Customer Reviews

The Ice Dragon

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I got this book on Sept. 26th, 2006, in Dubuque, Iowa. George Martin was on a book signing for the release of this book, and due to this, the bookstore he was at was selling it early.

Let's start this review off with the obvious. The Ice Dragon is not another book in A Song of Ice and Fire. It's set in a different world, with none of the same characters, and has none of the adult content that those books do. In fact, this book is exactly what Martin said it would be from when he announced that it was being published separately: a children's book. Also, Martin didn't take much time off ASOIAF at all to write this book - in fact, it's been published in an anthology work (Dragons of Light) in 1980. All that has been changed is an editing to remove some of the more graphic content, and illustrations have been done.

Nonetheless, even though this is a children's book that most people who are used to Martin's work will read in about half an hour, the book is quite good. The story is touching, and is not afraid to hide kids from the realities of what can happen in life. There is symbolism a-plenty within this book, and a lot of different concepts to think about, especially for a young reader.

Parents, if you are considering getting this book for your children, I'd just like to say this: make sure you read it with your child. They'll want you there to explain a lot of what happens in the book. Martin, as usual, doesn't pull any punches with the emotional impact of the character's fate, and while I appreciate him not trying to hide the world from kids, some of the concepts may be difficult for them to grasp or easily misinterpreted.

Furthermore, the artwork within the book is stunning. Yvonne Gilbert really outdid herself with the drawings - either they serve as a perfect visual representation of the scene or they continue to reinforce the idea behind the scene.

All in all, The Ice Dragon is an excellent book, and is one I will be keeping on my shelf for many years to come.

How interesting that Martin's short story, written in 1980, bears minor resemblances to his grand work of today.

While reading this, I had an image of Farmer Giles of Ham, by Tolkien, and wondered if a smart publisher would dig that up and sell it as a children's story. I would personally be very interested to see how well that book would do in today's environment. The Tolkien family, I'm sure, could always use the extra money. (That, of course, was a joke.)

This is a lovely story, and, as another reviewer pointed out, exactly what you would expect from Martin after toning down one of his short stories or novellas for younger readers.

In a world that seems mostly inhabited by "fire" dragons, the "ice" dragon in this story stands out starkly (pun intended for readers of ASoIaF). It appears to be a creature unsuited for its distinctive qualities, only capable of appearing and thriving in winter, and making land barren wherever it lands. Even its very distant cousins, the ice lizards, find themselves uniquely suited for ice and snow, any hint of warmth that touches them is like poison.

Adara, the seven-year-old main character of the story bears striking resemblances to both the dragon and the ice lizards. This isn't a straightforward story - there is a strong symbolic statement that runs quietly from the beginning of the story until the end.

It's truly a gorgeous tale from one of the most decorated writers in fantasy.

The Ice Dragon is a great little story. It was written long before the seven kingdoms had even been contemplated by Mr. Martin. His skills were clearly honed even then... This is the tale of a young girl with ice water coursing through her veins. She has no love, except that which she has for the cold winter. For that is when the ice dragon comes. A creature so cold that no human can touch it without their warm flesh melting its icy scales. No one but young Adara. The ice dragon remained her only friend - the only one who would visit her. Until one day when the helms of the intruders crested the horizon.

Adara must chose between the cold life that she loves, and the warmth which is coupled with uncertainty.

Buy this book for your daughter, and then after she is done with it, read it for yourself.

Relic113

This author of adult-oriented fantasy fiction seeks to prove to his predominantly-male fans that he can write for their little daughters too. He fails.

Martin normally writes for adults. It might not be 100% clear to online shoppers that this volume, when one actually gets one's hands on it, is clearly presented as a kid's book. It contains perhaps 20 to 30 pages of normal text, stretched out to over 100 pages by child-friendly formatting and numerous (but mediocre) pictures. The cover art, picturing a little girl riding an ice dragon, defines the target audience. I understand a different version of this tale, not specifically intended for kids, appeared in the "Dragons of Light" fantasy anthology in the 1980s. I have not read that version. I review this version as a kids' book, since that is what it purports to be.

The main character is a little girl, but the story is, at best, inconsistent about presenting things from the little girl's perspective. It could hardly be otherwise, for this little girl has a heart of ice, never smiles or laughs, and cares nothing for her family. She only loves the winter, and the Ice Dragon that is its personification. She seems quite satisfied with her situation, so we view her from without, as adults might, as a bizarre child with a strange abnormality.

