A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Clash of Kings
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: 1st September 2011
Genre: Dark Fantasy

Summary:
War is coming as five nobles stake their claim for the most coveted chair in Westeros - the Iron Thorne - a prize is so sought after it turns family into foe, and friends into enemies.

Review:
It may have taken me two weeks, but I have finally finished reading the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series! Running a book blog and working full-time on a placement year, is not as easy as I thought it was going to be...

Anyway, whilst it did take me ages to finish it - I enjoyed every page of the book and cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

However, much like the first book in the series (my review of which can be found here) it did take me a while to get in to... damn those prologues! Whilst I do agree that it helps to add context to the events in the book and help set the theme and mood, I always find them really boring and confusing! Not the best way to start off an exciting book like this in my opinion...

Martin's writing style is much like the first book, showing his consistent and professional writing style - a sign of a truly great writer. Now I have read two of his books, his writing reminds me a lot of J. R. R. Tolkien's as they both have the ability create an engaging and interesting supernatural fantasy world which totally immerses the reader. So good.

The characters in A Clash of Kings are the same as in A Game of Thrones but minus a few (no spoilers, I promise) and with a couple of new added faces. However the ones that still remain from the previous book, are as engaging as they ever were and their individual personalities continue to develop.

But, just when you think you have some of the characters figured out - they completely change and show their true colours!

The plot and characters are full of twists and turns, this is what makes these books so good!

Rating: 9/10. Fantasy genius.

You can buy A Clash of Kings from Amazon here.