sarahsays's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A completely immersive and engaging read. I don't think I've ever read anything where cold and winter and frost and ice is described and encountered in so many ways.
The story is brutal, at times, and especially so during one scene, but there is hope.
Looking forward to reading the next one in the series!
The story is brutal, at times, and especially so during one scene, but there is hope.
Looking forward to reading the next one in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, and Murder
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
1.0
This did not do it for me at all - the characters were unoriginal, the plot boring, and there was no driving force other than the characters going from place to place, fighting, but the fighting started on page, and ended without our seeing what happened. I have read another book where the character starts to fight, begins losing, goes into some sort of rage, and then you see the character again, alive, covered in blood, with the character (and the reader) clueless as to what happened. Everyone else around is scared of the hero, and eludes to what happened. But, in a fantasy novel things have to happen, not everything can been assumed. There must be some reward for the pages of exposition. This is non-rewarding in any regards, and I quit at 70& of the book read. I put it down for a three day weekend, and did not miss the characters, the story, nor did I care who lived or died. Period, the end, this is NOT for me.
wayward_bird's review
AMAZING. Somehow this book manages to be so good that even the intense grimness doesn't manage to tarnish my experience while reading.
Every single character is interesting and well-written, even those that only play a minor role add color and texture to the world with just a few well chosen words from the author. The villains are particularly despicable and infuriating, but still feel tangible and never cartoonish. (Mace Blackhail in particular incites a deep, primal rage within me)
The tension is finely tuned throughout the book and will probably keep you up reading far past what you know is good for you!
J.V. Jones seems to be massively underrated! If you want to read good (and grim) fantasy, read this book!
Every single character is interesting and well-written, even those that only play a minor role add color and texture to the world with just a few well chosen words from the author. The villains are particularly despicable and infuriating, but still feel tangible and never cartoonish. (Mace Blackhail in particular incites a deep, primal rage within me)
The tension is finely tuned throughout the book and will probably keep you up reading far past what you know is good for you!
J.V. Jones seems to be massively underrated! If you want to read good (and grim) fantasy, read this book!
shellycampbellauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous descriptions and settings
The characters in this story go through the wringer. There’s some quite graphic torture and hardship, but the settings and emotions are gorgeously rendered. I fell in love with the prose. Beautifully written.
The characters in this story go through the wringer. There’s some quite graphic torture and hardship, but the settings and emotions are gorgeously rendered. I fell in love with the prose. Beautifully written.
rg9400's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lenajgib's review
5.0
I read this about ten years ago when it was new and loved it. I was waiting for the sequels to be out before reading it again, and now I have three of them to read.
pasquay's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
thejosh2099's review
5.0
Having heard that J.V Jones is back and writing again, I decided it was time for a re-read. Maybe I am naive for hoping that soon she will finish, but here we are - and I do not regret this reread at all.
This book is amazing, even more amazing than when I first read it so long ago.
If I have one recommendation, it is this - grab a blanket. The cold in this story is something living, breathing, and it reaches from the page to grasp you. If like me you are someone who enjoys a kind of 'survival' aspect in your stories, I think you will love this. The journey undertaken here through bone-numbing cold comes alive with details that some might find tedious, that I find rich and relish in.
As I said, grab a blanket and if you get the chance to read this during winter when the wind howls with cold and when snow blankets the ground, the immersion will be incredibly vivid. I only wish I could experience this for the first time beside the crackling warmth of a fire.
This book and this author, in my opinion, are criminally underrated.
This book is amazing, even more amazing than when I first read it so long ago.
If I have one recommendation, it is this - grab a blanket. The cold in this story is something living, breathing, and it reaches from the page to grasp you. If like me you are someone who enjoys a kind of 'survival' aspect in your stories, I think you will love this. The journey undertaken here through bone-numbing cold comes alive with details that some might find tedious, that I find rich and relish in.
As I said, grab a blanket and if you get the chance to read this during winter when the wind howls with cold and when snow blankets the ground, the immersion will be incredibly vivid. I only wish I could experience this for the first time beside the crackling warmth of a fire.
This book and this author, in my opinion, are criminally underrated.
sm_almon's review
5.0
A dark book, but enthralling in the creation & treatment of characters and the weight of the landscape on the story.