Amazon.com: A Sword from Red Ice (Sword of Shadows, Book 3): J. V. Jones: Books

Review

“Fabulous . . . a trilogy which is sure to take readers everywhere by storm.” --SFX on the Sword of Shadows series

“Her tale is unique and intriguing, and its atmosphere unwaveringly compelling.” --Publishers Weekly on A Fortress of Grey Ice

"Peopled with great characters . . . guaranteed to send chills through the bones." --Dallas Morning News on A Cavern of Black Ice

"J.V. Jones strings out the suspense right up until the very last word." --Des Moines Sunday Register on A Cavern of Black Ice

"Tough, incisive, character-driven fantasy." --Locus on A Cavern of Black Ice

"Jones's skillful storytelling creates an atmosphere of rising tension and dark foreboding...A solid choice for fantasy collections." --Library Journal on A Cavern of Black Ice

"Imaginative and vivid." --Kirkus on A Cavern of Black Ice

Product Description
his epic fantasy of enormous scope, set on a world peopled by fascinating, compelling characters who readers will take to their hearts, is a sharply observed saga of a cold, splintered world on the brink. A thousand years ago, war shook the land and decimated the Sull, a legendary ancient people. In the two previous Sword of Shadows novels, bestselling author J. V. Jones gave readers the powerful stories of Raif Sevrance and Ash March, a man and woman whose destinies place them in terrible jeopardy as they try to find themselves and save their world. Across the land, clans vie for dominance. Dangerous, arrogant clan chiefs urge their followers to frenzied battles, killing each other and plotting to defeat their rivals in spite of those among them who seek unity. But for all the vicious contention among the clans, a darker threat comes from a city with a black heart of evil, whose rulers have long sought to control the clanholds. As Ash pursues her destiny with the Sull and Raif seeks a place where he belongs, the story of their world is spun in a tale at once violent, poignant, and filled with suspense and excitement for any who love epic fantasy on a grand scale.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 624 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (October 16, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765306344
ISBN-13: 978-0765306340
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,419 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#10 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > Jones, J.V.

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This is item 3 in The Sword of Shadows Series.

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
robber chief, first oath, burning river, floating bridge, powdered guidestone, voided steel, sworn clansmen, wolfskin tent, sworn clansman, clan guide, chewing curd, lamb brothers, clan maids, birch way, raven lore, head dairyman, clan matron, fostered son, watered steel, red ice, sickle knife, tent circle, night warden, gear belt, head widow

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Stannig Beade, Traggis Mole, Dog Lord, Lan Fallstar, Spire Vanis, Cluff Drybannock, Maimed Men, Addie Gunn, Anwyn Bird, Guy Morloch, Thomas Argola, Crab Gate, Raif Sevrance, Twelve Kill, Marafice Eye, Raina Blackhail, Vaylo Bludd, Jon Burden, Robbie Dun Dhoone, Angus Lok, Wrayan Castlemilk, Bram Cormac, Mace Blackhail, Stone Gods, Effie Sevrance

Citations (learn more)

1 book cites this book:

A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows, Book 2) by J. V. Jones in Back Matter

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	86% buy the item featured on this page: A Sword from Red Ice (Sword of Shadows, Book 3) 3.8 out of 5 stars (25) $18.45
	4% buy The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1) 4.5 out of 5 stars (544) $10.88
	4% buy A Fortress of Grey Ice: Book Two of Sword of Shadows 4.3 out of 5 stars (28) $7.99
	4% buy A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows) 4.3 out of 5 stars (116) $7.99

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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good book but some people may be disappointed, May 7, 2008

By	JC (Big Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Great world building with many interesting characters and social/political systems in play. Good sensory detail and dialogue. There are more interesting people and story lines running here than in most books. But this books shares the weakness of the later Robert Jordan books: very little happens. It should not take this long for Raif to find the sword, or for Raina to decide to act, or for the dog lord to travel to safety, or for Ash to......by the way, exactly what is she doing except travelling around wondering what it means to be a Reach.

Here is what I would say to people considering buying the book. If you like Jordan and George R. R. Martin, then you are in the right territory here. If that sense of things not really happening bothered you in Jordan's recent books, it will bother you here too. If you are just happy to be inside the world she creates and watch the characters interact and speak and hint at possible futures in which they really will do something except wander around trying to figure out what they should be doing then you will be happy.

Yes, I am hooked enough to buy the next one. I do want to see what Raina will do, where Effie ends up, how Raif will face his future, what Ash's role will be etc.... But I did have that feeling that the book went deadly slowly for 600 pages hinting at significances but never clarifying things, and then suddenly had something big happen to each character so that there seems a promise of action in the next volume.

Let's hope her editor pokes her along a little bit and she gets down to it. I beg the Stone Gods of Blackhail not to let this become a ten volume dragging series like Jordan's work.

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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a conclusion, just the middle of it., October 25, 2007

By	Chutzpuh (Tucson, Az United States) - See all my reviews

Well, here it is. After about 2 years of waiting, the next book of the series is finally released. I have to say I am both overjoyed and depressed that this isn't the end of the series as I originally thought. It turns out this book is actually number 3 of 5. So, it looks like I'll be waiting about 4 years for the rest of this series.

