The Cry of the Icemark Book

As debut novels go, bookseller-turned-novelist Stuart Hill’s weighty book The Cry of the Icemark splashed down with an unusually large amount of pre-publication acclaim and even an early ‘fresh talent’ award to its name. It’s a big and bold read, fast-paced and exciting, stuffed full of fearsome battles and kingdoms lost and gained--the sort of book that young readers will consume with ease. Even at just under five hundred pages, it is certainly deserving of much of this initial fanfare. Thirrin is the young, feisty princess who inherits the throne of Icemark--a small, northern ice-bound but proud country--when her father the king is killed after it is invaded by the army of a mighty southern empire. The invaders, who echo the style, names and conquering ambitions of ancient Rome, want nothing more than to annihilate Icemark's indigenous people and plunder its natural resources, and they quickly overrun the Capital city. Thirrin grows up fast and takes her people further north to re-group and plan their return to power. The Young queen knows that she needs help to take back her country, and she moves quickly to bury the hatchet and longstanding animosities with Icemark’s neighbours. Her potential allies include the Wolf-folk, the Forest people, Vampires from the Land-of-Ghosts and snow leopards from the top of the world. However, it is difficult to defeat an army whose soldiers never stop coming at you, despite all their losses in massive battles, but Thirrin must risk everything to try and achieve just that. Hill’s book has a readability that will make it attractive to a lot of young book lovers. Its powerful, yet familiar, narrative sweeps you along and it is quite easy to get lost amongst its many pages. Heroines triumphing in a strange and fantastical land is engaging stuff and it’ll prove difficult to put down and then to forget. (Age 10 and over) --John McLayRead More