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Bitfrost #1
Bitfrost
From the author of the DRAGONOAK trilogy.
Metis is a frozen wasteland of a moon. The sea grows smaller every year, and the blue-green planet thrums in the sky, mocking it. Castle Bitfrost, imprisoned in unmeltable ice, stands as a monument to everything humanity will never understand of their world. Driven to the equator, the population has dwindled to near-nothing, animals hunted to extinction, forests burnt in great swathes.
Zaun sees the world through the crack in her skull. As a former soldier, she’s survived the impossible, only to record Metis’ last days in the journals her mother left behind. Lost to her head-trauma, Zaun paints the world as a scattered series of observations, disconnected from the past she doesn’t remember. But before Metis can give itself over to the gods’ anger, something stirs on the horizon.
Shadows take form before Zaun’s eyes and a wolf stalks the streets, pushing her towards the unknowable, the unmeltable.
*
Bitfrost is a story told through the journals of Zaun, a woman with a traumatic brain injury. Slow-paced and character-driven, this novel features alternately meddling and useless gods, magic derived from fish guts, and lesbian romance.
Zaun sees the world through the crack in her skull. As a former soldier, she’s survived the impossible, only to record Metis’ last days in the journals her mother left behind. Lost to her head-trauma, Zaun paints the world as a scattered series of observations, disconnected from the past she doesn’t remember. But before Metis can give itself over to the gods’ anger, something stirs on the horizon.
Shadows take form before Zaun’s eyes and a wolf stalks the streets, pushing her towards the unknowable, the unmeltable.
*
Bitfrost is a story told through the journals of Zaun, a woman with a traumatic brain injury. Slow-paced and character-driven, this novel features alternately meddling and useless gods, magic derived from fish guts, and lesbian romance.
Audible Audio
First published August 8, 2018
35 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Sam Farren
9 books165 followersSam Farren started writing the way many young authors do: they really, really wanted to post some fanfiction. After dabbling in both transformative and original works for many years, they developed a passion for representing queer women of all sorts in fantasy worlds. Their debut novel, Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir, is the first instalment in a fully-written trilogy, spanning both years and continents.
Born and raised in the south-east of England, Sam currently resides in Oxford, with a charming pile of royal pythons, Tofu, Twix and Toffee. They are currently living the much coveted life of a poor student, and deeply appreciates any and all support via her published works.
Born and raised in the south-east of England, Sam currently resides in Oxford, with a charming pile of royal pythons, Tofu, Twix and Toffee. They are currently living the much coveted life of a poor student, and deeply appreciates any and all support via her published works.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 5, 2018
Another rousing tale
Another rousing tale by Sam Farren. This one deals with a dying world, actually a moon. It's the story of a wounded warrior who's been brain damaged in some way. To help her memory, she writes of her days in a journal. It helps her keep track of her life, and her journey when she believes that she's dying.
Along the way she meets other women warriors who recognize something in her. They welcome Zaunis into their lives. This is the story of how she restores balance to her worlds.
There's magic, Gods and Goddesses, and the freezing hell that her world has become. Will Zaunis and her friends save the day?
As with this author's other novels (The Dragonoak Trilogy) LGBTQ characters populate the novel. There are Lesbian characters, a trans character, and a Gay couple (in the past). The characters are all fully developed and unique. I enjoyed this novel, but it wasn't a real page turner like the Dragonoak books. I found myself taking many breaks during my reading of it.
This is a good book, and the editing was fine. I only found one misspelling, and one grammatical error - and that's really, really good in today's self publishing world.
I've been reading SF&F for over fifty years. I've read thousands of novels, novellas, and short stories over the years. It's seldom I highly recommend an author's work. Sam Farren is an author I highly recommend. Try her Dragonoak series first - I cannot recommend a book higher then the three novels in that series. When I first saw Bitfrost, I had hoped it was another novel in that universe. It wasn't, but it still had memorable characters as well as a unique storyline.
I know in my heart that Rowan has more stories to tell. So Sam, listen to her and open up Rowan's world, either the past, or her future (after Claire). I'd like to see more male/gay characters too, those living side by side with the world.
