I was simply entranced by this book, the entire series so far put on audible. A must have if you love fantasy, or simply a great captivating story. The reader couldnt have been better!

I feel bad for giving this a 4/5, it really deserves a 5/5. But I am very picky of what I give a perfect score, and since I had watched the series on HBO, and it is as close to the source material (this book) as you can possibly get for a television show, I felt like I was listening to everything I had just watched. So I cannot really recommend the book to anyone that was curious about book 1 and hoping to have the story expanded. It does expand on the characters a little, but not enough to make it worth it unless you love the genre or story so much you want to hear it again. I recommend to anyone that can't wait for season 2 of the HBO series to skip this book and go straight to Book 2.

don't let yourselves down. you know you want it. just hit "add to cart" and get listening. it's that good.

True to his style, Martin keeps A Clash of Kings rolling strong. The book has some excellent twists to it, just as 'A Game of Thrones' had some choice surprises. We're constantly surprised with Martin's willingness to kill of characters. It's a welcome change to knowing that our band of heroes will still be here come the end of the book.In particular, we're left with a nail-biting cliffhanger, concerning the infamous Jamie Lannister.

Another integral part of the book is Martin's careful further exploration of the strong characterization begun in the first novel.We're given insights into characters, which often times allows us to understand their actions.

I love this series and this book was very well written with a great pace. The characters are amazing.

I try not to be a prude, but this series has been ridiculous in its detailed and gratuitous description of sexual acts. They come from no where and add almost nothing to the story. I finally got fed up in this story after a detailed narrative of a whore giving oral sex to one of the lords. In these parts its like a bad romance novel without the creativity in naming the male sexual organ. If you're into this sort of thing or at least not sensitive to it, I recommend this book because the characters and story are very compelling (i probably would have given it 5 stars)... I just think it needs some sort of a warning. I would be horrified if I bought this for my children and as it is I'm debating whether to finish it.

I really get tired of authors who have to include a bunch of sex in their books. This has a terrific plot and good characters, but the amount of sexual references gets tiresome. I don't mind some references, but the sheer volume is unnecessary and takes away from the plot. It's just distracting. I do like the narrator, by the way. Not sure why others don't.

The reader was nice sounding and the story, wow the story. The intrigues between the various Lannisters is almost enough for a book of its own. I would like to hear more about Daneryres (the dragon queen).

I had starting reading this series back in the 90's... after the unbearable hiatus between book 3 and 4 I had given up on George Martin and shunned the series.

some 10 years later I'm back and completely in love all over again. This is epic fantasy without all the common holdings: wizards, magical swords, and quests for the ultimate artifact! ACOK reads like a fictionalized history of a plausible medieval world - not unlike our own. There are the gentlest touches of the fantastic on the outskirts of the book, but just enough to wet your appetite.

Martin is a great wordsmith to boot. Characters are whole and lovable (or deplorable), places have wonderfully distinct images, and the stitching on lords' surcoats are rendered in great detail.

For the faint of heart this is a pretty grim book. Characters rise and fall, heads roll, and people get cruelly tortured. Yet all this lends to the realism of this book which sets it so far above pulp fantasy. How tired are we of the young stable boy who is thrust into the Great Quest with his Band of Unlikely Heroes?

It did take me several chapters to get into the narrator's style/accent. At first I was a little put off like other listeners and had to refer to my copy of the book to suss out character names that I wasn't understanding. But stick with it - he does an astounding job and really does the words justice. My only gripe is the narrator's voices for the children in the book comes off as hoarse chronic smokers - he may be a bit too old himself to do much better.

Looking forward to starting book 2 on my AM commute!

I found the audio preview clip distracting and almost didn't download this book. However, the narrator is actually quite good and grew on me. Worth 2 credits.