A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) by George R. R. Martin

• Title: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) 
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Fantasy
  
• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (May 28, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0553381695
• ISBN-13: 978-0553381696
• Notes: Book contains violence towards women, children, and anyone and everything else. Not for the faint of heart.

"Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them."

When most Kings die, it's usually pretty clear who will inherit their throne, but when King Robert died, nothing was clear. Rumors abound and everyone under the sun seemed to declare themselves a king or prince. Only those with a feasible claim stepped forward, but even those numbers were significant. Lord Stannis, Robert's brother and true heir, claimed none of Queen Cersei's children were King Robert's trueborn children. He claimed Cersei's children were gotten from an incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jamie and, therefore, had no real claim to the throne. Renly, King Robert's youngest sibling, decided he deserved the crown over his older brother and threw his hat, er, sword into the ring. While in the North Robb, Eddard Stark's oldest trueborn son, was declared by the Lords of the land to be King of the North. One thing that is sure is that once they take a crown each contender will show their true natures.

As Cersei statement from the last book, "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.", proves very wise. In this book, many will fall, but in a land where the dead often times come back to life, I wouldn't consider anyone truly dead until you see it for yourself.

Where power is only as good as the illusion...

"Power resides only where men believe it resides."
So power is a mummer's* trick?"
A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.

Where Loyalties are divided...


"So many vows...they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or the other."  

It's anyone's game.

I am truly loving this series. Such a great arrangement of characters that you hate to see anyone die, even the characters you don't like. In 'A Clash of Kings', new characters are introduced during the prologue which makes the beginning a little confusing. Slowly, however, you understand what you're reading and who the characters are. One new player is, Melisandre, sorceress, shadowbinder, and priestess to R'hllor, the Lord of Light, Heart of Fire, God of Flame and Shadow. She will tip the tables in Stannis' favor. She is his adviser, secret weapon, and we can only speculate what else. I kept wondering in 'A Game of Thrones'  when Stannis would finally make an appearance, and in this book we finally get to meet him. Be prepared for a wild ride as this book has enough twists, turns, and surprises to make you forget just how long it truly is. Martin is a masterful storyteller that makes me second guess every thought or theory that I come up with. I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses. 

Order of series:



1. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
2. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
3. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
4. A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire,  #4)
5. A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)


Get the boxed set of the first four books of the series to save a few bucks or preorder Season One of the HBO series on DVD or Blu-ray. If you click on the DVD or Blu-ray link below you'll be transferred to Amazon:



Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (DVD)
Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)


*Mummers are sellswords (swords for hire) who call themselves the Brave Companions.