A Clash of Kings
 US hardcover edition | |
| Author | George R. R. Martin |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Steve Youll |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Song of Ice and Fire |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Published |
1998 (Voyager Books/UK) 1999 (Bantam Spectra/US) |
| Pages | 768 |
| Award | Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1999) |
| ISBN |
0-00-224585-X (UK Hardback) ISBN 0-553-10803-4 (US Hardback) |
| OCLC | 59667381 |
| 813/.54 | |
| LC Class | PS3563.A7239 C58 1999 |
| Preceded by | A Game of Thrones |
| Followed by | A Storm of Swords |
A Clash of Kings is the second novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin expected to consist of seven volumes. It was first published on 16 November 1998 in the United Kingdom, although the first United States edition did not follow until March 1999. Like its predecessor, A Game of Thrones, it won the Locus Award (in 1999) for Best Novel and was nominated for the Nebula Award (also in 1999) for best novel. In May 2005 Meisha Merlin released a limited edition of the novel, fully illustrated by John Howe.
The novel has been adapted for television by HBO as the second season of the TV series Game of Thrones.
A Clash of Kings is also the name of the first expansion to the Game of Thrones board game.
Plot summary
A Clash of Kings depicts the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in civil war, while the Night's Watch mounts a reconnaissance to investigate the mysterious people known as wildlings. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen continues her plan to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms.
In the Seven Kingdoms
With King Robert Baratheon dead, his son Joffrey Baratheon and brothers Renly and Stannis all claim the throne of Westeros. Robb Stark is declared 'King in the North' while Balon Greyjoy declares himself king of the Iron Islands and attacks the western coast of the North. Robb's younger brother Bran Stark finds new friends in Jojen and Meera Reed.
Stannis Baratheon declares himself King of Westeros, encouraged by Melisandre of Asshai, a priestess who believes Stannis the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, a messianic figure of her faith. The war is dubbed the War of the Five Kings. Catelyn Stark, under orders from her son King Robb Stark, meets Renly and Stannis to discuss alliance against the Lannisters; but the meeting fails, and a shadow created by Melisandre kills Renly. Brienne of Tarth and Catelyn Stark are incriminated in Renly's murder and most of Renly's supporters defect to Stannis, except the Tyrells. Renly's stronghold, Storm's End falls when Melisandre's second shadow kills its castellan, Cortnay Penrose.
Tyrion Lannister arrives at King's Landing as acting Hand of the King, the closest adviser to the monarch Joffrey. Whilst intriguing against Joffrey's mother, the Queen Regent Cersei, Tyrion improves the defenses of the city and sends Littlefinger to negotiate with the Tyrells, gaining their support when Lord Mace Tyrell agrees to wed his daughter Margaery to Joffrey, despite Joffrey's earlier betrothal to Sansa Stark. Tyrion also forges an alliance with House Martell when he betroths Joffrey's sister Myrcella to Trystane Martell.
To conquer the North and to impress his father Balon, Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell, taking Bran and Rickon captive; but Bran and Rickon disappear in the night. Rather than admit his failure, Theon murders two anonymous peasant boys similar in size to Bran and Rickon and mutilates their faces to enhance the resemblance. Believing this ruse, Stark supporters besiege the castle, joined by a force from House Bolton. Theon having conspired with Bolton's bastard son, Ramsay Snow, the Bolton soldiers turn on the besiegers and Theon opens the gates to the victorious Boltons, whereupon they destroy Winterfell, slaughter its inhabitants and take Theon prisoner. Osha, a captured wildling turned castle servant, takes Rickon to safety while Bran, accompanied by Meera, Jojen, and his simpleton manservant Hodor, travels north. Robb Stark wins several victories against the Lannisters, and Tywin Lannister advances against him, but receiving news that King's Landing is threatened, withdraws.
Arya Stark, posing as a boy named 'Arry', travels with new recruits for the Night's Watch. They are captured and taken to Harrenhal, where Arya poses as a serving girl. When a man named Jaqen H'ghar offers to repay Arya for saving himself and his two companions by killing three men of her choice, Arya selects two Lannister bannermen and threatens Jaqen himself unless he releases the Stark supporters, who overtake the castle. His debt repaid, Jaqen gives Arya an iron coin and a strange phrase, "Valar Morghulis", to be used in asking help from his compatriots. When Lord Roose Bolton occupies Harrenhal, Arya becomes his cup-bearer, but soon escapes.
