A Clash of Kings is the second book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by author George R.R. Martin. While the first book is very enjoyable in its own sense, I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy its sequel even more. With the outbreak of war across Westeros, the increasing hostility of the Others, and a vagabond Dragon Queen traversing the desert, A Clash of Kings is hard to put down. While the first book has more to do with maintaining control in an existing hierarchy, the second has to do with consolidating your own power in a vacuum. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel.
For anyone who hasn’t read or seen Game of Thrones, spoilers ahead. A Clash of Kings opens with Robb as King in the North, Joffrey as the reigning King of the Realm, and Renly and Stannis as pretenders. Jon is heading past the Wall to confront the Wildings, and maybe the Others. Daenerys is leading her disheveled “khalasar” across Essos, following the red comet. Balon Greyjoy is readying for a strike on the North. All in all, life is fairly hectic across the Known World, especially Westeros. Deception and betrayal are ubiquitous, alliances are made and broken in an instant, and the actions of the few lead to the deaths of thousands. In a war-torn Westeros, everyone needs watch his back, and no one is spared from harassment or persecution, not even the Night’s Watch. Sorcery and witchcraft are used for political means, and dragon-owners must beware of those who would use their beasts for malice. All in all, chaos reigns.
As in the first book, the sequel struggles at times to keep a lid on all its characters. Oftentimes I will start a chapter and not know which minor lord Davos is referring to, even when that character has been mentioned a dozen times earlier, just due to the enormity of the cast list. Again, there are a solid core of characters who are incredibly deep and fleshed out, but the majority sort of just blend together. That certainly makes it hard for readers to follow the plot at times, even the most sophisticated among us. Another flaw, in my humble opinion, is that sometimes Martin will focus on a more character-based approach to a situation rather than the actual conflict part, which happens concurrently. When the character in question is, say, Tyrion for example, that’s fine, because Tyrion is extraordinarily interesting, even when he’s just talking and walking. However, when Robb is fighting battles and instead Martin focuses on Catelyn walking and talking, I am seriously less interested, because Catelyn is just not as deeply engrossing as Tyrion (no offense to Catelyn).
Obviously, A Clash of Kings is unequivocally strong in a number of other strong categories. No one will ever say that A Clash of Kings is lacking in an interesting plot, seeing how it has interesting plots in spades. Almost unbelievably, Martin is able to juggle a dozen different narratives simultaneously, each with varying levels of connectedness to the central storyline. Every part of the main storyline is compartmentalized into different characters’ points of view, which really makes a complex plot much more understandable. Speaking of the characters, I think Martin does an even better job of fleshing out his protagonists and antagonists than he did in the first book. Of course, the fact that the characters were already set up well before the writing of the sequel makes it easier to give meaning to their motives, but Martin should still be heavily lauded for his ability to make his audience love the heroes and villains alike.
A Clash of Kings is a fitting sequel to A Game of Thrones, adding to the already diverse cast and storyline. Everything readers delighted in while reading the first book; the drama, the intrigue, the deeply humanist attitude, they will find again here in the second. Where the first book could feel stale at parts, Martin does a much better job keeping the reader entertained even when Catelyn is just praying in a sept. I enjoyed both books very much, but I would actually be more likely to recommend A Clash of Kings to people than I would its prequel, because it was just that good of a novel.
For anyone who hasn’t read or seen Game of Thrones, spoilers ahead. A Clash of Kings opens with Robb as King in the North, Joffrey as the reigning King of the Realm, and Renly and Stannis as pretenders. Jon is heading past the Wall to confront the Wildings, and maybe the Others. Daenerys is leading her disheveled “khalasar” across Essos, following the red comet. Balon Greyjoy is readying for a strike on the North. All in all, life is fairly hectic across the Known World, especially Westeros. Deception and betrayal are ubiquitous, alliances are made and broken in an instant, and the actions of the few lead to the deaths of thousands. In a war-torn Westeros, everyone needs watch his back, and no one is spared from harassment or persecution, not even the Night’s Watch. Sorcery and witchcraft are used for political means, and dragon-owners must beware of those who would use their beasts for malice. All in all, chaos reigns.
As in the first book, the sequel struggles at times to keep a lid on all its characters. Oftentimes I will start a chapter and not know which minor lord Davos is referring to, even when that character has been mentioned a dozen times earlier, just due to the enormity of the cast list. Again, there are a solid core of characters who are incredibly deep and fleshed out, but the majority sort of just blend together. That certainly makes it hard for readers to follow the plot at times, even the most sophisticated among us. Another flaw, in my humble opinion, is that sometimes Martin will focus on a more character-based approach to a situation rather than the actual conflict part, which happens concurrently. When the character in question is, say, Tyrion for example, that’s fine, because Tyrion is extraordinarily interesting, even when he’s just talking and walking. However, when Robb is fighting battles and instead Martin focuses on Catelyn walking and talking, I am seriously less interested, because Catelyn is just not as deeply engrossing as Tyrion (no offense to Catelyn).
Obviously, A Clash of Kings is unequivocally strong in a number of other strong categories. No one will ever say that A Clash of Kings is lacking in an interesting plot, seeing how it has interesting plots in spades. Almost unbelievably, Martin is able to juggle a dozen different narratives simultaneously, each with varying levels of connectedness to the central storyline. Every part of the main storyline is compartmentalized into different characters’ points of view, which really makes a complex plot much more understandable. Speaking of the characters, I think Martin does an even better job of fleshing out his protagonists and antagonists than he did in the first book. Of course, the fact that the characters were already set up well before the writing of the sequel makes it easier to give meaning to their motives, but Martin should still be heavily lauded for his ability to make his audience love the heroes and villains alike.
A Clash of Kings is a fitting sequel to A Game of Thrones, adding to the already diverse cast and storyline. Everything readers delighted in while reading the first book; the drama, the intrigue, the deeply humanist attitude, they will find again here in the second. Where the first book could feel stale at parts, Martin does a much better job keeping the reader entertained even when Catelyn is just praying in a sept. I enjoyed both books very much, but I would actually be more likely to recommend A Clash of Kings to people than I would its prequel, because it was just that good of a novel.