reading list
A Song of Ice and Fire (2): A Clash of Kings
George R.R. Martin
published: 1999, read: 10/3/23
768 pages, genre: Fantasy
rating: 6.083/10, normalized: 5.648/10
-1.063σ worse than average
-1.135σ or -1.188/10 worse than average in Fantasy genre
-1.619σ or -1.835/10 worse than average by George R.R. Martin
First half is rather slow. Lots of staging for the war to come. I don't remember S2 being this slow, but we get a lot more character depth at the expense of very little action: 6
The Qarth/Dany storyline is boring as fuck, and hearing about all the battles between Stannis/Renly Lannister/Rob by Raven through Catelyn Stark is also annoying. It's less annoying than it was in the show because it serves the rhetorical purpose of making those chars seem helpless, but it's still A LOT for a little
The last ~5-10 chapters where Ramsay Bolton seizes Winterfell, Theon becomes a cunt, The Battle of the Blackwater, and Bran becomes a Wharg and Jon becomes a Wildling are good, but that's like 6% of the book, the rest of which is very wanting.
related
| Read | Author | Title | Pages | Published | Genre | Rating | Rating' | Tags | Recommended by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/3/23 | George R.R. Martin | A Clash of Kings A Song of Ice and Fire (2) | 768 | 1999 | Fantasy | 6.083 | 5.648 | ||
| 8/25/24 | George R.R. Martin | A Dance with Dragons A Song of Ice and Fire (5) | 1056 | 2011 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 | grimdark | |
| 3/19/24 | George R.R. Martin | A Feast for Crows A Song of Ice and Fire (4) | 753 | 2005 | Fantasy | 8.125 | 7.917 | grimdark | |
| 12/1/23 | George R.R. Martin | A Storm of Swords A Song of Ice and Fire (3) | 973 | 2000 | Fantasy | 9.300 | 9.222 | grimdark | |
| 9/6/23 | George R.R. Martin | A Game of Thrones A Song of Ice and Fire (1) | 694 | 1996 | Fantasy | 9.250 | 9.167 | grimdark | |
| 7/6/25 | Ken Liu | The Veiled Throne Dandelion Dynasty (3) | 1008 | 2021 | Fantasy | 6.900 | 6.556 | grimdark | |
| 8/11/23 | Joe Abercrombie | Last Argument of Kings First Law (3) | 674 | 2008 | Fantasy | 9.125 | 9.028 | grimdark | Jack H. |
| 8/2/23 | Joe Abercrombie | Before They Are Hanged First Law (2) | 577 | 2007 | Fantasy | 8.167 | 7.963 | grimdark | Jack H. |
| 7/27/23 | Joe Abercrombie | The Blade Itself First Law (1) | 436 | 2006 | Fantasy | 8.000 | 7.778 | grimdark | Jack H. |
| 5/23/25 | Alan Moore | Watchmen | 334 | 1986 | Graphic Novel | 8.708 | 8.565 | grimdark | |
| 4/7/25 | Pierce Brown | Light Bringer Red Rising Saga (6) | 704 | 2023 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 3/27/25 | Pierce Brown | Dark Age Red Rising Saga (5) | 784 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 3/18/25 | Pierce Brown | Iron Gold Red Rising Saga (4) | 596 | 2018 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 3/13/25 | Pierce Brown | Morning Star Red Rising Saga (3) | 518 | 2016 | Sci-Fi | 5.125 | 4.583 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 3/5/25 | Pierce Brown | Golden Son Red Rising Saga (2) | 464 | 2015 | Sci-Fi | 5.875 | 5.417 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 2/28/25 | Pierce Brown | Red Rising Red Rising Saga (1) | 382 | 2014 | Sci-Fi | 5.500 | 5.000 | grimdark | Thomas |
| 11/30/24 | George R.R. Martin | Dreamsongs: The Second Kind of Loneliness | 670 | 1972 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 12/18/25 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | House of Open Wounds The Tyrant Philosophers (2) | 606 | 2023 | Fantasy | 7.625 | 7.361 | Alex W. | |
| 12/7/25 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | City of Last Chances The Tyrant Philosophers (1) | 500 | 2022 | Fantasy | 7.625 | 7.361 | Alex W. | |
| 7/30/25 | Ken Liu | Speaking Bones Dandelion Dynasty (4) | 1047 | 2022 | Fantasy | 8.000 | 7.778 | ||
| 6/16/25 | Ken Liu | The Wall of Storms Dandelion Dynasty (2) | 880 | 2016 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 5/31/25 | Ken Liu | Grace of Kings Dandelion Dynasty (1) | 656 | 2015 | Fantasy | 6.250 | 5.833 | ||
