I wrote a review for the first book in the series a couple of months ago. It's now been a couple of weeks since I read the second, and I'm eager to post a review of the book I finished today (look for it in the near future). So here goes--and don't worry about spoilers!This book is definitely a continuation of the story in A Game of Thrones, rather than a standalone novel. The kingdom is in turmoil, and while the people fight among themselves, it is becoming all too clear that winter is coming, and dark things threaten to cross the Wall, in the north.
I found it less enthralling than the first book. I didn't find the beginning as gripping, and I didn't feel as continuously hooked. But I really wanted to know what happened, so I read it all the same. I do care for (most of) the characters a great deal, which kept me interested. The evil-minded are just as evil as ever, the good-minded just as good, and the ones that walk the line between try to keep their balance. There's danger, intrigue, suspense... Oh man, is there a lot of suspense!
I'm about halfway through the second season of the show on HBO, and my continuous shouting of, "What's going on? It didn't happen that way in the book!" at my monitor must be proof that I'm hooked on the story. The show, I've found, diverges from the book quite a bit more than the first season. Most of the things they've left out make sense though, and the things they added feel a bit like bonus content. It's probably not as interesting to watch them when I know what's going to happen, but when they differ from the book so often, it makes it interesting again. If frustrating.
I highly recommend this series, whether you like fantasy or not. It's all about the characters, with a tiny bit of magic thrown in to keep us geeks interested. I'm definitely going to keep reading the series, though I'm planning on taking a break from epic fantasy, for a short while at least.
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