Poor Little Bitch Knights

A Clash Of Kings by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (which I affectionately call the bastard offsprings of Jackie Collins and J.R.R. Tolkien) is in many ways identical to the first book, "A Game of Thrones": the structure consists of chapters alternating between key characters, with the nastiness and cruelty that was so surprising in the first book still prevalent - upped even as the plot reaches its climax.

The story takes off from where "A Game of Thrones" ended: the isles of the Seven Kingdoms have dissolved into war and each portion of it has proclaimed a new king who is ready to fight for dominance. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, three newly born dragons grow under the care of Daenerys Targaryen, descendant of the original rulers of the Seven Kingdoms and now a Queen in exile, without land or people. A blood red comet cuts the sky: does it herald the approaching winter that so many Northerners warn of? The magic that has returned to the world with the rebirth of the dragons? The new monotheistic religion that seeks to destroy the old Gods? Or the bloodshed in the wake of humans backstabbing and fighting each other for power?

There's no literary merit behind George R.R. Martin's series but they are so compulsively enjoyable to read, and this particular book does throw up some interesting questions about the nature of war and religions, and what it means to be a Knight. It also has a neat twist towards the end that leaves the reader craving the third book.

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