Another rousing tale by Sam Farren. This one deals with a dying world, actually a moon. It's the story of a wounded warrior who's been brain damaged in some way. To help her memory, she writes of her days in a journal. It helps her keep track of her life, and her journey when she believes that she's dying.
Along the way she meets other women warriors who recognize something in her. They welcome Zaunis into their lives. This is the story of how she restores balance to her worlds.
There's magic, Gods and Goddesses, and the freezing hell that her world has become. Will Zaunis and her friends save the day?
As with this author's other novels (The Dragonoak Trilogy) LGBTQ characters populate the novel. There are Lesbian characters, a trans character, and a Gay couple (in the past). The characters are all fully developed and unique. I enjoyed this novel, but it wasn't a real page turner like the Dragonoak books. I found myself taking many breaks during my reading of it.
This is a good book, and the editing was fine. I only found one misspelling, and one grammatical error - and that's really, really good in today's self publishing world.
I've been reading SF&F for over fifty years. I've read thousands of novels, novellas, and short stories over the years. It's seldom I highly recommend an author's work. Sam Farren is an author I highly recommend. Try her Dragonoak series first - I cannot recommend a book higher then the three novels in that series. When I first saw Bitfrost, I had hoped it was another novel in that universe. It wasn't, but it still had memorable characters as well as a unique storyline.
I know in my heart that Rowan has more stories to tell. So Sam, listen to her and open up Rowan's world, either the past, or her future (after Claire). I'd like to see more male/gay characters too, those living side by side with the world.
Read
November 3, 2018I gave up
January 10, 2019
I feel like my experience of this book can be summed up in two quotes:
There's a lot more going on (a world covered in snow and ice! Interplanetary portals! Angry, raging gods and flawed but gentle gods! Star-eating serpents and amazing world-building!) but I feel like the core of this book is made up of the characters' eventual desire to (emotionally) heal as well as the inter-character relationships that make this story what it is. I truly enjoyed and loved the plot itself - it was original, inspired and wonderful - but what really clinched this book for me were the characters. They're all incredibly likable and relatable, and the fact that they all (eventually) get along and form a family is what makes this book so lovely.
More than that, this probably has some of the best representation I've ever seen. Lesbians? Check. Trans women? Check. Non-binary characters? Check. Characters with disabilities? Check. Polyamorous relationships? Check. Black and brown characters? Check. Queer families? Check. Women in leadership positions? Check.
And it's not that it's written in a checkbox, token-style way. All these characters and relationships feel real. They're treated with respect by the narrative and other characters, and these aspects of their lives aren't all of who they are. Everyone's a multidimensional, fully realised person, and even though there are quite a few main characters, all of them are integral to the plot and the ongoing events of the story. (Honestly, I'd love to get a sequel. Literally nothing would even have to happen, I'd just like to stay with these characters for a while longer.)
It's a definite re-read for me, both for the amazing representation as well as the plot twists that left me paging back through previous sections because goddamn, I didn't really see a lot of those coming until they were happening, and I can't wait to read it again with the full knowledge of what's going on.
"These journals are here to help me, and them working doesn't invalidate what I've been through.
It's okay. It's okay.
I'm allowed to get better."
"Glad the three of you have stopped being useless lesbians."
There's a lot more going on (a world covered in snow and ice! Interplanetary portals! Angry, raging gods and flawed but gentle gods! Star-eating serpents and amazing world-building!) but I feel like the core of this book is made up of the characters' eventual desire to (emotionally) heal as well as the inter-character relationships that make this story what it is. I truly enjoyed and loved the plot itself - it was original, inspired and wonderful - but what really clinched this book for me were the characters. They're all incredibly likable and relatable, and the fact that they all (eventually) get along and form a family is what makes this book so lovely.
More than that, this probably has some of the best representation I've ever seen. Lesbians? Check. Trans women? Check. Non-binary characters? Check. Characters with disabilities? Check. Polyamorous relationships? Check. Black and brown characters? Check. Queer families? Check. Women in leadership positions? Check.
And it's not that it's written in a checkbox, token-style way. All these characters and relationships feel real. They're treated with respect by the narrative and other characters, and these aspects of their lives aren't all of who they are. Everyone's a multidimensional, fully realised person, and even though there are quite a few main characters, all of them are integral to the plot and the ongoing events of the story. (Honestly, I'd love to get a sequel. Literally nothing would even have to happen, I'd just like to stay with these characters for a while longer.)
