How does he do it? George R.R. Martin's high fantasy weaves a spell sufficient to seduce even those who vowed never to start a doorstopper fantasy series again (the first book--A Game of Thrones--runs over 700 pages). A Clash of Kings is longer and even more grim, but Martin continues to provide compelling characters in a vividly real world.

The Seven Kingdoms have come apart. Joffrey, Queen Cersei's sadistic son, ascends the Iron Throne following the death of Robert Baratheon, the Usurper, who won it in battle. Queen Cersei's family, the Lannisters, fight to hold it for him. Both the dour Stannis and the charismatic Renly Baratheon, Robert's brothers, also seek the throne. Robb Stark, declared King in the North, battles to avenge his father's execution and retrieve his sister from Joffrey's court. Daenerys, the exiled last heir of the former ruling family, nurtures three dragons and seeks a way home. Meanwhile the Night's Watch, sworn to protect the realm from dangers north of the Wall, dwindle in numbers, even as barbarian forces gather and beings out of legend stalk the Haunted Forest.

Sound complicated? It is, but fine writing makes this a thoroughly satisfying stew of dark magic, complex political intrigue, and horrific bloodshed. --Nona Vero

From Publishers Weekly
The second novel of Martin's titanic Song of Ice and Fire saga (A Game of Thrones, 1996) begins with Princess Arya Stark fleeing her dead father's capital of King's Landing, disguised as a boy. It ends with the princess, now known as Weasel, having led the liberation of the accursed castle of Harrenhal. In between, her actions map the further course of a truly epic fantasy set in a world bedecked with 8000 years of history, beset by an imminent winter that will last 10 years and bedazzled by swords and spells wielded to devastating effect by the scrupulous and unscrupulous alike. Standout characters besides Arya include Queen Cersei, so lacking in morals that she becomes almost pitiable; the queen's brother, the relentlessly ingenious dwarf Tyrion Lannister; and Arya's brother, Prince Brandon, crippled except when he runs with the wolves in his dreams. The novel is notable particularly for the lived-in quality of its world, created through abundant detail that dramatically increases narrative length even as it aids suspension of disbelief; for the comparatively modest role of magic (although with one ambitious young woman raising a trio of dragons, that may change in future volumes); and for its magnificent action-filled climax, an amphibious assault on King's Landing, now ruled by the evil Queen Cersei. Martin may not rival Tolkien or Robert Jordan, but he ranks with such accomplished medievalists of fantasy as Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson. Here, he provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites?and this is only the second course of a repast with no end in sight. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A war for succession as king of the realm pits brother against brother in a battle of armies and politics. Caught in the struggle are seven noble families whose fortunes and lives depend on how well they play the game of intrigue, blackmail, kidnapping, treachery, and magic. Martin has created a rich world filled with characters whose desires for love and power drive them to extremes of nobility and betrayal. Fans of epic fantasy should appreciate this lavishly detailed sequel to A Game of Thrones (Spectra, 1996). Recommended for most fantasy collections.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Martin resumes his Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Kings, queens, knights, and ladies carry the principal roles, with a smattering of whores and other unsavory characters adding spice to the story as members of House Stark and House Lannister struggle over the seven kingdoms of Westeros, while an even greater supernatural threat gathers on the horizon. Roy Dotrice rises to the challenge, providing each character with his or her own unique voice. Dotrice's range of vocal tones, from gravelly and commanding to silkenly dangerous, creates a mood of insistence that holds the listener captive throughout the epic story. S.D. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
In the sequel to A Game of Thrones (1996), Martin skillfully limns the complicated, bitter politics of an inbred aristocracy, among whom an 11-year-old may be a bride, a ward, or a hostage, depending on the winds of war. Each of four men pronounces himself the rightful king, and the land of Westeros shudders with battles and betrayals. The dark, crisp plotting will please fans of the layered intrigues of Dorothy Dunnett or Robert Graves, and Graves' Claudius is echoed by the character of Queen Cersei's dwarf brother, Tyrion. Other notable characters are crippled eight-year-old Bran; Melisandre, a beautiful, menacing priestess; and Ser Davos, who won knighthood breaking a siege with a boatload of dried fish. Over all hover the threats of decades-long winter and the rebirth of the loathsome, magical Old Powers. Aided by an appendix of kings and their courts, Clash can be enjoyed on its own, though many then may retreat to Game, reread Clash, and impatiently await more of Westeros. Roberta Johnson

