A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

#2 A Song of Ice and Fire
Copyright: 2011 edition
Publisher: Bantam Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fiction
Pages: 969
Author's Website
My rating:  4/5


Simple Description: 
It's not often I do this but for this book I'm going to copy what is on Amazon.com:

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles



 My Thoughts:
My initial thought upon finishing this book early this morning was "Thank God!".  But then, that's what I was thinking when I finish a chunkster that's taken me so long to read. haha! It really has nothing to do with the book, it's just me being ready to be done with that book.

Ok, so this is the follow-up to Game of Thrones, which I really enjoyed.  As many of you know HBO has made this book series into a tv series.  The second season started on April 1st and follows this book.  I really wanted to finish the book before the series started as both myself and Husband enjoyed season one and were pumped for season 2.

Now..because it had been roughly a year since I read book one and because there are so many freaking characters I was confused in the beginning.  That's just bound to happen.  Once I got into the groove of the book I started to remember the characters more and it became less confusing.

This is definitely a book where you HAVE to read the first one before reading this one.   Otherwise you will have no idea what is going on and be completely lost.

I don't think I liked this one as much as the first one but I still enjoyed it.  I would like to say I can't wait to get to the 3rd but let's be honest..I need some fun, light, SHORT, reads after this one.

If you like fantasy, check out this series if you haven't already.  It's well worth the time.