tivasyk reviewed A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Review of 'A Clash of Kings' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
вислухав аудіоверсію перекладу французькою.
Paperback, 1009 pages
English language
Published April 3, 2005 by Bantam Books.
A comet the colour of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk at night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel. . .and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A CLASH OF KINGS …
A comet the colour of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk at night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel. . .and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A CLASH OF KINGS is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.
вислухав аудіоверсію перекладу французькою.
I think the hardest part for me reading this book was that I've seen the HBO adaptation prior to reading the title. This caused lots of mental gymnastics of 'just like the show' and 'oh here's a difference from the show' back and forth in my head that I couldn't stop.
That being said, just like the show (see what I did there) this was an excellent second chapter in the song of fire and ice. I'm always hesitant when reading books that have a huge cast of characters and it's very difficult to keep track if not thread together well. I'm thinking of a few of the Harry Turtledove great war books when I say this.
I enjoyed the unfolding of events in the four main areas of stories as things progressed. The author does a great way of writing to paint the pictures in your head as you …
I think the hardest part for me reading this book was that I've seen the HBO adaptation prior to reading the title. This caused lots of mental gymnastics of 'just like the show' and 'oh here's a difference from the show' back and forth in my head that I couldn't stop.
That being said, just like the show (see what I did there) this was an excellent second chapter in the song of fire and ice. I'm always hesitant when reading books that have a huge cast of characters and it's very difficult to keep track if not thread together well. I'm thinking of a few of the Harry Turtledove great war books when I say this.
I enjoyed the unfolding of events in the four main areas of stories as things progressed. The author does a great way of writing to paint the pictures in your head as you read along and I found this a great book to sit down with and read through.
I would give this a solid 4.5 stars. On the grander scale of things, this was the ultimate filler book. A lot of stuff was set in motion for the next book, but it felt a lot slower paced than A Game of Thrones. It also lacked the 'Omg, tell me he didn't do that' moments of the first (and third) book. Still, storytelling is tight, characters are many-faceted and interesting, and it was fantastic fantasy fare. Already looking forward to re-reading the next one.
On y retrouve avec un plaisir un peu sadique tous les héros des tomes précédents : Jon, Bran, Tyrion, et les autres, ils sont tous là. Et comme à Dallas, ils continuent s’entredéchirer avec moult mouvements d’épées s’achevant dans le gargouillis pathétique d’un jet de sang de bon aloi et moult trahisons plus ou moins bien ourdies dans le but unique de devenir (ou de redevenir) le roi des sept couronnes.
Et franchement, ils n’ont pas que des bonnes manières dans ce royaume qui semble toujours un peu inspiré d’une angleterre médiévale. Et vas-y que je te trahisse, et vas-y que je te poignarde, et vas-y que je te plante des têtes de gamins sur des pieux en haut de la tour du chateau, et vas-y….enfin bref, que du bonheur. Je signale tout de même aux amateurs qu’on trouve ici une des plus belles scènes de bataille navale que j’ai …
On y retrouve avec un plaisir un peu sadique tous les héros des tomes précédents : Jon, Bran, Tyrion, et les autres, ils sont tous là. Et comme à Dallas, ils continuent s’entredéchirer avec moult mouvements d’épées s’achevant dans le gargouillis pathétique d’un jet de sang de bon aloi et moult trahisons plus ou moins bien ourdies dans le but unique de devenir (ou de redevenir) le roi des sept couronnes.
Et franchement, ils n’ont pas que des bonnes manières dans ce royaume qui semble toujours un peu inspiré d’une angleterre médiévale. Et vas-y que je te trahisse, et vas-y que je te poignarde, et vas-y que je te plante des têtes de gamins sur des pieux en haut de la tour du chateau, et vas-y….enfin bref, que du bonheur. Je signale tout de même aux amateurs qu’on trouve ici une des plus belles scènes de bataille navale que j’ai eu l’occasion de lire depuis bien longtemps. Ca commence comme à la parade, et très vite, ça vire au chaos le plus funèbre, avec plaintes des mourants, noyés flottants la panse en l’air et autres joyeusetés, le tout immédiatement suivi par une dantesque bataille à cheval, à pied, voire même à la nage (pour les moins chanceux).
Je ne peux qu’encourager le lecteur un tout petit peu patient à se plonger dans cette fresque épique dont le seul problème (outre naturellement la tendance à tendre vers le million de pages, mais après tout c’est du med-fan, donc c’est normal) serait la multiplication des personnages rendant parfois la lecture un peu difficile.