A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle A Song of Ice and Fire Series: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows

A Clash of Kings is the second installment of George R.R. Martin's beloved series, A Song of Ice & Fire. I wanted to get a hold of this for a long time now, but I thought I needed little more time to read a long book again. This was also quite a bit longer than the first book, and maybe slightly more entertaining. The story picks up where we left off at the first installment, with King Robert Baratheon and his friend Ned Stark both dead and the realm is in chaos. The pov's also switch to accommodate the misadventures of Arya, Jon Snow, and Daenerys Targaryen. The pacing is faster than the last book, and the wheels are finally turning. Women are at the heart of it, and this pleases me to no end. Here we see less action, but more drama behind the scenes. The plot involves quite a lot of mind games, clever tricks and scheming. Their are four claims to the throne, and war is tearing the Seven Kingdoms apart. Of course, an army of wildling usurpers led by Mance Ryder are amassing beyond the wall. The story is definitely getting more and more depressing, but that just takes the suspense up a notch. It's all dismal and dreary, and Martin is a merciless and cunning. He will feed you with high hopes for your favorite character and then stab you in the dark. Magic is finally explored, and of course, I was elated. This was subtly promised in the first installment, and I'm just glad it's now truly out there in the open. The plot expands a lot. Many roots for subplots are growing every which way, I'm surprised Martin can keep his facts straight, but I'm pretty sure this is all going to wrap up nicely in the end. I cannot wait to continue to the next one.