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A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) - George R.R. Martin - April BOTM 2014
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A, Crazy.
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Mar 31, 2014 09:08AM
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want to read it after i finish a game of thrones
ugh! I still haven't gotten to game of thrones. I am so far behind!
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I went ahead and started it. I'm about 250 pages in, and I am having a really hard time putting it down.I think I like it even better than the first book!
Almost done with A Game of Thrones.....can't wait to start this one!
I made it about halfway and had to stop. I'll wait until the discussion gets going before I address why.
Sophia wrote: "I made it about halfway and had to stop. I'll wait until the discussion gets going before I address why."I understand how you feel.
This series does push limits. Even mine, and I'm generally pretty open-minded. I'm thoroughly absorbed and am pretty sure I'll read the whole thing as long as Mr. Martin keeps writing them.
But...I was totally into the TV show " 24" and I quit cold-turkey partway through Season 6 because it just went too far.
So, never say never, I guess. One of my bottom-line limits is (view spoiler)
Gaijinmama wrote:I understand how you feel.
This series does push limits. Even mine, and I'm..."
Re: your spoiler, I also thought that was handled better in the book. When it happened in the show, I saw what was coming and turned it off. I went on Wikipedia and read what happened (I was watching episodes some time after they aired). I've continued to watch the show but the issue you raise is the exact one I had a problem with. Again, I'll wait a bit to get into it. :)
Gaijinmama wrote: "I went ahead and started it. I'm about 250 pages in, and I am having a really hard time putting it down.I think I like it even better than the first book!"
I'm at the same place and I feel the same way! The characters plotlines seem more defined in this book than in A Game of Thrones (although I enjoyed AGOT a lot too!)
One complaint several people have mentioned to me about this series is that there are just too many names to remember and it gets confusing.I just realized yesterday...Theon's sister is Asha. Bran's Wildling friend is Osha. I am not bothered by the number of characters, but that one threw me for a moment.
Speaking of Theon, I'm glad to finally hear his point of view directly. In the TV show he was pretty much a pathetic, slimy loser, (and he still is) but at least in this book we can understand why he is the way he is. I still don't like him, but it's clear why he behaves as he does. I don't hate him, I mostly feel sorry for him.
i like theon actually. and it's one of the reasons why i am enjoying the book 'cause i like it when something has a long ending and a little difficulty. and i would suggest everyone to check the site "a wiki of ice and fire".
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IKR!! That site is AWESOME!! Gives you ALL info about ASOIAF series..:):)
right, the site is a lot of help. i would never fully understand a game of thrones without them.
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The series can be correctly called a modern "epic" fantasy and as such have all it's defining features- many characters, complicated connected plots, intertwined themes and reflective of society as a whole. That's not to see that it doesn't become unwieldy at times. I, too, love Theon's perspective. And to see his trajectory as a character is pretty heartbreaking. One of the most complex characters of the book.
I also loved Cersei. She's very well-written. And, of course, Tyrion, people's eternal favourite.
Do you think season 2 was better than the book, or that the book was better than the season? I'm a bit ambivalent.
I would say the TV series and the books complement each other.Naturally some things have to be left out. Even the author is on record as having said this series was unfilmable! There are some things I wish they'd included but I can understand why the screenwriters left them out.
I think they cast the actors brilliantly. I can't think of one who seems too different from the way he or she is portrayed in the books (so far, anyway...three more books to go!)
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Ruchi wrote: "Wow...completed the book? Liked it a lot?"I have almost completed it. I have about 50 pages to go.
I've seen the second season of the TV show, however, so I basically know what happens....and I'm not telling, hahaha!
Enjoy. I think it's better than book 1.
I bought the DVD of season 3 but I won't watch it till I've finished this book. I'm going to read a couple other books before I read book 3.
I thought it was better than Game of Thrones too. However, I did watch the first season and then read GOT, and THEN I read COK and then watched the second series. So maybe I'm biased because I didn't know what was going to happen. I think most of the actors are well-cast except for Jon Snow. I didn't find him as annoying in the books as I do in the TV show. On the other hand, Catelyn has more depth in the TV show than in the books. And yes, I wish they'd included some parts but I understand they couldn't.
Enjoy Book 3. It's the best book, in my opinion.
Indiabookstore wrote: "I thought it was better than Game of Thrones too. However, I did watch the first season and then read GOT, and THEN I read COK and then watched the second series. So maybe I'm biased because I didn..."Catelyn was one of those characters I actively skipped when I read the book but I found her a lot more interesting in the TV show.
Exactly. I feel the same way. Her character was given a lot more depth in the TV show.
Not only depth, but they also minimized some of her flaws in the TV show. You never see how awful she is to Jon Snow, at least that I recall (and I do have a bad memory). I read somewhere that if she had found a way to love him, all the nastiness that ensues could have been avoided...?
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I think Arya gets more interesting as the story progresses.And Catelyn...no matter what she does, she just manages to make everything worse. She is a mother trying to protect her children. I have kids, I get it. But it never works out as she intended.
Actually, it hit me during this second book just how similar Catelyn and Cersei are. Both of them are downright vicious and more than a little crazy when it comes to their children. If it were my kids in danger, I would probably be the same way.
I can't get past Catelyn's cruelty to Jon, however.
