A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

So, ordinarily, I wouldn’t read books in a series back to back like this. But here’s what happened. I actually picked up A Clash of Kings -- Book Two of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series -- at a used book sale. When it came up in my reading rotation, I realized I couldn’t read Book Two first, so I bought Book One, A Game of Thrones, and read that first. Somewhere, deeper on my To Read list, is Book Four, A Feast for Crows, similarly picked up at another used book sale. When that one comes up, I suppose I’ll have to buy Book Three, A Storm of Swords, and read those two in order like I did with Books One and Two.

Complicated, I know.

But so is Martin’s plot and cast of characters; famously so. Book Two is interesting in the respect that it widens the story’s canvas considerably, with several new characters and plot lines introduced. 

One of them is Theon Greyjoy -- who likely made an appearance or two in A Game of Thrones -- but who really comes into his own in A Clash of Kings. I didn’t like Theon in the TV series (I’m not sure I was supposed to), and I like him even less in the book. But at least in the book he is given the inner depth that is needed to understand him and his motivations. 

Here’s a quick summary of Theon’s journey in the book from Wikipedia:

Robb wins several victories against the Lannisters while his younger brother Bran rules the Northern stronghold of Winterfell in his absence. Robb sends his friend Theon Greyjoy, Balon Greyjoy's son, to negotiate an alliance between the North and the Iron Islands. Theon betrays Robb and attacks Winterfell, taking the castle and capturing Bran and his younger brother Rickon. When Bran and Rickon escape, Theon fakes their deaths. Stark supporters besiege the castle, including a force from the Starks' sometime ally House Bolton. However, the Bolton soldiers turn against the Stark and Greyjoy forces alike, burn Winterfell, slaughter its inhabitants, and take Theon prisoner.

I didn’t dogear any pages while I read this one, so it’s challenging for me to go back and detail Theon’s psychology, but suffice it to say that he is the fool who thinks he can be king. He is consistently insulted and belittled by his own family, yet decides to turn against and betray the foster family that showed him love in order to prove his worth and might to his father and his clan. As I flipped through the book just prior to composing this post, I happened to see in one of Theon’s chapters the italicized line representing his thoughts: “Better to be feared than laughed at.”

And it occurred to me that this sums up the code of honor that drives not just Theon, but many of the other characters in the story. One must conquer to avoid the shame of ignominy. The thing I liked best about A Game of Thrones is the expert way Martin made Ned Stark’s honor become his downfall. And I wonder if Martin isn’t doing something similar here in A Clash of Kings. Just as Stark’s sense of duty and honor was a flaw in the “game of thrones,” Theon’s sense of shame and anger was equally a flaw in the “clash of kings.”

For two books now we’ve seen Martin present us with characters -- one sympathetic, the other not -- who are constitutionally ill-suited to the tasks that confront and confound them. In this view of the series, it would seem important to ask that if neither honorable nor forceful action can make one the champion of the tale, what kind of character is it that will succeed?

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.