2006, The Chicken House
510 pages
Genre: Childrens' Fantasy, 10 years +
(I couldn't find a bigger picture)
14 year old Thirrin has what I call attitude. Sometime in the novel, she develops royal attitude (paraphrased from the story). There is little difference between the two: royal attitude is attitude which only royalty can wield: anyone else would be considered rude, indirect and countless other adjectives. Both are characteristics of a protagonist that I love. With a father who has a love of fluffy slippers, an advisor who is finally learning that Thirrin will pay attention if the lessons have anything to do with combat, and a cute kitten, life looks good for Thirrin. That is, until Scipio Bellorum, General of the Polypontian Empire invades the kingdom of Icemark.
Warfare follows, and with it the death of her father. Although this story is about war, there aren't chapters and chapters with long descriptions of each and every battle. The fights themselves flow quite quickly. It is the lead up to the battles and the alliances which Thirrin forms that are central to this story.
Thirrin's spirit keeps her strong after her father's death. She isn't cold hearted, at times her facade wobbles - as did my eyes - but she knows how people look at royalty. As much as possible she maintains a firm image of a strong Queen. She is supported by her father's aide, Maggiore, who now looks after the royal cat Primplepuss. Maggiore has experience of dealing with a monarch, and great knowledge about diplomacy, something that Thirrin learns over time. This is complimented by the Witch's Son, Ozkan, who Thirrin befriends early on. He can heal people, talk to the gods of the woods, understand the speech of werewolves, and, on occasion, catches glimpses of the future. His power has hidden depths: it is only through his growing friendship with Thirrin that the full extent of that power unravels. The consequences are devastating, for the reader and Thirrin.
Thirrin isn't afraid of saying no. Unlike her ancestors, she realises that with a vast army knocking on her door, she can't be fussy who her allies are. The relationship forged with the werewolves lasts well into the second book (review coming up soon, once I've finished it). This friendship helps forge alliance with other, less amiable creatures - the vampires. Furthermore, Thirrin is the first to persuade the snow leopards far in the north that human matters concern them. These cats are big - no, huge. Much larger than the snow leopards we know.
The humour in this book made me laugh a lot. Even when the situation was dire, there was always a light phrase at hand. I cried as hard as I laughed - although thankfully not as often. Stuart Hill has a way with words that had me turning over the page frantically once I'd reached the bottom.
From the names of those in the Polypontian Empire, I felt that this was the land of the Romans (I think the phrase veni, vidi, vici gave it away), and the land of Icemark was that belonging to the Vikings, with the details of the culture and the environment. This combination of cultures works well, making me think twice about situations and how the characters dealt with them.
I would happily read this book again, straight away! Content is appropriate for nearly all; a small love story as the relationship between Thirrin and Ozkan grows, but subtle in nature. Virtually nothing was blushable, perhaps the odd bit of rough language or intimation, but not worthy of a paperclip. As I said at the beginning, violence is low; however a few scenes are grisly so one dagger is needed here.
Daggers: 1
Tissues: 3
Smiles: 3-4
Overall rating: 5/5
This is book one in the Icemark Chronicle trilogy. The second bookl, The Sword of Fire, will be reviewed shortly. It might be a little while to review the third book, Last Battle of the Icemark, since I haven't yet borrowed it from the library.
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