Description:

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.

Review:  5 of 5 Stars

As those who read this blog know, I’m sometimes a bit sporadic. However, I’m always reading even when I’m not posting. That being said I have several reviews to post as I am just finishing up Book Five of the Game of Thrones series and have a couple of indie books I’ve read and need to review.  For now, though, I’ll be reviewing Game of Thrones, Book Two.

I really enjoyed this book and by the end I was completely addicted to the series. I read more science fiction than fantasy nowadays, but I was very pleased with Game of Thrones from the outset. I mentioned in a previous review that I had started watching the series on HBO, which led me to the books. I love the show, but have really enjoyed the added detail of the books.  In this volume we get to follow Daenerys Targaryen as she raises her new dragons, Robb Stark assumes the mantle of King of the North and general fighting and scheming continue on all sides after the death of several main characters in the first book. Of course, the Lannisters are at the forefront of much of the scheming and plotting and Tyrion continues to be my favorite character of the series.  Joffrey continues to show us what a spoiled, self-important maggot he is and poor Sansa Stark is stuck with him for the time being or so it seems. Arya Stark, the youngest daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark disguises herself as a boy and heads north while trying to avoid her family’s enemies. Jon Snow, another favorite character for me, is serving as a member of the Night’s Watch on the Wall.

The fact that each of these books comes in at right around 1,000 pages makes it difficult to give a succinct review since there are so many characters to follow and an almost equal number of plot lines to go with them. Everyone is up to something in a Game of Thrones book. I like that we get to look inside Sansa’s head in the books. In the show you don’t know what she’s thinking and she seems more meek than she comes off in the books, less flighty debutante and more substance.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was fully immersed in the story by the end. The writing is fantastic, the plot lines are complex and Martin has no problem killing someone off when they need to be killed. I’m now halfway through Book Five and will join the many other Game of Thrones fans who are waiting on Book Six. It has been a fabulous journey and I can’t wait to see where it ends.  More to come soon. I promise.