I loved the first two installments of this series. The character development, the action, the history and those little bits of detail really drew me right into the story. While I would have no trouble giving the first two books 5 stars, I can't seem to do it with this book.

It was well written, just like the other two, but it lacked the depth I was hoping for. Of the seven or so storylines contained in this installment, there are really only 2 or three which are of any interest. For a 600 page book that comes to about 160 pages of good stuff.

Most of the storylines accomplish nothing. One character spends the entire book floating in a boat. That is it, no real development, no interesting twists, just floating on a boat for about 100 total pages. Another character spends their portion of the book wandering around a forest, while it picked up for the last 2 pages it was really just a very vivid description of what it was like to wander around in a snow covered forest for a long time.

Raif's story is really the only saving grace of this book since his story is the only one which goes somewhere. If the author just wrote Raif's side of the story, you would likely not miss a thing. While his trials, torments and victories are nothing in comparison the the previous installments, his journey still makes it worthwhile.

Since you shouldn't expect the next book for another 2 years, I wouldn't race to pick this up. If you are a major J.V. Jones fan (as I am) you likely own the thing already, in which case I hope you enjoy it. For everyone else out there, pick it up when it is convenient for you and enjoy.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Novel or encyclopedia?, May 13, 2008

By	David Dooley (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

J.V. Jones is a marvelous world builder, and fans of George R. R. Martin and Robert Jordan shouldn't hesitate to explore her world. All three writers share a common theme: human beings fight among themselves when they need to be preparing for an apocalyptic battle with powerful non-human foes. The three series also share another characteristic: they are unfinished. Jones' Sword of Honor was originally believed to be a trilogy, and now is said to be at least five books. A Sword from Red Ice is eerily like Martin's A Feast for Crows in that a remarkably talented author simply loses control of the ongoing momentum of the series. The previous entries by Jones and Martin threatened to spin out of control; A Sword from Red Ice and A Feast for Crows actually do. Whereas Martin and Jordan keep introducing new subplots and new characters instead of developing the marvelous characters and resolving the situations that drew us into their work, Jones gives us page after page of lovingly detailed geology, botany, and anthropology. Her world comes to life; her story, unfortunately, does not.

A further drawback is that the copious plot threads are all so similar. Raif wanders through the Want. Ash wanders toward the Sull homeland. Vaylo Bludd wanders somewhere away from his enemies. Effie and her captors travel along a river. (The Raina and Bram subplots are the only exception, and we don't really get the drift of the Bram subplot until near the end of the book). The marvelously drawn main characters don't interact with each other in this long novel, except for Vaylo Bludd's brief encounter with Bram. The Effie subplot is extended and unresolved in the manner of late Jordan, just as the kidnapping of Faile dragged on through three or four of Jordan's books.

Raina Blackhail's story could be a stand-alone novel; so could Bram's coming of age. The main plot (Raif, Ash, the Endlords) is somewhat familiar but well handled; the world of the clanholds (a splendid combination of Native American and Scottish elements) is completely original. The whole conception of the lamb brothers in the new book, for instance, is deeply moving. Jones' fascination with the life of the clanholds has in effect taken over from the story of Ash and her unfortunate powers. The novel has turned into a kind of encyclopedia.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The high quality of this fantasy/adventure continues in book 3
J.V.Jones continues with her impressive story in this, the third book, of the 'Sword of Shadows' series. Read more

Published 1 month ago by R. Nicholson

4.0 out of 5 stars Sword from Red Ice- Al from Hawaoo
The book arrived on time and was in good condition. The Sword of Shadows is a very interesting series of intertwined stories. Read more

Published 4 months ago by W. Schaake

2.0 out of 5 stars Great First Volume but Gets Worse for Every New Volume Out
I've read the three books from this series and found the third volume tedious to the point that I decided not to read it halfway and not acquire any of the succeeding books. Read more

Published 4 months ago by J. Villanueva

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book of the Series
I thought this was the best book of the series so far. I rated the first two books at four stars but this latest chapter was a five star book for me. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Heather Myst

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book not great
The third installment of the series expands a little bit more into the world of the 'Sword of Shadows' but does not resolve anything.

I am guessing the Ms. Read more

Published 5 months ago by F. Abedini

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought this was the end of a trilogy, not the middle of a quintet.
J. V. Jones writes very slowly and doesn't update her website (or didn't while she was writing this) and so I expected this to be the ending of a trilogy. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Sorcery Incarnate

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE JV Jones!
I have read every single book JV Jones has written. She is my favorite author. The characters in her books are so well written you would think you know them personally. Read more

Published 13 months ago by B. J. Sherrick

3.0 out of 5 stars Character-driven dark fantasy
I have mixed feelings about this book.

There are a lot of positives here. "A Sword from Red Ice" is the third entry in J.V. Jones's Sword of Shadows series. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Alan Bester

4.0 out of 5 stars Great character-driven epic
Don't pre-judge this series by what you thought about The Baker's Boy. This is a wonderful evolution of Jones' writing, and the series gains strength, depth and momentum as it... Read more

Published 15 months ago by J. Sturdahl

3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay
The books are long and laborious. They are not a bad read, but too much of nothing happens in these books. Read more

Published 16 months ago by A. Onibokun

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	Book is now available in US - even if Amazon doesn't know about it	3	October 2007
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