Reading along with 'A Clash of Kings' and season two of 'A Game of Thrones' will be fairly challenging, but each week I'll let you (as spoiler-free as possible) know how far ahead you will have needed to read to stay just ahead of the series.

My apologies for the the absence of this post last week. Like other outlets, we received screeners for episodes five and six of Game of Thrones, but after the time we would have normally run the post. This week’s entry will include information about both episodes five and six.

Unfortunately — and I mean it this time — this will be the last of the readalong posts that runs prior to the episode. Once the season is complete, I will post a summary of the final four episodes and how far one would have to have read to stay in front of the series.

A reminder on the purpose of these posts: the goal is to make these posts as spoiler-free as possible, just sharing information on which chapter you’d have to read to stay ahead of the show. Also, I’ll be leaning on Tower of the Hand, a great reference for fans of ASOIF and Game of Thrones – their spoiler filters are ingenious – as a touchstone for which chapter I’m referring to.

For the fifth episode, “The Ghost of Harrenhall” one would need to have read through Chapter 44: Jon V, and for the sixth episode, “The Old Gods and the New” one would need to have read through Chapter 52: Jon VI. The second season of Game of Thrones has been defined by deviations from the original material, and these two episodes are no different. I’m a fan of these changes, and how the series is different from the book. I think, when the story is completely told, that most people will agree with me.

Photo Credit: HBO