Last Battle of the Icemark (Chronicles of Icemark) [Paperback]

Stuart Hill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Chronicles of Icemark | Publication Date: July 7, 2008

With her murderous daughter, Medea, banished to the spirit world, Queen Thirrin's tiny kingdom of Icemark has enjoyed a time of pace. But her consort, Oskan Witchfather, fears for their nation - and rightly so. Medea is out for revenge. Allied with the King of the Darkness and his terrifying Ice Demons, the power of evil grow stronger day by day. The dark is rising and the Icemark and its allies must stop it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Icemark Chronicles

"A wild, exuberant read...mesmerizing." — USA Today

"Epic." — Booklist

"Marvelous and multi-specied." — Kirkus Reviews

"Unforgettable scenes and characters." — Cornelia Funke

"Gallops right along!" — Tamora Pierce

"Supremely satisfying...a page-turner." — Philip Ardagh --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Stuart Hill

The Cry of the Icemark, Stuart Hill’s first novel is not only a remarkable debut but also a personal tribute. When he was a teenager, Stuart lost “the real Thirrin,” his red-haired sister Kathleen, to leukemia. The story of the brave young warrior-queen who faces impossible dangers is dedicated to her. The Cry of the Icemark won the Ottakars Prize for the best new children’s novel, an award given by one of Britain’s leading book chains. Fox 2000 Pictures will turn the story into a major motion picture and foreign rights have been sold to over 14 countries.

Among his influences Stuart counts H. Rider Haggard, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Margaret Abbey—his former grade school teacher and a writer of historical novels. Before beginning The Cry of the Icemark, he asked himself what had grabbed his interest as a young reader. The answer? Heroes, magic, monsters, and talking beasts. From noble Snow Leopards to ancient Vampire royalty to ferocious Wolf-folk, the characters in Icemark are sure to spark the imagination of children everywhere, and Stuart is already at work on the sequel to Thirrin’s epic tale.

Stuart was born in Leicester, in the East Midlands of England, where he still lives today. His family background includes English, Irish, Romany, and Jewish blood. Although, as a student, his grades were average at best, Stuart was fortunate to have a teacher who inspired in him a lifelong love of reading. Since leaving school, he has worked as a teacher and archaeologist, and now balances life as both a bookseller and an author.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 517 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House (July 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905294700
• ISBN-13: 978-1905294701
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars After two books, this one disappoints., April 16, 2009

By 

Lianne McLaughlin "love2read" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Battle of the Icemark (Chronicles of Icemark) (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Meh., September 4, 2011

By 

SAlaska "S" (Anchorage, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Icemark Chronicles #3: Last Battle of the Icemark (Paperback)

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.

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

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.