A Clash of Kings

George R. R. Martin's follow-up to A Game of Thrones does nothing but expand upon the scope of the series, as things seem to have gotten bigger in every conceivable way. The cast of point of view characters and people in general only grows to compensate for the many who lose their lives (and believe me, that's a lot); the number of different factions all clawing for a foothold in the increasingly chaotic world, the amount of land actually covered, and heck, just the page count all increase as the originally planned trilogy exploded into what is now supposed to be seven novels. It is truly an epic among epics, one that I am relishing the opportunity to dive into, and I only wish Martin were a bit quicker about finishing it.

The most notable increase to me though was the increase in magic. In the beginning of the story, the last dragons had died out long ago, and anyone who claimed to know the ways of sorcery was scarcely able to prove it. But as the chaos of war has erupted, so to has the presence of arts that most believe no longer existed, or maybe never did. There are tastes of it here and there in the first part, and those glimpses start coming more frequently in Clash of Kings, although it's still only just getting going. These brief moments are much more exciting and dramatic than if it were a common thing to the setting, and you can tell that when the floodgates are finally unleashed they'll make what appeared to be a land boiling over look like it had barely begun to simmer.

I'm not sure if what I've built up in my head can possibly match what a writer can actually accomplish, but through two books he's never failed to impress me with how he can take one little thing and twist it until it breaks your heart. I could talk about how good the characterization is, how he can make you like or dislike anyone at any time without destroying that character's identity, but I sort of already just did and I should probably leave myself the scrap of something to talk about later. When I enjoy something this much, it's sometimes difficult to write about at length because all I can think to do is constantly mention how great it is.