Mass Market Paperback: 1040 pages Publisher: Bantam; Reissue edition (March 6, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0345535421 ISBN-13: 978-0345535429	Order book here:
		Order E-book here:

Synopsis:

The battle for the Iron Throne and Westeros continues as 7 people vye for the role of King. War, Destruction, and the loss of life is in store for the people of Westeros, as many fall victim to the power struggle.

Characters:

Robb Stark – Lord of Winterfell and King of the North.
Joffrey Baratheon – King of the Seven Kingdoms
Stannis Baratheon – Claimant to the Throne and Joffrey’s Uncle.
Daenerys Targaryen – The Mother of Dragons and daughter of a former King.

Review

This is the second book in the Song of Fire and Ice Series. The title comes from the fact that with the death of Robert of Baratheon, and the questionable rise of his heir Joffrey, there are struggles all over Westeros for King. Not only has Joffrey taken the throne, but Robert’s brothers Renly and Stannis also claim the throne. Robb Stark is named King of the North, while Theon Greyjoy has anointed himself King of the Iron Islands. With all these Kings running around, there can only be one result, War.

Tyrion Lannister tries to forge his own path to power through his being named as the acting Hand of the King.

Arya Stark is on the run after her father’s death, and posing as a boy joins a group headed to join the Night’s Watch.

Jon Snow and a group of the Night’s Watch are sent after the Wildlings and the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder.

Daenerys meanwhile in the East is still trying to amass her own loyal followers and make her own power base.

Like the previous installment, none of the characters are completely safe. Favorite characters will die, and some will be altered in major ways as the events, the war, and the power struggles play out and impact their lives.

The characters just keep getting more interesting in these books. Like the previous book, each chapter is seen through the POV of one of 9 characters. For some this format may be a bit hard to follow, because you tend to jump all around the world of Westeros from character to character. However, if you can manage to follow it all, the result is well worth it.

Like before, there is a lot of violence, sex, and strong language, so for older audiences only. If you’re a fan of the TV show, you should really read the books as they fill in a lot more of the details than the show manages to. But beware, because there are major spoilers to the TV show.

For a great fantasy, though a rather large book to read, be sure and pick up a Clash of Kings, and drop back by and let us know what you thought.

About the Author

George R.R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally since then. He spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer, working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made.

In the mid ’90s he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he’s allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula, who think they run the place.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2014 at 12:00 am and is filed under Books, Fantasy, Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.