It's a definite re-read for me, both for the amazing representation as well as the plot twists that left me paging back through previous sections because goddamn, I didn't really see a lot of those coming until they were happening, and I can't wait to read it again with the full knowledge of what's going on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2023
I will forget this. I will forget it all! But there will be so much more waiting for me, so much for me to be reminded of.
3.5 stars. I'm torn! There is so much about this that I adore, so many elements that should have added up to it being a favourite book of mine. But there are probably just as many elements that I didn't like. Or perhaps it would be better phrased if I said that there were a lot of elements that weren't handled as deftly or as well as they could have been. I think this book is just as long as it needs to be and it probably could have been a bit longer, but for some reason, it really did feel like it dragged a lot in the middle. Even when there was action and character development and backstory happening, for a long time it felt like we were at a perfect standstill. I don't know if I only have that impression because it took me such a long time to read this. That's par for the course for me these days: if it's not an audiobook, then it's going to take me some time. But also, I found myself putting this down and not having any inclination to pick it up for days at a time.
Broad strokes: we're on an icy fantasy world, a moon with a view of the verdant planet that it orbits. The main character is Zaun, an ex-captain of the war who is suffering from severe amnesia. She lives with her ex-wife and adopted son, writing journals to try to preserve her memory, trying to eke out an existence in a very cold, harsh world that seems inhospitable to all its inhabitants. Then she starts having these weird dreams. My favourite part of this is the format. The entirety of it is told through Zaun's journal entries, and this has got to be one of the few times where I've seen an author have a character write journal entries in an explicitly believable way. It's written in a way where Zaun consciously tells the reader that she is writing, and that she's writing from memory, and some of the things that she says that she might be misremembering or making up in order to fill up the space. At first she never recounts events using dialogue, and when she does start doing so she makes a point about commenting about it. The fact that she has trouble remembering a lot of details is constantly brought up and made a part of her journal. Seems like a simple thing to harp on about, but I just really appreciate it, because so many times in books, when characters write letters or journal entries, it's so patently not believable as something that a person would actually sit down and right. It really helped immerse me in the world for those first hundred pages. I did sometimes find myself wishing that the entire book wasn't written in journal entries, but I do think it was a choice that worked out well in the end.
How can I not save the universe, with the fate of those two at risk?
One thing I did have trouble with was how the plot jumped from the micro to macro in almost a very abrupt way. At first Zaun and her new friends and her loved ones are dealing with very mundane problems (her trauma, her divorce and co-parenting, fallout from the war, suddenly being in a new environment) and we do have a few plot threads that we're waiting to unspool. But when they do unspool, I think that leap from micro to macro happens so quickly, and suddenly it's about saving the world. I don't know, the pacing didn't really work for me. This world has a very interesting backstory and mythology, and I like that we were given some of that information as we went along, via the names of the months, and how that tied into the different gods. I don't know if it's because of how I read this and how long it took me to read, but I did feel like certain details should have been emphasised more in order to stick in the reader's mind more effectively. There were some important worldbuilding details that just flew over my head and I ended up having to scroll backwards a lot to understand what was going on. I really did enjoy some of the directions we took, because a universe where gods are real and have palpable effects on the world, and there's a chance that characters could run into them... I really really love that. There were some twists that took me completely by surprise. I still did find myself wanting some more clarity or for a few things to be expressed more explicitly, when it came to backstories and the world-building.
There is a poly, f/f/nb slow burn romance developing throughout the book, and I loved it. Slow burn is always my favourite thing! I just wish that the romance had more page time. The extra .5 stars that I'm giving this is pretty much just because of the last 20 or so pages when things really start coming together, feelings are expressed, and there are some of the most romantic lines I've ever read. They are a triad that works so beautifully well together; I really adored them. I didn't want this to be any less of a slow burn, but I just wish we'd seen more moments with them, especially with the three of them together.
