Discount Price: $7.99
Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780765345493
ISBN number: 0765345498
Label: Tor Fantasy
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 624
Printing Date: August 01, 2004
Publishing house: Tor Fantasy
Release Date: July 29, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 65057
Studio: Tor Fantasy
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'Wonderful . . . J.V. Jones is a striking writer.' So says Robert Jordan, the author of The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series. And Jones lives up to that praise in the highly charged epic adventure of Ash March and Raif Sevrance, two outcasts whose fates are entwined by fate and by need, in the cold, dark world that threatens to be torn asunder by a war to end all wars. They are but two of many who fight the dreaded Endlords, but both Ash and Raif are special in unique ways that isolate them, yet which also enable them to perform heroic acts that might save their world.
Raif, wrongly accused and cut off from his clan by the treachery of their new headsman, has a talent for killing that is part of his curse and his burden. But he bears another burden of greater weight. Ash is a sacred warrior to the Sull, an ancient race whose numbers have declined.Raised as a foundling, she never knew her true heritage, she must learn to accept the terrible gifts of her heritage.
But as Ash learns more of her greater fate, Raif's task looms dark and desperate, for he must journey through the nightmare realm of the Want, a place where even the Sull now fear to tread. For deep within the Want is the Fortress of Grey Ice, and there he must heal the breach in the Blindwall that already threatens the world. Should he fail, not even Ash's powers can save them...
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
I enjoy fantasy books. Allot have underdeveloped and totally unreal characters. This one is not like that at all. I picked up this book at Wal-mart on clearance sale. I thought I might get through a chapter or two. I couldn't put it down.
Rated by buyers 
-
A Fortress of Grey Ice had great potential. The author definately has a knack for developing characters who are interesting and complex and putting them in a compelling world.
But the potential is lost because the book is so weakly plotted, so poorly written and so tedious.
First off, as others have mentioned, there is too much narrative and too little dialogue. In the second half of the book I found myself skimming along reading the rare dialogue between characters and the very first sentence of narrative paragraphs. In other words I was interested in the characters but bored by the tedious exposition.
Secondly, there are eight or ten main characters and, for the whole length of the book, with the exception of Angus Lok who flits from here to there, they have nothing to do with each other. The entire novel could have been broken down into ten short stories each telling the tale of a single character.
Third, the author has hopelessly screwed up the character of Raif. Perhaps she just can't get into the mindset of a young man but Raif, as written, is a muddle. I never for one moment believed that he would choose to go live with the maimed men. I think it was just a plot device to get him to the rift. Meanwhile he gives no thought to the Uncle who befriended him and saved him. Why doesn't he go look for his uncle? Because it would not suit the plot, that's why.
And we are supposed to believe that he would take part on a raid on his old clan and kill clansmen when, at the same time, he still holds clan honor so high that he won't speak a single word against clan, even to save himself? It makes zero sense. He would run first. Or kill himself. Anything before that.
Also, in the very first book, it was made very clear that Raif has the gift of heart killing living things. But it was also made very clear that he was an average target bowman. Now, suddenly, even injured and out of practice, he can out-shoot the best bowman in the known universe? Why? Because it makes a dramatic scene? How? The Gods helped? Fate?
In the end the author creates compelling characters. But she doesn't let them talk. She doesn't let them interact. And she makes them act in ways that are radically out of character in order to further the "plot". It all adds up to 2 stars but it could have been a lot more.
Rated by buyers 
-
Although I do agree with other reviewers that the second installment in the "Sword of Shadows" series did not benefit from the high level of narration and pacing that made the very first book so addictive, it was still a very engaging novel, and she's quickly becoming one of the better Fantasy acts out there nowadays. The novel still focuses primarily on Raif and Ash, and the relationship that we all know them to be developing, but it's the accessory characters and the landscapes that truly elevate this novel. With characters like Vaylo Bludd, Marafice Eye, Mace Blackhail, Angus Lok, Drey, Effie, and Robbie Doone, J.V. Jones has truly populated her world with well written and believable people, and with few exceptions, she avoids the wretched fantasy stereotypes of the "too good" or "too evil" character.
