具體描述
內容簡介
THE BOOK BEHIND THE SECOND SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO.
George R. R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. In his widely acclaimed A Game of Thrones, he introduced us to an extraordinary world of wonder, intrigue, and adventure. Now, in the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come.
Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead . . . victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.
As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.
A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.
Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.
Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget. 作者簡介
George R. R. Martin's bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series has earned him the title of 'the American Tolkien'. The first book of the series has been made into a HBO TV adaptation, A Game of Thrones. He is the author of eight novels, several collections of short stories and numerous screenplays for television drama and feature films. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
喬治·雷濛德·理查德·馬丁(Geoger Raymond Richard Martin)歐美奇幻小說大師。1948年9月20日齣生於美國新澤西州的貝約恩,在伊利諾伊州伊凡斯頓的西北大學就讀,主修新聞寫作,1971年取得碩士學位。馬丁的作品主要以人物為關注點,描寫細膩豐富,突破瞭幻想文學界固有的創作模式,多次引領閱讀潮流。代錶作有十大浪漫太空歌劇之一的《光逝》、由雨果奬獲奬名篇擴展而成的《風港》、在雜誌讀者群中深受愛戴的《圖夫航行記》,以及當代正統奇幻的第一經典《冰與火之歌》等。由於馬丁的輝煌成就,他被譽為美國的托爾金和新世紀的海明威。從1989年開始,馬丁淡齣文學界,轉而投身演藝界發展,其中包括《美女與野獸》的編劇和The Twilight Zone的劇本編輯。1996年他纔重返文壇而開始奇幻文學的創作,處女作便是《權力的遊戲》(The Game Of Throne),即為《冰與火之歌》(The Song Of Fire And Ice)的首部麯。雖然封筆幾近10年,但大師風範猶在,《權力的遊戲》甫齣便拿下瞭British Fantasy Society、 世界奇幻奬和星雲奬年度最佳幻想作品提名,即使是由其中抽取章節編成的Blood of the Dragon也獲得多個最佳中篇奬,在科幻奇幻界引起極大的反響。在非官方的不記名奇幻作品投票中,《冰與火之歌》儼然已經可以和《魔戒》平起平坐,作者網站的訪問量也是和斯蒂芬·金、J.K.羅琳等不相上下,其受歡迎的程度可見一斑。他的讀者群早已是遠遠的超越奇幻科幻愛好者的範圍,而受到更為廣泛的關注。
權力的遊戲已在HBO播齣。喬治·馬丁被時代雜誌評選為2011年影響世界的一百人。 精彩書評
In the sequel to A Game of Thrones (1996), Martin skillfully limns the complicated, bitter politics of an inbred aristocracy, among whom an 11-year-old may be a bride, a ward, or a hostage, depending on the winds of war. Each of four men pronounces himself the rightful king, and the land of Westeros shudders with battles and betrayals. The dark, crisp plotting will please fans of the layered intrigues of Dorothy Dunnett or Robert Graves, and Graves' Claudius is echoed by the character of Queen Cersei's dwarf brother, Tyrion. Other notable characters are crippled eight-year-old Bran; Melisandre, a beautiful, menacing priestess; and Ser Davos, who won knighthood breaking a siege with a boatload of dried fish. Over all hover the threats of decades-long winter and the rebirth of the loathsome, magical Old Powers. Aided by an appendix of kings and their courts, Clash can be enjoyed on its own, though many then may retreat to Game, reread Clash, and impatiently await more of Westeros.
--Roberta Johnson
"The second novel of Martin's titanic Ice and Fire Saga [is]...a truly epic fantasy set in a world bedecked with 8000 years of history, beset by an imminent winter that will last ten years and bedazzled by swords and spells wielded to devastating effect....Here, he provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites."
--Publishers Weekley, starred review 精彩書摘
Tyrion
In the chilly white raiment of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon Moore looked like a corpse in a shroud. "Her Grace left orders, the council in session is not to be disturbed."
"I would be only a small disturbance, ser." Tyrion slid the parchment from his sleeve. "I bear a letter from my father, Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King. There is his seal."
"Her Grace does not wish to be disturbed," Ser Mandon repeated slowly, as if Tyrion were a dullard who had not heard him the first time.
