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Icefire Trilogy #1-3
Icefire Trilogy: The Complete Series
Deep under the City of Glass in the frozen southern land, an age-old machine called the Heart of the City radiates a power which locals call icefire. Most citizens are immune to it, but a few, always born with physical disabilities, can bend it to their will.
For fifty 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.
Across the border in steam-age, science-focused Chevakia, people have built barriers against the radiation, against which they have no resistance.Chevakia also harbours the old southern royal family’s only surviving members, and they are planning revenge and their return to power, taking both countries to the first war in fifty years.
For fifty 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.
Across the border in steam-age, science-focused Chevakia, people have built barriers against the radiation, against which they have no resistance.Chevakia also harbours the old southern royal family’s only surviving members, and they are planning revenge and their return to power, taking both countries to the first war in fifty years.
764 pages, Paperback
First published December 25, 2012
293 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Patty Jansen
143 books294 followersAuthor of Science Fiction and fantasy and non-fiction.
Author of the Ambassador series, the Icefire Trilogy, For Queen And Country series and the Return of the Aghyrians series.
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Author of the Ambassador series, the Icefire Trilogy, For Queen And Country series and the Return of the Aghyrians series.
Join the official newsletter and receive four books free
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 27, 2017
I don't know how far into book one I was but overall I got about 15% in. At this point, I have to be honest. I just can't get into it. I am sorry that I have to give it up.
Since I read enough male heavy stories as a girl. I didn't like any of said males in this book. All that was left was a queen, a pregnant person giving birth and a female totally in love with a male. So... Not for me.
Since I read enough male heavy stories as a girl. I didn't like any of said males in this book. All that was left was a queen, a pregnant person giving birth and a female totally in love with a male. So... Not for me.
November 23, 2016
Excellent
Really enjoyed this series, the unusual nature of the world and the characters who, like real people, don't manage to be the perfect hero or the perfect villain. I did feel like I needed to draw up a family tree at one point to work out who was actually related to whom, but it all made sense by the end. I'd have given it a 5 * if it wasn't for the borderline gratuitous treatment of rape, which really ought to carry a trigger warning.
Really enjoyed this series, the unusual nature of the world and the characters who, like real people, don't manage to be the perfect hero or the perfect villain. I did feel like I needed to draw up a family tree at one point to work out who was actually related to whom, but it all made sense by the end. I'd have given it a 5 * if it wasn't for the borderline gratuitous treatment of rape, which really ought to carry a trigger warning.
May 29, 2018
A different vision of magic in society
Very interesting. A power source that some can wield as magic while others learn to harness it in ways similar to nuclear energy. Will have to read more to see where this goes.
Very interesting. A power source that some can wield as magic while others learn to harness it in ways similar to nuclear energy. Will have to read more to see where this goes.
July 7, 2018
Excellent Read
Slow and confusing at first, but the story line and character development picked up and became a page turner. For those who enjoy invented universes. However, the culmination with the dacon was too easy and somewhat trite.
Slow and confusing at first, but the story line and character development picked up and became a page turner. For those who enjoy invented universes. However, the culmination with the dacon was too easy and somewhat trite.
September 28, 2019
Fabulous
Five stars as this trilogy is worth them! At first the relationship between Isandor & Carro threw me, but I soon adjusted & found the precept, characters, terms such as 'servitor' & imperfections fascinating, the idea that hearts could be removed yet still beat or Isandor & Jevaithi swapping hearts so they could not die also fascinating. Giant eagles put me in mind of the Dragon series by Anne McCaffrey, all in all excellent!
Five stars as this trilogy is worth them! At first the relationship between Isandor & Carro threw me, but I soon adjusted & found the precept, characters, terms such as 'servitor' & imperfections fascinating, the idea that hearts could be removed yet still beat or Isandor & Jevaithi swapping hearts so they could not die also fascinating. Giant eagles put me in mind of the Dragon series by Anne McCaffrey, all in all excellent!
April 25, 2020
Great fantasy read! As Kevin Anderson says on the cover: "Love the writing, characters and story" The characters grow along with the story, by their successes and failures as in real life. You feel sympathy for one of them but in the next chapter your sympathy changes. I am already looking forward to reading the follow-up trilogy "Moonfire".
May 30, 2020
Different
Good world building, good characters in a unique world that has icefire that is like magic! 1st and 2nd book are really good, the 3rd book could be more and I hope the author adds to it because the ending was sort of abrupt and not has exciting has the first 2 books. Recommended this unique story. I would not recommend this for young readers, some parts are graphic.
Good world building, good characters in a unique world that has icefire that is like magic! 1st and 2nd book are really good, the 3rd book could be more and I hope the author adds to it because the ending was sort of abrupt and not has exciting has the first 2 books. Recommended this unique story. I would not recommend this for young readers, some parts are graphic.
