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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
When it comes to 800-plus page books, there are going to be some highs and lows. Thankfully, the highs far outweighed the lows here. A short recap on my relationship with these books: I watched the first season of the show then read the first, and now second, book.
Clash of Kings was both familiar and different. Like the first book, Clash of Kings kept me very engaged because of the chapters changing from character to character so often. The characters are so well developed that you don't need a refresher when you return to one after a break. And now that I know that the author isn't afraid to kill off central characters, it makes the conflicts very tense.
Where the first book was pretty straightforward warring states type stuff, this book starts to move farther toward the supernatural. But it never feels out of place. It's very subtle and more of a slowly building aspect than a sudden appearance.
I was going to take a break from the series after this book, but the more I read the less likely that became. Still, no complaints here.
Clash of Kings was both familiar and different. Like the first book, Clash of Kings kept me very engaged because of the chapters changing from character to character so often. The characters are so well developed that you don't need a refresher when you return to one after a break. And now that I know that the author isn't afraid to kill off central characters, it makes the conflicts very tense.
Where the first book was pretty straightforward warring states type stuff, this book starts to move farther toward the supernatural. But it never feels out of place. It's very subtle and more of a slowly building aspect than a sudden appearance.
I was going to take a break from the series after this book, but the more I read the less likely that became. Still, no complaints here.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the post for A Game of Thrones, I said that I would try to remove the spoilers from my reviews. That may have been a bit of a lie, so there are probably spoilers in this..
So the Good Man failed to kill the nest of vipers, quite epically in fact. Eddard Stark is dead, so is King Robert. Joffrey is now King, with the strings being pulled by his delightful mother Cercei. But wait a minute, we know that Joffrey isn’t the Kings son, so surely the crown should pass to his brother, the straight and narrow Stannis. Stannis dithers however, and his younger brother Renly steps up and claims the throne as well. While all this is happening Rob Stark has marched to avenge his dad, and en route is declared the King of the north, at this point I believe he is fourteen years old. Meanwhile, across the sea Daenerys is now the heir to the Dragon Throne, and would you believe it, she has dragons! However, she is also only fourteen, and her great tribe has been reduced to the extremely young, extremely old, the infirm and an ever decreasing number of horses. As if that’s not enough to contend with, up beyond the wall The Others are back, walking in the night with only the Night’s Watch to stop them, and as the men in black venture forth, they discover that is not all that is on the other side of the wall.
While war wages on Tyrion is dispatched by his father to be the Kings Hand to young Joffrey, and to reign in his sister. It is here that Tyrion excels, gathering up the Kings council and playing everyone off against each other as he struggles to keep a grip on everything, contrary to his concubine, who manages to keep a very tight grip on him.
Meanwhile Arya is just trying to get home, without anyone realising she’s a girl or that she’s Stark’s daughter, however en route the Night’s Watch are attacked! Those who stay above such things..so Arya ends up working in Harrenhal, where an unexpected ally helps her bump off a few baddies. After the cursed castle changes hands she escapes with the ever unreliable Hot Pie and Gendry and his Hammer, heading home.
Then Stannis bumps of Renley quite spectacularly and Tyrion rubs his hands as he races to take advantage of the situation, meanwhile Catelyn shakes her head at the folly of men and their ambition. But she should be more concerned with home, for Theon Greyjoy is scheming, after being brilliantly humiliated by his sister, he plots to hand his distant father a kingdom on a plate, and almost does so, before being wonderfully betrayed in his moment of triumph, still, Winterfell is hiding something in it’s depths, that everyone thought had been brutally lost.
And so it ends, you could almost rename this series the tragedy of House Stark such is the pitfalls that befall this stoic family. Although I have to admit that I did slog through parts of this, it was because of my own efforts rather than that of Martin, who quite brilliantly manages to weave a story told from vastly differing characters in certain places at certain times, that still somehow manage to create a complete, beautiful tapestry that is effortless to read.
Onto book 3!
(blog review here)
So the Good Man failed to kill the nest of vipers, quite epically in fact. Eddard Stark is dead, so is King Robert. Joffrey is now King, with the strings being pulled by his delightful mother Cercei. But wait a minute, we know that Joffrey isn’t the Kings son, so surely the crown should pass to his brother, the straight and narrow Stannis. Stannis dithers however, and his younger brother Renly steps up and claims the throne as well. While all this is happening Rob Stark has marched to avenge his dad, and en route is declared the King of the north, at this point I believe he is fourteen years old. Meanwhile, across the sea Daenerys is now the heir to the Dragon Throne, and would you believe it, she has dragons! However, she is also only fourteen, and her great tribe has been reduced to the extremely young, extremely old, the infirm and an ever decreasing number of horses. As if that’s not enough to contend with, up beyond the wall The Others are back, walking in the night with only the Night’s Watch to stop them, and as the men in black venture forth, they discover that is not all that is on the other side of the wall.
While war wages on Tyrion is dispatched by his father to be the Kings Hand to young Joffrey, and to reign in his sister. It is here that Tyrion excels, gathering up the Kings council and playing everyone off against each other as he struggles to keep a grip on everything, contrary to his concubine, who manages to keep a very tight grip on him.
Meanwhile Arya is just trying to get home, without anyone realising she’s a girl or that she’s Stark’s daughter, however en route the Night’s Watch are attacked! Those who stay above such things..so Arya ends up working in Harrenhal, where an unexpected ally helps her bump off a few baddies. After the cursed castle changes hands she escapes with the ever unreliable Hot Pie and Gendry and his Hammer, heading home.
Then Stannis bumps of Renley quite spectacularly and Tyrion rubs his hands as he races to take advantage of the situation, meanwhile Catelyn shakes her head at the folly of men and their ambition. But she should be more concerned with home, for Theon Greyjoy is scheming, after being brilliantly humiliated by his sister, he plots to hand his distant father a kingdom on a plate, and almost does so, before being wonderfully betrayed in his moment of triumph, still, Winterfell is hiding something in it’s depths, that everyone thought had been brutally lost.
And so it ends, you could almost rename this series the tragedy of House Stark such is the pitfalls that befall this stoic family. Although I have to admit that I did slog through parts of this, it was because of my own efforts rather than that of Martin, who quite brilliantly manages to weave a story told from vastly differing characters in certain places at certain times, that still somehow manage to create a complete, beautiful tapestry that is effortless to read.
Onto book 3!
(blog review here)
Not as enjoyable as the first one. It was very drawn out at parts and while I really enjoyed Arya and Tyrion's point of views, other perspectives like Cat's just seemed like a drag.