In the Battle of Blackwater Bay, Stannis Baratheon's army reaches King's Landing and launches assaults by both land and sea. The Baratheon forces vastly outnumber the Lannister defenders but under Tyrion's command, the Lannister forces use "wildfire" (similar to Greek fire) to ignite the bay, and raise a massive chain across its mouth to prevent Stannis's fleet from retreating. Stannis's attack fails when Tywin Lannister leads his army (and the remaining forces under Mace Tyrell) to King's Landing. During the battle, Ser Davos Seaworth is nearly killed when his ship is destroyed by wildfire. Stannis's fate is left uncertain. During the defense of the castle, Tyrion is attacked by one of Joffrey's guards, and rescued by his squire, Podrick Payne.
On the Wall
A scouting party from the Night's Watch learn that the wildlings are uniting under 'King-beyond-the-Wall' Mance Rayder. The Watch then continue to an ancient hill-top fortress known as the Fist of the First Men, whence Jeor Mormont sends Jon Snow and Qhorin Halfhand with others to the Skirling Pass, where they are hunted by wildling warriors. Facing certain defeat, Halfhand commands Snow to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their plans. They are captured by wildlings who demand Jon fight Qhorin to join them. Jon kills Qhorin with the aid of his direwolf, Ghost and learns that Mance Rayder is advancing on the Wall with thirty-thousand wildlings, giants, and mammoths.
In the East
Daenerys Targaryen travels east, accompanied by the knight Jorah Mormont, her remaining followers, and three newly hatched dragons. Scouts find a safe route to the city of Qarth, where her dragons make Daenerys notorious. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, the leader of the Thirteen, a prominent group of traders in Qarth, initially befriends the outsiders; but Daenerys cannot secure aid in claiming the throne of Westeros, because she refuses to give away any of her dragons. As a last resort, Daenerys seeks counsel from the warlocks of Qarth, who show Daenerys many confusing visions and threaten her life, whereupon one of Daenerys's dragons, Drogon, burns down the warlocks' "House of the Undying". An attempt to assassinate Daenerys is thwarted by a fat warrior named Strong Belwas and his squire Arstan Whitebeard: agents of Daenerys's ally Illyrio Mopatis, who have come to escort her back to Pentos.
Characters
The tale is told through the eyes of 9 recurring POV characters plus one prologue POV character:
- Prologue: Maester Cressen, maester at Dragonstone.
- Tyrion Lannister, youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister, a dwarf and a brother to Queen Cersei, and the acting Hand of the King
- Lady Catelyn Stark, of House Tully, widow of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell
- Ser Davos Seaworth, a smuggler turned knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon, often called the Onion Knight
- Sansa Stark, eldest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, held captive by Queen Cersei at King's Landing
- Arya Stark, youngest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, missing and presumed dead
- Bran Stark, second son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark and heir to Winterfell and the King in the North
- Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark, and a man of the Night's Watch
- Theon Greyjoy, heir to the Seastone Chair and former ward of Lord Eddard Stark
- Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt and Mother of Dragons, of the Targaryen dynasty
Editions
- Foreign language editions
- Bulgarian: Бард :"Сблъсък на Крале"
- Catalan: Alfaguara :"Xoc de reis" ("Clash of kings")
- Croatian: Algoritam: "Sraz kraljeva"
- Chinese: "列王的纷争", 重庆出版社(2006) ("Conflict of Kings").
- Czech: Talpress: "Střet králů" ("Clash of Kings")
- Danish: Gyldendal :"Kongernes Kamp" ("The Battle of Kings")
- Dutch: One volume, Luithing Fantasy (1999): hardcover : De Strijd der Koningen ("The Clash of Kings")
- Estonian: Two volumes, hardcover : Varrak (2008, 2009), "Kuningate heitlus I & II" ("A Clash of Kings")
- Finnish: Kirjava: "Kuninkaiden koitos"
- French: Three volumes (Hardcover: Pygmalion (2000); paperback: J'ai Lu (2002)): "La bataille des rois", "L'ombre maléfique", "L'invincible forteresse" ("The Battle of Kings", "The Evil Shadow", "The Invincible Fortress").
- German: Single volume, Fantasy Productions (2004): "Königsfehde" ("King's Feud"). Two volumes, Blanvalet (2000): "Der Thron der Sieben Königreiche", "Die Saat des goldenen Löwen" ("The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms", "The Seed of the Golden Lion").
- Georgian: Paperback, Arete (2014): "მეფეთა ჯახი" I/II ("Clash of Kings" I/II)
- Greek: Anubis: "Σύγκρουση Βασιλέων" ("Clash of Kings")
- Hebrew: "I/II עימות המלכים" ("Clash of Kings")
- Hungarian: Alexandra Könyvkiadó : "Királyok csatája" ("Battle of Kings")
- Icelandic: UGL: "Konungar kljást" ("Kings Clash")
- Italian: Two volumes, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore (2001, 2002): "Il regno dei lupi", "La regina dei draghi" ("The Kingdom of Wolves", "The Queen of Dragons").