February 9, 2017
Read a while ago. This book has some strong themes so those with sensitive eyeballs may want to skip it. Patty must really plan out the world building, cause it all seems to mesh together very well. The numerous character relations will havve you wishing for a gnatt chart at some point.
August 6, 2018
Explicit Sex
The storyline was good, but the explicit Sex scenes were to much for me. My imagination is good enough to fill in any blanks left by an author without them giving details. Won't be reading any more from this author.
The storyline was good, but the explicit Sex scenes were to much for me. My imagination is good enough to fill in any blanks left by an author without them giving details. Won't be reading any more from this author.
August 16, 2018
I love Patty's books,
plots and characters but the editing is horrendous. In this trilogy the first book desperately needs reediting. There are several spots where partial sentences and the wrong homonyms disrupt the flow of the story.
plots and characters but the editing is horrendous. In this trilogy the first book desperately needs reediting. There are several spots where partial sentences and the wrong homonyms disrupt the flow of the story.
December 31, 2016
Awesome.
A great Trilogy with some impressive characters with a great story line. Easy to follow and you get immersed in the adventure.
A great Trilogy with some impressive characters with a great story line. Easy to follow and you get immersed in the adventure.
September 12, 2019
An intriguing & unusual fantasy. thoroughly enjoyed this tale.
June 24, 2023
Enjoyed this trilogy and now want to read the next trilogy by Patty Jansen.
March 16, 2017
Excellent series!
An epic page turning fantasy! Had me up late many nights to finish. Great characters, fast plot line, great imagery. I highly recommend this series for anyone who loves a great tale!
An epic page turning fantasy! Had me up late many nights to finish. Great characters, fast plot line, great imagery. I highly recommend this series for anyone who loves a great tale!
March 15, 2020
I have to admit, I struggled with this series, or at least the first book of the set, which is why it took me so long to finish the trilogy. The problem I had was that apart from one or maybe two, I did not like the characters. I found them bitter, argumentative, often pursuing despicable behaviour, and generally unpleasant. That said, I found the world that Ms Jansen had created fascinating, and the magic described was unique in my reading experience.
The world of the series is a kind of dystopian-steampunk-fantasy blend. The government of the region in which it starts – Peria – is dysfunctional and authoritarian, run by an overactive, harsh military supposedly led by a puppet monarch. The military is distinctive in that they ride giant-sized eagles, which is very cool, hence their name, the Eagle Knights. However, Peria is an ice- and snow-covered wilderness which holds all the remains of a previously great society which created the City of Glass, the capital, where magic abounded and could accomplish unbelievable things.
The magic is based on a kind of power that has the look and feel of electricity but with many of the negative side-effects of radiation. That said, there are parts of the population who can feel and wield the magic without the negatives affecting them, except prior to birth – it leads to congenital deformities, resulting in the name of these people, Imperfects.
The first book begins with Tandor, a wanderer and misfit, chasing down Ruko, his servitor, who is a slave created and changed using icefire, which makes him unkillable and invisible to anyone who cannot see icefire. We learn that Tandor has been laying long plans by gathering a group of Imperfect children, saved from death and raised in an outlying community. He plans to use them as servitors to reclaim the throne of Peria. One of the young Imperfects he has been working with is Isandor, a young man who was raised by a woman called Loriane in the outskirts of the City of Glass. Tandor is very much enamoured with Loriane, a breeder – a woman who sells her ability to conceive and bear children for those who are unable, which is many in a city where icefire is so abundant.
Isandor’s best friend, Carro, is a confused, angst-ridden teenager who hates his adoptive parents, especially his merchant father who, according to Carro, abuses him horribly. When Carro joins the Eagle Knights, the military force sworn to protect the queen but who govern the city, Isandor is quick to follow.
When Cornatan, the head of the Eagle Knights and acting regent, threatens Jevaithi, the inexperienced, teenage queen, it adds a trigger to the inevitable revolution and civil war in Peria.
The second book begins in a region north of Peria, called Chevakia, just as the civil war has been interrupted by a major disaster. This was the point where I really started to grow to love the characters and to care what happened to them. Ms Jansen introduceds a whole new country, capital city, system of government, and series of problems, some of which are based on her interaction with her magical neighbour to the south.
To avoid spoilers, I will not say more about the plot, except to Ms Jansen writes in a very broad, expansive way, giving each character a believable backstory, each country or region a well thought out history, geography, culture and series of strengths and weaknesses. The story is impressive in the way that it flows along consistently, building tension, and leading the characters and reader to a very satisfactory and satisfying resolution.
