and real people. Many readers seem to be happy with generic 'elf and alien' books these days, so be warned: You won't find bland characters and dull plot developments here. Instead, you'll find real people, filled with love, rage, lust, anger, ambition, and all the other emotions that color the human spectrum. I can't recommend the books highly enough. Top notch adult fiction, not just the childish fantasy that traditionally clogs up the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the greatest fantasy series ever
Review: Finally, a fantasy series for grown-ups. GM's books have real people in real situations, rather than the cliched old fantasy superheroes battling tired villains with yet another plan to take over the world. It reads almost like an historical novel (for an imaginary world), with just a little sprinkle of traditional fantasy elements. The story actually makes sense, and makes me think of the 'Kingmaker' period in old Britain. Great stuff. If you like your stories linear and predictable, this won't be for you. Otherwise, get it at all cost.
Rating:
Summary: something new; something good
Review: Reading through some of the reviews posted about this book I was upset but at the same time in agreeance with the reviewers. I WAS initially surprised at the language and sex scenes portrayed in the novel. I hadn't encountered that in many other fantasy novels. Katharine Kerr includes some but they are more inventive and funny than offensive. Not to say that GRRM's use is offensive, however. It was refreshing almost to have an accurate portrayal of a kingdom vying for control of the throne by using some occasional swear words. We all know that those words were'nt invented for the '90s so people must have used them in GRRM's world also. As to the sex, its out there and its rampant! To not include it in one form or another in this type of story would leave out one very important key: the falibility of human kind. You can't have perfect characters set in this type of environment. the two just would not mesh.
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly good fantasy novel...
Review: As a cynical, long-time fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I can honestly say that this book was a surprisingly pleasurable read. I've learned not to expect much of this genre lately, but this one is really worth your time. Even better, is the fact that it's far superior to Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series. The characters are more developed, and the story is not as predictable. I just hope that Martin brings his series to a timely completion - something that Jordan seems incapable of doing.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the first but better than most any thing else
Review: Martin keeps it coming in this, his second of his ever growing series. The book has everything that you would expect after reading the first, but lacks in one vital area, Certainty. perhaps it was his intent to leave the reader yearning for more, but i personally felt that he did not give up enough and the things that do occur in this book are a bit drawn out. eight hundred pages later i felt as if very little had happened, and that nothing had been resolved. however, this book is perhaps eight hundred pages of the best written nothing ever to come along. the characters and the depth to which you get to know them is incredible, if not to intimate, and the plot development is one that would make shakespear look like a hack. this book as i stress to all who consider themselves fantasy "readers" is perhaps one of the most illuminating, origional, and detailed fantasy books to come out since the hobbit. it drops the pretense that good guys are near perfect and always do the right thing and forgets about the standard cookie cutter hero mold that i have grown so used to. I can only say that i feel robbed after reading it. it is soo high of a standard to compare all other books to, i'm not sure that reading will hold the same intrigue that it always had.
Rating:
Summary: Ranks with Jordan, Tad Williams, and Kerr
Review: Of all the fantasy series on the market, only three, to me, combine page-turning plotlines, characters you could cry over, solid writing--and believable worlds. Martin joins Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and early Katharine Kerr as the best of what modern fantasy has to offer. I know how popular Salvatore, Eddings, Feist, et al. are; but read them again, and what you get is good story with junior high school-level writing ability. Terry Goodkind spins a good yarn, but he's too derivative of Robert Jordan (why no copyright infringement lawsuit?) and his writing is average at best. Martin's series, though... wow. Tad Williams remains, to me, the best-written of all series, Jordan's plot is perhaps the most captivating, and early Kerr was so real you could smell the horse and steel. Martin is not the best in any one area, but he does it all so well you'll find yourself staying up all night turning pages. My only anger is the year-long wait until the next installment. I know some will chafe at the fact that this second volume is mostly build-up, with just about nothing getting resolved. But what a build-up; the tension gets so thick you want to scream at the characters to get a clue and see what's really coming. If your idea of fantasy is two-hundred pages of improbably-named Dungeons and Dragons cliches killing monsters plagiarized from Tolkien, go back to your Salvatores. But if you're into believable worlds crafted by authors who obviously have done some homework into late medieval history to flesh out the details, and characters who are _human_, with human failings, do yourself a favor and buy A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Better yet, wait until the series is done before you start, or you'll find yourself in agony, like I am now.
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