[Book Review] “A Clash of Kings” keeps tensions high throughout, Book 2 of a Song of Ice and Fire

Should you buy this book? Yes, definitely.

Should you borrow this book? Sure, but you probably can’t finish it before your borrowing period expires.

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“A Clash of Kings” by George R R Martin is the second book in “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (which has five books to its name now, and possibly three more to go). It focuses on the struggle between the four eponymous kings – Robb Stark, Renly Baraethon, Joffrey Baraethon, and Stannis Baraethon – even as external forces conspire against their country.

It’s a great book that expands on the motivations of the characters introduced in the first instalment. What it does particularly well is put the characters into the most unlikely and uncomfortable situations, thus showing us their true colours, admirable or despicable though they may be. And that is, after all, the essence of good conflict, right?

Highlights

Battle at King’s Landing

The entire book is a build up to this (this cannot be a spoiler if you’ve read the first book), and it devotes a good portion of the third Act to this thread. The tide swings between both armies multiple times, and each chance of victory is quickly snatched away by the looming threat of defeat. In hindsight, the outcome should have been obvious, but it feels like a narrow win nevertheless.

Stannis Baratheon

In Dungeons & Dragons (3rd Edition), Stannis Baratheon is statted as a Level 10 Paladin. In any case, Stannis is presented as an incredibly dislikeable character who has almost no moral failings, almost like a bitchy Ned Stark. The thing is that you have no real grounds to actually want him to die, yet he never endears himself with you. It’s this ambiguity of emotion that makes him one of the more interesting characters introduced.

Mythology of the Targaryen line and Valyria

Everyone likes powerful things, and the way they are put on a pedestal and heralded as a better age draws your curiosity about the two. Though they are separate, they are held up as legends in a world that is already legendary, which makes you want to Google them. All that mention of “Valyrian steel” in the first book paid off (irritating as it was) – you realise just how powerful that is.

Catelyn Stark

The very picture of strength and vulnerability, Catelyn’s desperation to keep her fragmented family from falling apart is palpable, and this makes her one of the most sympathetic characters. She is portrayed as out of her depth, but with the courage to make the best of her circumstances and the wisdom to make important decisions.

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion overshadows Cersei in this book as the more interesting Lannister (though both are beholden to Tywin), and he parallels Catelyn Stark in the sense that he’s also out of his depth, and forced to rely on his own courage and wisdom to keep his head afloat. Whilst Catelyn doesn’t have any ostensible flaws, Tyrion does – prostitutes – and this is what grounds him in relatability to the reader. Then again, don’t all the Lannisters have carnal cravings as fatal flaws?

Letdowns

Too many character viewpoints

The problem is that it dilutes the flavour of each perspective. If it were restricted to just the Starks, Lannisters, and Daenerys, it would be fine – but the flaw is magnified with the addition of Davos and Theon. Their stories could have been told from other existing characters eyes, surely? Also, they’re not the best of characters.

New characters (Davos and Theon) feel very two-dimensional

It’s not that I’m against the new characters (hey see Stannis Baratheon!), but Davos is completely foreign and flat, while Theon feels like a spoilt brat, and not the Joffrey kind that you love to hate. Maybe they’ll play a stronger role in future books or they’ll prove to be important, but right now they’re not the most fleshed out of characters.

Jaime Lannister is absent

Ya. He’s gone. Completely. It was fun to see his interactions, but once he got thrown into jail in the first book, he’s gone in this one. We only have three Lannisters to bitch around with, and as fun as Tywin might be, it just isn’t the same without one of the incestuous couple around.

“A Clash of Kings” is a worthy second instalment to the first book (seeing as which there are seven, possibly eight, you’d better get on reading the next few), and satiates your desire to know which characters prevail. Alas! That is something you’ll only know at the end, or perhaps in the next three books.

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You might also want to read:

• [TV Show Review] House of the Dragon S1 – so gloriously intense I got a nosebleed
• [TV Show Review] ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 was epic but ultimately hollow
• [Book Review] “A Game of Thrones” starts slow and ends well, Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire
• [Book Review] “A Clash of Kings” keeps tensions high throughout, Book 2 of a Song of Ice and Fire
• [Book Review] “A Storm of Swords” is a mammoth epic of Pyrrhic victories, Book 3 of a Song of Ice and Fire
• [Book Review] “A Feast for Crows” is sprawling but limited, Book 4 of a Song of Ice and Fire
• [Book Review] “A Dance with Dragons” concludes surprisingly well, Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire

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You may be interested in the following Game of Thrones merchandise:

• • A Song of Ice and Fire Book Set (all 5 books released so far)