- Japanese: Two volumes, hardcover : Hayakawa (2004), paperback : Hayakawa (2007): "王狼たちの戦旗" ("Banner of the Wolf Kings")
- Korean: Eun Haeng Namu Publishing Co. :"왕들의 전쟁" ("War of Kings")
- Latvian: Whitebook: "Karaļu cīņa" ("War of Kings")
- Lithuanian: Alma Littera "Karalių kova" ("A Battle of Kings")
- Norwegian: Two volumes (2012) 'Bok II Del I: Kongenes kamp' (Book II Part I: The Battle of Kings) and 'Bok II Del II: Dragenes dronning' (Book II Part II: The Queen of Dragons)
- Polish: Zysk i s-ka: "Starcie królów"
- Brazilian Portuguese: Leya: "A Fúria dos Reis" ("Wrath of the Kings")
- European Portuguese: Two Volumes, Saída de Emergência : "A Fúria dos Reis", "O Despertar da Magia"
- Romanian: Nemira: "Încleștarea regilor"
- Russian: Single volume, AST (2004, 2005, 2006): "Битва королей" ("The Battle of Kings"). Two volumes, AST (2000): "Битва королей. Книга 1", "Битва королей. Книга 2" ("The Battle of Kings: Book 1", "The Battle of Kings: Book 2).
- Serbian: Лагуна : "Судар краљева"
- Slovenian: "Spopad kraljev" ("Clash of Kings")
- Spanish: Gigamesh (2003): "Choque de reyes" ("Clash of Kings").
- Swedish: Forum bokförlag :"Kungarnas krig" ("War of the Kings")
- Turkish: Two volumes, Epsilon Yayınevi: "Buz ve Ateşin Şarkısı II: Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım I & Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım II" ("A Clash of Kings")
- Ukrainian: One volume, KM Publishing (2014): "Битва Королів" ("A Clash of Kings")
- Vietnamese: Two volumes, NXB Lao Động (Publisher): Trò Chơi Vương Quyền - Tập 2A: Hậu Duệ Của Sư Tử Vàng & Trò Chơi Vương Quyền - Tập 2B: Bảy Phụ Quốc
Television adaptation
A Clash of Kings has been adapted for television by HBO as the second season of its successful adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire.[1] Filming began July 2011, and the first episode of season 2 of Game of Thrones aired on April 1, 2012.[2]
Reception
As with its predecessor, A Clash of Kings was positively received by critics. Dorman Shindler of The Dallas Morning News described it as "one of the best [works] in this particular subgenre", praising "the richness of this invented world and its cultures ... [that] lends Mr. Martin's novels the feeling of medieval history rather than fiction."[3] Writing in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Jim Hopper called A Clash of Kings "High Fantasy with a vengeance" and commented: "I'll admit to staying up too late one night last week to finish off this big book, and I hope it's not too terribly long until the next one comes out."[4] Danielle Pilon wrote in the Winnipeg Free Press that the book "shows no signs of the usual 'middle book' aimlessness". Although she found the constantly switching viewpoints "momentarily confusing", she felt that it "draws the reader deep into the labyrinthine political and military intrigues and evokes sympathy for characters on all sides of the conflict."[5] Bradley H. Sinor of the Tulsa World praised Martin for "keep[ing] readers balanced on a sword's edge" and managing to do "three important things" with A Clash of Kings: "It grips the reader whether or not they read the earlier book, tells a satisfying story and leaves the reader wanting the next book as soon as possible."[6] The Oregonian's Steve Perry called the book "easily as good as the first novel" and commented that the Song of Ice and Fire books were "so complex, fascinating and well-rendered that readers will almost certainly be hooked into the whole series." However, he cautioned that "if it were a movie, it would be rated "R" for sex and violence, so don't pick the book up for your 10-year-old nephew who likes Conan."[7]
Awards and nominations
- Locus Award – Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (1999)[1]
- Nebula Award – Best Novel (Nominated) – (1999)[1]
- Ignotus Award – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2004)
References
- 1 2 3 "1999 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- ↑ Crider, Michael. "'Game Of Thrones' Season 2 Starts Filming In July; Producers Talk Cast & Story". Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ↑ Shindler, Dorman (February 21, 1999). "In Martin's 'Clash of Kings,' the delight is in the details". The Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ Hopper, Jim (March 19, 1999). "They're wiping out intelligent races -- What? Me worry?". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
- ↑ Pilon, Danielle (March 28, 1999). "Second book in Martin series shines amid dull tomes". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ↑ Sinor, Bradley H. (April 25, 1999). "All the king's horses ...". Tulsa World.
- ↑ Perry, Steve (June 27, 1999). "Adventure drives medieval-style fantasy". The Oregonian.
External links
- A Clash of Kings title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- A Clash of Kings at the Internet Book List
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