The Cry of the Icemark

This was one of my favorite books as a child, though this is the first time I've read it since I think I was sixteen (when I tried and failed to finish the trilogy).

Still, there's nothing like talking giant snow leopards to bring you back to childhood.

Rereading this book makes me realize there are things I used to appreciate in literature which I don't necessarily anymore, and things that I didn't used to appreciate that I do now. For instance, when I was younger, I glossed over the battle scenes in this book because they weren't what I was here for. This time, I read them closely, wanting to know how these battles were won. That was the story, how this country won this impossible war.

But, something I'm sure I enjoyed when I was show more younger, was the scene where Oskan must "choose" whether to be good or evil, and respect that choice forevermore. It was extraneous and tonally out-of-place, and the scene came from nowhere and contributed to nothing (as far as this book goes. I think the scene was supposed to foreshadow things in book 3, but again, I never finished book 3 so idk). It made me think of how children and adults view the world differently--for a child, a scene wherein a child must make a choice about his character that will then inform his character forevermore seems completely legitimate. As an adult, I viewed this scene with extreme skepticism. Oftentimes, the material that makes up out characters is a series of choices that we make continually, and very few choices can have lasting affects on our characters. show less

Most YA fictions tend to focus solely on the romance and supernatural. Not Stuart Hill's 'Icemark'. In fact almost everything about this richly penned and plotted novel is unconventional, from talking snow lepeords to friendly werewolves. And to my joy, vampires are actually evil creatures for a change.
The dialogue was hilarious at times and the themes entertaining as well as moving.

The story is about a young princess, thrust into the role of queen of her country by the sudden death of her father who is killed in battle with a ruthless enemy bent on conquering "the Icemark." Most of the book is devoted to the young heroine's attempts to forge an alliance to defend her country and to the battle which is the critical conclusion of the story.

Fantasy, in order to be satisfying, needs to offer the reader a world created by the author; a world strange and new enough to keep the reader's interest and provide an adequate background to the action. This creation should have a certain integrity. That is to say, the parts should fit together in some way that makes them logical and reasonable--regardless of how much a flight show more of fancy is involved. "Icemark" does not create a world so much as it borrows elements, often jarringly dissonant elements, from the mythos of other times and other lands and sort of boils them all together in a stew. Renaming a catapult a "rockapult" doesn't involve creation. It's just silly. Injecting a "Fat Old Elf" into the Yule festivities of a (sort of) Norse community is jarring. I was never able to lose myself in this book and I found the heroine to be entirely dislikeable. She comes across as petulant, rude, often stupid and insensitive. The personality that the author has created would simply not be capable of ruling or succeeding in the way he has his heroine succeed. In addition to all this, the slipping and sliding of point of view--two or three characters to a page--was distracting. Still, Hill gets it right from time to time. His descriptions of scenery are often very good, the voice of Maggiore was the strongest POV in the book (pity it wasn't used consistently) and the character of the boy Oskan actually rounded out a bit as the book progressed.
Lastly, Hill could benefit from a good proof reader. Some of the grammatical errors in the book made me wince. I realize this book was nominally written for the younger reader but it doesn't respect the intelligence of a reasonably bright 13-year old, who would be the most likely reader. show less

It's very exciting, that's for sure. The story of a young warrior-queen who has to grow up very quickly and defend her kingdom from the biggest threat in the known world is incredibly exciting and kept me fascinated the entire time. Also, I'm learning a lot about battle tactics and diplomacy that I'd never find out from a history book. It's not the best written book in the world, but it is poigantly moving and uses the sometimes clumsy phrasings to good effect.

Thirrin is a young (14 year old) warrior Princess who will lead her people after her father dies. She has grown up educated in the art of war despite her young age and it is all she lives for. She lives in Icemark which is a small kingdom in the North which has harsh winters. A mighty Southern empire (Polypontian empire based on the Romans) threatens the safety of the country and it is up to Thirrin to save her people. She has the help of Oskan, a powerful male witch who could go dark.

She discovers allies in unusual places. First there are the wolf people when she takes a chance and spares the life of one who turns out to be their ruler. The wolf people then lead her to the vampires in the Land of the Ghosts and to the giant snow show more leopard’s in the far north. The problem is will her allies reach her before her enemy defeats them and will they keep to their promises.

This was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to the second book in the series. I really warmed to the characters and especially loved the spoiled cat Primplepuss. Likewise I really liked the snow leopards and the differences in their impulses and the way they reacted to situations. show less

Excellent beginning to yet another young adult novel set in vaguely med/renn times. Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, Wildcat of the North, is heir to the throne of the Icemark and a skilled warrior, though only 13 at the start of the tale. She has a lot of responsibility laid in her lap very early on and must succeed or her homeland will be doomed to fall to the great Polypontian Empire. Great pacing, interesting story, looking forward to #2!

Another one of my re-reads, and another excellent book. It's more less a military fantasy adventure with lots of different interesting cultures. First we have the people of the Icemark. The majority of these people are like the old-fashioned Vikings and a small part of them are the Hypollitan's which appear to be like the Amazons. We also find Witches, Warlock's and the spring and winter king's of the forrests. Then we meet the Werewolf clans who can speak the human language. In the Ghostlands we meet Vampire's, Ghost's, Ghouls, Trolls and other interesting creatures. Far in the north we have the intelligent, gentle and fierce huge leopard warriors. Then there are the bad guys who appear to be modelled after the Roman Empire - called show more the Polipontans.

The story starts off with the Polipontans a nasty Empire who invades the Icemark. During the first battle dies the King of the Icemark and leaves his, 14 year old, daughter Thirrin as Queen. She and her, 15 year old, friend Oskan a warlock, go on a quest to recruit all the allies they can find to defeat this massive armie. Although, both are very young they have to mature very quick in order to defend their country and all they love. Again, a beautifully written book, which was very engaging. show less