Rating: 
Summary: A good sequel
Review: The bottom line: "A Clash of Kings" is good, but not as good as the original. It has the same basic structure as "A Game of Thrones", told in short chapters from many different viewpoints. Since the scope of the novel is a bit too big to tackle at one time, I'll just summarize the major points of what I liked and didn't like.What's good: The storyline remains well-written and unpredictable. As with the first book, "A Clash of Kings" is full of surprises. Characters never do what you expect them to do, plans have a tendency to not work out correctly, and Martin isn't afraid to kill off a major character when you least expect it. He still manages to steer clear of most cliches and avoids the dull tone that plagues many fantasy novels. The chapters told from the point of view of Jon Snow, which are all set north of the wall, are excellent. Not only does Martin make you feel the desolation of the landscape and its effects on the Rangers, but his build up towards a climactic showdown is very frightening. Overall, this is the best part of the novel. Most of the characters are still likeable and well-developed. Perhaps the best one in this volume is Catelyn Stark, who faces a lot of exasperating situations as she attempts to bring a close to the war. Bran and Arya's chapters are also very well-written. Like "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings" includes plenty of detailed descriptions, and they are generally historically accurate in terms of the story's correspondence with the history of England and other regions of the world. Some people might find it tedious to read all the details about weapons and armor, ships, castles, and so forth, but I think that it helps draw readers in and makes the world more believable. Lastly, Martin's ability to juggle all of his characters and plotlines at the same time is still pretty astonishing. He obviously put a great deal of thought into how this book needed to be organized, and paid attention to details such as ensuring that the timing of events in different locations makes sense. What's not good: One of the best things about "A Game of Thrones" was that rather than using the stereotypical 'good vs. evil' storyline, Martin was careful to give everybody a human side and realistic motivations. However, in "A Clash if kings", the pendulum swings back the other way. There are big passages that exist only to remind us that the Lannisters are really, really, really evil. Also, Tyrion, who was one of the best characters in the original, is neither as likeable nor as funny this time. (Although he does have one hilarious line of dialogue near the start.) It seems that Martin gave a little bit less thought to organization and pacing this time around. The result is a novel that's almost two-hundred pages longer and doesn't seem to be arranged for maximum effect. For example, there's a thirty page prologue that shows us Stannis Baratheon laying out his evil plans at Dragonstone, but I think that Ser Stannis would actually have been scarier if we didn't know exactly what he was planning. Finally, Martin's attempts to expand the cast of characters and the number of forces at work in the story doesn't always add up logically. For example, near the start we learn that House Greyjoy has been amassing a gigantic fleet in the Iron Islands and preparing to attack the mainland. But he never explains why the possibility of the Greyjoy's joining the war never occurred to anybody else in the story.
Rating: 
Summary: The hits keep on coming
Review: It's way harder to do a second book in a series than the first book. After all, the shock of the new has worn off, the writer has to think of new situations without making them look contrived, and continue old plots without looking like he's coasting. The first book put the wheels in motion, setting up the premise just long enough to bring it all crumbling down, at the same time almost gleefully permanently ruining a lot of characters' lives. But the great thing about having a cast of thousands is that there's plenty more where that came from. And boy is there, this book clocks in at substantially longer than the first book but somehow it still retains an almost gripping readability. Basically everything that got messed up in the first book continue to get messed up even more here . . . where in the first book everyone was trying to kill each other in secret, now everyone decides to be open about it. Martin juggles what feels like eighty plots with ease and you really get the sense that a hundred things are going on at once, his ability to depict battle scenes from many different viewpoints (plus his skill at showing how rumors spread, often unless a character was present they don't know exactly what the heck happened) is effective and gets a lot of practice. The plot twists unpredictible, and while Martin continues to show no mercy or love for his characters when deciding who lives or dies, he gets the reader so used to anybody being fair game that when he pulls the opposite trick, you're surprised and impressed all the same. Don't be daunted by the size of the books in this series, pages will literally fly past as you read them since something is always happening and the book never becomes bogged down or becomes a chore. He actually manages the rare feat of having a second book just as good as the first, a book where events actually happen and change the world irreversibly, as opposed to everyone just treading water. And if the plot threads still left for the next book are any indication, it's only going to get more interesting. If you have any interest in epic fantasy, get started on this series while you can.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and stupid
Review: There are many twists and turns in this book. Unfortunately, it is done in a boring way. The twists are generally so ridiculous that I laughed, even though they are all supposed to be grim. It's a dark novel, but its so campy and silly that I just can't take it seriously or get into as much as other authors.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book and series.
Review: I do not wish to provide a spoiler to those of you who have not read this book/series yet. However, it is a well crafted book with good story, well developed characters, and will engage your interest.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging tale by a master storyteller...
