Final Exam

A Clash of Kings was a great read with action out the wazoo and characters that drew feelings from you that aren’t normal towards a book character. This book is part of a bigger series called A Song of Ice and Fire and consists of the different houses all going to war. The crown is up for grabs and everyone believes they are the rightful king of the seven kingdoms, so you can imagine there is quite a bit of room for violence! The author is extremely talented. His description is the perfect amount for me and the battle scenes are described very well. In the book he uses his ability to write in different points of view to show the various house’s events and feelings. This fantasy novel brings dragons, swords, romance, and humor into one fantastic story that I couldn’t put down.

Writing Style: George R.R. Martin’s writing style is magical if not perfection. I found myself entranced by his words and was propelled into the story right alongside Arya as she was on the verge of death, or Lady Catelyn when she was falsely told of her children dying back home. Although it is specific in parts that may make readers uncomfortable, usually the scenes are detrimental to the story and plot. The use of points of view gives us more information about the characters in the novel. For instance Lady Catelyn’s point of view here informs us on some of the major characters. “The lords and ladies in the gallery were as engrossed in the melee as the men on the ground. Catelyn marked them well. Her father had oft treated with the southron lords, and not a few had been guests at Riverrun. She recognized Lord Mathis Rowan, stouter and more florid than ever, the golden tree of his House spread across his white doublet” (Martin 257).

Plot: As the various Houses and families war with each other, the reader is taken from The Wall down to the Renly Baratheon troops in the south. The story of Danaerys Targareon on a totally other continent is also going on. Will the somehow overlap??? Not really. Or at least not in this book. Main characters in the story sometimes never even meet each other which is the only weakness in this novel. I want the dragons to interact with Jon Snow north of The Wall, or for Tyrion to travel across the sea. In the long run it is understandable, but I needed to put something negative towards the book! However, the plot otherwise is flawless. It gives you just enough action to entice you to turn more pages and leaves you wondering whether Jon will have to fight the Others, will Bran travel north of The Wall, and will those stupid tiny dragons ever get big enough to do some damage.

Characters: Not since Harry Potter have I been so connected with characters. The only difference? Martin will cut out your heart by killing someone who you love. We always wish for a more real story where the good guys don’t all live and the bad guys all die, and Martin has given us just that. Now that I have my cake, I’m not going to eat it too. I’m going to throw it on the floor and burst into tears as Ned Starks has his head chopped off like it’s nothing. The emotions brought out by the text shows the skill of the author. A reader of this novel will find they are rooting for this person or hoping for the horrible death of another. You find yourself growing with the characters as they go from being little girls and boys to killing machines. “Cursing her softly, the man went to a knee to grope for the coin in the dirt, and there was his neck right in front of her. Arya slid her dagger out and drew it across his throat, as smooth as summer silk. His blood covered her hands in a hot gush and he tried to shout but there was blood in his mouth as well” (Martin 680). Little Arya is now a killer. Not exactly a children’s book.

This book leaves you wanting more, but in a good way. Martin has crafted a novel that was better than the first, leaving you to think they may keep getting better. If you are looking for a read that is full of fighting, sex, strategy, and humor then this is your cup o’ tea. A Clash of Kings paints the story in your head as you flip the pages and once you reach the back cover you’ll be reaching for A Storm of Swords or for the phone to order it. The characters keep you interested and the plot thickens every two pages. On a scale of 1-10 I would give this a 9.8. The .2 I have subtracted is for killing off Ned Stark in book one!!!!! But seriously, the book entrances you until the end and the ending leaves you with shivers. “Meera looked to her brother for the answer. ‘Our road is north,’ Jojen announced. At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran trned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones.”(Martin 728).

George R. R. Martin Interview

Blog Post 5

In my mind a book has to be 99.9% true to be considered non fiction. I understand that it may be hard to remember things accurately and sometimes when we tell our story we embellish slightly but not to the point of altering events or adding new ones. Half-truths are not ok, however 7/9 truths are more tolerable. Frey and Mortenson should be punished for their books because they lied to increase the profit for themselves. Especially Frey, since the only way he could get his book sold and make money was to falsely publish it as a memoir. I disagree with David Shields because genres are very helpful to readers. I believe mixing genres is ok but you can’t mix non-fiction with fiction or else it is no longer non-fiction but instead “based on a true story”. I like genres because I find the ones I like and then I can get books that are in that category for future reading. I used to have a set paper I wrote for all of my English classes about a time when I got locked in a hotel pool and “escaped”, and every year it was more and more embellished to make a better story. I stopped doing that in 9^th grade. These authors acted as middle schoolers and high schoolers when they wrote their books and they got published! Plus they are rich now because of it and well known. I don’t believe that’s fair, I believe that their books should be banned from being printed anymore and all of the sales should be donated to a charity instead of going into a liar’s pocket. If you can’t write a book good enough to be a fiction novel, then write a new one, don’t lie. I’m sure if JK Rowling decided to say Harry Potter was based on her nephew’s life and people were stupid enough to believe it then she would be that much richer.