A Clash of Kings
I just finished A Clash of Kings, the second in George R. R. Martin's series, A Song of Ice and Fire. (The first was A Game of Thrones). I did find it engaging (I'd have to to get through 31 CDs) and enjoyed listening to it, but it just kind of stops, much like the Empire Strikes Back did.
This one has some fairly graphic sex scenes and choice language (which always seems to be when my wife walks into the kitchen) and I'm not really sure that this is entirely necessary, in fact I'm sure it's not. I guess it does develop the characters more, particularly the nature of Theon Grayjoy.
It's a little slow moving and, unlike in the first book, there were certain narratives when I'd think "oh no" or "yeah". I enjoyed Tyrian and Aria's narratives and got bored with Theon's, but they're all part of the story. Daenerys got much less airtime than she did in the first book and I'm looking forward to hearing how her part of the story develops. I've had a hunch from not far into this book that she and Bran will marry at the finale of the septology and, for a few chapters, was made to believe that I was wrong about that (I'll say no more than that).
It's very grand in scope and the characters are about as developed as a character in a book can be. I'm looking forward to getting into book 3, A Storm of Swords (39 discs this time!) and hope that the pace picks up a little.
Comments
I actually like the fact that things don't get all wrapped up with a happy/sad ending at the end of the book. I do anticipate some sort of finale or closure for these characters as the series nears its end. Considering that we have all these smaller stories happening at the same time I think it would be unrealistic to have them reach some kind of conclusion or break at the same time.
I also like the way the characters are developed without a real good or evil side to them, it all depends on who is telling that part of the story. This makes it far more interesting going forward as they all seem justified with their actions and they are doing what they feel is right, for the most part.
Storm of Swords starts off with a good pace but it seems to slow down for a while around the middle. It sure does pick up again after that though, I still have about 200 pages left and it's still moving good. Since you listen to audio versions you may not catch the authors note that says the story doesn't start directly after Clash of Kings but rather overlaps it a bit as far as the time line goes.
PS: The Empire Strikes Back still remains my favorite movie of that series.