Fortress of Ice

Coming on this book was like a chance meeting with old friends. It was great to catch up with Cefwyn, Ninevrise, and their relatives, friends, and enemies. I especially love Tristen, and during the considerable portions of the book when he is absent, I missed him as much as Cefwyn does. As the book goes on, it became clear that it was not a mere coda to the tale that has gone before it, but the start of a new cycle concerning Cefwyn's two sons, his heir Aewyn and the illegitimate Elfwyn. Can the two boys preserve the peace and security of the realm through their improbable friendship, or will they inevitably part and become enemies and rivals, opening the way for war, chaos, and evil? As I said, I love Tristen, but I don't think he show more treated Elfwyn very wisely: if the boy is a hollow vessel as everyone fears, why not try to fill him up with some of the guidance he is begging for? I'm once again hooked and captivated, waiting to see what comes next. As always, Cherryh's masterful world-building, sensuous prose, and facility with naming provide great pleasure. show less

16 years have past since the last book, Cefwyn's children - bastard and royal - have grown to nearly manhood. Tristen has surrenedered Amefel to its aethling duke Crissand, and retreated to Yefnel of old as his master Mauryl had done before. He is too aware of the difficulties his presence causes in both this world and the grey Emuin and the entire Terrantine order have "faded", shrines stand empty and they cannot be found.

Sequels to a "finished" series are always tricky, one must either invent a new bad guy of equal or greater magnitude, or find a way that they didn't fully die last time around. This latter approach is the one taken in Fortress of Ice.

Elfwyn was always gong to be a concern, half Aswydd with sorceress's blood and links show more to the old darkness - Tristen adviced Cefwyn to win his friendship too. Emuin saw a hollow in his heart. Not evil. But with a potential for evil there. And so Cefwyn treated him well, warded not only by Cefwyn's good wishes but Gran's and Tristen's. However imprisoned Tarien his mother was, he had the right to visit her, and carried her wishes past the wards until one fateful day when everything started going wrong.

Another gripping tale. Cherryh writes the angst of growing up as a teenager so well. The illogical and passionate decisions and fragile self ego all culminating in a few moments where one has to face the consequences of your actions. Who in the end is to blame for who you are? show less

3.5 or 7/10

Cefwyn's two sons, one illegitimate, take center stage in this installment of the Fortress series. While Tristen, Cefwyn, Paisi, and Uwen make appearances, the story revolves around the two young men as they learn about themselves and each other.

I found Otter/Elfwyn to be a most frustrating character, mostly because he didn't seem to learn from his mistakes until very, very late in the game. He's a puzzle, not only to himself, but to the other characters and to the reader, and Cherryh's hints and clues are hard to follow, at least for this reader.

Three other points were irritating to me as well. First of all, Tristen repeatedly talks about becoming a dragon in [b:Fortress of Dragons|57069|Fortress of Dragons (Fortress, show more #4)|C.J. Cherryh|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316469479s/57069.jpg|2641318], which I don't recall happening. Secondly, in that same book, it's made quite clear that Hasufin Heltain is not the main source of evil or wickedness, but rather a point of entry and action in the world for some greater dark power, but in this book (Fortress of Ice), Hasufin is clearly the main "bad guy" with Orien and Tarien as his minions. And lastly, Tarien did not name her son Elfwyn, that was Tristen's doing. These deviations from the established story were jarring.

My favorite part of the book was Emuin's reentry into the storyline!

But the main reason I didn't rate this book higher is because it ends so unsatisfactorily. [b:Fortress of Dragons|57069|Fortress of Dragons (Fortress, #4)|C.J. Cherryh|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316469479s/57069.jpg|2641318], perhaps because it wrapped up the major story arcs to that point, was more satisfying. The fact that this book is so open-ended tells me there will be more, but the wait may be long, from what I understand. show less

Cherryh winds up the Fortress series with a study of dysfunctional family dynamics. Tristen gets to be with his friends, but we ar left in the dark about his final fate, Cefwyn proves he loves all his kids, and the forces of evil are quelled for another heartbeat in history. It seems formulaic and forced. As a constructor of multiple-use worlds, a major part of long fantasies, I believe Cherryh has failed to give this world much history, and she's not too good on giving minor characters much to work with, or even interesting names. I wonder if she's read "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"? (minor characters need more than one note to live on, I think.)

This fifth and last book in CJ Cherryh's excellent Fortress series takes place about fifteen years after the events in Fortress of Dragons. Without giving away the plot, I will say that this was, as usual, a slow-starting story, which then grabbed me about halfway through, and would not release me until the end. I felt that there were a number of issues not addressed, and have dropped the rating one half a star for a less than satisfactory ending. It was an excellent read, overall. A follow-up book would have been nice, but even without, I still recommend this book, and the series.

Fortress of Ice is a difficult book to pin down--I find myself liking the book, but not liking it enough. (Which no, doesn’t make sense. There are books I love and reread endlessly, there are books I like but only read once. This book falls somewhere between those two categories.) The feeling and tone is entirely different because all the primary characters have become secondary and tertiary, and the next generation is new and very wet behind the ears.

This is primarily a book about family and the relationships between the various characters. It’s about the friendship between Aewyn and Elfwyn, and about Cefwyn trying to be a good father to both his sons. Of course, with a family that is a royal family there are also politics and show more intrigue, so this is also a book about Cefwyn trying to be a king, while also trying to be a father to his illegitimate and politically problematic son.

Read the rest of this article at A Wicked Convergence of Circumstances show less

The first part of this book was slow going at times, and I wondered if it was ever going to pick up. It was interesting enough to keep reading, though. And as the book went on, it did pick up, and was very enjoyable.