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May 29, 2016JihadiConservative rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An incredible, beautiful, amazing, brilliant, clever and emotional sequel. Just as spellbinding as the first novel.These books continue to blow my mind and have literally changed my life. A Song of Ice and Fire is without a doubt the most incredible and amazing series ever made. And put on television. "A Clash of Kings" was spine tingling and unforgettable. I eagerly await the next book in the series. Martin writes with flair, deftly weaving multiple storylines in a gritty, even brutal, world that consists entirely of gray characters instead of the classic black and white. Martin's world is a vast chess game spanning continents, and the pieces are lords, bastards, knights, wizards, ladies, and children. What really stands out in this series is Martin's penchant for axing the major characters. That's right -- no character is safe from the author's noose. Despite the demise of major characters, the plot lines continue stronger than ever. Tired of protagonists walking through fire without a scratch, falling hundreds of feet without a bruise, and defeating superhuman creatures with the same amount of effort that one puts into scratching an arm? Then this series is your fix. The sheer unpredictability of the series renders it a delectable experience. Dare you to predict the winners and losers? If you haven't read the series yet, read it! I must say its currently my favorite book! Chances are, you're going to be calling in sick the next day so you can keep reading. It's that good. This fantasy that, back in the 90's, broke all the traditional rules about what fantasy should be and instead of a classic tale of heroes versus evil wizards, gave a story about bad men who do good and good men who do bad, and every shade in-between. A story about power, corruption, familial love, honor, endless winter, and dead things coming back to life. Oh and dragons. And much, much more. It was a fantasy of the like the world had never seen a soap opera on a scale of kingdoms. And it changed the face of fantasy (and apparently, TV now) forever. Few authors have been able to take villains and transform them over a few thousand words into heroes the way Martin has. Song of Ice and Fire with the depressing world, gritty aesthetic, cast of morally ambiguous (which in the context of this novel, usually mean good guy usually end up doing bad things, often) characters, unpredictable plot (characters die, often) make this one of the best, most imaginative and startling series of the 21st century! If you somehow have not yet read this series yet, I both pity and envy you pity because you are missing out one of the best tales ever set to paper and I envy you because you have a buffet of sublime fantasy goodness yet ahead of you. can't argue how impact Martin has been on the Fantasy genre as a whole; if Tolkien helped shape of fantasy. Martin has left an equally indelible mark.If you haven't yet read Martin though, don't hesitate. Don't think. Just do it. It's seriously compelling and you'll shortly find out why the world has gone mad for Martin.