Much like the very first novel, the description of the landscape is stark and breathtaking, and provides the second great strength of the novel. Even though this wasn't as pleasing as the very first installment, Ms. Jones has laid the foundation for a heck of a series, and I can't wait to see where she's going subsequent with the story. For the most part, it's a great combo of drama, action, and fantasy, and if she can straighten out the narration a bit, there's no reason not to expect a 5 star effort on the 3rd installment.
Rated by buyers -
I like fantasy and I enjoyed this series so far. There is plenty of intrigue and magic to keep you reminded that this is not just another series and the author is not afraid to kill one of the good guys. I like the fact that she is able to track multiple cultures and settings so well.
My only irritation is that I can't seem to locate anything to finish the series. I hate having to wait this long to see what else is going to happen.
Rated by buyers 
-
First of all, I should state emphatically that this book (and the earlier book in this series) is excellent. Jones has a strong, detailed, highly imaginative writing style that is refreshing to read in a genre that has nearly run out of promising authors. Most other reviewers on this site have thoroughly covered all of Jones' many strengths, and it serves little purpose to rehash them.
That being said, I have noticed several problems that seem in stark contrast to her otherwise great writing. It would be unfortunate if one were to buy these books after hearing nothing but rave reviews that will not discuss her faults.
One of the more frustrating of these is the authors desire to endow her characters with almost supernatural mood-reading abilities. Personally, I have never been in a conversation with someone and read much into a "darkening of the eyes", whatever that even means. In fact, so much is conveyed in the conversations in this book "under the surface", without words, that I'm starting to doubt my own conversation skills. There's a whole world of communication that I've been missing! I want to emphasize how distracting this writing style is. There are conversations that involve more thinking and analyzing of the other's thoughts than actual speaking. Imagine a converstation like that! "Thank you for coming. We have a lot to talk about." Five minute pause while both people stare at each other, analyzing every minute facial movement and gesture. "Well, you asked me to come here. Should we start?" Five more minutes...you get the point. Its more than a little ridiculous.
A second, more glaring issue is Jones' overuse of narration. There are literally whole chapters where no action takes place and no words are spoken between characters. Perhaps if that were to happen in just one chapter, when all others moved swiftly, it would be powerful. But the author seems to feel the need to TELL us what her characters are thinking, rather than SHOWING us through actions or dialogue.
This point may be a little niggling, but I've noticed that no one ever does anything "roughly", it is always "not gently". There have actually been several times I had to re-read a sentence to understand exactly how character A grabbed character B, and what that implies, because of the author's reluctance to use a phrase that does not involve a qualified gentle action.
Finally, and this is perhaps my most serious critique of Jones' writing, is the egregious lack of judgement--or worse, lack of action--of her characters. So many of the problems in the story could be solved if people simply DID something, usually the painfully obvious thing. For instance, so many of the problems in the Blackhail clan could be solved if Raina would simply tell everyone she knew that her bastard of a husband had raped her to force her into marrying him, which was itself a rather ridiculous plot device in the very first book. In another example, Raif suffered days of torture and faced imminent execution for a crime he never even committed, but refused to tell his captors of his innocence because he did not want to stain the honor of his clan--who had banished him, and had in fact committed the very crimes Raif was being accused of! Simply put, it is maddening. It reminds me of those old 80s sitcoms where the entire infuriating episode is driven along because of some ridiculous misunderstanding, and where if one character just stopped for a moment and had an open conversation with someone else, the entire problem would be solved.
Don't misunderstand me. This is very, very good book. However, these problems are so distracting that I cannot honestly say it deserves more than 3 stars. Any fan of the fantasy genre will definitely enjoy it. Think Robert Jordan mixed with George Martin. If Jones manages to avoid the "Jordan Bug" and wraps this up in another book or two, this could well be one of the best series to be published in the past 10 or 15 years.
Find other books like this one:
