A review by xeni
Cold Magic by Kate Elliott
5.0
Well, this was an amazing book. Well written, great cast of characters and a world set up not quite like our own.
Elliot created a very interesting world here: essentially the Roman empire reined control a lot longer than in our history, and the major conflict is science vs magic (not the science vs religion that we have in our history books). Aside from that, there are a lot of similar events that take place in this world in comparison to ours: discovery of another continent called Amerike; new discovery of combustion engines and steam engines; etc etc. One of the greatest differences is that the ice shelf extends all the way down past the Baltic Sea, and that even in October it is bitterly cold in middle Europe.
Set in this world there is a very wide cast of characters. I loved how the focus wasn't on Cat's (the main character) love life but rather on her quest to find out the truth about herself and her world. She was, what I consider more and more to be a "perfect main character", in that she had all the necessary skills and resources in order to meet every problem she encountered with a solution. It got a little annoying, since most of us in our everyday lives manage to cope, scrape by or even just endure, and here is Cat who just happens to know how to ride, happens to be educated in sword fighting, happens to have maps of Europe memorized in great detail... all the 'happens to' started bothering me after a bit, since there is no one that perfect at the bare age of 19!
What pleased me most about Cat, though, was her resilience. She wasn't beaten down by much; she could face up to the scariest cold mage and to the most fearsome creatures from the spirit world with the same courage. Some people are just like that, I suppose! (Although, don't get me wrong, she did feel fear, and was clumsy and sometimes made stupid choices, but none of them were overly lasting.)
Other than Cat, the other main character is a cold mage, Andevai. He is one of the most powerful ones around, and yet he acts like a spoiled brat. Understandable, seeing what environment he grew up in, but still annoying as hell. I loved seeing him grow throughout the book. And by the time the novel came to a close I didn't hate him so much anymore.
Most of the other characters were very interesting. The trolls and the humans (or "rats") make an intriguing mix of races, as the mages vs nobles make an interesting mix as well.
The plot was very very active. Things were happening constantly. There wasn't any time where I was bored or was waiting for action to happen or felt that Elliot was taking too much time out to explain things. There was just enough explanations between the plot to make me understand what was going on. I was a little incredulous at times (for instance, how hospitable some of the people could be... it just doesn't seem realistic to me) but in general it was a great plot. It moved forward at a fast pace, definitely.
Elliot did have some recurring themes throughout the story that she would refer back to often; sometimes too often. The theme of cold and freezing weather was hit home more than once; and each time harder than the last. I am not sure if this was her way to deal with the current issue of global warming, or if she just decided that writing about how freezing people are and how the cold makes them feel immobile and their lips turn blue was a fun idea. But it was well written (if a bit over the top).
There is a lot of emphasis put on respect and customs in this book. Like, a lot. Arrogant young mages will listen to an elder even if they are of lower birth, lower income and lower power. Just because they are old. It was rather odd to see how that worked, but I was charmed by it. We could use more respect like that (though, two ways please) in our societies. On the other hand, the arrogant nobles and mages demanded respect in a way that just left a bad taste in my mouth. Honestly, they deserve to be overthrown, just so they can finally realize how rude they are/were.
Another theme would be the historical aspects... a lot of political situations were reminiscent of our own history (at least, that which is told to us in school). It was fascinating to see how our world history could be rewoven to make sense in a very different world view. It didn't detract from the story for me, but it also didn't add much. (Well, the ghoul's with the salt mines in Africa were a bit distracting, but it wasn't only addressed a few times.)
As to the ending, which a few of my friends have already reported as having hated, I did't mind it too much. It was set up for the second in the series, obviously, but I didn't feel like there was no conclusion. The adventures were over (for the moment), the girls were safe (for the moment) and had found help. They still have a way to go if they want to 'live long and prosper' but somehow I feel that they'll make it! The girls were having adventures up until the very end of the book, so I can see why some people would not think that the ending was conclusive enough. But for this 'part' it worked for me.
I enjoyed the book immensely. It was a fun story to read and something new. Not too much focus put on love lives and paranormal creatures and science fiction battles but rather just an innocent young woman trying to figure out her life. It really resonated with him, which is why I gave this book 5 stars.
