A CLASH OF KINGS
(Book 2 of 'A Song of Fire and Ice')Read about Book One ----> HERE <----
ISBN : 978-0-00-744783-1
FIRST PUBLISHED : 1998
AUTHOR - George R.R Martin
SYNOPSIS - From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky - a comet the color of blood and flame - five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.
EXCERPT - Cressen tried to reply, but his words caught in his throat. His cough became a terrible thin whistle as he strained to suck in air. Iron fingers tightened around his neck. As he sang to his knees, still he shook his head, denying her, denying her power, denying her magic, denying her god. And the cowbells peeled in his antlers, singing fool, fool, fool while the red woman looked down on him in pity, the candle flames dancing in her red red eyes.
FL Speaks - Okay, here we go. Westeros is at war. The realm now has 5 kings. Yes people, five. Apparently 'Game of Thrones' has lived up to its title. 5 players proclaim themselves king and King's Landing is the price. A Clash of Kings continues from where Book 1 (Game of Thrones) left and it starts with the coming of a comet blazing high in the sky. Though at first instant, the coming of dragons comes to mind, it still isn't clear what the coming of the comet heralds.
Stannis Baratheon, oldest brother of dead king Robert is the rightful heir and has proclaimed himself king, but so has his younger brother, Renly. In the East, King Robb, as he is called now as the 'King of the North' rushes to meet the Lannisters into battle to avenge the murder of Lord Stark and rescue his sisters. The imp, Tyrion is sent to King's Landing by his father to be the King's Hand, much to the chagrin of Queen Cersei. I was kind of hoping for this because i believe only he can kick the silly grin out of that child, King Joffrey. Tyrion is the best character yet again. Though closely followed by Arya, who i believe is slowly becoming a central part of the plot.
Dany, Dany, Dany! Dany on the other hand is the spider around whom the entire web is made, yet her story has the least number of pages though yet pivotal ones. People are finally flocking in to see the 'mother of the dragons' as she is now called by some. And she uses this fame and fear of her dragons as an advantage to to build an army. Clearly, she is going to last the whole saga. Robb Stark is winning whatever wars are thrown against him but grows wary as the two Baratheon brothers joins the battlefield. Stannis, who was nowhere in the first book has captured my interest. Though he seems to be a man in control, he can be easily swayed. The brothers, instead of facing the Lannisters together, decide to face off against each other and bump! As expected.
Meanwhile the ward of the dead lord stark, Theon has plans of his own and captures Winterfell. After living in the castle since he was 10, he decides to rule from there. Bran and Rickon escape in the dead of the night. Theon is an idiot. He sure looks like one in the tv series and in the book his idiocy is magnified. Sansa is being sansa, highly irritating and sucking up to Joffrey. Though she has dreams of escaping now. Finally!!! Arya is on the run with Robert's bastard. She tries to act like a boy but her secret is finally out that she's a girl. Jon on the other hand has gone ranging with the Lord Commander. This was the biggest ranging ever. The men of the Night's Watch are getting ready to face the army of the north. Because if the evil gets past the wall, no king in the realm would be able to stop it.
One good thing here is that Martin has managed to avoid the heroic fantasy or coming-of-age fantasy that is so predominant in most fantasy books. Instead his subgenre is High Fantasy. I almost expected the Starks to be the heroes but that looks less and less plausible with the rate they are ending up dead.
Phew!! Another massive book and another massive review. For me, atleast. Unlike the first book, i tried not to reveal as much as i could. With so many characters, its hard to just let go with making atleast some sense. A Clash of Kings is not as good as the first part, but this is a must-buy. Its a great novel, mind you, just didn't bring the same magic and madness alive as i expected. Thinking of taking a break before resuming the 3rd book, yet i have nothing else to read at the moment. Those who managed to read till here, i thank you with my heart for bearing with me. And if you have not started this series, i suggest you do so without a second wasted.
My Rating - 4 stars.
PRICE - INR 320/- @ Flipkart (Paperback - 2011)
P.S| Don't forget to check this out. Coming soon
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