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Arya's parts slowly become the most interesting parts of the books. She's great.Catelyn does make everything worse. She has an infelxible honour and duty, and inflexible love for her children, and when the two clash then her motherhood always wins with disastrous consequences.
Inflexible honor?Hmmm....her husband had inflexible honor, and look what it got him!
I'm not sure if honor is the right word, though. I am pretty sure she'd do something "dishonorable" if it meant protecting her kids.
Oh, and I'm just realizing. Cersei realized that actually, she doesn't have much control over Joffrey. I am getting the same feeling of alarm from Catelyn, regarding Robb. She is proud of Robb, but she is starting to realize that her baby is a KIng now, and is going to make his own choices, regardless of anything she says. She can't control him, or even influence him that much.
For a parent, that's a little scary! (although you're most likely proud of your child at the same time)
I read these books a few years ago so I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I do know Arya becomes more interesting as the series progresses. Sansa does too. My favorite characters are Tyrion & Daenerys. I'm really glad they made Daenerys older for the tv show! I agree that book 3 is the best (so far). To be honest, I struggled a bit with books 4&5. Especially 4. The two take place simultaneously because Martin split the narrative geographically and it just didn't work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for book 6. If he ever finishes it. It's Stephen King's Dark Tower series all over again. Sigh.
If he ever finishes it.....I know, right?!I'm kind of glad I'm just reading this series now. I can go through the first five books/ four seasons of the show, and won't have to go insane waiting, for awhile yet.
But I will wait. Like all the other fans!
I dabble with writing a bit too. I know how long it takes to write ten pages...never mind a thousand!
Gaijinmama wrote: "If he ever finishes it.....I know, right?!I'm kind of glad I'm just reading this series now. I can go through the first five books/ four seasons of the show, and won't have to go insane waiting, f..."
The waiting is killing me! I had the same problem with the Dark Tower series. I finished the first 4 books and just loved them. Unfortunately the wait was so long for the next book(s) that I lost interest. I still haven't finished the series. I'd like to re-read the Song of Ice and Fire series to keep current with the group but I'm going to wait until book 6 comes out.
I'm really behind on the series too. It's the curse of the DVR. I record shows and movies and they just sit there, unwatched.
Jennifer wrote: "Unfortunately the wait was so long for the next book(s) that I lost interest. I still haven't finished the series."Me too! (on the Dark Tower series)
Still watching the GoT TV show, though every so often the grimdark stuff just really turns me off.
I think this book was good, but not as good as Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), I think that is because the ending for Game of Thrones made me gasp, and left me breathless. This book wasn't as memorable as the first. I liked watching Robb rise as a warrior with Catelyn by his side, and the glimmer of success he was having on the battlefront. I also liked how George RR Martin gives the characters deep, heartfelt emotions that you can feel in your own gut. But this books gets four stars from me:)
I agree, Emily. I thought Game of Thrones was stronger, mainly because I see the whole novel building towards the ending in this relentless fashion. Maybe because I didn't finished Clash of Kings I don't see it the same way. It seems much more scattered to me. But I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to say about it, as I realize I'm not working with the full knowledge of having read the whole novel. I have read summaries and such, though.I also felt that some of the grimdark elements were much more pronounced in CofK. I actually stopped reading when for four consecutive chapters, GRRM relied on dead children as decor in order to convey the awfulness of the environments. In one instance, Daenerys sees carvings in the walls of Qarth, and in the carvings, there are murdered children. I keep these sorts of images in my head long after I'm done reading, and I just don't need them, especially when they serve no purpose other than to add to the scenery. It's manipulative, lazy writing. Having dead children figure in the environment of one scene, fine. But over and over? Come on, George. Find something else to make your point.
I forgot about that! (See, not very memorable lol). But that would drive somebody nuts, I agree. I think it was a bit too scattered as well, and I don't blame you for not finishing.
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I made a commitment that I wouldn't watch any of the series on HBO until I read the books. I finished this one a couple of months ago and am now halfway through Book Three. For me, each subsequent one in the series is getting better. Maybe because my identification with the characters gets stronger. I love Tyrion in Clash of Kings. Also to me as the series progresses it gets darker and darker.
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Same feeling here, Michael:)
Interesting.I prefer the opposite way. I have been watching the show first, then reading the books. I find the two forms of this story complementary. And the show is so brilliantly cast, none of the characters conflict with my mental image of them.
Gaijinmama wrote: "Interesting.I prefer the opposite way. I have been watching the show first, then reading the books. I find the two forms of this story complementary. And the show is so brilliantly cast, none of t..."
I often find that if I read the book first, I can't enjoy the movie/show at all, because all I can think about are the ways they changed things. While if I watch the show first, then reading the book is like getting all this extra info, and I totally enjoy it.
I am just reading this now. I am loving the series so far. I don't watch shows/movies of books I have read or want to read anymore because I am tired of everything not living up to the book so I have not see any of the HBO series.
Excellent book. I read "A Song of Ice and Fire" before the show came out, and was so excited that it was being made into a TV series! There are so many amazing characters, and I like the fact that George R.R. Martin does not discriminate in who dies. Good guys and bad guys die, just like in real life.
Roseanne wrote: "I am just reading this now. I am loving the series so far. I don't watch shows/movies of books I have read or want to read anymore because I am tired of everything not living up to the book so I ha..."How far into it are you? I'm reading it as well. This series is awesome. I think the series is good so far (I'm only about 3 episodes into the first season).