Review: I was originally drawn to this series by some comments I read that favorably compared its author to JRR Tolkien--a parallel that Mr. Martin clearly encourages with his own prominent supernumeRaRy middle initials. While I find his Song of Ice and Fire similarly engaging and voluminous thus far, it's no Lord of the Rings. Yet why should it be? As a linguist and a scholar, JRRT spent years independently developing the languages, mythology, and political history of Middle Earth before turning Frodo loose within that world. In terms of depth and immersiveness, LotR derives incalculable benefit from the uniquely backward mode of its conception. It does not surprise me that other fantasy novels' settings often appear thin-fleshed and contrived by comparison (Frank Herbert's Dune being a rare exception). While aSoIaF does exhibit some minor shortcomings in this regard, I think this sort of evaluation is ultimately unfruitful and misleading: Martin's strengths lie elsewhere. His aSoIaF reads as more medieval soap opera than epic literature, its vivid and immediate characterizations revealing the unspoken thoughts and emotions of the many protagonists. Although the supernatural exists, good and evil here are not personified as absolutes (cf. Sauron) but instead are manifest in human interaction, and their interpretation often depends on perspective. Events are told from the characters' point of view and are unavoidably filtered and colored by their egos. It is their hopes and fears, their stratagems and machinations, their interpersonal and physical conflicts that matter most in Martin's world. I wound up caring sincerely about Jon, Arya, Bran, and Tyrion--a dangerous undertaking, given Martin's unflinching (and admirable) refusal to shield his heroes from the Machiavellian, often lethal cruelty of their environment. Several reviewers have decried or defended the graphic language that pervades these books. Martin deliberately aims for a certain coarseness, preferring blunt Anglo-Saxon words to flowery Latin cognates. This is intended to set a gritty, unsparing, medieval tone for the story, and apart from a few jarringly anachronistic turns of phrase ("butt cheeks", e.g.), it works well and is even refreshing, given the suffocating mawkishness of some other novels in the genre. Still, I must say I often found the continual parade of bodily functions, "whores" (willing and otherwise), and "Penthouse Forum"-style sexual conquests gratuitous and distracting, even juvenile at spots. Does the author's quest for ultimate realism require that his readers be privy to every bathroom break in the woods? At such times I felt grateful to Tolkien for all that he left implied or unsaid in LotR. I don't mind graphic sexual imagery used in moderation to serve plot or characterization, but reading Martin sometimes feels like eating an entire bottle of ketchup with a single hot dog (somewhat ironically, the Amazon review editors nixed the Tabasco metaphor I had originally used here). Sometimes, less is more. As with the frequent long "roster for today's tourney" lists of names and house sigils, such bits are easily skipped over without detriment, but it would be perilous to conclude that Martin is inflexibly prolix and incapable of subtlety: Some of the most wrenching plot revelations--I'm thinking of one in particular involving Bran--are first conveyed within the space of a few disarmingly parenthetical remarks! So, you must also keep your eyes peeled, or be prepared to backtrack if you're skimming. Notwithstanding my various criticisms, I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and consider it well worth the effort to read, even if the pace does flag somewhat in the 2nd book. I'm eager to read "A Storm of Swords" as well as the 4th book, after which I suppose I'll join the frustrated souls who impatiently await the concluding installments, wondering how (and if) Martin plans to wrap it all up. I give the series to this point a solid "B", or 4 stars, with Book 1 earning a B-plus and Book 2 a B-minus.
Rating:
Summary: cold brutality, unforgivable treachery
Review: George R.R. Martin lit a flame under the far to complacent seat of the fantasy genre with the publication "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Mr. Martin relies on characterization and intricate plotting to craft a fully believable world that grabs one's attention and pulls one fully into the lives and loves of the many characters presented. In this second book of the series Mr. Martin maintains both the pace of the plotting and adds new and vibrant characters to the story. This is one of the most original fantasy series I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Martin juggles several distinct storylines: one tale follows Jon Snow and the events in the north as winter approaches; another follows the battle for supremacy of the Seven Kingdoms between four would-be-kings and their armies; and the third tells of the fate of Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, a continent away. But three plotlines are not enough to contain Martin's vision. There is the story of crippled Bran and his growing psychic abilities; his sister Sansa held hostage by the twisted boy King Joffrey and her continued abuse at the hands of the Lannisters. There is Arya's struggle to return to Winterfell. Minor characters from a "Game of Thrones" are brought to the forefront to provide even more depth and plot twists. All these tales and dozens more are deftly interwoven to create a story about people not a story about the struggle of a few people to gain the throne of the Seven Kingdoms. The characters are never isolated form each other or their storylines. Shifting from one viewpoint character to another not an uncommon way to tell a complex tale but the trick is keeping the various story threads both interesting and interrelated. Martin manages this trick like no other. I appreciate the fact that viewpoint characters are present in the narratives of other's allowing us differing views of these fascinating people. The characters remain vibrant and intriguing. Mr. Martin has these characters, even the minor one's, change and grow as the story unfolds. The lines between good and bad are blurred and no one in the book can be called truly good or truly bad. There are characters that one loves to hate but given Mr. Martin's writing skills these characters will most likely change and cause us to reconsider them in a new light. In reading "A Game of Thrones" I was swept away by the grandeur and completes of the world Mr. Martin created. The series, I am told, is loosely based on the "War of the Roses" and the land itself bears great resemblance to the British islands of that era. The only thing missing from "A Game of Thrones" was a Christian analogy. Mr. Martin has corrected this with the introduction of the Red Woman and the cult of 'the one true god'. The standard of the flaming heart is a dead giveaway to the connection. With the Red Woman, comes magic which many reviews have noted for it's absence in "A Game of Thrones." The greatest accomplishment of "A Song of Ice and Fire" is Mr. Martin's refusal to shy away from the unpleasant and brutal realities of the world he has created, a world that in many ways closely resembles our Europe of the Middle Ages. Royal families dedicated to incest, lying and scheming courtiers, appalling abuses of women and the poor, ugly and wholly frightening scenes of battle and war. There are no chivalrous knights and no innocent princesses to be found. The gallant and honest don't survive and whatever innocence an individual possess is soon corrupted. Mr. Martin doesn't skirt discreetly around the issues or images and the story is all the stronger for it.
