( em português → sol2070.in/2023/08/A-F%C3%BAria-dos-Reis-Cr%C3%B4nicas-de-Gelo-e-Fogo-2)

"A Clash of Kings", by George R.R. Martin, is the second volume of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series (adapted into the acclaimed Game of Thrones TV show). In this book, I felt that I had really made up for diving into the bricks (this one is almost a thousand pages long, in the english pocket version) of this literary series, after being hooked by the adaptation and wanting to prolong the experience of the saga. Not that the first volume is bad, but the HBO series follows it so faithfully that the book wasn't as gripping for me.

For those who loved "Game of Thrones" and read, it's a must. One challenge of the on-screen experience is that, because there are so many parallel plots, some profound developments have inevitably been dealt with summarily - otherwise, something like 12 seasons would have been necessary. For example, Bran Stark's transformation — this is one of the stories I liked the most and, in the book, (the beginning of it) is much better explored, bringing a whole dimension of pantheistic natural spirituality that hardly appeared on screen.

There are also several very interesting events that were completely left out of the adaptation, such as some involving Arya, one of the most captivating characters. The dialogues — which are already long on screen — also expand, along with the psychological perspective, especially when it involves intense antagonism.

Inevitably, I'm comparing everything to the adaptation. But even if I hadn't seen "Game of Thrones", it's likely that this series will be the best I've ever read, due to its exceptional mythology.