A Clash of Kings
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| A Clash of Kings | |
 US Hardcover Edition |
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| Author | George R. R. Martin |
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| Cover artist | Steve Youll |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Song of Ice and Fire |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Bantam Books (US) & Voyager Books (UK) |
| Publication date | November 1998 (UK) & March 1999 (US) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 708 (UK Hardback), 768 (US Hardback), 1009 (US Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-224585-X (UK Hardback), ISBN 0-553-10803-4 (US Hardback), ISBN 0-553-57990-8 (US Paperback) |
| Preceded by | A Game of Thrones |
| Followed by | A Storm of Swords |
A Clash of Kings is the second of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. 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 both won the Locus Award (in 1999) for Best Novel and was nominated for the Nebula Award (in 2000) for best novel.
In May 2005 Meisha Merlin released a much-delayed limited edition of the novel, fully illustrated by John Howe.
A Clash of Kings is also the name of the first expansion to the board game "A Game of Thrones".
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
A Clash of Kings is set in a fictitious world reminiscent of Medieval Europe (primarily on a continent called Westeros), except for the fact that in this world, the seasons last for years and, sometimes, decades.
[edit] Plot summary
A Clash of Kings picks up where A Game of Thrones ended. The Seven Kingdoms are plagued by civil war, while the Night's Watch mounts a reconnaissance force north of the Wall to investigate the mysterious people, known as wildlings, who live there and, in the distant east, Daenerys Targaryen continues her quest to return to and conquer the Seven Kingdoms. All signs are foreshadowing the terrible disaster that is to come.
[edit] In the Seven Kingdoms
The civil war among the noble families of Stark, Lannister, and Baratheon becomes more complex when the Greyjoys enter the fight. Robb Stark's attempts to secure an alliance with the Greyjoys are rebuffed and, instead, the Greyjoys launch a massive assault along the west coast of the North. At Winterfell, the Stark stronghold, Robb's young brother Bran is in command; he finds two new friends when Jojen and Meera Reed arrive from Greywater Watch. They take an interest in his strange dreams.
As the true blood heir to his brother's throne, Stannis Baratheon declares himself King of Westeros, having been encouraged by Melisandre, a red priestess. Enraged that his younger brother Renly has also claimed the throne, Stannis chooses to besiege Renly's castle, Storm's End, to force Renly to march east and defend it. Catelyn Stark joins a parley between Renly and Stannis to discuss a possible Stark-Baratheon alliance against their mutual foe, the Lannisters. The parley ends in acrimony and Renly resolves to use his immeasurably vaster army to destroy Stannis in battle the next day; however, a mysterious shadow kills him in his tent before the battle begins. Catelyn flees along with the only other witness to this murder, the warrior-maid Brienne of Tarth. Most of Renly's supporters shift their loyalty to Stannis, but the Tyrells do not, and Storm's End itself only falls when Melisandre magically creates another shadow to kill the castle's defiant castellan.
In King's Landing Tyrion Lannister arrives to act as Hand of the King, closest adviser to the monarch. Whilst intriguing against his sister Cersei, widow of the late king and mother of King Joffrey, Tyrion improves the defenses of the city. Learning of Renly's death, Tyrion sends the cunning schemer Littlefinger to negotiate with the Tyrells. Lord Mace Tyrell agrees to wed his daughter Margaery to Joffrey. Tyrion also arranges the marriage of Joffrey's sister Princess Myrcella to Trystane Martell in exchange for the support of that family.
Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell (with a minimal garrision since the rest are off to rebuff a divertionary attack on Tohrren Square) using just 20 men, taking Bran and Rickon Stark captive. Theon's sister Asha suggests he raze the castle and flee before Stark supporters reclaim it, but Theon refuses. Bran and Rickon disappear, and Theon pretends that he has had them executed. An army of hundreds of Stark supporters eventually attacks the castle, but the soldiers of House Bolton turn on their fellows and drive them off with heavy losses. Theon eagerly opens the gates to his 'allies', only to have them turn on him and his small Greyjoy force. Winterfell is razed to the ground and the Boltons return to their seat at the Dreadfort. Bran and Rickon emerge from hiding. A castle servant, Osha, agrees to take Rickon to safety, while Bran, Meera and Jojen decide to travel north to the Wall.
Robb Stark leads his army into the Westerlands and wins several victories against the Lannisters in their home territory. Tywin Lannister reluctantly advances against him, but his attempt to reach Robb is rebuffed, and upon receiving news that King's Landing is threatened, his army rapidly marches south to join their new allies, the Tyrells.
Arya Stark, posing as a boy named Arry, is traveling north along with new recruits for the Night's Watch. They are attacked by Lannister soldiers, who take their captives to Lannister-held Harrenhal, where Arya becomes a servant. Jaqen H'ghar, who had been a captive member of the Night Watch party, repays Arya, who had previously saved his life, by killing three men at her request. Before leaving, he also gives her a strange coin and a mysterious phrase Valar Morghulis, which she should use if she ever wishes to seek him out. Roose Bolton eventually captures the castle; Arya serves him as a page before escaping with some of the other Night's Watch recruits.