At one point, someone acuses the father of being to blame for the child's strange condition. He is cold to the child (he is told) because he blames her killing her mother in childbirth, and this has caused the child's emotional coldness. The father defends himself again this charge: He loves his little ice girl most of all, but she is cold towards him, and so he is merely reacting to her behavior. The real reason for the child's coldness is that she was touched in the womb by the Ice Dragon. And as far as we can tell from the story, the father is 100% correct. This seemingly endorses the idea that the child is responsible for the parent's behavior -- an odd reversal.

But in the course of defending the poor, falsely-accused father, the author puts forth, almost gratuitously, the idea that the child is to blame for her mother's death. He just lets this notion lie there, uncontradicted and unaddressed, for the remainder of the tale. Any idea that this notion could cause guilt and anguish to some child who has lost a mother seems not to have crossed the author's mind. As long as Daddy is held blameless, it seems, everything is fine. Nobody need worry about the Ice Child's feelings, because the Ice Child has none. Pity instead the poor widowed father whose little girl does not love him enough.

Meanwhile, the author draws a totally-inappropriate contrast between the abnormal ice-hearted little girl, and her normal older sister who flirts with all the boys. Uh -- what do you expect, Mr. Martin? She is only five! The hormones don't kick in for a few years yet.

SPOILERS will follow:

Meanwhile, battle looms on the horizon, and as defeated soldiers flee the Enemy we are treated to descriptions of gruesome battle wounds that leave little to the imagination. The old fashioned trick of hinting at horrors, and permitting children to imagine as much as they are prepared to handle, is not one we get from Mr. Martin.

But don't worry. When the enemy reaches the family homestead, and the little girl hears her Daddy scream, her heart will melt. She will sacrifice her beloved Ice Dragon to save Daddy from the foe, and be a normal little girl from then on. Turns out the little Ice Girl loves Daddy after all. So it's a happy ending -- especially for Daddy!

I bought this book for my son who is an avid fan of George R. R. Martin. My son is 42 yrs. old. I had no idea that this was a childrens book. He enjoyed it anyway. He thought it was funny that I had sent it to him. He read the whole book and then shared it with many others. My son is in prison and he always looks forward to and enjoys the books I send him from Amazon.
My only suggestion would be that you might want to advise customers of the age grouping on your books. It really was my fault for not reviewing the book before I purchased it, but it would be nice to have this information up front.
Thank you for your great service.

Sincerely,

Carol Kuykendall

One hundred twelve pages. That is all the length George R.R. Martin needed to weave a tale of a nearly silent protagonist, a tale that had my STRUGGLING not to openly weep in front of my seven year old niece. No one wants to be the uncle who cries reading "children's books."

There's not much I can say about The Ice Dragon without spoiling the story, but I can say that much like GRRM's other books (A Song of Ice and Fire, Fevre Dream, etc.) as well as his short stories, he takes a genre that is well covered already, and makes it better.

This book, assuming that you, reading this review, are more than 12 years old, will only take you an hour to read. If you have a kid in your life that you want to know about truly great fantasy, or if you're looking for a little GRRM fix yourself, grab it.

The story was rushed and written for children. When it was over, I felt like there were holes in the story. Compared to other GRR Martin books, I felt a little cheated on character development but it might be a decent intro to Fantasy reading for a child.

I really enjoyed the mostly-narrative telling of this short story, but would have liked the ending to be a little more developed. It seemed to just suddenly crash to a halt. Adara's change was interesting and I wanted the author to elaborate more on her new outlook after losing the "winter" from her spirit. Overall I like the story, and the serious tone was good and fitting. The description of the refugees from the war and the suffering that was present seemed realistic too. I will still glady read other books by Martin, as he seems a very skilled writer.

It's a kids book. I bought it because I was addicted to the author's "Fire & Ice" series. I liked the illustrations a lot. They were not too detailed but descriptive; they added to the story. The story was about children, but with adult themes; like life, death, love, loss. I gave it to my grand nephew, but I read it first. I liked it.

Very imaginative. Wish it wa longer or a sequel was in the works. George R.R. Martin creates an entirely new world for his readers.