15. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Topic: book that's more than 600 pages
Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders - Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon - who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame - six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.
My Review:
In case anyone doesn't know, this is the second book in The Game of Thrones series.
As the story continues, I can say that I enjoyed this one more than the first book. George does a great job of keeping the plotlines well executed. My only wish is that he would show some of the characters more mercy. I find it frustrating that the Lannisters seem to get away with anything, while the Starks always get the short end of the stick. Daenarys, in my opinion, has the best storyline, but it tends to get under rated because of everything else going on.
The one thing that bothered me was how Davos all of a sudden gets chapters when he's really not a main character. Or even talked about that much in the first book. I would rather hear from Joffrey and Robb, who are actually kings. It would be interesting to see what they are thinking and going through as kids who have to rule and battle.
Since there is so much going on throughout, I find that it's difficult to right a great review because a proper review of this book could be long. So instead I compiled a short list of my favorite and least favorite characters.
Favorite Characters
1. Jon Snow
2. Stamina Marathon
3. Bran Stark
Least Favorite Characters
1. Cersei Lannister
2. Joffrey Lannister
3. Sansa Stark
And finally there's one character who I have a love/hate relationship with: Arya. She's the one who didn't follow the rules, but at the same time, shows that females can do anything. Even if that's pretending that she's a guy.
~Meg~
