3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
After two books, this one disappoints., April 16, 2009
I loved the first two books in this series, but this one disappoints. The big themes are the same--good vs. evil, rationality vs. spirituality, homogeneity vs. diversity, but there are no new characters of any note and not much development of the returning ones. Cronus is so one note, he is incomprehensible and uninteresting. Imp-Pious has potential until he disappears completely from the story. When he finally returns, his newly acquired humanity is never adequately explained and therefore unbelievable.
Other elements of the previous books are here. Hill continues to use humor as a counterpoint to relentless war and to tell the story from shifting points of view. Oskan slowly accepts the Christ-like self-sacrifice he will have to make, Cressida finds love, and the Vampire Queen gets a surprise in the end. Too bad there weren't more entertaining surprises.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Meh., September 4, 2011
I loved Cry of the Icemark, the first book in the Icemark Chronicles. It was riveting. I read it in about three sittings.
This one? Meh. Nothing remarkable. The characters seem tired out from the first two novels. And Medea is just sort of a spoiled brat having a tantrum. You never get the idea that the Icemark will ultimately fall to her. She's just waiting for a spanking.
I'm glad I read this to know what happens to the Icemark characters, but I'd give it a miss if you're pressed for time with a long reading list of other books.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story, Strong Writing, Bittersweet End to Series, August 13, 2009
This review is from: The Icemark Chronicles #3: Last Battle of the Icemark (Hardcover)
The Cry of the Icemark is one of my favorite fantasy books for several reason. It's sequel, Blade of Fire, kind of fell beneath my expectations, but the finale, Last Battle of the Icemark, is all around lovely.
Ok, so it's not perfect. Some characterization seemed nonexistent, but what can you really do with someone completely bent on evil? There's one grammatical mistake, if you care about that sort of thing. You could sit here all day nit-picking it: it's got too much this or that, but that won't change the basic fact that it is a good book, a great one even. It manages to take the basic good vs. evil fight, that so easily could be ho-hum, and turns out a wonderful story.
Perhaps the title is a little misleading, for the scrappy little country comes out more or less intact. Still, I'd vote with this well and truly being the end, so that it doesn't risk becoming just another money grubbing fantasy fad.
The story has some predictable elements, but the ultimate showdown in the end doesn't disappoint. Queen Thirrin must invade the Empire to the south to save her people from the newest threat. Yet the biggest battles will be fought on a different plane of existence.
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