Yes there is a long wait between books. However I would rather wait patiently and have a superb book than to have a mediocre work shoved into my hands once a year like clockwork.
Rating:
Summary: The wonderful tale continues...
Review: If I were a king in a time long ago and there was an author with the genius of George R.R. Martin he would be required to write and present something to me everyday. The man is brillant! I have never read a series so realistic and enjoyable as this one. It's kind of sad when you get finished because you know there are no books out there that really even come close to this man's tale. And it takes him two years to write one of these large novels. Well let me say no more about that and go into the content and what makes this second installment just as good, perhaps even better than The Game. If you are looking for books to hold you in the wait for the next George R.R. Martin novel I recommend the following: Any book by Ms. Robin Hobb, (the books are excellent) The Hedge Knight found in the book 'Legends' (this is a short novella about a hundred years before a the events that take place in a game of thrones). Any book by Tad Williams. These books are the most closely related to A Song of Ice and Fire. On The Content: A Clash of Kings starts right where The Game left off of course. It is longer and just as good as the last installment with new and interesting characters like Theon to make up for those characters who got the block in the last book. And no one is safe from it in this book either. Who will get it? And the title lives up to its name too. The kings do clash in a very nice battle at the end that is just one of many things Martin weaves into this tale. I do not want to spoil anything for those of you who may not have read this yet. That would be a cruel thing indeed. A must read as are all the books in A Song of Ice and Fire. The only bad thing is will Martin ever finsih the tale...?
Rating:
Summary: short and sweet
Review: Short and sweet, my review that is, not the book. Never the less, all I can say is that Martin is currently, hands down the best alive today. Don't wait for the softcover and don't be intimidated by the length or the number of characters. If you can afford it get first editions, get them signed, and place them on the shelf never to be read.... for that you can do with the softcover editions you will buy. Then you wait, for the next book and pray to whatever gods you love that both you and Martin live to finish this amazing, stunning saga.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best you'll ever read
Review: George R. R. Martin has written a novel that is larger than life. With an enormous cast of well done characters and a keen eye for conflict, he has delivered a story that a reader of any genre will be enthralled by.
Plenty of knights, nobles, lords and ladies in a rich tapestry with a rich history! He balances the elements of fantasy in a manner that never over-powers the characters or setting, but that always lets the fancies of the mind take flight. Political intrigue has seldom been so good, and his characters keep true to themselves and you follow them eagerly through the wilds, across seas, down hall-ways, and into the depths of their hearts, ever anxious just to see what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: Not just Fantasy
Review: Why not just fantasy? Well, there is so much more to this fantastic ( slight pun intended) series. Firstly, although you do have fantasy elements ( dragons, the rather disturbing and hard to kill "Others"), you do not have any of the other tired cliches- there is no happy elves dancing in the forest, no missing sword/ring/stone that needs to be found, and no cute teenage characters who will soon gain power and blah blah overcome anchient evil and save the world. Put another way, this saga has none of the cliches that have so dogged modern fantasy. It is in short, gentle reader, turned the whole concept of fantasy upside down. The novel is best described as a remarkable historical epic with fantastical overtones. Very few novels, and fewer yet fantasy novels have the sheer sweep and grandeur of this book. The plot is intricate yet dare I say it believable, the places well sketched, and the characters in turn lovable or loathsome. No other book has led to such heated discussion amongst readers as to which charcters they like or hate the most- and I am sure that you will find one that you identify with. Martin is a very talented writer. Despite the vast sweep of the saga, the numerous and complex subplots, and incredibly writing the same action from the point of view of over a dozen central characters at no stage does the plot lag, or a unbelievable plot device inserted. He richly descibes scenes and characters, battles and places. Any one who has trawled trying to regain the sense of delight from when you first read "the hobbit" or the Belgariad before it got tired would love this book. Even a general ready looking for a "fairy story" for adults would enjoy this. As highly recommended as one can get. Grade: A++
| 