Jaime had once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard--excepting himself, always--because his face gave no hint as what he might do next. Tyrion would have welcomed a hint. Bronn and Timett could likely kill the knight if it came to swords, but it would scarcely bode well if he began by slaying one of Joffrey's protectors. Yet if he let the man turn him away, where was his authority? He made himself smile. "Ser Mandon, you have not met my companions. This is Timett son of Timett, a red hand of the Burned Men. And this is Bronn. Perchance you recall Ser Vardis Egen, who was captain of Lord Arryn's household guard?"
"I know the man." Ser Mandon's eyes were pale grey, oddly flat and lifeless.
"Knew," Bronn corrected with a thin smile.
Ser Mandon did not deign to show that he had heard that.
"Be that as it may," Tyrion said lightly, "I truly must see my sister and present my letter, ser. If you would be so kind as to open the door for us?"
The white knight did not respond. Tyrion was almost at the point of trying to force his way past when Ser Mandon abruptly stood aside. "You may enter. They may not."
A small victory, he thought, but sweet. He had passed his first test. Tyrion Lannister shouldered through the door, feeling almost tall. Five members of the king's small council broke off their discussion suddenly. "You," his sister Cersei said in a tone that was equal parts disbelief and distaste.
"I can see where Joffrey learned his courtesies." Tyrion paused to admire the pair of Valyrian sphinxes that guarded the door, affecting an air of casual confidence. Cersei could smell weakness the way a dog smells fear.
"What are you doing here?" His sister's lovely green eyes studied him without the least hint of affection.
"Delivering a letter from our lord father." He sauntered to the table and placed the tightly rolled parchment between them.
The eunuch Varys took the letter and turned it in his delicate powdered hands. "How kind of Lord Tywin. And his sealing wax is such a lovely shade of gold." Varys gave the seal a close inspection. "It gives every appearance of being genuine."
"Of course it's genuine." Cersei snatched it out of his hands. She broke the wax and unrolled the parchment.
Tyrion watched her read. His sister had taken the king's seat for herself--he gathered Joffrey did not often trouble to attend council meetings, no more than Robert had--so Tyrion climbed up into the Hand's chair. It seemed only appropriate.
"This is absurd," the queen said at last. "My lord father has sent my brother to sit in his place in this council. He bids us accept Tyrion as the Hand of the King, until such time as he himself can join us."
Grand Maester Pycelle stroked his flowing white beard and nodded ponderously. "It would seem that a welcome is in order."
"Indeed." Jowly, balding Janos Slynt looked rather like a frog, a smug frog who had gotten rather above himself. "We have sore need of you, my lord. Rebellion everywhere, this grim omen in the sky, rioting in the city streets . . ."
"And whose fault is that, Lord Janos?" Cersei lashed out. "Your gold cloaks are charged with keeping order. As to you, Tyrion, you could better serve us on the field of battle."
He laughed. "No, I'm done with fields of battle, thank you. I sit a chair better than a horse, and I'd sooner hold a wine goblet than a battle-axe. All that about the thunder of the drums, sunlight flashing on armor, magnificent destriers snorting and prancing? Well, the drums gave me headaches, the sunlight flashing on my armor cooked me up like a harvest day goose, and those magnificent destriers shit everywhere. Not that I am complaining. Compared to the hospitality I enjoyed in the Vale of Arryn, drums, horseshit, and fly bites are my favorite things."
Littlefinger laughed. "Well said, Lannister. A man after my own heart."
Tyrion smiled at him, remembering a certain dagger with a dragonbone hilt and a Valyrian steel blade. We must have a talk about that, and soon. He wondered if Lord Petyr would find that subject amusing as well. "Please," he told them, "do let me be of service, in whatever small way I can."
Cersei read the letter again. "How many men have you brought with you?"
"A few hundred. My own men, chiefly. Father was loath to part with any of his. He is fighting a war, after all."
"What use will your few hundred men be if Renly marches on the city, or Stannis sails from Dragonstone? I ask for an army and my father sends me a dwarf. The king names the Hand, with the consent of council. Joffrey named our lord father."
"And our lord father named me."
"He cannot do that. Not without Joff's consent."
"Lord Tywin is at Harrenhal with his host, if you'd care to take it up with him," Tyrion said politely. "My lords, perchance you would permit me a private word with my sister?"
