Rating: 
Summary: The Stage Is Set
Review: A Fortress of Grey Ice is the second novel in the Sword of Shadows series, following A Cavern of Black Ice. In the previous volume, Raif and Asarhia are captured by Bludd warriors. The Dog Lord sends Ash back to her foster father, but Raif is thrown into a cell. On the way back to Spire Vanis, her escorts decide to rape Ash, but she panics and uses some of her power to kill her attackers. Raif is freed from captivity by his brother Drey and a band of Hailsmen. Later he rejoins Ash and they continue their journey northward, but cold, storm and wolves catch them and Ash collapses. Raif is standing over a dead wolf when two Sull, Mal Naysayer and Ark Veinsplitter, find them and then help them reach the Cavern, where Ash finally discharges her power into the black ice. Unfortunately, her prior use of the power has created a hairline crack in the Blindwall.In this novel, Raif and Ash have been taken to the land of the Ice Trappers. There they are parted, with Ash continuing on with the Sull. The Listener of the Ice Trappers treats Raif as a guest and gifts him with an arrow named Divining Rod and the sword of a Forsworn knight. Although not certain of his proper course, Raif finally decides to head for the Rift and the territory of the Maimed Men. Meanwhile, a very large man escapes from a diamond mine and travels north, following a call from his master and gaining a small dog as a companion. The Dog Lord frees Angus Lok from his cell, but fails to listen to his warnings. Marafice One Eye gathers an army and the surlord of Spire Vanis decides where to use it. Mace Blackhail conspires against the clan he leads and surrounds himself with Scarpemen. Robbie Dhoone sets out to become a King. Raif learns a song and finds in it a prophecy about himself. Ash begins the transformation into a Sull. The Unmade are walking the land and the Taken are beginning to stir. This novel is an exciting read, but probably is a little too long. As with Jordan's Wheel of Time series, this reader was sometimes overwhelmed by the numerous plotlines and lost track of the action. Maybe it would have been an even better read if it was somewhat shorter. Highly recommended for Jones fans and anyone else who enjoys epic fantasy with great characterization.
Rating: 
Summary: Long wait plus the cover art needs some help
Review: Actually I bought the book from Amazon's UK store because the UK version has a much nicer cover (one that doesn't have a girl wearing nothing but a leotard in the middle of winter). Not to mention that Tor took a ridiculously long time to publish the book considering that the British version was out a year and a half ago. (there's no difference in the language used between the two versions, just the cover art.) I do hope that Tor gets its act together real soon because the third book is already listed for pre-order on the UK site. Orbit (the British publisher which is partnered with Tor) has it scheduled to be released in April 2004. Now that I'm done ranting at the publishers, on to the content itself! I believe that the story itself is actually better than the story in Cavern of Black Ice. It flows more easily and brings the reader into the story more. The descriptions are awesome and so very vivid. Ms. Jones has done a wonderful job with this series (improving, IMHO, since the Book of Words trilogy). The characters are very well created yet again. The storylines were all so intriguing that I finished the book in less than 24 hours. Again, I hope the next book is out for sale in the States soon because I really don't want to pay over $20 for the British version again. (though the cover on that one is awesome as well!) A great book and a good read for any scifi/fantasy fan!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent second book
Review: After reading Jone's first book I couldn't wait for the second to come out, and I wasn't dissapointed. Jones retains all the mystery and sensetivity in her characters that she showed us in her first book. Even with several characters her story flows together well.
Jones spins the story of the clans going to war and now Raif is abandoned by Ash and travels in search of acceptance from a people he has been cast out by. Ash is being led to the Sull's mysterious land and has been invited to become Sull. Between these two characters alone I was so enthralled that I wouldn't put the book down until I had finished it.
Her book is at a perfect pace, not too slow or too fast, but a pace that lets you think about whats going on and at the same time throwing in some interesting action scenes.
Along with all of her other characters, Jones has definetly written a winner that is on par or even better than her first in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent second book
Review: After reading Jone's first book I couldn't wait for the second to come out, and I wasn't dissapointed. Jones retains all the mystery and sensetivity in her characters that she showed us in her first book. Even with several characters her story flows together well.
Jones spins the story of the clans going to war and now Raif is abandoned by Ash and travels in search of acceptance from a people he has been cast out by. Ash is being led to the Sull's mysterious land and has been invited to become Sull. Between these two characters alone I was so enthralled that I wouldn't put the book down until I had finished it.
Her book is at a perfect pace, not too slow or too fast, but a pace that lets you think about whats going on and at the same time throwing in some interesting action scenes.
Along with all of her other characters, Jones has definetly written a winner that is on par or even better than her first in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Great book - please don't make us wait again
Review: Amazing book for someone who waited so long in between. Please don't make us wait so long the next time.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for the next installment!
Review: An absolutely satisfying sequel to A Cavern of Black Ice! For those that can't wait another full year for the next installment (A Sword from Red Ice) you can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk and get it 6 months ahead (approx. Feb '04) of stateside release.
Rating:
Summary: Jack, Tawl and Now Raif
Review: As a huge fan of J.V. Jones I hate to say that this book was a little disappointing. I have loved and read several times The Book Of Words series and A Cavern of Black Ice. Jones really gets you into her world and involved with her characters. However, the plot line of Raif and his quest was a bit anticlimactic. Also, the development of the bond that Ash and Raif have in ACOBI seemed like it was abrubtly dismissed. Other than that its a good book with the J.V. Jones style that I have loved over the years. I'm still a huge fan and I do recommend this book and her others.
Rating:
Summary: improves on and deepens the first book
Review: As one might expect from the obvious length, there's a lot going on in Jones' second work of this series. The book is constantly shifting between locals and characters, offering many storylines, each of them interesting and tension-filled in their own right. Jones has a nice touch for when to turn away and when to return, seemingly having no trouble juggling the multiple plots, which in turn means the reader also has no problem. The important characters are too many to name (another testament to Jones' juggling ability), but again we spend a lot of time with Raif the clan outcast and the various members of his family--brother, sister, widowed mother, uncle; Ash March--the girl "Reach" whose ability is a danger to herself and the entire world; and the Dog Lord who is having some buyer's remorse about the means employed and the end result of his attempt to become king of the clans. Whereas in the first book Ash and Raif come together, in this one they are separated and become two wholly independent storylines, giving Jones the opportunity to broaden and deepen our understanding of the world. Through their two stories we spend a lot of time with the Maimed Men (a semi-clan formed of outcasts) and the Sull, an older race than man whose history is given in more detail than in the first, giving the reader a sense of the larger battle between good and evil that is raging above, beyond, and through, the more petty human wars. New side characters are introduced and as is typical of Jones, given full flesh so that they stand as characters in their own right as opposed to plot movers. Raif's time with the Maimed Men and Ash's journey to the heartland of the Sull are both well-plotted and paced and filled with tension. Meanwhile, the clan wars grow as I've said in complexity as motivations become cloudy, unintended results become clear, new characters enter the stage, new alliances form, even between former enemies. Through it all stand the Dog Lord, one of Jones' best characters and most human and even at times most humane (even as he orders the deaths of many) and Raina, Raif's mother who sacrifices her own happiness to do what's best for her clan, though she struggles throughout the book with just what that means. Then there are the storylines involving Raif's younger sister, terrorized by Mace Blackhail and accused of witchcraft; the sorceror's former servant who escapes the mines and treks across the land to try and rescue his lord from below the Splinter, the various machinations of those who would be rulers--the surlord Iss, his general One-Eye, his sorcerous accomplice. What most impresses is not simply the complexity of the plot or the manner in which Jones manages to make that complexity readable, but also the complexity of the characters and their decisions. while grey is the color of the ice in the title, it could also stand for many of the situations the characters find themselves in. There is little clear-cut in this work. Characters are seldom if ever given an easy--there is rarely a choice between good and bad but rather between bad and less bad. Our characters can't avoid killing and Jones doesn't give them or the reader an out by making everyone they kill evil. Characters are torn, they are unsure, and even their best intentions sometimes rebound on them in horrible ways. And here comes the bad part. She does such a good job of creating, maintaining, and raising the tension, such a good job of creating complex situations and complex characters, that several of the endings to the storylines feel anti-climatic in the way in which they happen so abruptly. Resolved or unresolved, they come to a close in a rushed fashion, robbing the book at the very end of much of its power. But, if the biggest complaint is a few dozen pages out of several hundred, I can live with that. This book, rather than be a placeholder for the trilogy, moves the story in interesting, exciting, and unexpected ways and I look forward to the next book, hoping that its ending keeps the promise of its middle.
