A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky and each of the factions struggling for control of the Seven Kingdoms thinks it’s a sign of their right to rule the Iron Throne. Alliances are shaken and even brothers and childhood friends turn on each other in their quest for power.
728 pages of mayhem and I couldn’t read it fast enough! CoK introduces us to Melisandre, one of the scariest characters I’ve come across but I have a feeling that Ramsay Snow will prove himself a close second before the series is finished and perhaps Jaquen H’ghar will be third. Thankfully, we also meet Johen and Meera Reed as well as Brienne of Tarth: with everything they’ve suffered and continue to suffer, it’s reassuring to know that there are a few characters the Starks can rely upon.
As Arya continues in her struggle to reach her family, Joffrey’s reign of terror over King’s Landing is in full sway. Joffrey is even more despicable than he was in GoT—thank goodness for Tyrion as he is the only character able and willing to minimize the damage Joffrey would do. Tyrion is awesome but of course few realize it: he’s a Lannister, a dwarf, and an all-to-easy scapegoat. Elsewhere in the Seven Kingdoms, chaos rules as Gregor Clegane and his like terrorize the countryside and the lordship of a land can change in the blink of an eye. It seems as if things can’t get much worse for Westeros but north of the Wall, the wildings are uniting under Mance Rayder and across the sea, Daenerys is nurturing her dragons: both mean to claim the Seven Kingdoms for their own.
Dark magic, heart-breaking betrayal, and horrific bloodshed are tempered by unexpected glimpses of nobility. I love that Martin keeps us on our toes but I do worry that good may not win the day . . . .
