Rating: 
Summary: Mediocore at best...
Review: Well... let's start at why i even voted
WARNING
BEFORE YOU READ THIS
TAKE HEED!
IF YOU ARE INTO FORMULATIC GENRE WRITING THIS IS YOUR TYPE OF TEXT
BUT BE WARNED...IT TRIES THE PATIENCE OF MANY READERS AT ITS SLOW TO DEVELOP AND THE RESOLUTION IS SOO QUICK IT LEAVES YOU CHECKING THE BOOK FOR ANY SIGNS OF MUTULATIONS ...ANY SIGNS THAT SOMEONE, THE LIBARIAN PERHAPES...ANYONE! COULD TEAR OUT THE LAST 10 OR SO PAGES...I've checked...No one did
The begining was quite catching, Jones' introduction to the tantalising and very unique world of ...[well..ive quite forgoten... a sign that this was NOT a FaBuLoUs prize] hmm. Let's just say where the introduction capitvated me instantly with not only its setting but intriguing characters of ASH, RAIF and etc... and left me racing through the book, desperate to find out more...but by the end I still raced through the book...only now desperately in determination to FINISH the damned book. WHAT A RELIEF! However the BIGGEST flaw in Jones' novel is the inconsistancy of the events, and by that i mean 10 chapters or so on the quest and like a compacted 5 pages on the resolution. IF you're been sitting on your arse for 7 hrs reading this book only to be cheated out of that long anticipated wait with 5 pages of what a child's conclusion...well you'd be pretty damed pissed.
ie METOOO LONG on non significant things
which left VERY VERY rushed resolutions and most importantly...
it was SOOO boring towards the end...
i was praying ...
for..
the end!
Rating: 
Summary: J.V. Jones shows promise for a phenomenal series
Review: Having read a LOT of fantasy in the last few years (it's a great distraction when you're supposed to be reading dry college textbooks), I was thoroughly entranced by Cavern. I really couldn't put it down, and I was sorely disappointed when the story ended... because I wanted MORE!!! A young man, Raif, is effectively driven out of his home by a wolfish man whom Raif suspects murdered both Raif's father and the clan lord. A girl, Ash, is flowering into womanhood under the disturbingly close eye of her foster-father. When fate brings them together, they discover a chilling secret that threatens to bring about the undoing of mankind. The story is dark, with little room for laughter or comic relief. The gore is positively shocking; Jones has a real gift for the macabre. I was (perhaps) just a bit disappointed by the villians, who were typically villianish. The reader won't have any problems determing who are the real antagonists in this story. Overall, however, the writing was very well developed. I can't wait for the next book to come out.
Rating: 
Summary: Plain bad
Review: im in the middle of reading this book now, and all i can say is that its bad. i will say shes done a good job with creating a bad guy you love to hate. Mace Blackhail is one of my most hated bad guys in the genre. i really want to see him get his. and the story shes set up isnt bad. itll keep me going, but then i am very stubborn. i need to know what happens. but i know finishing this book and the rest of the series is going to be grueling. her writing is horrible. there are so many cliches it makes me sick. and most of everything else is pointless literature. here and there, she adds in little statements on scenery and background and junk that does not matter AT ALL. ive found myself saying over and over, page after page, "what did she write that for?! what does it even matter?! whats the point of that?! whats that supposed to convey?!" there are many many many parts that are unnecessary. no wonder its 900+ pages. if you are out for just another fantasy, no high hopes, then get this. but if you want some fantasy with great truely talented writing, pass this one up. Please. i hate relying on reviews, because so many people dont have a real feel for good work. but i know my fantasy, so listen to me.
Rating:
Summary: A Story Well Told
Review: I remember when I first got this book. I had really enjoyed reading the Master and Fool trilogy, particulary because its dark tone and often quite twisted characters made the world seem as real to me as anything I had read since The Lord of The Rings. Its one weakness, I felt, was that the conclusion was not entirely satisfactory.
In A Cavern of Black Ice, Jones builds off her earlier work, creating a dark and utterly believable world. Here, magic takes a back seat to brute force as clans and cities struggle for control of a dangerous artic land. Jones shifts between her different characters with amazing skill, showing different sides to each conflict. There is no black-and-white good versus evil here, atleast not on the surface.
It is true that, while humans struggle for dominance over eachother, only the Sull seem to see the true danger, as truely evil beings struggle to be freed from their prison. Yet Jones does not create any true "good" to withstand this evil, as central characters kill and torture those in their way, each for their own reasons. The hero here, by his owns actions, is more traitor than saint, but yet he is a very strong character who the reader can sympathize with. Jones is brilliant at using this moral gray zone to bring out the humanity in each character, and tieing them all together. This book, along with it's sequel, stand out as great pieces of literature, period. I can only hope that the conclusion to this saga matches the first two in quality. For those of you waiting for the third and final volume, it's coming out in April at uk.amazon.com. I for one can hardly wait.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of storytelling
Review: I was fortunate to be able to read an advance copy of this book. A Cavern Of Black Ice is a masterpiece of storytelling, which begins the author's latest trilogy, Sword of Shadows. That this is only the beginning of the story is remarkable, considering the epic scope of this first volume. From the first page, the book transports the reader to a world of great beauty, and even greater danger. While set in the same world as The Book Of Words, the portion of the Known Lands we find in this book is a harsh, demanding environment of ice and snow. This is a land where society exists, not so much as a way to maintain order, but as an essential ingredient to one's survival. If you are the type of reader who immerses himself or herself in a book, then be sure to wear warm clothing and turn up the heat while reading this one, or you will be feeling the frostbite on your fingers and toes. The book also contains the author's usual assortment of complex, multidimensional characters. In keeping with the setting, this is a dark story, full of unexpected plot twists. A real page turner. I can't wait to read the rest of the story in the subsequent books of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Arrrrrggggg
Review: I loved the Book of Words trilogy and The Barbed Coil. Which made trying to force my way through this book even more frustrating. I finally gave up after 200 pages and the 4th or 5th time a major character refuses to do what they know they should do, with the expected DIRE CONSEQUENCES <insert ominous music here>. From her past work I really thought more of Jones. She's quite capable of advancing a plot without forcing her characters to act like idiots, but for some reason she chose not to here. Stay away from this one.
Rating:
Summary: A new quest
Review: A Cavern of Black Ice is the first novel in the Sword of Shadows series. This novel is set in the same world as The Book of the Word series, a few years later and further to the north of the four kingdoms. Bren is the only common point on the two maps. In this novel, Penthero Iss, the surlord of Spire Vanis, has ambitious plans and his foster daughter, Asarhia March, is an integral part of them. Sixteen year ago, Ash had been found outside Vaingate within ten paces from the city wall by then Protector-General Iss. Since such foundlings were traditionally Protector's Trove, Iss brought her within his own household. Lately she has been troubled by bad dreams, even while awake. Raif is the second son of Tem Sevrance. Raif has inherited an unusual talent: he can heart kill any living thing. Raif and his older brother Drey are hunting and contesting at archery when Raif feels a powerful shock that blurs his vision and spurts metallic-tasting saliva into his mouth. Fearing danger to those left behind in the camp, the two hurry back as fast as they can travel. Easing into the camp, they found none living and only twelve corpses, including the clan chief, Drago Blackhail, and their father Tem. The adopted son of the chief, Mace Blackhail, is missing. Elsewhere, the Listener of the Ice Trappers dreams that the One with Reaching Arms has reached out to the darkness. Angus Lok is preparing for a supply run when a raven comes with a message that changes his plans. And deep under Spire Vanis lies the Bound One, suffering in the dark. This novel begins a new quest in fulfillment of prophecies that the questers only discover little by little as they strive for unknown goals and are guided by hidden forces. Ash finds herself with powers that she doesn't understand and can't control. Raif discovers that he too has powers, but doesn't know how they are to be used. This novel sets the stage, leaving much unexplained and introducing new factors at the very end. While this book is not as complex as Jordan's Wheel of Time series, it does have something of the same feel. The author writes vivid descriptions of some very bleak scenery and has a good touch with characterization. This series should be interesting. Recommended for Jordan fans and anyone else who enjoys well plotted sword and sorcery adventures with strong characterization.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, heavy, but good
Review: Like a good stout, I guess. The book is undeniably dark in tone. Characters smile less than once per chapter, and even most of those smiles are of the nasty kind. Some of the characters endure amazing torment, both physically and otherwise, and the reader is pulled into it with some unusually graphic descriptions. As for weight, the world described in the book is quite large and varied, but everything seems to be there for a reason; the author has set out to tell an inherently complicated story. The tantalizing bits of information about things that are tangential to the story but will undoubtedly become important later (e.g. the Sull, the Phage) are doled out with great skill, leaving the reader's curiosity neither fully satisfied nor deadened by being hidden among too many other names and events thrown in as mere window dressing (a too-common fault among fantasy authors). The plot is very dense, but does not - as with Robert Jordan, for example, or increasingly with George R.R. Martin - simply grow without bound. There are fewer storylines at the end than at the beginning, with some clearly primary and others kept to a reasonable minimum. Things *connect*. Something that's mentioned, or which happens, at one point in the book probably will become important later. The author clearly has a plan in mind, and isn't just making stuff up as she goes along. The pacing is extremely even, perhaps slower than some would like, but better that than to have it move in fits and starts while passages in between drag. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart or short of attention span, but it is an excellent book. Unlike certain other books that have been highly reviewed here without possessing a shred of real merit (*cough* Stanek *cough*) this one deserves the accolades it has received.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but originality?
Review: I really loved A Cavern of Black Ice. The plot was interesting and the characters were great. The only fault I found is how similar it is to the Book of Words books. It almost seems like she just changed the characters and setting. Young boy has problems with society, can do magic that isn't allowed, he runs away. Young girl rebels against her parent, runs away and gets into a whole lot of trouble. She meets up with outcast boy, they stay together and the boy protects the girl along their journey. It disappointed me a bit. It was a great book though, and I found it really hard to put down. I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Jones' other books.
Rating:
Summary: A Cavern of Black Ice.
Review: This is the fourth book that I have read from Jones. Like all the others she creates characters that feel real. I could not put this book down, I had to keep reading to find out what happened next. I cna't wait until the next in the series is released.
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