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A Clash of Kings (Reissue) (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) (Paperback)

GRRM is too clever by far in this book. The number of plot twists started to irritate me. It is fun to expect the unexpected but when your predictions are completely wrong then you have no idea what's coming next. It isn't quite non-sequitur, like Family Guy, but sometimes feels not far from it.

This book sees the introduction of the Iron Islands story thread which I really don't like or enjoy. I can't find anything likeable in those characters and I don't particularly enjoy reading about them. Part of this is because I really enjoyed the Stark's, so I feel a natural enmity here. This story thread becomes a bit more interesting in the last couple of books but I still think it could have been omitted entirely.

Enjoyable but finish it quick to get to book 3 which I think is a better read.

[Unknowingly I created two reviews of this book, but at least I'm consistent. :-P]

The second book in this series is the one I liked least. I found it frustrating but also enjoyable from time to time. I like the progression of the characters I like (eg Jon Snow, Tyrion) but sometimes find it hard to enjoy the parts about the characters I don't like (eg Joffrey, the Iron Islands). I will admit that this is to the credit of the author, who can write believable characters that some people will love while others will hate.

Reading about the characters I don't like is only part of the frustration, it is part of building the superb world that the author has created, so I won't criticize that aspect too harshly. I do think the addition of the Iron Islands to the novel is superfluous, I have no real joy (no pun intended) reading about them. Asha Greyjoy (if I remember the name correctly), I found to be a likeable character but it isn't enough to save a whole plot line.

The real frustration for me in this part of the series is the numerous twists and turns. I found it over done, as if though the author was trying to be too clever. While we are expecting one thing to happen, something completely unexpected actually happens. About half way through I knew that what I was expecting (or hoping) to happen wasn't actually going to happen. Personally, that isn't to my liking. I like having some predictability in a book, and then seeing how a situation is resolved once I've figured out what the most likely resolution is.

The reward for this book is the progress made in overall plot. It starts seamlessly from the end of the first book and gets through a lot of action. Which in turn sets you up well in anticipation for the third book which is another strong point of this series.