I jumped right from A Game of Thrones to A Clash of Kings, Book 2 of “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin.  Once again I listened to the unabridged 36+ hour audiobook read masterfully by Roy Dotrice.  The book unapologetically picks up right where the first book left off, with very little in the way of recap. What else would happen to the Starks, the Lannisters?  How would Daenerys and her newborn dragons play a part?  Or John Snow up in the frozen north?  Most improtantly…

…is it a worthly continuation of the series?

LIKED

Perspectives.  I like the fact that not every main character is a king or queen.  Rather than have Cersei Lannister or Rob Stark, major influencers in the world, as narrative characters, the book introduced two new narrative characters, in Davos Seaworth the Onion Knight and Theon Greyjoy.  Seeing the events of the Battle of the Blackwater unfold from an unrespected smuggler-turned-knight’s perspective, rather than from a great commander like Stannis Baratheon, makes the novel much more interesting.

Unknown Future.  Because of the genre and the epic feel of the tale, people often refer to Martin and Tolkien in the same breath.  But when you read the first 50 pages of The Lord of the Rings, you know where the characters are ultimately going to end up.  You know where Roland of Gilead has to end up at in the Dark Tower series.  In this series, I have no idea where things are headed.  Given that this is Book 2 of a seven book series, I’m more than okay with that, as long as the story remains engaging.  As I read further I would expect to see some foreshadowing of that, but at this stage it’s refreshing to not have a clue what’s around the next corner.

NOT SO MUCH

Cheap Turns of Events.  Without revealing too much for those who have yet to read the book, the way two events unfolded in the narrative cheapened their plotlines.  In both instances, events were drawing to their inevitable conclusions, only to be completely reversed in the final moments.  It hearkens back to the first novel, and the events surrounding Eddard Stark at the Great Sept of Baelor.  Surprising the reader with an unexpected turn of events should rarely happen, and only if skillfully done.  In this novel, I felt as though I was reading an Agatha Christie novel, and was told that the murderer was the butler’s daughter, who was barely mentioned and not even a suspect.  I hope future novels don’t continue the trend.

Chapter Structure (Again).  I said previously that while reading A Game of Thrones that I felt a little cheated by the chapter structure.  I still feel that way in this book, though perhaps I’ve come to expect it.  I still feel a bit too led along by the author, which pulls me out of the book.  For instance, when the focus of novel turned towards The Battle of the Blackwater, the story shifts only to that, and chapters told from the perspective of the three people in the area.  For quite awhile, the story bounces between these three characters, and all other plotlines are set aside, until things reach a dramatic peak, and then we’re shifted off somewhere else with little explanation.  Don’t get me wrong:  I understand this is part of the storytelling structure and the author’s dramatic license.  I just think it feels a little ham-fisted.

RECOMMEND?

My interest never waned throughout the story, although I thought some of the pacing was off from the first novel.  Some of the main characters (Sansa, Catelyn) were less developed this time through, but the stronger ones (Tyrion, Arya) continue to shine.  I’m not sure I liked it as much as the first novel, but it’s a strong followup.  I’m definitely going to continue reading the series, though I might take a slight detour to read another thing that was just recently released.  More on that in a few weeks, I hope.