A clash of kings

A Clash of Kings ( dt. A conflict of Kings ) is the second volume of the epic fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire of the American author George RR Martin . So far, five volumes of the seven-volume saga have been published. A Clash of Kings was released in the UK on November 16, 1998; the US first edition appeared in March 1999. Like its predecessor, A Game of Thrones, thenovel wonthe Locus Award of 1999 in the Novel category and was nominated for the Nebula Award in the Best Novel categoryin the same year. In May 2005, Meisha Merlin published a limited edition of the book with drawings by John Howe .

In the German translation, A Clash of Kings was separated into two volumes (like all other novels from The Song of Ice and Fire ), which are named The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and The Seed of the Golden Lion . Again as a novel , A Clash of Kings was published in 2016 as Game of Thrones 2: Ours is Wrath .

A Clash of Kings is also the name of the first expansion of the board game The Iron Throne . After the first book was filmed by the US cable broadcaster HBO , the second book was also filmed for television (see Game of Thrones ).

Action overview

The book series is set in a fictional world in which the length of summer and winter varies unpredictably; a season can last years or decades, whereas spring and autumn are comparatively short. The setting on the continent of Westeros is similar to medieval Europe , especially England. The plot around Daenerys Targaryen is set on the continent of Essos east of Westeros.

A Clash of Kings fits seamlessly into the plot of A Game of Thrones : The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are shaken by a civil war . The night watch, which has secured the border in the north of the continent for several thousand years, sends out a reconnaissance party to investigate the situation with the wildlings who live north of the wall. In the meantime, Daenerys Targaryen continues to seek allies to return to Westeros and recapture the Seven Kingdoms.

In the Seven Kingdoms

The civil war for the Iron Throne is becoming increasingly confusing. Three kings have made their claim in A Game of Thrones : Joffrey Baratheon and Renly Baratheon as well as Robb Stark as the king of the north and the trident. Balon Greyjoy proclaimed himself King of the Iron Islands and soon after began a massive attack on the western coast of the north. In Winterfell, the seat of the Starks, Robb's younger brother Brandon ("Bran") , who has been paraplegic since a fall, is now the master of Winterfell. When Jojen Reet and his sister Meera from Grauwasserwacht arrive, he makes new friends in them. Jojen is particularly interested in Bran's strange dreams.

Stannis Baratheon , eldest brother of the dead King Robert , proclaims himself King of Westeros after receiving news that Joffrey is the son of Cersei and Jaime Lannister . Stannis is supported by the red priestess of the god R'hllor, Melisandre from Asshai. R'hllor is a god worshiped in the East, but so far not very popular in Westeros. The war for the throne is henceforth called the "War of the Five Kings". Stanni's younger brother Renly has also claimed the Iron Throne. Under the law, Stannis has the more legitimate claim as the older brother, but Renly has greater military power behind him, with most of the Lords of the Reach (including the mighty Lord Maes Tyrell ) and Stormlands on his side. Catelyn Stark tries to broker an alliance between the two brothers and their son Robb against their mutual enemies, the Lannisters. Negotiations fail and a mysterious shadow kills Renly in his tent on the eve of the battle with Stannis. The only eyewitnesses to the incident are Catelyn and Renly's Royal Guard Brienne of Tarth . Since the latter is suspected of the murder of Renly, she flees with Catelyn. Since Renly is dead, most of Renly's forces, but not the powerful House of Tyrell , switch to Stannis. Renly's Tempest Fortress falls when Melisandre casts another shadow that kills the castle's castellan.

Meanwhile, Tyrion Lannister arrives in King's Landing. He is to serve there on behalf of his father Tywin as the hand of the underage Joffrey. While scheming against his sister Cersei, the widow of the last king and mother of the current king, he works to improve the city's defense. Tyrion begins negotiations with the lords of the high houses to improve his nephew's support on the Iron Throne. He sends Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger) to negotiate with the Tyrells to get their support in return for Joffrey's marriage to the daughter of the house, Margaery Tyrell . Tyrion also forges an alliance with House Martell in Dorne by promising Joffrey's sister Myrcella Trystan Martell .

To impress his father - and to use Winterfell as a base from which to conquer the north - Theon Greyjoy , a former Starks ward and friend of Robbs, conquers Winterfell with just 30 men. He captures Bran and Rickon , but both escape. Theon takes up the chase but cannot track down the children. In order not to lose his authority, Theon murders two other boys and mutilates their faces so that they are mistaken for Bran and Rickon. Believing that the princes have been murdered, House Stark vassals lay siege to Winterfell. Theon had previously been in negotiations with the Bolton bastard, Ramsay Snow. The Bolton soldiers turn against the besiegers of Winterfell, even though the Boltons are followers of the Starks. Theon opens the gates of Winterfell to them after their victory, only to be betrayed by Ramsay as well. Winterfell is burned down. Bran and Rickon were hiding in the castle's crypt the whole time. To protect the heirs of Winterfell, the dying maester Luwin convinces Bran to part ways with Rickon. Osha , a wildling woman, takes Rickon for himself. Bran goes north to the wall with Meera, Jojen and Hodor .