This has some really interesting mythology, some great parental relationships, friendships, and more. Like their Dragonoak series, this is set in a queernorm world with a lot of queer and trans characters, and I liked how the side relationships are treated, as well as the main character's past relationship. Zaun is extremely easy to like, just because of how much she tries. Her memory is something she grapples with throughout the entire book, and I do adore how that was discussed. I just wish I loved this more. The pacing just didn't work for me and something about the writing just seemed nebulous at times. Farren writes some really great fantasy, and I know I'll read from them again. Just wish I'd had better luck with this, because I know I can love their writing.
I have so many regrets because of the hole in my head, but one of the greatest is that you made yourself in our image, and I didn’t remember you. I didn’t take in every scrap of you and pin it to the sides of my skull forever, that it might never escape.
July 7, 2021
OK, so, yeah. Let's just dive right into the review.
I didn't hate this. But I also can't say that I loved it.
I think Sam Farren is an amazing author and I love their books and their writing. They create fascinating worlds with rich cultures and interesting characters.
But this book was just not working for me.
And I guess if I had to give a reason for that, I'd crumble it down to the following points:
1. The unreliable narrator
2. So. Much. Worldbuilding
3. The pacing & the structure
1. Zaun suffers from trauma and a head wound that makes her unable to remember. Sometimes hours, sometimes minutes. And sometimes even more. There is a beautiful quote in the book, that showcases how amazing the rep is. If I find it again, I'll update the review with it.
Zaun as a character is great and I DO love the way the book uses the tools of storytelling to showcase her struggles. I really do. But it also led to me questioning a lot of the stuff that went down. ESPECIALLY in the first 150 pages. (could be more, kindle just shows % not page numbers) It's frustrating to know that what you just read could be nothing but fiction. I mean ... yeah, obiously, it's just fiction, but that's not what I mean. I know the book trys - even in later chapters - to remind the reader of the fact that everything that went down could be a lie, but at some point I decided to pretend it was absolutly the truth, because if I didn't, I would have gone insane. If I hadn't ignored what the book told me, I would have started to ask myself: What was even the point.
2. Did we really really need that much worldbuilding? Don't say anything, it was a rhetoric question. The answer is - namely - no. No we didn't. And I'm sure, if we were to edit all the worldbuilding out that wasn't needed - not all worldbuilding, just the info dump stuff - the book would be at least 100 - if not more - pages shorter.
3.
I can't really say much about these points, without spoiling the book . What I can say though is that it took a loooong time for something to even happen, just for the characters to just ... stop doing stuff. Like, ... woman, you're kinda dying. Do like, maybe want to take action? Or something? No? OK :)
There is also a point in time, where it feels like we change the plot? I mean, it's not like I knew what the plot even was for the first half, but I could swear, it was leading to something else. I tryed telling my best friend about it, but I couldn't even give her a precise summary of what was even going down, because it was just all over the place and confusing. Oh, and I'm also sure we didn't need to tell the story in 500 pages, so there's that.
The plot twists were interesting but one of them also left me more confused than satisfied. The book tried to explain it but I was just not sold. I also felt like, "no woman, you should NOT have forgiven that character for their actions." You and them were just excusing their deeds, although you both should have known, how ducked up some of them were. Again, can't say more, because that would be a really heavy spoiler.
I wanna talk about the characters in a sec, but let me just mention the poly relationship real quick, because I personally didn't really feel like B & C had a connection. A & B? Absolutly. A & C? Hell Yeah. But B & C? Nope. It felt like the book was trying to push scenes with B & C so that you would feel like they got closer, but after the plot twist, I really, really didn't want them to get together. And I really wished they hadn't.
So what did I even like? Well, the characters. They are the heart of the story and they carry the whole book. I loved Feros a lot. They are great. Might even be my fav character. But then again, there wasn't really a character I didn't like.... expect Xan, for obvious reasons.... and Oran. Sorry Oran, but no. You ducked up. Not forgiving you.
I LOVED THE SNAKE! Best character for sure.
I loved the character development. I loved how trauma was treated - ALTHOUGH - I'm sure a certain someone should NOT have been able to move after 12 years. Her muscles should have all shrinked, forcing her into rehab. Magic is no excuse. Especialy since the other disability & trauma rep was really great. I'm happy noone got fixed or healed. Not trough magic or god blood or whatever.
I also loved the casual LGBT rep. 2 Non-binary characters, a bunch of lesbians, gay side characters and a trans character.
There weren't ace characters in there - I believe? - but it was written really ace-friendly. Which I was really glad for. ♥
The dialog was good & the writing amazing, which is why I'm sure that someone else will adore the hell out of this. I wish that someone could have been me. But sadly, it wasn't.
I didn't hate this. But I also can't say that I loved it.
I think Sam Farren is an amazing author and I love their books and their writing. They create fascinating worlds with rich cultures and interesting characters.
But this book was just not working for me.
And I guess if I had to give a reason for that, I'd crumble it down to the following points:
1. The unreliable narrator
2. So. Much. Worldbuilding
3. The pacing & the structure
1. Zaun suffers from trauma and a head wound that makes her unable to remember. Sometimes hours, sometimes minutes. And sometimes even more. There is a beautiful quote in the book, that showcases how amazing the rep is. If I find it again, I'll update the review with it.
Zaun as a character is great and I DO love the way the book uses the tools of storytelling to showcase her struggles. I really do. But it also led to me questioning a lot of the stuff that went down. ESPECIALLY in the first 150 pages. (could be more, kindle just shows % not page numbers) It's frustrating to know that what you just read could be nothing but fiction. I mean ... yeah, obiously, it's just fiction, but that's not what I mean. I know the book trys - even in later chapters - to remind the reader of the fact that everything that went down could be a lie, but at some point I decided to pretend it was absolutly the truth, because if I didn't, I would have gone insane. If I hadn't ignored what the book told me, I would have started to ask myself: What was even the point.
2. Did we really really need that much worldbuilding? Don't say anything, it was a rhetoric question. The answer is - namely - no. No we didn't. And I'm sure, if we were to edit all the worldbuilding out that wasn't needed - not all worldbuilding, just the info dump stuff - the book would be at least 100 - if not more - pages shorter.
3.
I can't really say much about these points, without spoiling the book . What I can say though is that it took a loooong time for something to even happen, just for the characters to just ... stop doing stuff. Like, ... woman, you're kinda dying. Do like, maybe want to take action? Or something? No? OK :)
There is also a point in time, where it feels like we change the plot? I mean, it's not like I knew what the plot even was for the first half, but I could swear, it was leading to something else. I tryed telling my best friend about it, but I couldn't even give her a precise summary of what was even going down, because it was just all over the place and confusing. Oh, and I'm also sure we didn't need to tell the story in 500 pages, so there's that.
The plot twists were interesting but one of them also left me more confused than satisfied. The book tried to explain it but I was just not sold. I also felt like, "no woman, you should NOT have forgiven that character for their actions." You and them were just excusing their deeds, although you both should have known, how ducked up some of them were. Again, can't say more, because that would be a really heavy spoiler.
I wanna talk about the characters in a sec, but let me just mention the poly relationship real quick, because I personally didn't really feel like B & C had a connection. A & B? Absolutly. A & C? Hell Yeah. But B & C? Nope. It felt like the book was trying to push scenes with B & C so that you would feel like they got closer, but after the plot twist, I really, really didn't want them to get together. And I really wished they hadn't.
So what did I even like? Well, the characters. They are the heart of the story and they carry the whole book. I loved Feros a lot. They are great. Might even be my fav character. But then again, there wasn't really a character I didn't like.... expect Xan, for obvious reasons.... and Oran. Sorry Oran, but no. You ducked up. Not forgiving you.
I LOVED THE SNAKE! Best character for sure.
I loved the character development. I loved how trauma was treated - ALTHOUGH - I'm sure a certain someone should NOT have been able to move after 12 years. Her muscles should have all shrinked, forcing her into rehab. Magic is no excuse. Especialy since the other disability & trauma rep was really great. I'm happy noone got fixed or healed. Not trough magic or god blood or whatever.
I also loved the casual LGBT rep. 2 Non-binary characters, a bunch of lesbians, gay side characters and a trans character.
There weren't ace characters in there - I believe? - but it was written really ace-friendly. Which I was really glad for. ♥
The dialog was good & the writing amazing, which is why I'm sure that someone else will adore the hell out of this. I wish that someone could have been me. But sadly, it wasn't.