There is a further series, the Moonfire Trilogy, set twenty years later which deals with issues that arise out of this set of events and tells where the characters end up.
(I must make a warning for readers who may be sensitive to this kind of thing that the story does describe scenes involving non-consensual sex.)
The world of the series is a kind of dystopian-steampunk-fantasy blend. The government of the region in which it starts – Peria – is dysfunctional and authoritarian, run by an overactive, harsh military supposedly led by a puppet monarch. The military is distinctive in that they ride giant-sized eagles, which is very cool, hence their name, the Eagle Knights. However, Peria is an ice- and snow-covered wilderness which holds all the remains of a previously great society which created the City of Glass, the capital, where magic abounded and could accomplish unbelievable things.
The magic is based on a kind of power that has the look and feel of electricity but with many of the negative side-effects of radiation. That said, there are parts of the population who can feel and wield the magic without the negatives affecting them, except prior to birth – it leads to congenital deformities, resulting in the name of these people, Imperfects.
The first book begins with Tandor, a wanderer and misfit, chasing down Ruko, his servitor, who is a slave created and changed using icefire, which makes him unkillable and invisible to anyone who cannot see icefire. We learn that Tandor has been laying long plans by gathering a group of Imperfect children, saved from death and raised in an outlying community. He plans to use them as servitors to reclaim the throne of Peria. One of the young Imperfects he has been working with is Isandor, a young man who was raised by a woman called Loriane in the outskirts of the City of Glass. Tandor is very much enamoured with Loriane, a breeder – a woman who sells her ability to conceive and bear children for those who are unable, which is many in a city where icefire is so abundant.
Isandor’s best friend, Carro, is a confused, angst-ridden teenager who hates his adoptive parents, especially his merchant father who, according to Carro, abuses him horribly. When Carro joins the Eagle Knights, the military force sworn to protect the queen but who govern the city, Isandor is quick to follow.
When Cornatan, the head of the Eagle Knights and acting regent, threatens Jevaithi, the inexperienced, teenage queen, it adds a trigger to the inevitable revolution and civil war in Peria.
The second book begins in a region north of Peria, called Chevakia, just as the civil war has been interrupted by a major disaster. This was the point where I really started to grow to love the characters and to care what happened to them. Ms Jansen introduceds a whole new country, capital city, system of government, and series of problems, some of which are based on her interaction with her magical neighbour to the south.
To avoid spoilers, I will not say more about the plot, except to Ms Jansen writes in a very broad, expansive way, giving each character a believable backstory, each country or region a well thought out history, geography, culture and series of strengths and weaknesses. The story is impressive in the way that it flows along consistently, building tension, and leading the characters and reader to a very satisfactory and satisfying resolution.
There is a further series, the Moonfire Trilogy, set twenty years later which deals with issues that arise out of this set of events and tells where the characters end up.
(I must make a warning for readers who may be sensitive to this kind of thing that the story does describe scenes involving non-consensual sex.)
December 15, 2016
Enjoyable Story
Overall this is a very enjoyable read building steadily with a wealth of characters and many twists and turns
Would definitely recommend this trilogy
Overall this is a very enjoyable read building steadily with a wealth of characters and many twists and turns
Would definitely recommend this trilogy
February 27, 2021
Totally engrossing and captivating story
I thought I had read a lot of good books before this, but this trilogy really captivated me from very close to the beginning and kept me guessing as to what to expect next. The characters are three dimensional and the plotting by the group's makes sense after you discover what really drives them.
I thought I had read a lot of good books before this, but this trilogy really captivated me from very close to the beginning and kept me guessing as to what to expect next. The characters are three dimensional and the plotting by the group's makes sense after you discover what really drives them.
October 11, 2016
I quit reading at 27%. The raping of the soldiers is too much. Perhaps the story has potential but I can't stand to read about this sick power trip of raping the younger soldiers to prove power and authority. Disgusting.
May 16, 2020
Awesome series! Once I got started on the first book it grabbed my interest and kept my attention right to the end of series. I enjoyed these so much I just picked up the next series The Moonfire Trilogy. Can't wait to get started on these.
August 31, 2016
I loved this trilogy and wasn't ready for it to end. It had twists that I definitely didn't expect. A love story, conflict, redemption, happy highs, devastating lows. Great read. Well done.
January 20, 2017
Interesting concept
Keeps you thinking about what has happened in this world before these events. Hopefully the author will write a prequel.
Keeps you thinking about what has happened in this world before these events. Hopefully the author will write a prequel.
April 9, 2017
This is a great read despite the errors and typos. I enjoyed meeting the characters and reading how they evolved. The ending was sudden with no real resolution to the major problem. Hopefully the second series will resolve these issues.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews