A Cavern of Black Ice
Ratings17
Average rating3.8
HIGH ADVENTURE ON THE SWORD EDGE OF DESTINY A Cavern of Black Ice is the first book in J.V. Jones's Sword of Shadow series 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. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Series
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4 primary books#1 in Sword of Shadows
Sword of Shadows is a 4-book series with 4 released primary works first released in 1999 with contributions by J.V. Jones.
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Argh. I read the first 60 or so pages and we have at least four POVs, two of which are really interesting but the narrative keeps switching away, and I can't tell what they have to do with each other. It's clear that something is happening, but it's not clear what it is or how it's affecting anyone except for killing a few people.
I was really looking forward to this book but the scattershot approach, which reminds me of A Game of Thrones, just doesn't do it for me. Other authors, like David Gemmell, Kathleen and Michael Gear, and Stephen King do it without creating so much confusion.
Very dark (and cold) storytelling. The whole thing takes in an arctic environment, but it's captivating in the creation & treatment of characters and the weight of the landscape and its harshness on the story. It is like and unlike A Song of Ice and Fire, but if the SOIAF story was happening in the North, then this is exactly how I would picture it. In contrast to SOIAF, the story here is a bit more open with its magic, which is a bit refreshing. It kept me interested the whole way through, and the politics between clans, Sull, and other people kept me going, and political intrigue and dark magic is done just right. Can recommend.
