Fire & Ice

Icefire Trilogy, Book 1

By: Patty Jansen

Narrated by: Edward Mittelstedt

Where magic is dark and gritty, characters are troubled and twisted, and victory comes at a heavy price.

Deep under the City of Glass in the frozen Southern land, an age-old machine called the Heart of the City radiates a power that locals call icefire. Most citizens are immune to it, but a few, always born with physical disabilities, can bend it to their will. For 50 years, the ruling Eagle Knights, who fly on the back of giant birds, have killed these Imperfects, fearing the return of the old royal family, who used icefire to cut out people's hearts, turning them into ghostly servitors.

The old king's grandson Tandor only sees the good things icefire brought: power and technology now forgotten while the people of the South live in dire poverty. He's had enough of seeing his fellow kinsfolk slaughtered by ignorant Knights, of Imperfect babies being abandoned on the ice floes to be eaten by wild animals. His grandfather's diary tells him how to increase the beat of the Heart, the first step to making the land glorious once more. Arrogant as he is, he sets the machine in motion. All he needs is an army of Imperfect servitors to control the resulting power.

Isandor is Imperfect, an ex-Knight apprentice, betrayed by his best friend and running for his life. Queen Jevaithi is Imperfect, living like a prisoner amidst leering Knights, surviving only because the common people would rebel if their beloved queen were harmed.

Both are young and desperate and should be grateful Tandor wants to rescue them from their hopeless situations. Or so he thinks. The youngsters, however, have no inclination to become heartless ghosts, but while they defy Tandor, the Heart beats, and he alone cannot control its power.

This will appeal to fans of Joe Abercrombie and George R.R. Martin.

©2012 Patty Jansen (P)2018 Patty Jansen

Fire & ice

The story was pretty good, interesting most times. This is the first in the series and I felt that the story ended abruptly.

The narration was fantastic. The one thing that saved this book was the narration

I received a copy of this audible free at my request. I am more than happy to provide my review

Lots of different fire in this

This is a story full of mystery, decisions and lots of layers . This story reminds me of the ancient spartan ways. If there is anything wrong with the children then get rid of them. This is a very unusual and dark story when grown men force males to not do what they want . It’s a fantasy listen . Be prepared.

Edward performance was great . He did all the tones great all the characters and the voice was strong, smooth

I received a code for this story and the options are my own

It was a good story overall

First of all the narration was great. The story was good with some deep and maybe controversial themes like rape which of course is not for everyone. I did like it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

JUST OK!

I found this book to be just an O:K. read. It really took a while before my interest piqued. This book deals with the sensitive nature of rape. The narration was good. This author was really detailed with the characters. This was my first book by this author and I would be willing to read more books in this series. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed the book but so much of the time was spent on building all the different characters then it was done I was only able to finish because of the narrator.

I received a copy of this audio book at my request and have voluntary left this review.

Narration saved the story.

The story takes place in a winter civilization with eagle knights, what I assumed are imperfect people that are born missing parts of them and can use icefire and this weird breeder thing. The story follows too many characters and while the narrator does help decipher them, many of them seem like the same character to me with exception of the character Caro, who is the worst coward of all time.

I found myself not liking the story when it seems so focused on the sexual parts of the culture than anything. the eagle knights use rape as punishment, which is kind of awkward to know as it happens to one character and then that character performs it later on.

the story's pacing is meh at best, but the narrator did make it exciting. fyi, the echo parts are for inner monologues and dont continue past chapter 6.

I wish I could say I loved this, but I only enjoyed the setting.

I was given this audiobook for free by the distributor for my honest review.

I WILL USE THE ICEFIRE!

Ice fire being the source of magic in this book of the Fire and Ice trilogy. The book tells the story of Tandor, grandson of the King and believer in the use of this Ice fire magic. Tandor is not happy about the way the Eagle Knights have hunted down and killed people who are imperfect users of the Ice fire. There is also Isandor, who is an ex-knight apprentice who is also an imperfect surviver. Isandor is running for his life from the Eagle Knights during the story. I received this Audio Book for free in exchange for an unbiased review. Really enjoyed the story!

Savage

I'm in love with fantasy, especially when it is an eric one. Fire & Ice isn't an exception, even though some scenes are difficult to accept (but, who did say life is easy, hug?).
If you're willing to go through the dirty and savage world, this is your pick.
Narration? Awesome! I can only imagine how tough it was to narrate all this stuff, but Edward Mittelstedt did his job very well.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Dark, Gritty Fantasy with Heavy Themes

I just finished this in audio. It's an interesting concept of using "Icefire", and all those who are born a cripple have this magic. And because this kingdom is scared of them, everyone born a cripple is slain. However, way outside of the city, there is a village full of cripples, who a wizard is hiding in hopes to take back over this kingdom. It was an intriguing plot and structure, but this book is very dark and gritty with adult themes and rainbows. I don't recommend to young readers or people who are easily triggered over certain subjects.

3/5

The book was "meh" to me

The book didn't have an overly bad plot to me but the rape was just something that I personally don't enjoy in my books. Now if that is something that you can look past then this would probably a great book for you. Though I would like to point out that the narrator did a fantastic job and can't wait to listen to more of their books.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."