Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Series: Song of Ice and Fire, #2
Published: May 28, 2002
Publisher: Bantam Books
Number of Pages: 926
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.
No, I have not reviewed Game of Thrones. If I did, I would have to reread the book, and I'm here to tell you folks-ain't happening. It's like my relationship with Terry Goodkind's books: fabulous read, but you see, after so many pages and so many books, I've forgotten everything. All the important stuff. And in a series that references the important stuff all the time, that becomes a little troublesome, especially when I sit around a couple years waiting for the next book...
But lucky me, now I have an *accurate* TV series I can use to catch up! Now, don't let the above bitter tirade full you, I loved Game of Thrones. Fantastic book. Lovely, if you can read long books, go for it! I think I might have finished it in a week too. A Clash of Kings on the other hand...
I don't know why, (actually, I think I do), but reading all of this book was a struggle. And I suspect it's because of the TV show. I started it before the the second season started, but after a week, I was only a quarter of the way through. Then the season started. And I watched. And watched. And watched. And at some point, the season began to over pass what had happened in the book. After one episode of that, I stopped watching. But too late, the damage was done. For whatever reason, I couldn't pick up the book again. I got distracted by other books, and A Clash of Kings became the "other book" I was reading on my bedside table. And it sat. And sat. And sat. Until summer came around and I took a little trip to Spain (Yeah, school programs!). I thought, perfect chance to finish it! And I tried for a while. Then, maybe 2/3's of my way through, I got distracted again. Yeah, I'm shameless. I blame Heather Self for this one. I'd been eyeing her book since the winter, and when it finally came out, I thought, "Read this, I must!" So I did. It was cool, by the way. I think I went on a crazy rant while reading it too...*sorry roommate*
Then I realized what a spaz I was, and started summer reading for school. Ha. Ha. *life fail* And A Clash of Kings became that book that disappeared behind the chaos that is my bedside table. Until recently. You see, Hypable is doing this BattleShips Tournament in which I'm sure their intent is suicide because...well, they're taking on a shipping war, and it's a countdown till a fandom sinks them. (See what I did there? ^_^) And Ayra and Gendry were the ship that were voted on. And I thought, "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS, GRRRR." And I wanted to finish the TV season. So I finally picked up the book again.
REVIEW STARTS HERE
Now to the review (yeah, I was in the story-telling mode, feel privileged, it won't happen a lot). Why did I have this carefree attitude with the book? Not because it was bad. I actually loved it. But it is because I DO have a short attention span, and limited time. Martin switches to a different POV every chapter, often rotating between seven or more characters. In Game of Thrones, these characters were all within the same story. But now, due to the complex nature of the world, each character is apart of their own story, that fits into the bigger story. Like a novel of short stories. Thing is, though, this allows for favorite picking. I'd find myself ruffling through the pages (a lot), to find out when I'd next be in Ayra's head. I'd groan if I saw Theon or Davos' name anywhere. Not because their stories are bad. But because I liked other better.
Also, as I mentioned in the beginning, this book is a long fantasy books. I love fantasy books. But I've come to accept that they mean just that many more details to keep straight, because they are set in a different world. I have to remember the country, the politics, the families, the castles, and after awhile, if I shuffle between to many books, it becomes a little confusing. About two years ago, I read Terry Goodkind's books, and I think there might have been 12. Twelve, long, fantasy books. I gave five months to the series. That's roughly a week and 2/3's per book. Impressive, I think, especially since I'm not the fasest reader (I'm really not, honestly, I just read a lot at average speed). But now two years have passed, and a new book FINALLY came out. Guess who isn't reading it because she can't remember anything? *waves hand* So I'm telling you, don't devote your time to a complicated fantasy series, unless there's a way for you to keep up with it. If it's the only series you read, sure. But I have a reading pile as tall as Atlas, thank you very much. I just don't have time to spend five months on a series anymore.
Martin has a TV series, though. I fantabulous series that follows the books very well. And though I like reading things, I remember better when I see things. I'm a visual learner. To see the actors, and picture what they've done is a lot easier than trying to remember what a particular chapter looked like. And hey, maybe it's shallow of me, to base the worth of a book series on the TV show, but like I said, I only have so much time to invest, and the TV show is what originally sold me on the project. A ver good investment on HBO's part, if it inspired me and other readers to put my time and money in with the books and show.
And the books are fantastic. The character's real, the politics haunting (honestly, forget about the election, worry about Joffrey!). Because these books make you sit back and ask serious questions. About love. About power. About what (if anything) justifies a wrong. In the most spellbinding way possible. And don't cheat and watch the TV show, cause let's face it. In every adaption, you'll always miss something, unless you read the book.
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