Friday, August 1, 2008

Blade of Fire by Stuart Hill


You might think that a book full of warring kingdoms, magic, fierce battle cries, and crippled children being sent away to foreign lands (and coming back at the head of massive armies, of course) would be made of awesome. Allow me to say that you'd be right.

Blade of Fire an impressive follow-up to The Cry of the Icemark. Who would've thought that it could get any better? Blade of Fire takes place 20 years after Thirrin (with a few of her trusty friends) fought off the continent-conquering Polypontian Empire. Needless to say, Scipio Bellorum didn't take that well. He's returned with his two sons (also brilliant generals) and a burning desire for revenge. Add to this, the fact that Bellorum now knows the Icemark's strengths and weaknesses and there are no more allies to be found without crossing the lands under Polypontian control.

Oh, what is a proud barbarian queen to do? Send her youngest child across the sea to make friends with the fearsome desert-dwellers, obviously. But Thirrin and Oskan didn't count on the interference of a mysteriously powerful witch. Would they ever suspect their darling daughter Medea (when I say darling, I mean reclusive, arrogant, and malicious)? Of course not! Hm, wait... Medea... can create raging storms... sounds vaguely familiar... Who, me? ha ha... how absurd *shifty eyes*.... aaanyways...

This newest adventure in the Icemark chronicles was absolutely fantastic. The battles just get more and more exciting as the story progresses and the characters don't disappoint. And did I mention the battle cries? They're really cool... almost makes you want to stand on a chair and yell them... not that I would do that....

Do I even need to say it?

7 out of 7... in case you couldn't figure that out on your own.

From the Shadows,

~Medeia Senka~

2 comments:

Ink Mage said...

When I read the first sentence of your post I thought, "What?! Medeia didn't like Blade of Fire?!" And then I read the second sentence.

Anyway, I agree with your review entirely. This is a series that managed to have a book revolving around the children of the characters in the first book and still hold true to the parents' personalities and be INTERESTING! It surprised me how the battle scenes were also interesting (and as you said, exciting), because sometimes authors just talk about battle strategies and it's over my head.
Ahh! I just looked and found out the third book--The Last Battle of the Icemark--is out already! How could I not have known?

Medeia said...

What?! How do I let these things slip past me?! *races to nearest bookstore*