A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin Rating: 4/5
A Clash of Kings Goodreads Review (Spoilers Blanked Out)
“The unseen enemy is always the most fearsome.”
A little advice: Donβt start this series unless you are 100% committed to seeing it through until the end. If you donβt want too commit to the endless number of pages and povs then just watch the show, Iβve heard its quite good.
I read the first 650/80 pages of this in physical form but then changed to the audio book in order to finish it faster. Iβll admit that while the audiobook copy is a faster way to get through the book but although I was still really invested in the story and plot I did find myself missing some of the details. The narrator for this audio series on audible is Roy Dotrice and hereβs the thing, some of his accents were ridiculous and made it increasingly difficult to understand what he was saying and he wasnβt saying some of the characterβs names correctly. He is on book two of the series β thatβs just not good enough.
I would rather read this series physically instead of listening to it but I really want to get up to date with it this year and I donβt know if Iβll have the time.
The books in this series are all really hard to review. There are soo many characters, each with their own subplot and there are soo many POVs. Also, these books are all roughly 800-1000 pages long β thatβs a lot of words.
Iβm just going to break this down into character discussions because thatβs way easier.
Sansa
When I read AGOT I thought Sansa was the most annoying person in the world but over time Iβve come to realise that sheβs actually one of the toughest characters in the series. Sansa is a teenager, she only gets her first period in this book, thatβs how young she is! Sheβs being held against her will, is being forced to marry the boy king, Joffrey β the man who ordered the death of her father and she doesnβt know whatβs happening in the rest of the world or where her family is.
Thankfully Sansa doesnβt have to marry Joffrey anymore but I absolutely died when it was pointed out that he could still rape her at any time.
Jon
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Along with the majority of people that read or watch Game of Thrones I am a big fan of Jon Snow and honestly I donβt even know why, I just do. He doesnβt really do that much in this novel but Iβm sure he will do a bit more than walk around in the snow for 900 pages in the next book.
Tyrion
Tyrion, as per usual one the comedy relief in the book. He got a bit more of a role while also growing as a character which was nice to see.
Bran
Bran didnβt do too much during the book but I feel like this was sort of a filler book for a lot of characters who will have bigger roles as the series progresses.
Arya
As much as I enjoy Aryaβs pov if you asked me to tell you what she did in this book this is what Iβd say:
- Ran around with some men – pretended to be a boy
- Decided that was lame and became a servant β still a boy
- Beat up a tree with her sword and talked about being a cat? – Still a boy
- Not much tbh
Honourable mentions
Ghost
Perfect, as always. But, it nearly killed me when he got hurt and Jon had to hold him down so they could heal his wounds.
Although nothing happened until 80-85% of the way in β (thatβs a lot of pages where nothing much happened) I did still really enjoy this instalment. Hopefully I can get to the A Storm of Swords next month.
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