Meanwhile, Robb leads an army into the western lands and wins several victories against the Lannisters on their own territory. While Tywin is marching against Robb, news reaches him that King's Landing is being threatened by Stannis. He then marches south. It later turns out to be a grave mistake Edmure Tully had previously prevented the Lannisters from marching west; only because of this delay did the news of the threat to the capital Tywin get in time.

Arya Stark , posing as boy Arry , travels north with new recruits for the Night's Watch. The group is captured and taken to Harrenhal Fortress, which is held by the Lannisters. In order not to be recognized, Arry poses as a simple servant. A mysterious man, Jaqen H'ghar, owes Arya's debt for saving his life. He helps Arya take Harrenhal by freeing some soldiers who are in the service of the Starks. Jaqen gives Arya a coin and the words “Valar Morghulis” to use in an emergency. Roose Bolton , Lord von Grauenstein, father of Ramsay Schnee and commander of Robb's Southern Army, arrives to take over Harrenhal. Arry becomes his cupbearer, but soon flees the fortress.

Stannis' army reaches King's Landing and attacks on land and sea. Under Tyrion's command, Stannis' fleet is lured into a trap and almost completely destroyed. At the same time troops of the Lannisters and Tyrells arrive and destroy most of his army. Stannis himself can barely escape with a severely decimated force and a few ships. A knight of the Kingsguard tries to kill Tyrion during the fight and seriously injures him. The squire Podrick Payn saves Tyrion's life by killing the Royal Guard before the final blow.

At the wall

A reconnaissance party from the Night's Watch goes north of the wall. In Craster's keep, the brothers learn that the normally unorganized wildlings are gathering under the king-behind-the-wall Manke Rayder . The scouting party holed up in a fortress ruin, the Faust of the First Men . Lord Commander Jeor Mormont sends Jon Schnee and Qhorin Halfhand to explore the Sounding Pass.

Soon Jon and Qhorin are discovered and hunted by the wildlings. In their hopeless situation, Qhorin orders that Jon should go over to the wildlings in order to infiltrate them. To prove his loyalty to the wildlings, Qhorin forces Jon to fight him and kill him. Jon learns that Manke is already on the way to the wall with tens of thousands of fighters.

In the East

Daenerys Targaryen crosses the inaccessible Red Desert under great strain. She is accompanied by Ser Jorah Mormont and the few remaining followers and her three young dragons. They find a way to the great trading city of Qarth. Daenerys is a sensation because of her dragons. Xaro Xhoan Daxos in particular is very interested in her. He is the leader of the Thirteen, a well-known merchant guild in the city. At first he is very hospitable, but in the end Daenerys cannot get his help in winning the Iron Throne. In the house of the immortals, the powerful warlocks of Qarth, Daenerys sees many confusing images and visions, eventually her life is threatened, but her dragon Drogon burns the house of the immortals down. As a result, the residents of Qarth Daenerys are very hostile. An attempted murder of Daenerys at the harbor is thwarted by two strangers. The strong Belwas and his squire Arstan Whitebeard have been sent by Daenerys' former host Illyrio Mopatis to escort them to Pentos. Daenerys and her entourage then leave the city.

characters

→ Main article : Characters in a song of ice and fire

Narrative perspectives

The individual chapters are told from the perspective of one of the main characters. The name of the person is also the chapter heading, with the exception of the prologue:

• Prologue: Maester Cressen, Maester of Dragonstone
• Tyrion Lannister , the short youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister and brother of Queen Cersei
• Lady Catelyn Stark , daughter of Lord Hoster Tully and widow of Lord Eddard Stark
• Ser Davos Seewert , a smuggler who was knighted by Stannis Baratheon.
• Princess Sansa Stark , the eldest daughter of Catelyn and Eddard Stark. She is held hostage by King Joffrey at King's Landing.
• Princess Arya Stark , the youngest daughter of Catelyn and Eddard Stark; she is unofficially missing in King's Landing and believed to be dead; her family believes she is being held hostage by the Lannisters
• Prince Brandon "Bran" Stark , second son of Catelyn and Eddard Stark, heir to Winterfell and the Kingdom to the north
• Jon Schnee , the "bastard son" of Eddard Stark, is in the service of the Night Watch
• Theon Greyjoy , heir to the Seastone Chair and former ward of Lord Eddard Stark
• Princess Daenerys Targaryen , the Stormborn, only surviving child of King Aerys II and heiress to the Iron Throne

Awards and nominations

• Locus Award - Best Novel (Fantasy) (Winner) - (1999)
• Nebula Award - Best Novel (nominated) - (1999)
• Ignotus Award - Best Novel (Foreign) (Winner) - (2004)

expenditure

• George RR Martin: A Clash of Kings (1998), ISBN 0-553-10803-4 .
• Published in a new German translation as:
  • The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms ( A Clash of Kings Part 1, June 2011), ISBN 978-3-442-26822-1
  • The Seed of the Golden Lion ( A Clash of Kings Part 2, September 2011), ISBN 978-3-442-26821-4
• 2016: Game of Thrones 2: Ours is Wrath , Penhaligon Verlag, ISBN 978-3764531584

Web links

• A Clash Of Kings An annotated overview