Varys slithered to his feet, smiling in that unctuous way he had. "How you must have yearned for the sound of your sweet sister's voice. My lords, please, let us give them a few moments together. The woes of our troubled realm shall keep."
Janos Slynt rose hesitantly and Grand Maester Pycelle ponderously, yet they rose. Littlefinger was the last. "Shall I tell the steward to prepare chambers in Maegor's Holdfast?"
"My thanks, Lord Petyr, but I will be taking Lord Stark's former quarters in the Tower of the Hand."
Littlefinger laughed. "You're a braver man than me, Lannister. You do know the fate of our last two Hands?"
"Two? If you mean to frighten me, why not say four?"
"Four?" Littlefinger raised an eyebrow. "Did the Hands before Lord Arryn meet some dire end in the Tower? I'm afraid I was too young to pay them much mind."
"Aerys Targaryen's last Hand was killed during the Sack of King's Landing, though I doubt he'd had time to settle into the Tower. He was only Hand for a fortnight. The one before him was burned to death. And before them came two others who died landless and penniless in exile, and counted themselves lucky. I believe my lord father was the last Hand to depart King's Landing with his name, properties, and parts all intact."
"Fascinating," said Littlefinger. "And all the more reason I'd sooner bed down in the dungeon."
Perhaps you'll get that wish, Tyrion thought, but he said, "Courage and folly are cousins, or so I've heard. Whatever curse may linger over the Tower of the Hand, I pray I'm small enough to escape its notice."
Janos Slynt laughed, Littlefinger smiled, and Grand Maester Pycelle followed them both out, bowing gravely.
"I hope Father did not send you all this way to plague us with history lessons," his sister said when they were alone.
"How I have yearned for the sound of your sweet voice," Tyrion sighed to her.
"How I have yearned to have that eunuch's tongue pulled out with hot pincers," Cersei replied. "Has father lost his senses? Or did you forge this letter?" She read it once more, with mounting annoyance. "Why would he inflict you on me? I wanted him to come himself." She crushed Lord Tywin's letter in her fingers. "I am Joffrey's regent, and I sent him a royal command!"
"And he ignored you," Tyrion pointed out. "He has quite a large army, he can do that. Nor is he the first. Is he?"
Cersei's mouth tightened. He could see her color rising. "If I name this letter a forgery and tell them to throw you in a dungeon, no one will ignore that, I promise you."
He was walking on rotten ice now, Tyrion knew. One false step and he would plunge through. "No one," he agreed amiably, "least of all our father. The one with the army. But why should you want to throw me into a dungeon, sweet sister, when I've come all this long way to help you?"
"I do not require your help. It was our father's presence that I commanded."
"Yes," he said quietly, "but it's Jaime you want."
His sister fancied herself subtle, but he had grown up with her. He could read her face like one of his favorite books, and what he read now was rage, and fear, and despair. "Jaime--"
"--is my brother no less than yours," Tyrion interrupted. "Give me your support and I promise you, we will have Jaime freed and returned to us unharmed."
"How?" Cersei demanded. "The Stark boy and his mother are not like to forget that we beheaded Lord Eddard."
"True," Tyrion agreed, "yet you still hold his daughters, don't you? I saw the older girl out in the yard with Joffrey."
"Sansa," the queen said. "I've given it out that I have the younger brat as well, but it's a lie. I sent Meryn Trant to take her in hand when Robert died, but her wretched dancing master interfered and the girl fled. No one has seen her since. Li...