Elliot created a very interesting world here: essentially the Roman empire reined control a lot longer than in our history, and the major conflict is science vs magic (not the science vs religion that we have in our history books). Aside from that, there are a lot of similar events that take place in this world in comparison to ours: discovery of another continent called Amerike; new discovery of combustion engines and steam engines; etc etc. One of the greatest differences is that the ice shelf extends all the way down past the Baltic Sea, and that even in October it is bitterly cold in middle Europe.
Set in this world there is a very wide cast of characters. I loved how the focus wasn't on Cat's (the main character) love life but rather on her quest to find out the truth about herself and her world. She was, what I consider more and more to be a "perfect main character", in that she had all the necessary skills and resources in order to meet every problem she encountered with a solution. It got a little annoying, since most of us in our everyday lives manage to cope, scrape by or even just endure, and here is Cat who just happens to know how to ride, happens to be educated in sword fighting, happens to have maps of Europe memorized in great detail... all the 'happens to' started bothering me after a bit, since there is no one that perfect at the bare age of 19!
What pleased me most about Cat, though, was her resilience. She wasn't beaten down by much; she could face up to the scariest cold mage and to the most fearsome creatures from the spirit world with the same courage. Some people are just like that, I suppose! (Although, don't get me wrong, she did feel fear, and was clumsy and sometimes made stupid choices, but none of them were overly lasting.)
Other than Cat, the other main character is a cold mage, Andevai. He is one of the most powerful ones around, and yet he acts like a spoiled brat. Understandable, seeing what environment he grew up in, but still annoying as hell. I loved seeing him grow throughout the book. And by the time the novel came to a close I didn't hate him so much anymore.
Most of the other characters were very interesting. The trolls and the humans (or "rats") make an intriguing mix of races, as the mages vs nobles make an interesting mix as well.
The plot was very very active. Things were happening constantly. There wasn't any time where I was bored or was waiting for action to happen or felt that Elliot was taking too much time out to explain things. There was just enough explanations between the plot to make me understand what was going on. I was a little incredulous at times (for instance, how hospitable some of the people could be... it just doesn't seem realistic to me) but in general it was a great plot. It moved forward at a fast pace, definitely.
Elliot did have some recurring themes throughout the story that she would refer back to often; sometimes too often. The theme of cold and freezing weather was hit home more than once; and each time harder than the last. I am not sure if this was her way to deal with the current issue of global warming, or if she just decided that writing about how freezing people are and how the cold makes them feel immobile and their lips turn blue was a fun idea. But it was well written (if a bit over the top).
There is a lot of emphasis put on respect and customs in this book. Like, a lot. Arrogant young mages will listen to an elder even if they are of lower birth, lower income and lower power. Just because they are old. It was rather odd to see how that worked, but I was charmed by it. We could use more respect like that (though, two ways please) in our societies. On the other hand, the arrogant nobles and mages demanded respect in a way that just left a bad taste in my mouth. Honestly, they deserve to be overthrown, just so they can finally realize how rude they are/were.
Another theme would be the historical aspects... a lot of political situations were reminiscent of our own history (at least, that which is told to us in school). It was fascinating to see how our world history could be rewoven to make sense in a very different world view. It didn't detract from the story for me, but it also didn't add much. (Well, the ghoul's with the salt mines in Africa were a bit distracting, but it wasn't only addressed a few times.)
As to the ending, which a few of my friends have already reported as having hated, I did't mind it too much. It was set up for the second in the series, obviously, but I didn't feel like there was no conclusion. The adventures were over (for the moment), the girls were safe (for the moment) and had found help. They still have a way to go if they want to 'live long and prosper' but somehow I feel that they'll make it! The girls were having adventures up until the very end of the book, so I can see why some people would not think that the ending was conclusive enough. But for this 'part' it worked for me.
I enjoyed the book immensely. It was a fun story to read and something new. Not too much focus put on love lives and paranormal creatures and science fiction battles but rather just an innocent young woman trying to figure out her life. It really resonated with him, which is why I gave this book 5 stars.