| 12/19/24 | J.R.R. Tolkien | The Return of the King Lord of the Rings (3) | 432 | 1955 | Fantasy | 8.000 | 7.778 | Ginny | |
| 12/17/24 | J.R.R. Tolkien | The Two Towers Lord of the Rings (2) | 352 | 1954 | Fantasy | 7.750 | 7.500 | Ginny | |
| 12/14/24 | J.R.R. Tolkien | The Fellowship Of The Ring Lord of the Rings (1) | 432 | 1954 | Fantasy | 7.000 | 6.667 | Ginny | |
| 11/11/24 | Patrick Rothfuss | The Wise Man's Fear The Kingkiller Chronicle (2) | 994 | 2011 | Fantasy | 6.750 | 6.389 | Jeff W. | |
| 10/31/24 | Patrick Rothfuss | The Name of the Wind The Kingkiller Chronicle (1) | 662 | 2007 | Fantasy | 7.625 | 7.361 | Jeff W. | |
| 2/8/24 | Rebecca Yarros | Empyrean The Fourth Wing (1) | 512 | 2023 | Fantasy | 3.833 | 3.148 | ||
| 7/19/23 | Gene Wolfe | The Shadow of the Torturer The Book of the New Sun (1) | 303 | 1980 | Fantasy | 6.125 | 5.694 | ||
| 6/13/23 | Brandon Sanderson | Warbreaker | 669 | 2006 | Fantasy | 5.500 | 5.000 | Charlie J. | |
| 3/26/23 | Brandon Sanderson | Words of Radiance Stormlight Archives (2) | 1080 | 2014 | Fantasy | 6.500 | 6.111 | Charlie J. | |
| 2/20/23 | Brandon Sanderson | The Way of Kings Stormlight Archives (1) | 1008 | 2010 | Fantasy | 7.850 | 7.611 | Charlie J. | |
| 2/4/23 | V.E. Schwabb | A Darker Shade of Magic Shades of Magic (1) | 401 | 2015 | Fantasy | 5.000 | 4.444 | ||
| 11/5/16 | Brandon Sanderson | The Final Empire Mistborn (1) | 541 | 2006 | Fantasy | 7.750 | 7.500 | Charlie J. | |
| 9/30/16 | Henry Neff | The Red Winter Tapestry (5) | 653 | 2014 | Fantasy | 8.000 | 7.778 | Charlie J. | |
| 9/21/16 | Henry Neff | The Maelstrom Tapestry (4) | 480 | 2012 | Fantasy | 8.500 | 8.333 | Charlie J. | |
| 9/14/16 | Henry Neff | The Fiend and the Forge Tapestry (3) | 562 | 2010 | Fantasy | 8.500 | 8.333 | Charlie J. | |
| 7/14/16 | Henry Neff | The Second Siege Tapestry (2) | 512 | 2008 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 | Charlie J. | |
| 6/5/16 | Henry Neff | The Hound of Rowan Tapestry (1) | 439 | 2007 | Fantasy | 6.500 | 6.111 | Charlie J. | |
| 3/4/16 | Michael Scott | The Enchantress The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (6) | 416 | 2012 | Fantasy | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 2/2/16 | Michael Scott | The Warlock The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (5) | 400 | 2011 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 11/10/15 | Michael Scott | The Necromancer The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (4) | 416 | 2010 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 4/20/15 | Michael Scott | The Sorceress The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (3) | 483 | 2009 | Fantasy | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 3/13/15 | Michael Scott | The Magician The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2) | 461 | 2008 | Fantasy | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 1/20/15 | Brandon Mull | Keys to the Demon Prison Fablehaven (5) | 593 | 2010 | Fantasy | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 12/2/14 | Brandon Mull | Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary Fablehaven (4) | 535 | 2009 | Fantasy | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 10/30/14 | Brandon Mull | Grip of the Shadow Plague Fablehaven (3) | 477 | 2008 | Fantasy | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 10/14/14 | Brandon Mull | Rise of the Evening Star Fablehaven (2) | 456 | 2007 | Fantasy | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 8/1/14 | Brandon Mull | Fablehaven Fablehaven (1) | 351 | 2006 | Fantasy | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 7/15/14 | Michael Scott | The Alchemist The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (1) | 375 | 2007 | Fantasy | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 7/25/13 | Eoin Colfer | Airman | 412 | 2007 | Fantasy | 7.500 | 7.222 |