冰與火之歌:權力的遊戲 (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) 凜鼕將至,七國風雲變幻,一個關於忠誠、背叛、榮譽與生存的史詩序章 維斯特洛大陸,一個被永恒的鼕日陰影籠罩的國度,七個王國曾以鐵王座為中心,在看似穩固的和平中維持著脆弱的平衡。然而,這種錶麵的平靜之下,暗流湧動。權力的誘惑、古老的宿怨、以及預示著毀滅的神秘力量,正悄然撕裂著這片土地的根基。 故事始於君臨城——鐵王座的所在地,也是七大王國政治鬥爭的熔爐。國王勞勃·拜拉席恩的“吾王之手”,艾德·史塔剋,一位正直、恪守榮譽的北境領主,被捲入瞭王室的陰謀漩渦。他的好友兼君主勞勃國王的突然駕崩,不僅打破瞭維斯特洛的政治格局,更像投下瞭一枚重磅炸彈,將史塔剋傢族推嚮瞭風暴的中心。 艾德·史塔剋發現,國王的繼承人喬佛裏王子,其血統的純正性存在著令人震驚的疑點。為瞭維護他所堅信的王權閤法性與傢族榮譽,艾德決心揭露真相。然而,在光鮮亮麗的君臨宮廷中,真相往往是最危險的武器。他麵對的是王後瑟曦·蘭尼斯特及其傢族的冷酷無情和精明算計,蘭尼斯特傢族,一個富可敵國的龐大傢族,正利用一切手段鞏固他們對王位的覬覦。 艾德的調查如同一把雙刃劍,在揭示皇室醜聞的同時,也將他自己和他的傢人置於萬劫不復的境地。他的女兒珊莎和艾莉亞被睏在君臨,成為政治博弈中的人質;而他的兒子羅柏則必須在遙遠的北境集結軍隊,為即將到來的衝突做準備。 長城之外的黑暗低語 與此同時,在維斯特洛的最北端,被稱為“長城”的巨大冰牆,是抵禦蠻荒之地野人和更古老、更可怕威脅的最後屏障。瓊恩·雪諾,艾德·史塔剋的私生子,加入瞭誓言守護維斯特洛的守夜人兄弟會。 長城不僅是地理上的界限,更是文明與混沌的分界綫。在這裏,瓊恩必須學會忍受嚴酷的訓練、冰冷的夜晚,以及兄弟會內部的陳腐規則。他發現,那些被認為是神話故事的威脅——異鬼(The Others)——正隨著漫長鼕日的臨近而重新活動。他們的齣現,遠比人類之間的權力鬥爭更加緻命。瓊恩在兄弟會中掙紮求存,並開始接觸到關於古老魔法和真正威脅的令人不安的真相。 狹海彼岸的復仇之火 在狹海(The Narrow Sea)的另一邊,被推翻的王朝——坦格利安傢族,正試圖奪迴他們失去的王位。丹妮莉絲·坦格利安,被稱為“龍之女”,是已故“瘋王”的最後一位女兒。她在一場政治聯姻中被嫁給多斯拉剋遊牧民族的強大軍閥卓戈卡奧,成為一個異域文化的俘虜。 起初,丹妮莉絲在殘酷的草原上飽受摺磨,努力適應新的身份。然而,隨著時間的推移,她逐漸展現齣鋼鐵般的意誌和非凡的領導纔能。她學會瞭駕馭和指揮這個野蠻的民族,從一個受驚嚇的少女成長為一名真正的女王。當她最珍貴的人被背叛和犧牲後,絕望之中,她做齣瞭一個足以改變世界曆史的舉動:在火葬儀式上,三顆沉睡瞭數百年的龍蛋破殼而齣。 龍的迴歸,象徵著古老力量的復蘇,也預示著維斯特洛的未來將不再由人類的權謀所主導。丹妮莉絲,手握三條幼龍,開始瞭一場漫長而艱巨的徵途,目標直指她認為屬於她的鐵王座。 權力的代價與榮譽的重量 《權力的遊戲》描繪瞭一個道德模糊的世界。在這裏,榮譽和正直往往是通往毀滅的捷徑,而狡詐和殘忍纔能帶來暫時的勝利。 書中錯綜復雜的人物綫索交織在一起:提利昂·蘭尼斯特,一個因侏儒身份被傢族輕視的智者,憑藉其智慧在君臨的政治遊戲中左右逢源;席恩·葛雷喬伊,在史塔剋傢長大,內心深處卻渴望迴歸他強硬的傢族;而詹姆·蘭尼斯特,以“弑君者”之名臭名昭著,卻也在血腥的衝突中展現齣復雜的人性。 隨著艾德·史塔剋的命運急轉直下,七國徹底陷入混亂,曾經的聯盟土崩瓦解,取而代之的是基於個人野心和傢族利益的零散戰爭。每一個角色都在為生存、為復仇、為信念而戰,他們必須做齣艱難的選擇:是堅持心中的道德準則,還是為瞭生存而徹底墮落? 本書是史詩級奇幻巨著的開端,它不僅是一場關於王位爭奪的宏大敘事,更是對人性在極端壓力下錶現的深刻探索。凜鼕已至,真正的戰爭纔剛剛開始。