A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

The second book of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Throughout Westeros, the cold winds are rising.

From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky - a comet the colour of blood and flame - five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.

A book of war.

With such chaos and fighting, the story was very intense.

I really enjoyed all the different perspectives. It's great seeing a tale from several different angles, and it really allows you to better understand the characters and their motives.

However, at times the story did lag a bit and some of the fighting ran a bit long.

I am very thankful for the appendix at the back, with the lists of characters and who's related to whom. Very helpful. Things got rather confusing at times and my brain is still a little muddled about some of events that occurred.

Overall, not my cup of tea. Although I am still anxious to read the next in the series.

Currently Reading...

I'm about a third of the way through Dark Tidings by Ken Magee. After struggling to get through Contra-ODESSA, this book is such a relief. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

After this book, I have to make a big decision: what to read next. I've recently been flooded with books to review and it is a bit overwhelming.

I'm really leaning towards starting A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin; it's been calling to me for over a month now, and since the second season has finished the desire to read the book has only become more insistent.

However, I might start either Pedophilia: A Cause and A Cure by Steve A. Mizera or The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya instead. We shall see.

Currently Reading...

At the moment I am about half way through Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's so packed full of knowledge that I literally feel my brain expanding. But incredibly readable, unlike the science textbooks we had to read in school.

George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings just arrived, so it will likely be the next one I read. Well, either that or Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) or Brighton Belle (Sara Sheridan). Oh the choices! I can't wait!