Book Review I A Clash of Kings by, George RR Martin

4 Stars!!  “So many vows... they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It’s too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or the other.”  The GAME is starting to develop in A Clash of Kings. With a skill of drawing one into a story, Martin continues to deliver an epic tale. Fueled by themes of warfare, power, society and class- he has written another timeless classic. The manipulation in this book, is STRONG. I believe it is one of its highlights- and its only just beginning.  While I liked A Clash of Kings, compared to Game of Thrones- it lacks. A lot happens in this one, but not a ton of exciting things. There are a few epic scenes just not as much as I would have liked. It is still a fabulous book- but I know it's just setting up the politics and atmosphere for what's to come.  The violence was hard to swallow and at times really hard to read. I wanted to strangle half the characters and have their heads on a spike :P Now that's character growth/development- making me hate a fake person so much!!  Tyrion Lannister was my favorite and probably will continue to be... he is- after all, the comic relief Tyrions wit and ability to make any situation fun and hilarious, was a joy to read. He truly is one of the highlights, causing me to look forward to all of his chapters. I love the relationship that is built between him and Varys and their banter. Shae was also a new favorite. I love her personality and her take no crap attitude.  I could go on and on totally fangirling it up- but I dont want to spoil anything. I enjoyed A Clash of Kings, and look forward to reading the rest of the books- then binging the series in preparation for the new TV season in April!