A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows)
by J. V. Jones
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. V. JonesEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-01
ISBN: 076534551X
Number of pages: 792
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Book Reviews of A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows)
Book Review: a great start to a stirring series...
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved reading A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones. I read her first series (The Book of Words Trilogy) and enjoyed it tremendously, so I thought this would be along the same lines. I thought wrong. A Cavern of Black Ice starts out a series that is completely different than the Book of Words trilogy. A Cavern of Black Ice is dark, based during the winter months, and has many scenes during the nighttime. I can see why people would not like this series if they read the Book of Words trilogy, which was light, humorous, and always seemed to take place during the spring and summer. The contrasts in tone allow this series to stand apart from the Book of Words, even though J.V. Jones is using the same world. Although, there are some connections between the two series, with the beginning and the end of A Cavern of Black Ice using characters from the first series. I thought it helped make a wonderful conclusion to A Cavern of Black Ice and had me thirsting for the next book.
Raif is a member of Clan Blackhail, one of the three strongest tribes in the Clanholds (Dhoone and Bludd are the other two). When Raif loses his father on a hunt (it was an unnatural death because no blood was spilled), he starts on a path that names him the Watcher of the Dead.
Ash is the almost-daughter of the surlord of Spire Vanis, Penthero Iss. She was left for dead by her mother as a babe in the snow, and has been raised by Penthero Iss ever since. Constant dreams of caverns and black ice keep her awake at night, but she is still content with her life in Spire Vanis until she finds out what Penthero Iss has planned for her.
Throughout a Cavern of Black Ice the reader also gets to follow Effie (Raif's sister), Raina (wife to the dead Blackhail leader), and Penthero Iss just to name a few, each interesting and unique characters in their own right.
A Cavern of Black Ice was enjoyable to read, especially since new and interesting fantasy right now is few and far in between. I love how this series starts. It is much better than The Baker's Boy, which bodes well for the future of the Sword of Shadows series because the Book of Words series started slowly and finished with a bang. I highly, highly recommend this book to fantasy readers. Everyone enjoy!
Summary of A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows)
HIGH ADVENTURE ON THE SWORD EDGE OF DESTINY
As a newborn Ash March was abandoned--left for dead at the foot of a frozen mountain. Found and raised by the Penthero Iss, the mighty Surlord of Spire Vanis, she has always known she is different. Terrible dreams plague her and sometimes in the darkness she hears dread voices from another world. Iss watches her as she grows to womanhood, eager to discover what powers his ward might possess. As his interest quickens, he sends his living blade, Marafice Eye, to guard her night and day.
Raif Sevrance, a young man of Clan Blackhail, also knows he is different, with uncanny abilities that distance him from the clan. But when he and his brother survive an ambush that plunges the entire Northern Territories into war, he yet seeks justice for his own . . . even if means he must forsake clan and kin.
Ash and Raif must learn to master their powers and accept their joint fate if they are to defeat an ancient prophecy and prevent the release of the pure evil known as the End Lords.
As a newborn Ash March was abandoned--left for dead at the foot of a frozen mountain. Found and raised by the Penthero Iss, the mighty Surlord of Spire Vanis, she has always known she is different. Terrible dreams plague her and sometimes in the darkness she hears dread voices from another world. Iss watches her as she grows to womanhood, eager to discover what powers his ward might possess. As his interest quickens, he sends his living blade, Marafice Eye, to guard her night and day.
Raif Sevrance, a young man of Clan Blackhail, also knows he is different, with uncanny abilities that distance him from the clan. But when he and his brother survive an ambush that plunges the entire Northern Territories into war, he yet seeks justice for his own . . . even if means he must forsake clan and kin.
Ash and Raif must learn to master their powers and accept their joint fate if they are to defeat an ancient prophecy and prevent the release of the pure evil known as the End Lords.
A Cavern of Black Ice opens J.V. Jones's Sword of Shadows trilogy. (Her first novel was The Baker's Boy.) The story is set in a land divided among small warring clans of hunters and more sophisticated southern cities whose lords covet the clan territories.
Young clansman Raif has a touch of "old blood" magic that guides his arrows to the heart. Bad times come when a hunting party that includes his father and clan chief is wiped out by a supernaturally aided attack, and Raif's open suspicion of the brutal new leader eventually drives him into exile. Meanwhile, Iss, overlord of Spire Vanis city, keeps a chained-up sorcerer whose powers he channels by revolting means, and has unexplained but shuddersome plans for his "foster daughter" Ash--herself an unwilling focus of dread forces. Raif and Ash find themselves fleeing together through wintry, hostile clanlands, pursued by Iss's vilest henchmen, seeking the dubious goal of the Cavern of Black Ice.
What lifts this tale far above routine quest fantasy is Jones's deft characterization, relentless intensity, and unsparing depiction of pain and slow-healing injury. She has a flair for memorably horrid images. Here a sorcerer gloats over one of his nastier tricks: "A man could not fight when his corneas were snapped from his eyes like badges from a chest."
This hefty volume is over 800 pages long, but the narrative grips hard once it's gained momentum, and the pages turn increasingly fast. Strong meat. Next comes book two, A Fortress of Grey Ice. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk
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