A Clash of Kings (George R. R. Martin)

A Clash of Kings is the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. [Here’s my review of the first book.]

Plot:
The book continues what happened in A Game of Thrones seamlessly. A red comet rises above the lands and it seems to mean something else for everyone. But everybody agrees: it is a sign. Of the civil wars to come as three different men lay claim to the Iron Throne; and a fourth one fights for independence. Of the return of magic. Of winter approaching and causing unrest in the north. Short: catastrophe is on its way.

A Clash of Kings is a perfect continuation of A Game of Thrones. The style is good, the plot interesting and continues to surprise me and the characters are engaging.

First, the things I didn’t like so much:
There’s way too little Daenerys for my taste. I find her story very compelling and she as a character is absolutely fascinating and I want more, more, more.
I also would like to know what became of Davos. I’m hoping to see more of him in the coming book(s). [SPOILER for A Game of Thrones] He is a wonderful Ersatz-Ned, as his sense of honor is equally unflinching. [/SPOILER]
Theon. Theon is the Holden Caufield of that world and it’s completely annoying. He’s even more frustrating than Sansa, and that’s saying something.

But other than that the book was fantastic. I loved the whole plotline involving Sandor Clegane [SPOILER] and now that he’s left, there will be nothing in Sansa’s plot line that will really hold my interest anymore. I hope Sansa grows as a character, or is dropped as one of the POV persons [/SPOILERS]. And of course Jon and Bran and Arya. There could have been a bit more Catelyn, but it was okay. And Tyrion is fucking amazing.

The plotting is extremely tight – Martin must either have the best charts ever or a savant-like ability to keep all the threads together but he seems to manage with ease.

And the world-building: it is wonderful to see how the magic, that was never entirely gone, seeps back into the world and Martin conveys this in a few off-hand remarks. And at the same time, the book is rooted deeply in reality – the way the cities, the castles, the society functions is all very clear and obviously thoroughly thought through.

Summarising: A more than worthy sequel.

—

Even though the other two books are already waiting at home for me, I’ve decided to take a little break. Because I fear the wait for book 5… and the longer it takes me to finish the existing books, the shorter the wait for the non-existant ones.

Not that I’ll be able to hold off for long.