A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

By

⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

After I rushed through the first book, this one took me 4 months to get through. Queue the Strongbad quote! Too loooooooong Clancy! Too looooong!

This one definitely felt like a dropoff in my opinion, which makes me a little sad after the first one was one of my favorite fantasy novels ever. Where that one felt decidedly tight and intentional, with a big climax that everything led up to, this one just felt like a few chapters in what will be a (literal) never-ending saga. That's not bad necessarily, it just felt like I was never getting anywhere.

However, I think the bigger issue is this one followed less interesting characters doing less interesting things. I am not crazy about Davos, and even less interested in Stanis. And my goodness, get fricken Theon Greyjoy outta here!!! I really don't get the choice to write from his perspective. He is so, so unlikeable, and reading his chapters are literal torture (torture? Get it? The real ones will know).

Arya is also one of the most fun POV characters, but her arc was a little stagnant here. Catlyn didn't have much going on, and I wish her perspective was just shifted to Robb. Dany did a whole lot of nothing except talk to rich merchants, and Jon only had some intrigue at the end (I did think the encounter with the Wildling was pretty moving).

That sounds like a lot of negative. I was pretty bored with a lot of this. I also had the audiobook going double speed by the end cuz I was getting antsy to finish. Also, I'm sorry but the sex scenes in this one are especially uncomfortable.

Yet I won't deny there is a lot of craft here. I still love Martin's committment to this unique voice, though I admit it gets a little tiring after 2000 pages. Still, the book is undeniably impressive. The last 200 pages were quite good, and got closer to what the first one accomplished. The war scenes had a nice pace, high stakes, and just felt real. I really liked that we got POV from both sides, from two characters we like, so it was hard to cheer for or against anyone.

But I don't think I'll continue on, or at least right now. I'm confident the third one will be better, and I recall a lot of interesting stuff from the show in that season. But I need a break from Martin. I'll give him time to write his next book, and let the hype of that suck me back in.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

By
⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) Watched this for the first time because we wanted a comedy, and it was fine. I laughed a couple times, mostly at Paul Rudd, whose character was amazing. Otherwise its just a 2000s raunchy comedy. These Apatow movies are way too long for comedies, and the feel-good endings take too long to get to. I liked the idea of a fake NBC show that Kristen Bell stars in, and those clips made me laugh. Jason Segel is fine, and he fits the depressed guy thing they are going for here. I will never understand why the two women in this movie are so beautiful and the two guys are pudgy idiots. I guess I do understand, given the target audience for these movies. Another thing, they clearly were in Hawaii for filming a bunch of this, but then there are a couple scenes that are clearly using a green screen for the background. Pretty weird, since I assume they were in Hawaii, so maybe reshoots? Felt kinda cheap. Anyways, good for a couple laughs, don't ever nee...
Read more

July Reading Favourites

By
Image
Look at that cover! This is a YA horror book written by a trans Canadian author that knocked my socks off. A small town has secrets it's trying to hide, and after the death of a boy and a newcomer arriving, things start slipping out of control. It's a book about being trans or queer and living in a small town, and how a community creating a facade of a perfect town can backfire. Also maybe closing your eyes to anything that's "not your business" is not good actually! It's violent and full of rage, and I loved the way it played with time and perspective. Check the triggers, but if you're interested in reading it, I'd recommend going in blind without looking at reviews or a longer description! This is a short book of essays about ableism and disability justice, specifically relating to technological advances for disabled people. Most of the essays focus on a different type of technology for different disabilities (prosthetics, hearing aids, cures for aut...
Read more

Magdalene's Favourite Books of 2024

By
Image
In 2024 I read another ABSURD amount of books, and I will not be commenting on what that says about me, my decisions, or the state of my mental health. So I'm just going to go straight into my favourite books of the year! I've posted about a lot of these in my monthly faves, but now you get to see which ones made it to my favourites of the year list! They're in no particular order. A Pacific Islander-inspired fantasy with unique, refreshing vibes. Hanalei returns to her home island, Her childhood best friend is looking for a dragonfruit to heal his mother, and Hanalei will use her connection with the seadragons to help. Lucier has a pretty simple way of writing, but the story was fun and beautiful, and it really took me on an adventure. Sid is a Korean adoptee living in a very white town that is over a crack where magic can get through. One day a Guardian falls, releasing magic and zombies, and it becomes a fight to survive. This is such an interesting blend of fantasy and ...
Read more