George R. R. Martin: A Clash of Kings

Hi

This review is about the second part in the A Song of Ice and Fire series; A Clash of Kings.
It won the Locus Award and was nominated for the Nebula Award.
The copy I read has 873 pages.
You can find my review on the first part here.

I like the different point-of-views in the story. It’s a big world with a lot happening and because of these multiple POV’s we get to see so much more of it.
But I hated that every time the POV changed to someone else, and then changed back to the first person a certain amount of time had gone by. We missed so much because of that.
And this ties in with the biggest problem I have with this novel. We miss all the action!
A letter arrives to tell us of a battle, there’s talk about a battle that happened, a servant tells us someone disappears. No idea how Robb won his battles because we see nothing of him in this novel. Where the hell does Tywin come from in the end? Oh, we don’t know because we don’t read about him. Stupid Sansa sleeps during the battle.
Well I want to read about the battles. I want to read how they escaped.
The small bit of action we get is over before we know it happens. Renly’s death takes only a couple of sentences for instance.

It’s terribly boring. Very little action, endless talking, food, dress and more talking, going somewhere, hanging out somewhere and even more talking.

We read about too many characters and names we don’t care about and who add nothing whatsoever to the story. Reading ten names in a row serves no-one.

It’s tiresome and tedious in the sense that everything going bad for everyone is tiresome. Not one plotline has some good in it. ‘Everyone always loses’ is tiresome and very, very predictable.

I still stand by my review of A Game of Thrones, so I won’t repeat the problems I wrote about it that review even though they’re here as well.

Happy reading.

Helena

George R. R. Martin: A Game of Thrones

Hi

Well, I finally gave in to peer pressure; I read A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
My fiancé owns the whole A Song of Ice and Fire series and he’s a big fan.
This copy has 780 pages.

“Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men. All will play the Game of Thrones.

Summers span decades.Winter can last a lifetime.And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.It will stretch from the south where heat breeds plot,lusts and intrigues to the vast frozen north,where a 700-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. The Game of Thrones. You win,or you die.”

I enjoyed the book but I definitely didn't love it.

Martin’s characters are underdeveloped, they have about three emotions or character traits and most characters feel one-dimensional. Every character reads the same; Bran sounds the same as Ned, John, Catelyn or Tyrion. That’s especially a problem in the minor characters like Tommen and Old Nan who don’t have a defining trait. The mayor characters are mostly distinguishable by their clichéd and simplistic characteristics like stupid but beautiful Sansa, the drunkard and whoring king and the loving but unforgiving Catelyn.
Because there's so much going on and there are so many characters, the multiple POV's were a great idea and I liked reading from different people's perspective. But I did not like the big leaps in time. We go from Ned in his cell, to Arya viewing his execution, from Daenerys hating Khal Drogo to her being deliriously in love with him.
Martin's writing is ok, it does the job but it's definitely not a joy to read his prose.

The story is great though. Told from multiple points of view, and with a focus on politics and the dynamics in the kingdom, it certainly is an entertaining and interesting read.

3 stars

How did you like this novel?

Happy reading.
Helena

Relaxing after my fabulous bachelorette party!