June 17, 2019
Parts of this book are amazing. The characters are mostly developed enough to be engaging and the setting has some fantastic ideas.
The problems I had were all quibbles that are probably more about my pet peeves than the book itself. I found that it escalated a bit much, the stakes got so high that it started to make them harder to care about. It turns out there may be such a thing as too epic.
The proofing could have done with another pass, typos snuck in often enough to be memorable.
There was weird tension between the world building and queer representation. The story is in a bit of a queer eutopia. When samesex parents are normal, accepted, and somehow able to have children together without needing technology or magic, it starts to nullify the queer from the representation.
And in the most person of my complaints, as a sufferer of traumatic brain injury, I felt a little attacked by the protagonist having things seeming worse than I do but being so much more able to push through it and get things done.
For all that rant, it is an enjoyable read.
I may have found extra joy in mistaking the early chapters for playing with genre. I was almost a third of the way into this fat book before I was certain it wasn’t going to pull a “the magic was nanites/future-tech all along”. The anticipation of which lead to my reading through the earlier chapters much faster.
Is a solid 3 1/2 stars.
The problems I had were all quibbles that are probably more about my pet peeves than the book itself. I found that it escalated a bit much, the stakes got so high that it started to make them harder to care about. It turns out there may be such a thing as too epic.
The proofing could have done with another pass, typos snuck in often enough to be memorable.
There was weird tension between the world building and queer representation. The story is in a bit of a queer eutopia. When samesex parents are normal, accepted, and somehow able to have children together without needing technology or magic, it starts to nullify the queer from the representation.
And in the most person of my complaints, as a sufferer of traumatic brain injury, I felt a little attacked by the protagonist having things seeming worse than I do but being so much more able to push through it and get things done.
For all that rant, it is an enjoyable read.
I may have found extra joy in mistaking the early chapters for playing with genre. I was almost a third of the way into this fat book before I was certain it wasn’t going to pull a “the magic was nanites/future-tech all along”. The anticipation of which lead to my reading through the earlier chapters much faster.
Is a solid 3 1/2 stars.
June 18, 2019
Amazing characters and writing.
Sam has this style of writing that really sucks you in and doesn't let you go. I spent days reading this book in my free time, and each line held meaning. You won't find padding here. Half realized characters are non-existent because the characters are the backbone of the entire novel. The setting of a bitter-cold moon particularly resonates with me because, as a Minnesotan, I've spent many winters in close quarters with people. The cold is a natural tool used to build believable and engaging relationships between the characters. I loved Sam's writing in the Dragonoak series for its characters, but Sam really raised the bar here.
I have to go to bed. I've stayed up too late reading. There's a lot I haven't gone over, like the plot or the small but important lessons this novel passes on, but that's okay. Just read this book and find out how awesome of a writer Sam is!
Sam has this style of writing that really sucks you in and doesn't let you go. I spent days reading this book in my free time, and each line held meaning. You won't find padding here. Half realized characters are non-existent because the characters are the backbone of the entire novel. The setting of a bitter-cold moon particularly resonates with me because, as a Minnesotan, I've spent many winters in close quarters with people. The cold is a natural tool used to build believable and engaging relationships between the characters. I loved Sam's writing in the Dragonoak series for its characters, but Sam really raised the bar here.
I have to go to bed. I've stayed up too late reading. There's a lot I haven't gone over, like the plot or the small but important lessons this novel passes on, but that's okay. Just read this book and find out how awesome of a writer Sam is!
July 1, 2021
4/5
I like this a lot.
There are a few issues that are completely unrelated to anything save copy-editing: there are like a few typos a chapter which honestly I like the book well enough to ignore but it's worth mentioning I guess.
Okay okay but the book itself. I've liked basically everything I've seen from Sam Farren. They've got great stuff and a tendency to write character-driven stories which I like very much.
I will say that I find the romance here a tad weaker than it was in Dragonoak though still I liked it well enough.
I liked the portrayal of disabilities and trauma in this well enough, it's comforting not to see: "btw at the end of the journey you're a perfectly healthy human being now".
