Published By: Angry Robot
Pages: 400
Released On: 13/09/2022
After being randomly selected as a human sacrifice, instead of death, Dawsyn finds herself on a quest to save her people from their icy prison…
In a place known as The Ledge, a civilization is trapped by a vast chasm and sheer mountain face. There is no way for anyone to escape the frozen wasteland without befalling a deathly drop. They know nothing of the outside world except that it is where The Glacians reside – mystical winged creatures who bring them meagre rations to survive, in exchange for a periodic human sacrifice.
Dawsyn, axe wielder and only remaining member of her family, has so far avoided the annual culling, but her luck has run out. She is chosen and ripped from her icy home, the only world she knows. No one knows what will happen to her on the other side, least of all Dawsyn. Murdered? Enslaved? Worse?
Thankfully, the fates align and Dawsyn manages to escape their clutches with the help of a half-Glacian called Ryon. But trust does not come easily, and she keeps a trained axe to his throat while they journey together down the slopes. But who’s to say that the life below will be any better than the one she has run from?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the advanced copy of this title and a spot on the book tour in return for an honest review.
It seems trivial and not very literary to jut say this book is really, really, really good and I really, really, really liked it. But boiled down to the very basics…it is very good and I enjoyed it immensely.
The fact that it’s being marketed as a trilogy, that she already knows it’s a three-book story, that always impresses me. I came up with a three-book idea a while ago, but then I realised I actually had to write them, and I’m still on book one.
The way Stacey describes wintery weather is absolutely stunning. I love winter and snow and ice and frost – maybe not in the quantities shown in this book – but she has this way of depicting it as a monster with its own characteristics that make it frightening but beautiful.
It is a clear contender for a fantasy film or series adaptation. It’s written so visually that you can see the characters and the locations so clearly.
There’s a romantic undercurrent to the main story which is a nice touch but it’s not over powering. Our female protagonist of Dawsyn is not a damsel in distress and our male protagonist Ryon is not a hero in disguise. Yes they help each other, but they’re their own strong people. The romance just adds a little extra to the two of them.
It’s very layered. Some fantasy books can be just about the magic, and the unfamiliar and the entertainment, and they can be good also. But this has more depth than “just” being a fun fantasy story.
It’s got a bit of everything: there’s romance, there’s action and adventure, a bit of humour, obviously fantasy, some terror, magic – it’s so well rounded and one genre is not hindered by the inclusion of another.
She’s already said there will be two more books in the series, but now I’ve read this one, I can’t possibly imagine having to wait, what, months? Even years to continue the story. I want it now. It was absolutely fantastic.
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