- Hardcover: 676 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; Book Club edition (17 Mar 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857237706
- ISBN-13: 978-1857237702
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16.2 x 5.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 594,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
A Fortress of Grey Ice is an almost entirely satisfactory second volume of the Sword of Shadows sequence that started with A Cavern of Black Ice. It separates its hero and heroine and puts them through very different experiences--Raif is hardened by dishonour and hunger into the hero that will successfully kill one of the more monstrous interlopers into his world from a darker one, Ash takes the decision to atone for the inadvertent acts that have made such incursions possible. Elsewhere, a convict frees his sorceror's master; a young challenger exploits the tangle of clan politics to make himself a name; older and wilier contenders survive for the time being--Jones manages a collection of characters with very different motivations successfully enough that we end up with mixed sympathies and a fair amount of time for all of them. The fantasy world she creates here is less conventional than that of many of her rivals--she draws inventively from human cultures that live in cold places and this is a fantasy that draws as much from Inuit and Finnish legend as it does from Scotland or Scandinavia. There is a controlling intelligence here which makes up for occasional overcomplication and overwriting.--Roz Kaveney
Product Description
The war to end all wars is coming. The Endlords are preparing themselves for invasion. City men and clansmen should come together to fight the dark forces, yet they feud amongst themselves. Only the Sull are preparing: an ancient, dwindling race, they fear this fight might be their last.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excelent book.,
By Rummy (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows) (Hardcover)
This, along with A Cavern of Black Ice (the first book of the series), is definitely one of the best books which I have ever read. Once again J.V. Jones' descriptive style of writing has come to life in this sequel.A very brief plot summary is needed to really understand much of anything, so here we go. The two most important main characters are Raif Severance and Ash March. In the book, there are great waring clans, and Raif is an outcast clansman from clan Blackhail. In the previous book, he helped Ash escape from her foster father, Penthero Iss. In the beginning of the book Ash and Raif are sepparated, and, having nowhere else to go, Raif goes off in search of the Maimed Men, unwhole men who live on the outside of the clanholds. Meanwhile, Ash travels with two Sull, people who are above the ways of humans, who are wise, brave, and powerful. The Sull need her for an upcoming war with very powerful undead creatures which had been freed from their imprisonment. There are many more important characters, and much more to say, but that really sums up the plot as simply as I can put it. There is one definite thing in this book which really gives an edge over many other books. The whole story circles around the taiga and tundra, where the clanholds and the Maimed Men are. And so, you need to have complete and utter coldness. The cold is constantly an element of the book which sets a solid image in your head from the first pages and is never left out of the story. It must be the most important part of the setting, because without it, there would be so few challenges for the characters, and the land would seem so much tamer. The characters are also quite excelent. All characters are perfected for their roles in the story. From clan chiefs to assasins, from city men to Sull, the characters were perfect. They are consistant in personality, though there is still excelent characterization. Changes to the characters are not ever sudden or obvious, which makes it even better. As I said, this is definitely one of the best books which I have ever read. This is a book which anyone would love to read, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who can endure the pages of the first book as well as this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be prepared to be spellbound,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows) (Hardcover)
What a stunning read! J V Jones had surpassed her previous book, 'A cavern of black ice' in characterisation, plotting and description. I will admit that I was a bit worried that the constant changing of strands in the story would lead to confusion but I was soon absorbed in the experiences of all the characters. And there are many more to follow than in 'Cavern'.The character development of both Raif and Ash as they mature and find their own path through the plot is facinating. Don't be put off by the long passages with little or no speach - Jones's power of description brings alive a world emerging from a harsh winter into a tentative spring and this makes the decisive action sequences more dramatic and, in some cases, shocking. Buy this book and prepare to be spellbound!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Word From the Cynic,
This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows) (Hardcover)
Firstly, I'd start off by saying it's been hard trying to get the book being that I'm nowhere near Britain, or even the whole continent of Europe. Done whining about that, I'll share my thoughts on the book.I'd have to mention that the three stars is probably a bit harsh, but that I'm grading on a very tough scale. A Cavern of Black Ice was one of the best contemporary books I've read, with only Cold Mountain and the His Dark Materials series coming close. Fortress is good, but not that good. I don't feel like I'm ruining anyhting by mentioning that Raif and Ash are seperated at the beginning of the book; it's a pretty public fact at this point. I was very unimpressed by how unaffected by this Raif was. C'mon, I mean; Ash is this man's life! He spent an entire morning trying to break down a cell door when he found out she was moved from Ganmaddich. If he left her (especially how she left him), I'd expect him to simply lose it. Completely. Ash was his clan, and now even she has left him. He does miss her, granted, but not nearly enough. Ash also misses him, but one would expect a little more from the girl who was carried for a day by Raif Sevrance, and laid unconscous as he killed a wolf with frostbitten hands in her name, watched as he was the only person who'd stand up for her time and time again. Oh well. Raif has also forgotten his clans much, much more, much more than I would have expected. Even after he started saying he was from No Clan, he still thought in terms of Stone Gods and the measure of guidestone at his waist. He's much more godless now, which disappointed me. As did the Maimed Men, but that's only because I expected them to be different. The Ash chapters are great, despite what I said before. Her journey is simply cool. There are no other words. Vaylo Bludd is still Vaylo Bludd, also. He's changing, but it was a change that started in the last book already. Raina Blackhail has her own chapters now, and they provide pretty well. I was expecting more from the Effie Sevrance chapters, I confess. Not much happens, and the chapters really just drag and drag on, even if she makes one hardcore friend, an Orrl sharpshooter. There is a new character in the form of a Dhoonesman. I was very unimpressed there. The character is cool, but his situation seems almost a carbon copy of some of the others from the series. There is a charcter from Book of Words (other than Baralis) who makes an appearance. Very cool. Very very cool. I've left some characters out, I think. Oh, well. All in all, go buy it. Read it. You'll be impressed by much of it, even if it is a far cry from Cavern. It's still well worth the cash. And the last chapters are some of the most hardcore literature I've ever read.
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