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When people ask me what books I reach for, I tend to say, “Oooh, fast-paced thrillers that throw you right into the deep end,” so it may be surprising to some (and, let’s be honest… myself!) that I’ve just finished the second book in the Game of Thrones series, A Clash of Kings.

For context, I didn’t watch the show as it was airing (I wasn’t entirely under a rock though; I did know of it and admittedly wondered what all the hype was about!) and only watched the first series last year.

But these books? I said it after I read Game of Thrones, and I’ll say it again: George R.R. Martin’s work is truly fantasy at its very, very best.

Dark, beautifully written, with the best characterisation I’ve ever read; moving, settings you can picture with remarkable ease; villains, monsters, conflict… need I go on?

This is 900-odd pages of fantasy excellence. I couldn’t put it down and found myself unbelievably absorbed in the trials and tribulations of the story. Just fantastic.

The third one is even longer, and the story has already gone deeper than I ever prepared for, so I am so excited to get round to it… just don’t ask me when!

I'm learning that I'm a not a big fan of books with differing perspectives. The change in writing style and jump in timeline ends up throwing me, and I tend to favour one voice over the rest.

In this case, the differing perspectives worked well for the story, and the twists within it. The plot dived into unrealistic territories at times but, in saying that, I did find myself racing through it to unravel the tale and all the little pieces of loose thread woven throughout.

Sadly, the ending and the twists didn't quite live up to the expectations spelled out at the beginning of the book, and it ended up just falling a bit flat. But, boy, can McAllister build up to something brilliantly.

A mixed bag for me, but ultimately I did enjoy this and McAllister is a author I will keep an eye out for, for sure.