Stannis Baratheon's army reaches King's Landing and a combined assault is launched by both land and sea. Under Tyrion's command, this force is thrown back by cunning using wildfire to set fire to the river and raising a chain across it to prevent Stannis' fleet from retreating. Tyrion is seriously injured during the battle as a result of a treacherous attack by Mandon Moore, one of Joffrey's bodyguard. Stannis barely manages to escape with only a few thousand soldiers and a few ships after Tywin Lannister and the Tyrells catch them on the flank.
[edit] On the Wall
The Night's Watch advances northwards from the Wall into the region known as the Haunted Forest. They stop at Craster's Keep, where a wildling man named Craster serves as an informant for the Watch. The Watch continues north to a strong defensive position known as the Fist of the First Men, which used to be a fortress many thousands of years ago. Concerned about the whereabouts and activities of the King-beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont sends Jon Snow and Qhorin Halfhand on an advanced reconnaissance of the Skirling Pass.
In the pass, Snow and Halfhand discover that there is much wildling activity in the mountains and they find themselves being hunted by several wildling warriors. Facing certain defeat, Halfhand commands Snow to become an oathbreaker in order to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their important secrets. Soon after turning, the wildlings force Jon to fight Halfhand, whom he kills, with the aid of Ghost, as Halfhand knew he would have to. He learns that Rayder is already advancing on the Wall with tens of thousands of fighters.
[edit] In the East
Daenerys Targaryen strikes east across the forbidding red waste, accompanied by the knight Jorah Mormont, her few loyal followers, and three newborn dragons. Some of Daenerys' followers scout the surrounding region and find a safe route to the great trading city of Qarth. Daenerys is the wonder of the city for her dragons, but her attempts to secure help for claiming the throne of Westeros do not succeed. She seeks an alliance with the powerful warlocks of Qarth, but in their House of the Undying she is shown many confusing images and her life is threatened. Daenerys' dragon Drogon burns down the House of the Undying, sparking the enmity of the Qartheen and encouraging Daenerys to leave the city. An assassination attempt is carried out on Daenerys in the city's harbor, but it is thwarted by the arrival of two strangers, a fat warrior named Strong Belwas and his squire, an aged warrior named Arstan Whitebeard. They are agents of Daenerys's ally Illyrio Mopatis, come to take Daenerys back to Pentos, and Daenerys agrees to accompany them.
[edit] Characters
The tale is told through the eyes of 9 POV characters and a one-off prologue POV:
- Prologue: Maester Cressen, maester at Dragonstone.
- Lady Catelyn Stark, of House Tully, widow of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell
- Sansa Stark, eldest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, held captive by the King on the Iron Throne at King's Landing
- Arya Stark, youngest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, missing and presumed dead
- Brandon Stark, second son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark and heir to Winterfell and the Kingdom in the North
- Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark
- Tyrion Lannister, youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister, a dwarf and Queen Cersei's brother
- Ser Davos Seaworth, a smuggler turned knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon
- Theon Greyjoy, heir to the Seastone Chair and former ward of Lord Eddard Stark
- Queen Daenerys Targaryen, Stormborn, of the Targaryen Dynasty
[edit] Translations
- Bulgarian: "Сблъсък на Крале"
- Chinese
- Croatian: "Sraz kraljeva"
- Czech: Střet králů
- Dutch: Luitingh-Sijthoff (1999): "De strijd der koningen"
- Finnish: "Kuninkaiden Koitos"
- French: Three volumes (Hardcover: Pygmalion (2000); paperback: J'ai Lu (2002)): "La bataille des rois", "L'ombre maléfique", "L'invincible forteresse"
- German: Single volume, Fantasy Productions (2004): "Königsfehde". Two volumes, Blanvalet (2000): "Der Thron der Sieben Königreiche", "Die Saat des goldenen Löwen".
- Greek
- Hebrew: עימות המלכים (Two volumes)
- Hungarian: Single volume, Alexandra: "Királyok csatája"
- Italian: Single volume, Mondadori (2001): "Il regno dei lupi". Two volumes, Mondadori (2002): "Il regno dei lupi", "La regina dei draghi".
- Japanese
- Korean
- Polish: "Starcie królów"
- Portuguese: Two volumes: Saída de Emergência (2008): "A Fúria dos Reis", "O Despertar da Magia"
- Russian: Single volume, AST (2004, 2005, 2006): "Битва королей". Two volumes, AST (2000): "Битва королей. Книга 1", "Битва королей. Книга 2".
- Serbian: "Sudar kraljeva"
- Spanish: Gigamesh (2003): "Choque de reyes"
- Swedish: "Sagan om Eld och Is: Kungarnas Krig"
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Locus Award – Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (1999)
- Nebula Award – Best Novel (Nominated) – (2000)
- Ignotus Award – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2004)
[edit] External links
- chapter-by-chapter summary by Vincent Briscuso
- A Wiki Of Ice And Fire Wiki dedicated to A Song of Ice and Fire
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