Minor Thoughts from me to you

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a very good sequel to The Game of Thrones. It picked up where the last book left off and immediately went to work advancing the plot. If Game of Thrones had one fault, it was that there was too little action and too much world building. All of that world building begins to pay off in this book, however.

In the last book, some scenes were presented multiple times, from a different character’s viewpoint each time. There was little of that in this book, as the main characters are scattered all over Westeros.

There are four main Lords claiming the kingship: Robb Stark, in the North; Renly Baratheon in the South; Stannis Baratheon at Storm’s End; and Joffrey Baratheon in King’s Landing. In addition, Danys Targareon is still raising her three young dragons, Baylon Greyjoy is planning a new rebellion in the Iron Isalnds, and the men of the Night’s Watch are hearing rumors of a massive gathering of Wildlings, north of the Wall.

I was entertained by the continued growth of each of the main characters. It was also very obvious that the story was being driven by the personalities of each of the main characters. Game of Thrones revealed what those personalities were. A Clash of Kings showed the actions that those personalities demanded and the inevitable results of those actions. That personality driven story telling made this book a success.

As I did for the first book, I’ll keep notes of the major characters and where each was left at the end of the book.

Robb Stark—Is somewhere between Riverrun and Casterly Rock, still making war on the Lannisters. He didn’t appear in the book much, except as an offstage force of chaos.

Catelyn Stark—Is in Riverrun, interrogating Jamie Lannister. Last we saw her, she was preparing to execute him, during a midnight interview in the dungeons.

Arya Stark—Has just escaped from Harrenhal, after hiding there as a servant girl under two different conquering forces. She appears to be heading towards Riverrun, to find her mother and brother.

Sansa Stark—Is still a hostage of the Lannisters, in King’s Landing. Her engagement to Joffrey has been dissolved and she’s still hoping to escape King’s Landing.

Tyrion Lannister—Is recovering, in King’s Landing, from wounds sustained during the Battle for King’s Landing. He’s no longer the Hand of the King, however.

Jamie Lannister—Is still a prisoner of Robb Stark’s forces, having been captured during the battle for Riverrun. He managed to spend the entire book rotting in Tully’s dungeons.

Cersei Lannister—In King’s Landing, still trying to keep Joffrey safe. She’s no longer the regent however. That role has been assumed by Lord Tywin Lannister.

Joffrey Baratheon—Has been hailed as King by both the Tyrells and the Lannisters now, as well as most of the bannermen for the Baratheons. He is freshly engaged to Margery Tyrell.

Daenerys Targaryen—Is on the far side of the world, booking passage out of Qarth, with her dragons and khalasar.

John Snow—Has defected to the wildlings, north of the Wall. The wildling horde is riding towards the wall and plans to smash through into the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

Bran Stark—Is heading North, from the ruins of Winterfell. He’s still a cripple but has discovered that he can mentally ride with Summer, at will.

Theon Greyjoy—Is dead, after the Bolton’s sack of Winterfell.

Winterfell—Was first captured by Theon Greyjoy and the men of Pyke, then captured and sacked by the Boltons. The North is at war and completely unprepared to face and invasion from beyond the Wall.

Stannis Baratheon—Presumed dead, at the Battle of King’s Landing.

Tywin Lannister—Newly named Hand of the King and Regent, in King’s Landing.