A Clash Of Kings Review

                             

Hello everyone,

Here is my review for A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, to which I gave a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis

The sequel to A Game Of Thrones , A Clash of Kings takes us back to the world of Westeros, where the Seven Kingdoms are in turmoil. With Robert Baratheon dead, his son Joffrey has taken the throne, although his right to it may be questionable. With multiple people claiming rights to the Iron Throne, the Seven Kingdoms are divided between Joffrey and House Lannister, Robb Stark in the North, Stannis Baratheon on Dragonstone, and Renly Baratheon in the South, while things more mysterious and sinister rise beyond the Wall and Daenerys Targaryen begins to rise across the sea.

Brief Review

I found A Clash of Kings to be interesting, but things were often too long and drawn out. Being 969 pages (1009 with the Appendix), it was an even longer read than A Game Of Thrones, and it didn't quite live up to its predecessor. I felt like many scenes were unnecessary, while others were extremely interesting. Thankfully, the book picked up in the last few hundred pages, and I got through the second half of the book much faster than the first. It was still a good book, although more on the politics side of things than the action side, so if that's not quite for you, you may not like this book very much. However, I trudged through it, and, having just finished the third book as I write this review, I can tell you that it is worth the read and that I was very glad I continued with the series.

Okay, from this point on, this review will contain spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you stop here and go pick up the book!

Like I said above, I found A Clash of Kings to be quite a bit more boring than A Game Of Thrones was. However, there were a lot of highlights, Tyrion Lannister, surprisingly being one of them. He was probably my favourite character in the book, with his wit, intelligence, and unusual charm once again winning me over. His relationship with Bronn was humourous and I felt that he was the only one in the capital with any sense when it came to making battle decisions.

I found myself liking Sansa more and more as the book went on. Now that she has gotten over her infatuation with Joffrey, she has become a much more likable character, and her relationship with the Hound was definitely intriguing. Daenerys is another character I continue to love, although there was not a lot of her in this book, which I found most disappointing. But, as ever, I enjoyed her free spirit and kind nature, and being the Mother of Dragons kept things interesting.

Jon Snow is another character I just can't get enough of. I love the men of the Night's Watch, and him especially. He's just such a complex, interesting character, and Ghost is definitely my favourite direwolf. The last scene with Qhorin Halfhand nearly broke my heart, though. As for Catelyn Tully, I liked her chapters as well, probably more than I did the last book. Her point of view allows us to see what's going on with Robb, Renly, and we get to meet new characters, Brienne, Edmure Tully, and the Blackfish, Brynden Tully. I often find myself saying that I wish people would listen to Catelyn more, as a lot of their problems wouldn't exist if they had just listened to her in the first place. I know she's a woman, but she's as experienced and intelligent as any man. I also really wish that we could have some chapters written from Robb's point of view.

Bran's story line still didn't interest me, at least until he met Meera and Jojen Reed and we learned he was a warg. Then things started getting interesting, but we'll see where that goes. Arya's chapters weren't that bad, but I didn't enjoy them as much either. Yoren was a good character, but unfortunately, like many others, he dies too quickly. Most of her chapters consisted of her travelling from place to place, with not too much plot development, in my opinion, but Gendry quickly rose to the list of characters that I like. Jaqen was also quite the plot twist, and I can't wait to find out what this "Valar Morghulis" bit is about.

In this book, we also got some chapters from two new points of view, one old character and one new. The new character was Davos, the onion knight. He allowed us to see what was going on from Stannis Baratheon's part in the war, and I enjoyed it immensely. I loved reading Davos' chapters and adored his intelligent, but humble character. I still haven't decided if I like Stannis or not, but Melisandre is definitely a character I need to keep an eye on. As for the other character, in this book we were allowed to see from Theon Greyjoy's point of view, which I did not enjoy. Through his actions in this book (you all know what I'm talking about), I quickly grew to despise him. I hate it when people stab their good friends in the back for no good reason, and Theon was no exception. The murder of those two farmer's boys didn't help his case, either, although karma appears to hit him in the end.

Overall, although it didn't quite live up to its predecessor, A Clash Of Kings was still a good book and a worthwhile read. If you've made it this far, and really liked A Game Of Thrones, then I would definitely suggest continuing, as the third book in the series, A Storm Of Swords, was absolutely amazing. My review for that will be up tomorrow.

Favourite Quotes

“I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.” -Tyrion Lannister

“When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

Goodbye for now,

Emily Noel