George R. R. Martin's wonderful epic series, A Song of Ice and Fire continues in its second book, A Clash of Kings. In the first book, A Game of Thrones, Martin introduced us to some compelling characters, including Ned Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Arya Stark and Tyrion Lannister. Ned Stark took up the position as Hand of the King but when the king was murdered, all hell broke loose. Ned was executed, leaving his daughter, Sansa, in the power of the Lannisters while his younger daughter, Arya, managed to escape.
In book two, A Clash of Kings audiobook, we sorely miss Ned Stark but the story is still gripping, with several different claimants to the throne. One of them is Joffrey Baratheon, allegedly the dead king's son but in reality the son of the queen who is having an incestuous relationship with her brother. Despite the fact that Joffrey is only in his teens, he's already a full-blown sociopath who enjoys inflicting pain. Robb Stark declares himself King in the North and marches downwards to conquer more lands. The dead king's two brothers, Stannis and Renly, are also contenders but Renly is murdered, leaving Stannis to stake his claim.
Stannis has the help of a sorceress named Melisandre whose uses her dark magic to help him put together an army and attack King's Landing where Joffrey has set up rule. Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf who is now the Hand of the King, does his best to defend King's Landing but they almost lose the fight until help arrives from other Lannisters.
Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen continues her journey to King's Landing with her three dragons who are still very young. She tries to get help from the city of Qarth but finds herself in a situation where she can't trust anyone. She is taken captive but manages to escape with the help of her fire-breathing dragons.
Arya Stark also has some interesting adventures on her way back home. She pretends to be a boy and ends up at Lannister-held Harrenhal where she is privy to political talks as a cup-bearer.
In this tale of war, politics and incestuous relations, alliances are formed and broken and you begin to see more and more depth in all the characters. Daenerys is particularly interesting, given that she's helpless at the beginning of the series but rises up and become more powerful as the story progresses. She was being abused by her brother in book one and now, with her three dragons, she has become a force to be reckoned with. The other most compelling character is Arya who, at barely 12 years of age, is making her own way north, trusting her instincts about who is friend and who is foe.
George R. R. Martin was born in 1948 in Bayonne, NJ. He grew up in the projects where he would often retreat into a fantasy world and come up with stories to entertain friends and family. He studied journalism in college and has been a writer ever since, writing short stories, novels and even television shows. His series A Song of Ice and Fire has been his most popular series so far and his books have won several awards, including the Locus Poll award and the Hugo Award. He was declared "one of the most influential people of 2011" by Time Magazine. The first two books of the A Song of Ice and Fire series have also been adapted for television in the HBO show A Game of Thrones.
Download A Clash of Kings now from The Audio Bookstore for a journey into a fantasy world full of war, politics, intrigue and, when you least expect it, love.
"I'm thoroughly enjoying listening to this audiobook - A clash of Kings. The book covers all the angles that the series didn't cover and makes the story of Game of Thrones come alive. I'm still listening but the episodes featuring Jonn Snow at the Wall and Aria after being smuggled out of Kingslanding force me to just keep listening as I'm just spellbound about what will happen next. I can't wait to finish this book and buy the next one to follow the story. "
— Dunstan Mlambo (5 out of 5 stars)
“Martin amply fulfills the first volume’s promise and continues what seems destined to be one of the best fantasy series ever written.”
— Denver Post“[Martin] ranks with such accomplished medievalists of fantasy as Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson. Here, he provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites—and this is only the second course of a repast with no end in sight.”
— Publishers Weekly“Martin has created a rich world filled with characters whose desires for love and power drive them to extremes of nobility and betrayal. Fans of epic fantasy should appreciate this lavishly detailed sequel to A Game of Thrones.”
— Library Journal“In the sequel to A Game of Thrones, Martin skillfully limns the complicated, bitter politics of an inbred aristocracy.”
— Booklist“The rewards are considerable: a backdrop of convincing depth and texture; intricate, flawless plotting; fully realized characters; and restrained, inventive magical/occult elements…Fans will certainly plunge right in.”
— Kirkus Reviews[George R. R.] Martin amply fulfills the first volume’s promise and continues what seems destined to be one of the best fantasy series ever written.
— The Denver Post" if you're a fan of the show this will be an enlightenment. So much detail and plenty of storylines that are fleshed out more and/or altogether missing from the show. whole series on Audio book is a must "read". "
— EazE23, 10/18/2016George R. R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and has been writing professionally ever since. He spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer, working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and television pilots that were never made. In the mid ’90s he returned to prose, his first love, and began work on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since. Whenever he’s allowed to leave, he returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the lovely Parris, a big white dog called Mischa, and two cats named Augustus and Caligula, who think they run the place.