A Clash of Kings

[sawyl]

Knowing what to expect this time, I found I enjoyed GRRM's A Clash of Kings rather more than I enjoyed A Game of Thrones, but I still have some reservations about the tone of the thing.

Following the death of Eddard Stark and, before him, the death of King Robert, absolutely everyone seems to have declared themselves king. Robb Stark has declared himself King of the North and gathered his host at his mother's ancestral home of Riverrun, all the better to menace House Lannister. Renly Baratheon, Robert's youngest brother has claimed the crown on the grounds that Robert himself seized it by force from House Targaryen, and has joined with the lords of the south to march on King's Landing. Renly's older brother Stannis, has also claimed the crown on the grounds that Robert's son Joffery is illegitimate, and has joined forces with those of a sinister priestess to march on King's Landing. As if that wasn't enough Balon Greyjoy has declared himself King of the Iron Islands and taken to raiding the coast to support his claim, Daenerys Targaryen continues potters around abroad trying to drum up support for her claim, while Joffrey Baratheon, Robert's teenage son, has his rather half-hearted rule propped by by his scheming family.

I liked some aspects of this more than others. I really liked seeing Tyrion Lannister at work in King's Landing, scheming and maneuvering to keep his nephew on the throne whilst also trying to minimise his sister's ability to shape events. I also liked the sections following Theon's return to his father's court in the Iron Islands, where his machinations are constantly thwarted by his extreme arrogance and stupidity; it's not hard to see why his Balon favours his daughter over his son in the line of succession.

As a whole, though, I continued to have problems with the serious lack of agency on the part of most of the female characters. While I appreciate that the world is supposed to be a Late Medieval, and as such it's unreasonable to expect the characters to behave like 21st century feminists, I still found the constant misogyny rather wearing. (To be fair, Martin is aware of the problem and allows some of the female characters to acknowledge their frustration with the world: Cersei Lannister complains that although she and her twin brother had been identical growing up, he was given a sword and sent off to fight, while she was taught to sew and married off to a man she despised).

Enjoyable, but my feelings are still mixed. Onward, then, to A Storm of Swords...