Farren's got this great sensibility to write characters who exist in relationships to each other; and ultimately a great ability to accept/grow-to-accept those more discomforting parts of our loved ones.
Whatever I liked it.
I like this a lot.
There are a few issues that are completely unrelated to anything save copy-editing: there are like a few typos a chapter which honestly I like the book well enough to ignore but it's worth mentioning I guess.
Okay okay but the book itself. I've liked basically everything I've seen from Sam Farren. They've got great stuff and a tendency to write character-driven stories which I like very much.
I will say that I find the romance here a tad weaker than it was in Dragonoak though still I liked it well enough.
I liked the portrayal of disabilities and trauma in this well enough, it's comforting not to see: "btw at the end of the journey you're a perfectly healthy human being now".
Farren's got this great sensibility to write characters who exist in relationships to each other; and ultimately a great ability to accept/grow-to-accept those more discomforting parts of our loved ones.
Whatever I liked it.
July 14, 2019
I was debating between a one and two here.
But que??!!
What happened Farren??!!
This was so disappointing. I tried pushing through but it wasn’t happening. If I hadn’t read dragonoak I might have tried to finish it because I hate not finishing a book, but I just couldn’t do it with this. I had high hopes.
Though I saw some 5 stars so I don’t know what I’m missing.
But que??!!
What happened Farren??!!
This was so disappointing. I tried pushing through but it wasn’t happening. If I hadn’t read dragonoak I might have tried to finish it because I hate not finishing a book, but I just couldn’t do it with this. I had high hopes.
Though I saw some 5 stars so I don’t know what I’m missing.
January 15, 2021
A very long and complicated book
A book of ice and desolation, a female soldier with a serious injury in the war, unable or afraid to remember what she was or is. Divorced from her wife rather than burden her, she raises a son of his dead soldiers —severe headaches. Really a very good book, long but revealing. I liked it
A book of ice and desolation, a female soldier with a serious injury in the war, unable or afraid to remember what she was or is. Divorced from her wife rather than burden her, she raises a son of his dead soldiers —severe headaches. Really a very good book, long but revealing. I liked it
May 11, 2021
Excellent and powerful!
I really liked this story. A powerful exploration of love, guilt, meaning-making, and identity in the context of mental illness and trauma, all in a fascinating setting with strong prose. For those who also read and loved Dragonoak, this story is more sedate, but just as impactful.
I really liked this story. A powerful exploration of love, guilt, meaning-making, and identity in the context of mental illness and trauma, all in a fascinating setting with strong prose. For those who also read and loved Dragonoak, this story is more sedate, but just as impactful.
October 12, 2019
Excellent story
I really loved the story, but not the length of it. I've read the Dragonoak series and loved them, but I was almost half way through Bitfrost before the story really started unfolding.
I really loved the story, but not the length of it. I've read the Dragonoak series and loved them, but I was almost half way through Bitfrost before the story really started unfolding.
February 3, 2021
After the dragonoak series it was harder to get into this one. I liked that Farren opted for the concept of 3way relationships (although that is something I struggle to get warm with). Loved the worlds, especially on the other side.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2018
Great book!
I've been a fan of this author since their first book and Bitfrost doesn't disappoint. It's a great read. Amazing characters and a wonder ful universe.
I've been a fan of this author since their first book and Bitfrost doesn't disappoint. It's a great read. Amazing characters and a wonder ful universe.
April 1, 2020
An interesting story with a few nice twists, but it's no Dragonoak. That said, I'll continue to read anything and everything Sam Farren writes.
January 3, 2025
All time favourite
I've read this a few times now and it's one of my all time favourites :) Zaun is an amazing mc and holds a very special place in my heart. I loved her since page one and watching g her character growth is amazing. The story, written in journal format, stays with the reader for a long time. I'd definitely recommend it!
I've read this a few times now and it's one of my all time favourites :) Zaun is an amazing mc and holds a very special place in my heart. I loved her since page one and watching g her character growth is amazing. The story, written in journal format, stays with the reader for a long time. I'd definitely recommend it!
August 8, 2021
An extremely interesting story with lovable characters, a gripping mystery and a pretty unique format. I liked this book quite a bit and I'm definitely going to check out this author's other novels.
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