Blade of Fire Signed Edition [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Stuart Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2006 | Series: Signed Edition

Twenty years have passed since the tiny kingdom of the Icemark last defended itself from invasion. Now the imperial invader Scipio Bellorum is back - joined by his brutal twin sons. The Icemark's fate rests with Queen Thirrin and Oskan Witchfather - and their five strong-willed children. But not all the royal siblings are ready for the task. What of Medea, the dark daughter, poisoning the family from within? Or Sharley, the youngest and weakest son, strangely foretold to return with a blade of fire? The second book in "The Icemark Chronicles" takes the fight to the seas, the skies, the hot lands to the south - and even beyond, to the places of the mind.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—In this story set 20 years after The Cry of the Icemark (Scholastic, 2005), Queen Thirrin and Oskan Witchfather now have five grown children who make up the royal House of Lindenshield. The book mainly focuses on Charlemagne, their youngest child. His greatest desire is to be a warrior and to defend his kingdom like all of the other members in his family. Unfortunately, he suffers from a physical ailment as a result of polio, which prevents him from satisfying his dream. To make matters worse, war has been waged between Icemark and its chronic nemesis Scipio Bellorum. Charlemagne is exiled for protection but leaves with the mystical promise that he will save Icemark from ultimate destruction. At the same time, his 15-year-old sister, Medea, begins using her magical powers to side with the enemy. What results is a typical high-fantasy novel complete with epic battles and a fight between good and evil. The characters contain little depth, and their actions are predictable despite situations that lend themselves to vast, creative transformations. Although fans of the first book may find pleasure in learning more about Queen Thirrin, this novel does not stand alone, often succumbing to trite plotlines and slow pacing. Readers of fantasy are more apt to enjoy Cornelia Funke's Inkheart (Scholastic, 2003) or one of the other novels from the increasingly abundant genre.—Marie C. Hansen, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Icemark's polio-scarred Prince Charlemagne sees himself as the "limping runt in a family of warriors" but comes into his own when his parents send him abroad to accompany refugees fleeing war. Horizons broadened by foreign cultures, Charlemagne forges alliances that echo those made by his redoubtable mother 20 years earlier in The Cry of the Icemark (2006).Epic in scope, the high-fantasy action moves right along, and the coming-of-age struggles of Thirrin and Oskan's offspring are sufficiently engaging to allow newcomers to the Icemark Chronicles to step in midstream. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905294492
• ISBN-13: 978-1905294497
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome: great writing, cool characters, excellent pacing, April 6, 2007

By 

Julie (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blade of Fire: The Icemark Chronicles (Hardcover)

Yes, the Cry of the Icemark was better. I definitely liked Thirrin and Oskan better as teens. That said, however, as far as sequels goes, this book gives the first a good "run for the money". I've a few minor nits about the strength of motivation for certain characters' evilness, but for the most part, the characterization is ultra fitting. I will have a more detailed review later, for now, suffice to say, "BUY THIS"! Look, it vexes me to no end to see ultra crap (like certain dragon containing books) do well in sales when well-written stuff like Cry of the Icemark and Blade of fire languishes on the virtual "shelves".

Plot: Decent...fairly straightforward, but still exciting and contains a few good twists.

One more note: the sense of pacing is amazing. The plot being as it is holds the potential to plod on forever, but the pacing keeps it moving. There are nice descriptions of things, but no endless sections of sand describing, thank the Goddess, Moonmother, One, and other deities.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tj from lake tapps says ''this is one of the greatest book ever.'', March 20, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Blade of Fire (The Icemark Chronicles 2) (Paperback)

Clang! The Icemark cavalry and infantry clashed against the enemy and started to hack away at the Empire's troops.
The Blade of Fire is about a queen named Thirrin, her son Charlemagne, nicknamed Sharley, and her arch enemy Scipio Bellorum and his two sons, Octavius and Sulla. Thirrin sends her son away, because he can't fight with a crippled leg. When Sharley gets to his destination in the south and becomes prince regent to the exiles. As Sharley explores the south he finds things he has never heard of, or seen before. He finds unlikely allies, but the question remains is he too late?
My favorite part in the book is the battle at the end of the book. I liked it because it had the greatest details in the whole book, including vampires, wolf-folk, giant snow leopards, Icemark cavalry and infantry clashing with the enemy. Men on both sides getting killed everywhere and the dying screaming in pain
everywhere you looked.
Scipio Bellorum and his sons are the
worst characters in the book. They are ruthless and uncaring. For instance, Octavius had a squad of men shot to pieces by their comrades for marching to slow, and then his brother complimented him on it. They may be the worst characters in the book, but you have to give them credit for being geniuses.
Sharley on the other hand is a very interesting character, because he has a crippled leg and yet he has the brain of a diplomat and the heart of a warrior.
I recommend this book because it is a very awesome book and it's definitely in my top five books I've ever read and that's a lot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!!, April 4, 2007

By 

TiaM - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blade of Fire: The Icemark Chronicles (Hardcover)

OK, so I liked Cry of the Icemark a *little* bit better- mainly because Thirrin is just an amazing heroine... But I loved this book, too! My thanks to Stuart Hill for bringing yet another heartwarming, amazing book into my life!