From Kirkus Reviews
Second installment of Martin's fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, following A Game of Thrones (1996), that enormous yarn about the strife-torn Seven Kingdoms and the various powerful families that aspire to rule them. The rewards are considerable: a backdrop of convincing depth and texture; intricate, flawless plotting; fully realized characters; and restrained, inventive magical/occult elements. The drawbacks, though, also loom large: nonself-contained entries; a cast of thousands, and, as a result, the impossibility of remembering, especially after the passage of more than two years, who's who or what's been going on. Martin declines to supply a recap or synopsis; the list of characters, itself 28 pages long, doesn't help. Nonetheless, the inaugural volume was both admirable and eyepopping, so fans will certainly plunge right in. And since this one tips the scales at a gargantuan 896 pages, you can build up your biceps as you read. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Martin amply fuLfills the first volume's promise and continues what seems destined to be
one of the best fantasy series ever written."
-- The Denver Post

Don't miss any of the novels in George R. R. Martin's saga
A Song of Ice and Fire
A GAME OF THRONES
A CLASH OF KINGS

and coming soon

A STORM OF SWORDS


From the Paperback edition.

Review
"Martin amply fuLfills the first volume's promise and continues what seems destined to be
one of the best fantasy series ever written."
-- The Denver Post

Don't miss any of the novels in George R. R. Martin's saga
A Song of Ice and Fire
A GAME OF THRONES
A CLASH OF KINGS

and coming soon

A STORM OF SWORDS


From the Paperback edition.

FROM OUR EDITORS

A Clash of Kings is the follow-up to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin's fabulous introduction to a multilayered epic fantasy adventure that marked one of the most auspicious kickoffs in years. For those who enjoy their fantasy big, thick, and complex -- Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is for you. Fans of Jordan, Brooks, Goodkind, Feist, and high fantasy escapism in general are recommended -- no, commanded -- to flock to this breathtaking series. You'll be doing yourself an immense favor.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

George R. R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. In his widely acclaimed A Game of Thrones, he introduced us to an extraordinary world of wonder, intrigue, and adventure. Now, in the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come.

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders--Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, 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, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.

SYNOPSIS

A Clash of Kings is the follow-up to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin's fabulous introduction to multilayered epic fantasy adventure that marked one of the most auspicious kickoffs in years. For those of you who enjoy your fantasy big, thick, and complex, Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is for you.

FROM THE CRITICS

Chicago Sun Times

We have been invited to a grand feast and pageant: George R. R. Martin has unveiled for us an intensely realized, romantic but realistic world....If the next two volumes are as good as this one, it will be a wonderful feast indeed.

Denver Post

The major fantasy of the decade...compulsively readable.

Science Fiction Chronicle

The major fantasy publishing event of 1996.

VOYA - Bonnie Kunzel

The fantastical, bloody, pulse-pounding, sometimes stomach-churning but always page-turning saga that began with A Game of Thrones (Bantam, 1997) continues. The action could be followed without reading book one, even though no prequel or introduction is provided. This work begins with a prologue describing the appearance of a comet in the dawn sky and its meaning to the inhabitants of Dragonstone, then goes on to the accounts of multiple narrators from all over the Seven Kingdoms as they clash for the Iron Throne. After the murder and mayhem that evidently marked the end of book one, several new contenders for the throne have come forth. With King Robert dead, his younger brothers, Lord Stannis of Dragonstone and Lord Renly of Storm's End, are willing to fight to the death over their claim of king. Lord Stannis has gone over to the Lord of Light and now has the help of the sorceress and priestess Melisandre. Thirteen-year-old Joffrey, already proclaimed king, is the spoiled, sadistic child of his mother's love affair with her brother. She will fight to keep him on the throne and so will her other brother, the clever and honorable dwarf Tyrion, sent to keep watch over their father's interests in the kingdom. In the north the son of Lord Stark, whose father was slain along with the king, has declared himself king--a strong claim because his family is allied with direwolves. Finally, across the ocean, a fifteen-year-old exiled queen has hatched three dragons and is coming back to reclaim her throne. I cannot wait for them all to meet in the next volume. This work of superior world building inhabited by fully-developed characters is for a mature audience because of the violence, strong language, and sexual encounters. Great cover and a great read! VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult).

Library Journal

A war for succession as king of the realm pits brother against brother in a battle of armies and politics. Caught in the struggle are seven noble families whose fortunes and lives depend on how well they play the game of intrigue, blackmail, kidnapping, treachery, and magic. Martin has created a rich world filled with characters whose desires for love and power drive them to extremes of nobility and betrayal. Fans of epic fantasy should appreciate this lavishly detailed sequel to A Game of Thrones (Spectra, 1996). Recommended for most fantasy collections. Read all 7 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

It is perhaps the best of the epic fantasies—readable and realistic.  — Marion Zimmer Bradley

Such a splendid tale and such a fantistorical! I read my eyes out.  — Anne McCaffrey

Grabs hold and won't let go. It's brilliant. — Robert Jordan

George R. R. Martin is one of our very best science fiction writers, and this is one of his very best books.  — Raymond E. Feist