A Fortress of Grey Ice: Book Two of Sword of Shadows [Mass Market Paperback]

J. V. Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2004 | Series: Sword of Shadows (Book 2)

"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...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The second Sword of Shadows novel brings back Raif Severance and Ash March, who are becoming one of the more compelling couples in modern high fantasy. Their quest is rather like Tolkien's Frodo's in that it is intended to rid Ash of the power she possesses before it destroys the world, her, or both. Raif and Ash are escorted by the Sull Far riders, despite whom she disappears, leaving Raif torn between the compelling, legitimate desire to rescue her from what he is sure are kidnappers and the need to complete his own mission to find the fortress of the title. He opts for the latter, then has to defend the gap in the Blindwall, through which a gruesome array of evil forces mean to break, without knowing how Ash is faring or whether she has been transformed at the Heart of the Sull into something he may not recognize. An excellent example of the kind of fantasy in which much of the emotional impact depends on the protagonist couple's relationship. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

J. V. Jones is the author of the bestselling Book of Words trilogy, The Barbed Coi, and A Cavern of Black Ice, the first book of the Sword of Shadows series. Born in England, she now makes her home in San Diego, California, where she's working on the third Sword of Shadows novel, A Sword from Red Ice.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (July 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765345498
• ISBN-13: 978-0765345493
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book II...the quality of the story and the writing continues, April 17, 2009

By 

R. Nicholson - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice: Book Two of Sword of Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)

Even better then the first book!

J.V Jones' 2nd book in the 'Sword of Shadows' series is simply a great fantasy/adventure read.

The story continues where book I left off and follows sequentially Raif, Ash and Effie; their stories take some interesting twists and turns throughout the course of this book. The terrain is the same basic bleak winter tundra (although spring appears to be coming) of the first book.

One of the many strong points of this novel is the deliberate pacing of this story and its telling. Then add to this a great basic story, plus an author's with the ability to weave a good tale, and you end up with a memorable fantasy work. And although different in various ways, this work, at times, conjures up memories of the writing quality and techniques found in George R.R. Martin's 'Iced and Fire' series and Joe Abercrombie's 'The First Law' trilogy. (see P.S. below)

The only niggling complaint would be that the map (and in fairness, the one provided is fairly good) could have provided a little more detail; details that give some names or markings as to where our protagonist were located during some of their journeys. I realize this is probably a 'personal' concern, but I've always liked to have a sense of position and of distance/proximity to other geographic locales when reading fantasy/adventure; it just makes the prolonged treks easier to visualize in my mind.

Conclusion:
A 2nd book in this series that is of the highest order; a great story, superbly told. 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson

P.S.
I defy anyone not be moved to the point of being emotionally distraught by chapter 5 in this book. A subjective opinion...certainly; but read this one chapter and see how it affects you.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Series...... pretty great anyways..., November 22, 2006

By 

M. Day "Diversion Excursion" (Orlando) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Love the series and have even re-read the first 2 books while waiting for the sequel... Waiting 2 years now! I would highly recommend Sword of Shadows to pretty much anyone looking for depth of character, great story lines and some of the best descriptive writing around. I would highly recommend you find another few writers too if you want to pass the time waiting for the sequel. Sword from Red Ice has been advertised for like 3 years and you still can't get it.... a word to the publisher, you aren't the only game in town. If you want loyalty, don't make us wait a decade....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still good, weird writing at the end, June 3, 2010

By 

cincin (asheville) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Fortress of Grey Ice: Book Two of Sword of Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)

Well, I've read the second book now. No waiting for me, as I just discovered the series. It was still good. The writing is still ...immersing. She separates completely the stories, and I did as others have done, and skipped to and fro to finish each story line, except for Raif and Ash. It was all worthy, all good, no problems, very exciting.

And that brings us to the end, the very end (not counting Angus Lok and the firehouse). Raif's bit. So, after all that build up, he kills the monster, it falls on him, and he's like "oh better get up! time to start a new nice life." and his pony runs to meet him and they ride off into the sunset, no problems. Like he just read the Sunday newspaper. Like that. In like 4 sentences.

A whole book of amazingness, and then wraps it up in a little bitty paragraph that makes no sense to what went before. THAT was SO weird. I'm not sure how to take that. Did she just get sick of it and want to go to bed? I dunno. Despite that, the whole damn book is written fantastically, so still gets 5 stars in my eyes. Looking forward to the next, that everyone says is "filler". That's ok with me. Still: Weird, almost contrived and unpleasant ending.