Rating:
Summary: improves on and deepens the first book
Review: As one might expect from the obvious length, there's a lot going on in Jones' second work of this series. The book is constantly shifting between locals and characters, offering many storylines, each of them interesting and tension-filled in their own right. Jones has a nice touch for when to turn away and when to return, seemingly having no trouble juggling the multiple plots, which in turn means the reader also has no problem. The important characters are too many to name (another testament to Jones' juggling ability), but again we spend a lot of time with Raif the clan outcast and the various members of his family--brother, sister, widowed mother, uncle; Ash March--the girl "Reach" whose ability is a danger to herself and the entire world; and the Dog Lord who is having some buyer's remorse about the means employed and the end result of his attempt to become king of the clans. Whereas in the first book Ash and Raif come together, in this one they are separated and become two wholly independent storylines, giving Jones the opportunity to broaden and deepen our understanding of the world. Through their two stories we spend a lot of time with the Maimed Men (a semi-clan formed of outcasts) and the Sull, an older race than man whose history is given in more detail than in the first, giving the reader a sense of the larger battle between good and evil that is raging above, beyond, and through, the more petty human wars. New side characters are introduced and as is typical of Jones, given full flesh so that they stand as characters in their own right as opposed to plot movers. Raif's time with the Maimed Men and Ash's journey to the heartland of the Sull are both well-plotted and paced and filled with tension. Meanwhile, the clan wars grow as I've said in complexity as motivations become cloudy, unintended results become clear, new characters enter the stage, new alliances form, even between former enemies. Through it all stand the Dog Lord, one of Jones' best characters and most human and even at times most humane (even as he orders the deaths of many) and Raina, Raif's mother who sacrifices her own happiness to do what's best for her clan, though she struggles throughout the book with just what that means. Then there are the storylines involving Raif's younger sister, terrorized by Mace Blackhail and accused of witchcraft; the sorceror's former servant who escapes the mines and treks across the land to try and rescue his lord from below the Splinter, the various machinations of those who would be rulers--the surlord Iss, his general One-Eye, his sorcerous accomplice. What most impresses is not simply the complexity of the plot or the manner in which Jones manages to make that complexity readable, but also the complexity of the characters and their decisions. while grey is the color of the ice in the title, it could also stand for many of the situations the characters find themselves in. There is little clear-cut in this work. Characters are seldom if ever given an easy--there is rarely a choice between good and bad but rather between bad and less bad. Our characters can't avoid killing and Jones doesn't give them or the reader an out by making everyone they kill evil. Characters are torn, they are unsure, and even their best intentions sometimes rebound on them in horrible ways. And here comes the bad part. She does such a good job of creating, maintaining, and raising the tension, such a good job of creating complex situations and complex characters, that several of the endings to the storylines feel anti-climatic in the way in which they happen so abruptly. Resolved or unresolved, they come to a close in a rushed fashion, robbing the book at the very end of much of its power. But, if the biggest complaint is a few dozen pages out of several hundred, I can live with that. This book, rather than be a placeholder for the trilogy, moves the story in interesting, exciting, and unexpected ways and I look forward to the next book, hoping that its ending keeps the promise of its middle.
Rating: 
Summary: tendrils and no knots
Review: Basically, nothing happens in this book. I'm thinking somebody is attending the Robert Jordan school of "How to milk a story" and publish many books in a series without really going anywhere. The cover illustration of this edition is a total lie by the way. Raif and Ash go their separate ways early in the book and never encounter such a beast, and certainly not together. Not even in their dreams. Jones does create some interesting characters and I did enjoy reading about some of them. Hey, I'm giving it 3 stars! My favorites are Effie, Angus and Crope. Wondering what became of Angus' family after the fire? Don't. Maybe in the seventh book. I would suggest stopping it all now. Stop buying any books from this series. If you read "Cavern of Black Ice," stop now. That was a great read. This follow-up resolves nothing and just makes you need to buy book 3 and beyond. Stop. Do not buy.
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