I was so close to the end of George R.R. Martin’s Clash of Kings yesterday that I just had to finish and raced pell mell until I got to the end. Clash of Kings is book two in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
When I started the book I expected it to be an edge-of-my-seat race from start to finish and was a little disconcerted when, halfway through the book, nothing had really happened. Don’t get me wrong, stuff happened but nothing huge. But then I realized, aha, this is indeed a game, begun in the first book, Game of Thrones. The second book picks up where the first ends with no gap in time. The book is like a written out version of 3-D chess played with multiple players. The kings send their knights and bishops after pawns and castles and those queens, watch out for them, you never know what they might do! So the first half of the book is maneuvering.
Then things start to happen. Not huge things but little things, things that, instead of releasing some of the tension that has been building only serves to ratchet it up even more. By the time I got to the last third of the book it was hard to put down. And those final pages I read yesterday, woe to anyone who might have interrupted me! Luckily Bookman has already read the book and so knew better and stayed clear.
Arya remains my favorite character but Bran is finally starting to come into his own and his new friends Meera and Jojen are wonderful additions. I also like the addition of Brienne, a warrior woman to the mix. And of course the direwolves, I always fear for the direwolves. I could babble on and on about various parts of the book – Jon and Qhorin Halfhand, OMG – but it is meaningless to those who haven’t read it so I will stop.
I want to dive into the third book, A Storm of Swords but am resisting for a little while. There will be seven books in the series and five of them have been published. I don’t want to zoom my way through the books and then have to wait for the last two. So I am trying to take my time for as long as I can in hopes that the final book will be out just as I am ready to read it. In the meantime, I join my voice to the chorus: write like the wind George!
I’ve seen this on the shelves at B&N (Game of Thrones) but never picked it up to page through. Never been tempted since I’ve never read anything “fantasy” – well, how can I say that? Surely The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, they are all fantasies. Right? Well, you know what I mean. If there are seven books…and I like the first…well that is rife with possibilities! Welcome back!
Grad, the series is “high fantasy” or “epic fantasy” in the vein of Tolkein and Harry Potter except there are no wizards like Gandalf of Harry though there is some possibly dark magics going on but this is only a small and limited thing at least at the moment. There are dragons and wights and seers, but for the most part it is all about power and politics and people. In the first two books at any rate. The books are really fat but if you are interested in reading the first one, don’t let it’s size intimidate you, it reads really fast. And thanks, it’s nice to be back
Arya is the favourite in this household as well. Just reading all those names makes me want to go back and re-read from the beginning, but I haven’t got time. I’ve already told myself I can’t possible read the Booker Long List. If I can’t do that then I definitely can’t re-read. So glad you enjoyed it.
Direwolves sound like they might be pretty scary! These books are clearly hugely popular; are they a kind of modern day Lord Of the Rings? How does Tolkein compare with Martin? Do you have a hunch why these books are so popular right now (its clear from what you,ve written that sheer storywriting excellence is an important reason).
Ian, yes, direwolves are sort of uber-wolves and the sigil of one of the families in the book. The books are epic fantasy like LOTR but there are no orcs or hobbits or elves. There are dragons and wights and things that go bump in the night and it is clear that something very bad is going to happen eventually with these creatures, but in these early books, it is all about power and people and politics. Plus Martin made clear in the first book that no one is safe when he killed off an important and well-liked character. I have to admire an author who is willing to take that risk. The books are really popular right now because each book is being made into a mini-series and has roped in a lot of people who might not have read the books otherwise.
Alex, my husband has read them all, had read up through book 4 before they became to popular and kept telling me I had to read them. The TV got me going on them because I want to read the books before seeing the series and now I am wondering why I waited so long! The Booker Long List is an interesting one this year. I hope you enjoy reading your way through it!
Not books I’ll ever read, but my son made small noises in their direction the other day and so I am best wondering how to ambush him. Begin with the television series? Leave the first book by his keyboard? Hmmm, tricky.
Litlove, hmm. I’ve seen the first part of the TV series and it was good but of course leaves a lot out and they sort of over-sexualized most of the women which really made me angry (lots of bare breasts and some sex). I’d say try to get him to read Game of Thrones first then the TV series will be much more interesting and not just because of the naked women
I’ve got the first book and of course you make me want to pull it out and begin reading now! It’s just So long….and I really need to finish East of Eden…but I can’t wait to get to this as well!
Danielle, I know the books are fat, but once you get going on them they zoom by!
I’m hoping to read this one this fall. Can’t wait! Your review makes it sound like I won’t be at all disappointed.
Emily, no, you definitely won’t be disappointed!
Really research how long it takes this gentleman to put out a book. you may lose all interest while waiting like many of us did.
I still need to start this series with Game of Thrones but know that when I do, I will be racing to finish each one. I am really looking forward to it!
Boarding, it was really hard not to jump right into the third book I can tell you that! There is the occasional passage of purple prose in the books but over all they are really well written and the pacing and plotting is fantastic. You’ll enjoy them when you get to them!