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a clash of kings, a song of ice and fire, adult fiction, book 2, book review, epic fantasy, fantasy, five stars, george r r martin, series
Author: George R. R. Martin Series: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book Two Publisher: Bantam Books Publication Date: 1999, 2011 edition Genre: Epic Fantasy, Adult Fiction Pages: 969 Buy: The Book Depository
Book Description: In this eagerly awaited sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any you have ever experienced.
A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidden shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here and princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel … and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
I picked up this book early November and I have finally finished it… four months later. The reason this took me so long to read (aside from the hundreds of pages of small and dense print) was that I kept picking up other books and reading them and putting this aside. Not because I didn’t like it but because in my mind those other books were shorter and if I finished those then I could go back to focusing on this. On and on again.
Despite taking me what felt like forever to read this book I still love it. It’s just as great as the first book. The writing style is breath taking and unparalleled in my opinion. The characters make you laugh, cry or scream out in rage and it is easy to find favorites in the boundless characters present. And while some chapters may start out dull, they almost always end on a cliffhanger where you’re left having to read another 60 or so pages before you continue with that plot line.
A Clash of Kings keeps you on your toes and wanting for more. While it is long, and sometimes I had to take a break from it, the book was amazing and I can’t wait to start on book three, and then four and five (and then wait impatiently for six and seven to be written/released). Even though I had seen the second season of HBO’s adaptation A Game of Thrones and knew what would happen, I was still gasping at times and speed reading to make sure my favorite character wasn’t going to die like Martin makes you believe. (I swear this man kills off everyone and I know one day my favorite will die and I just don’t want to read it).
If you haven’t already started this series and are a fan of fantasy/epic fantasy I say GO GET A COPY NOW AND READ IT. This series is amazing and my absolute favorite epic fantasy series so far. (I haven’t read LOTR but it was read to me as a child. So while I am also a huge fan of that I can’t say it’s my favorite if I haven’t read it yet). These books are just amazing and each one seems to be even better than the first. Off to read book three!
My Rating: ★★★★★