A Clash of Kings
A Clash of Kings is the second book in George R R Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire
series. It opens with the appearance of a bright red comet in the sky
that is visible even by day. The first several chapters deal with the
reactions of various characters to the comet. Everyone has a different
interpretation, but they all believe it to be directly related to them.
We humans are pretty self-centered. I thought this was a nice way to
check in with each character and remember who all the major players are.
The book mostly deals with all the various wars going on. Robb kills a lesser Lannister by surprising him, but has yet to meet the main army in battle. Renly's battle with Stannis is aborted by Renly's untimely death. Stannis then takes Storm's End just as quickly and marches on Kings Landing. This battle is the climax of the book and pits Tyrion's wits against Stannis', with Tywin and Littlefinger ultimately saving the day. Sansa gets out of her marriage with Joffrey, but is still held hostage. Meanwhile, Theon Grejoy wastes no time betraying Robb and taking Winterfell for his own in a short-sighted attempt to impress his father. Theon was basically doomed from the start. In the meantime, Jon and the Night's Watch are marching north to meet Mance Raydar and prevent him from invading the seven kingdoms. And Dany is still trying to find a way across the sea so she can reclaim her birthright. In the midst of all this, Arya is missing and plotting her revenge and Bran is learning to possess his wolf, though he's also presumed dead by the end of the book.
There's a lot going on. Which is probably why this book is 1000 pages long and took me a month to read. But it's all incredibly compelling. Dany is wasting time in the south and probably won't actually make it to Westeros until the very end of the series. Her dragons are definitely going to be the big climax. The Baratheons seem to be out, unless Stannis makes an impressive comeback. The Starks are falling apart and I'm getting scared that they won't all make it to the end. Although Bran is proving surprisingly difficult to kill. Maybe he'll end up winning everything. The Lannisters are still going strong and the Greyjoys are building power. Then there's the wild card, Mance Raydar. I'm interested to see that story line collide with the wars further south.
I definitely can't wait to see what happens next. A Storm of Swords is even longer than A Clash of Kings, but it's the most highly rated book on Amazon.com. I'm sure there are more battles to come. In the meantime, here's hoping that Arya kills Joffrey. Though I fear that's a bit like the kid in The Princess Bride hoping that Inigo kills Humperdinck. Joffrey's probably going to survive this whole damn thing and live a long life alone with his cowardice.
The book mostly deals with all the various wars going on. Robb kills a lesser Lannister by surprising him, but has yet to meet the main army in battle. Renly's battle with Stannis is aborted by Renly's untimely death. Stannis then takes Storm's End just as quickly and marches on Kings Landing. This battle is the climax of the book and pits Tyrion's wits against Stannis', with Tywin and Littlefinger ultimately saving the day. Sansa gets out of her marriage with Joffrey, but is still held hostage. Meanwhile, Theon Grejoy wastes no time betraying Robb and taking Winterfell for his own in a short-sighted attempt to impress his father. Theon was basically doomed from the start. In the meantime, Jon and the Night's Watch are marching north to meet Mance Raydar and prevent him from invading the seven kingdoms. And Dany is still trying to find a way across the sea so she can reclaim her birthright. In the midst of all this, Arya is missing and plotting her revenge and Bran is learning to possess his wolf, though he's also presumed dead by the end of the book.
There's a lot going on. Which is probably why this book is 1000 pages long and took me a month to read. But it's all incredibly compelling. Dany is wasting time in the south and probably won't actually make it to Westeros until the very end of the series. Her dragons are definitely going to be the big climax. The Baratheons seem to be out, unless Stannis makes an impressive comeback. The Starks are falling apart and I'm getting scared that they won't all make it to the end. Although Bran is proving surprisingly difficult to kill. Maybe he'll end up winning everything. The Lannisters are still going strong and the Greyjoys are building power. Then there's the wild card, Mance Raydar. I'm interested to see that story line collide with the wars further south.
I definitely can't wait to see what happens next. A Storm of Swords is even longer than A Clash of Kings, but it's the most highly rated book on Amazon.com. I'm sure there are more battles to come. In the meantime, here's hoping that Arya kills Joffrey. Though I fear that's a bit like the kid in The Princess Bride hoping that Inigo kills Humperdinck. Joffrey's probably going to survive this whole damn thing and live a long life alone with his cowardice.
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