A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

 A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

1998, Bantam
Series: Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire

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Rating

Synopsis: A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding 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 a 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.

The Good: The characters in this series continue to amaze me. They are so wonderful. Or horrible, depending. So many secrets, lies, hidden pasts waiting to be uncovered. I never know what was going to be revealed next. The political intrigue plays out in often scandalous fashion. The more I read these books, the more I see the series as primarily historical fiction with a hint of magic thrown in now and again rather than straight high fantasy and that really works for me. A little easier to put down than the last one, but still a very quick read considering the length of the book. Can't stop, have to keep going, have to know what happens next.

The Bad: Thing dragged a little more here than in the first book. There seemed to be a decent amount of unnecessary filler and not as much plot progression as I would have liked for a book of this size.