Customer Reviews

Last Battle of the Icemark (Chronicles of Icemark)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Usually, once an author reaches their third or fourth book of a series, their writing dwindles a bit. Not Stuart Hill. This amazing book is set a little bit after where the story last left off in Blade of Fire.
Medea is not dead and is out for revenge while another war is brewing for Thirrin and Oskan Witchfather.
Great characterization from different points of view, the author really fills in all the spaces...all the unanswered questions. The ending, unquestionably, was beyond exceptional. Not some corny cheesy writing where everyone gets a happy ending.

Highly Recommended!

This book had a surprising end. I really liked it just as much as the others. Best series I have read in my life!

The first book in this series was quite good. Second book was alright. This third book was just okay. Really a disappointing end to what started out as a promising series.

The seller sent the book promptly and I had no issues with the transaction. The book completes the trilogy and a must read if you want to know how the story ends.

Fans of the prior 'Icemark Chronicles' will relish Stuart Hill's LAST BATTLE OF THE ICEMARK, an excellent survey of Medea's exile to Darkness and a period of peace for the land of Icemark - until Medea returns anew, allied with an evil partner and determined to exact revenge upon the land. Thirrin must focus her military powers on further threats to her kingdom in this conclusion to the Icemark trilogy, recommended for prior owners of the series.

I loved the first two books in the series, and the third one was just as good. The book moved well due to Hill's changing perspectives, and the ending was amazing. He was able to write so much emotion into the end of the book (I don't want to give away any spoilers) that I was in tears for the characters. I think I enjoyed the vampires' characters the most in this book. It showed the basic vampire traits, but he developed them farther in a compassionate fashion. I would highly recommend this series to everybody; it's one of my favorites!

I was so dissapointed after reading this book. There were plenty of battle scenes with lots of action, but nothing exciting really happened. The characters were flat-the new characters were never fully fleshed out, and the old charaters didn't act "in character" compared to the earlier books. A well-written third book would have fully answered background questions first raised in Book 1- which this book only partially did.

After having read the first two books, it definitely was satisfying to find out what happens to them eventually. The epilogue was a good read, even though the rest of the book was a bitter dissapointment. My suggestion would be to read the first two books in their entirety, then take this one out of the library and just read the epilogue.