This is thy kingdom come

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I think it’s by this book that I completely fell madly in love with A Song of Ice and Fire series. AGoT was a great premise; the sweeping prose of GRRM in every character POV has a breathless poignancy and I must admit that after finishing the HBO series itself, I still chose the original novel because it was more powerful with the delivery, characterization and impact. I wasn’t all the way converted to a fan, however. But the second book—seven hells, the second book! I waited two months to start reading the sequel and so it took a while for me to get back to the story itself but as the plotlines progress in different directions and scattered about in every character POV—I was helplessly enthralled by the monstrosity of GRRM’s Westeros; the politics, the power play, the character developments, the brisk and seamless storytelling—everything about A Clash of Kings is to die for!

I was so hooked in every twist and turn of the plots. Character-wise, I have learned to love my favorites even more while I finally developed a strong liking to the ones I didn’t care much about in the first book. I mostly enjoyed the variety of warfare which expands in all of Westeros and in the lives of both major and minor characters. Each POV is relevant and intense; all the interactions have the right kind of tension, duplicity and connotations. I immediately bought the third book while I’m almost done with this. I’d probably reward myself the pleasure of journeying through ASoIaF again this summer. And by April 1st, the second season will be released and I’ve kept watching the trailer over and over and cannot contain my excitement. I want to see how well HBO can execute this book.

[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]

Favorite POVs: Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Theon, Bran Stark, Jon Snow

Second Favorites: Sansa Stark, Catelyn Stark, Daenerys, Davos

Crowning Moments of Awesome: Anything with Tyrion, Renly’s demise, the battle scenes, Bran and Rickon’s exodus, the appearance of Brienne, Jamie’s snark talk with Cat, Daenerys’ tests and premonitions

Tearjerker Moments: Catelyn’s thoughts about her children, Bran’s coming-of-age and his curious dreams

Most favorite characters: Tyrion Lannister, Bronn, Sansa, Theon, Bran

Second favorites: Arya, Daenerys, Jon Snow

Sideline characters I enjoy: Brienne of Tarth, Asha Greyjoy, Shae

Tiny moments I appreciate: Tyrion-Bronn witty banter, Bran’s dreams and insights, Sansa’s deliverance, Cersei-Tyrion powerplay, Renly-Stannis feud, the seize of Winterfell, the overall mastery of language and assemble of characters; the tales from the Night’s Watch, consistent character interpretations and conflicts among them.

RECOMMENDED: 9/10

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