jodiesackettbrown's review
3.0
Plot twists and turns kept this story moving forward, and I'm still intrigued by some of the characters. There really isn't enough of the sci-fi/fantasy angle in this installment, but the parts that there were are pretty captivating. Looking foward to seeing what happens next...
ekeeller's review
5.0
Amazing! So much better than the first book. I struggled getting to grips with number 1 and found the story hard to fully invest in because of this. However 100 pages into this and I found myself fully invested and obsessed, I couldn’t do anything but read this book! So excited to continue the series!
ruthsic's review
4.0
A Clash of Kings continues the story with the war of the five kings developing in Westeros. At the end of A Game of Thrones, Robb had declared himself King in the North, Stannis and Renly had fled to Dragonstone and Storm's End, respectively, Joffrey is just getting started with his sadistic rule, and the whole kingdom is holding its breath. The start of A Clash of Kings was slow, to be blunt, and I was so bored until like the first third of the book arrived - there is a lot of talking, and not much action going on. Considering A Game of Thrones managed to drop important backstory without boring me, I was kind of disappointed with A Clash of Kings for not being able to do so. After the first third, though, things improved and the plot developed to the main arc - the war of the five kings, with Greyjoy entering the fray.
This book, while technically mostly a battle book, is more about the subtle political maneuvers and blackmailing - shady stuff, basically. And also a lot of grey morality - there are characters who you think are all honorable and stuff, but their idea of morality and the contemporary idea of morality are distant cousins. For example, Stannis, who seemed like the least to bend to anything, is now embracing a new religion. By the way, religion is starting to gain a foothold in the politics of this saga. In the first, it was like - all religions, even those besides the Seven, are practiced in harmony with others. But now, it is developing into a free-for-all, with the religious ideologies also playing a part in the alliances.
Meanwhile, we still get a lot of character-centric arcs. The great thing about this series is that there are many individual stories (that are complete in their own way) threaded into this giant main arc, and they sometimes intersect but often they are also independent. Catelyn and House Tully feel independent from the main war, even though they are related to people in the main war. Arya's story also feels independent as she lives mostly with the peasants during this book, presenting a different view of the rivalry between the houses - the peasants don't care who is squabbling with whom, as long as they aren't caught up in the crossfire. We get new character POVs in Davos Seaworth and Theon Greyjoy, two diametrically opposite characters whose lives are running in different directions from their lords.
The plot is, for the most part, captivating with the exception of the start and the battle at King's Landing. Roy Doytrice is an excellent narrator but sometimes I can't guess the age of the character when he gives even a 14 year old the same bass in the voice like an elderly character. In any case, though, his voice acting is excellent and gives an emotional weight to the performance. Meanwhile, other problems still linger from the first, namely the blatant use of sexual violence as a plot device. I am tired of encountering a mention of rape in nearly every few pages, and it is getting too old now. Yes, we get it - the kingdom is horrible to women, and even though we have strong women characters, they are threatened by the possibility of sexual violence the most. I would like to mention a scene where Tyrion calls out Joeffrey for this - saying he would never treat a boy servant the same as he was treating Sansa.
Overall, an interesting addition to the series, but probably not as amazing as the first.
This book, while technically mostly a battle book, is more about the subtle political maneuvers and blackmailing - shady stuff, basically. And also a lot of grey morality - there are characters who you think are all honorable and stuff, but their idea of morality and the contemporary idea of morality are distant cousins. For example, Stannis, who seemed like the least to bend to anything, is now embracing a new religion. By the way, religion is starting to gain a foothold in the politics of this saga. In the first, it was like - all religions, even those besides the Seven, are practiced in harmony with others. But now, it is developing into a free-for-all, with the religious ideologies also playing a part in the alliances.
Meanwhile, we still get a lot of character-centric arcs. The great thing about this series is that there are many individual stories (that are complete in their own way) threaded into this giant main arc, and they sometimes intersect but often they are also independent. Catelyn and House Tully feel independent from the main war, even though they are related to people in the main war. Arya's story also feels independent as she lives mostly with the peasants during this book, presenting a different view of the rivalry between the houses - the peasants don't care who is squabbling with whom, as long as they aren't caught up in the crossfire. We get new character POVs in Davos Seaworth and Theon Greyjoy, two diametrically opposite characters whose lives are running in different directions from their lords.
The plot is, for the most part, captivating with the exception of the start and the battle at King's Landing. Roy Doytrice is an excellent narrator but sometimes I can't guess the age of the character when he gives even a 14 year old the same bass in the voice like an elderly character. In any case, though, his voice acting is excellent and gives an emotional weight to the performance. Meanwhile, other problems still linger from the first, namely the blatant use of sexual violence as a plot device. I am tired of encountering a mention of rape in nearly every few pages, and it is getting too old now. Yes, we get it - the kingdom is horrible to women, and even though we have strong women characters, they are threatened by the possibility of sexual violence the most. I would like to mention a scene where Tyrion calls out Joeffrey for this - saying he would never treat a boy servant the same as he was treating Sansa.
Overall, an interesting addition to the series, but probably not as amazing as the first.
threadpanda's review
5.0
This is shaping up to be an amazing fantasy series. If you can handle the multiple POV changes (as in, which character we're with, not first-person/third-person... you know what I mean) of Lord of the Rings, you should give this series a try. It's got dragons, it's roughly based on the War of the Roses, it's well-written... heaps of praise for these books, and I've only read the second one (there are four, to date, and the fifth one is in progress).
lieslindi's review
This second book starts weakly with physical impossibilities: a lame man who cannot rise from a fall unassisted and leans heavily in a cane "quickly" removes a headpiece that must need two hands to lift. His broken hip has mended badly but he seats himself at a table along a stretch of bench. In the first book I noticed none of this and only once did I notice "the yoke of an egg."
sookieskipper's review
3.0
I've had more migraines in last one week than this entire year, thanks to this book. The characters left me seething, annoyed, irritated, angered and disappointed. I prefer TV show for this book because I can forward the shit I don't want to watch. At least, I saw it coming there.
I don't understand the importance of supreme young age of majority of characters. Would it have been so bad if Dany was twenty five or thirty? Or Joffrey twenty?
I don't understand the importance of supreme young age of majority of characters. Would it have been so bad if Dany was twenty five or thirty? Or Joffrey twenty?
meesespieces's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was different than the HBO series in a couple major scenes. I wonder why HBO changed so much when the book was actually better. I am looking forward to reading the next book. Can't wait to see how everything plays out.
bethsiekierawalker's review
3.0
Not as captivating as the first book, and jam packed with minor characters and simultaneous plots. I also was much more bothered in this book about the portrayal of women, and specifically the violence against women.
Overall, though, George R. R. Martin is very good at world building and keeping track of multiple storylines. I'll keep reading the series.
Overall, though, George R. R. Martin is very good at world building and keeping track of multiple storylines. I'll keep reading the series.
More...