J.V. Jones

Sword of Shadows — (1999-2010) Publisher: As a newborn Ash March was abandoned — left for dead at the foot of a frozen mountain. Found and raised by the Penthero Iss, the mighty Surlord of Spire Vanis, she has always known she is different. Terrible dreams plague her and sometimes in the darkness she hears dread voices from another world. Iss watches her as she grows to womanhood, eager to discover what powers his ward might possess. As his interest quickens, he sends his living blade, Marafice Eye, to guard her night and day. Raif Sevrance, a young man of Clan Blackhail, also knows he is different, with uncanny abilities that distance him from the clan. But when he and his brother survive an ambush that plunges the entire Northern Territories into war, he yet seeks justice for his own... even if means he must forsake clan and kin. Ash and Raif must learn to master their powers and accept their joint fate if they are to defeat an ancient prophecy and prevent the release of the pure evil known as the End Lords.

Forthcoming: books 5 and 6

A Cavern of Black Ice: Third re-read and its still just as good

While I await my copy of the third book of Sword of Shadows, A Sword from Red Ice, I'm re-reading the first two books of what may be my all time favorite epic series. For A Cavern of Black Ice, which I first read back in 2000, it's my third reading and it's still just as much fun and exciting as the first time.

I've read all of J.V. Jones's books and I've enjoyed every one of them. The Book of Words Trilogy and The Barbed Coil are both good stories that have a cozy kinda feel to them that only adds to the entertainment value.

But this Sword of Shadows series takes Ms. Jones to a whole new level. She creates her worlds for the reader by bringing you home to it with little local details that introduce the most interesting cultures. And she has gift for creating characters that are truly endearing. Plus, there's no watering-down of the action, which some fantasy writers have a tendency to do.

However, what separates this work from the masses is that J.V. Jones is a great story-teller. There are a lot of good authors out there, but not all of them are great story-tellers. It's that quality that's needed to get to the top of the heap for genre fiction. Like a master chef, Ms. Jones, knows just what ingredients go together and just the right amount of spice to use. I think it's an injustice to the fantasy genre, that Sword of Shadows doesn't get the notoriety of the other well-known epics like those by George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and Steven Erikson. —Greg Hersom

A Cavern of Black Ice

I first read J.V. Jones years and years ago, back in the mid-1990's when her Book of Words trilogy was out. I enjoyed that read, and it appeared at the time like it was the debut of a fantasy writer who was a little different. Though I never picked up her subsequent stand-alone novel The Barbed Coil, I always meant to return to Jones’ work. Time has proved me right, as A Cavern of Black Ice proved to be a strong first book in her Sword of Shadows series.

Jones has refreshed the fantasy cliché of a young person on the edge of adulthood, and their coming of age, and she revived it in a manner that is truly inventive. Gone is the farm boy with the magical sword. Instead, we have two young adults who grapple with what the world flings at them. In addition to this, we see the outbreak of war among people who are already warlike, and we see that war’s impact on some of the people involved. Jones uses multiple points of view, and ones that are truly mysterious and forbidding, at least towards the end of the book. She is not afraid to write from the perspective of the antagonist, or from the one who you think is an antagonist but who might be open to a better way of doing things.

Thematically, this book is simple and direct. There is the fantasy staple of good versus evil, but Jones attacks this classic theme on several different levels, and she is to be commended for that, as this theme has been treated with many a ham fist over the years. There is also the coming-of-age theme I alluded to above, a theme of courage to do the right thing regardless of personal cost, the danger of unchecked ambition in the pursuit of power, and even the theme of redemption of those who have done, or are, evil. This being said, the themes she has used are fantasy staples, and I would like to see her writing deepen in the subsequent novels.

I like how Jones pursues the story, as she uses the quest template in order to develop the young characters — Raif and Ash. Intermixed with this is the story of the war among the clans and its consequences, and also the story of Penthero Iss, Ash’s adoptive father, and his pursuit of power. I look forward to seeing and learning more about the Sull, who are a mysterious people that Jones just touches on, but does not explore at length. I also like Jones’ system of magic which remains mysterious and only partially revealed and explained, but is full of consequences and does not serve as a deus ex machina. It is based upon heredity, and sets up the possibility of Jones exploring a theme of prejudice, intolerance, and religious persecution, if she chooses to do so in the subsequent books of the series. This is a darker book than The Book of Words, and there was little humour to lighten the darkness. However, I think it needed to be this way. Jones does an excellent job of describing bitter winter which, because I am Canadian, I can pronounce on with authority. Teenagers would be able to read this book, but it is really adult fantasy.

Best of all, I like how this book pulled me along. It is a compelling read, the kind of book that keeps you awake a little longer than you should be, especially as the story builds towards the climax. There few little things that bothered me were easy to overlook, and I really enjoyed A Cavern of Black Ice. I am expecting the story to get better in the sequels, but I am confronted by a problem therein: Jones is a notoriously slow writer, which is not a good thing for a epic fantasy series. This series (supposed to be five books) was started in 1999, and the third book was only released in late 2007. That is, roughly, one book every four years. There are still two books to go. If Ms. Jones wishes to have any significant success at this writing gig, she must get more prolific. Otherwise, readers begin to abandon the series or the author, unless it is a real blockbuster.

I have given A Cavern of Black Ice four stars, but it only just made it there. If quarter-stars were available, this book would be sitting firmly at 3.75 stars. It is certainly better than 3.5 stars, so I am giving it the benefit of my doubt. If you like epic fantasy, read A Cavern of Black Ice, but be prepared to wait for the series to be completed. —Angus Bickerton

A Cavern of Black Ice: Original, long and... bitterly cold

A Cavern of Black Ice is the first part of the story of Raif Severance, a young exiled clansman, and Asharia "Ash" March, the runaway step-daughter of a city's sorcerer-lord. Their stories begin separately but merge into one, as Ash — inside of whom a massive, frightening power is building — must reach the legendary Cavern, the only place where Ash can discharge the power without breaching the world of the damned. The story thus becomes a race against time and the merciless elements of Jones' northern lands.

J.V. Jones deserves credit for painting such a different landscape: stark, vivid, and breathtakingly cold. Breath instantly condenses to ice crystals on fur-lined hoods; eyelids freeze shut in the night; and wounds and frostbite... it's all very intense, to say the least. Some may find all of this engaging; others may find it an exercise in shock-value. Personally, a bit of each appears to be true.

Jones writes with a brutal power of description, frequently employing creative and graphic similes which sometimes work and sometimes are just too over the top. The book is very long and could have been shortened without much loss, and some parts are confusing and need a bit more explanation of the history and powers involved. (And some are simply designed to bait hooks for the next volume.) The supporting characters and villagers — they, their names and voices never quite find a comfortable niche, falling somewhere between medieval Scots and American hillbillies. Though often described in detail, the main characters themselves are not especially unique (with the exception of Magdalena Crouch, assassin), yet you find yourself caring for the young heroes, alone in the deadly wilderness on their desperate quest.

A solid, graphic, often gripping effort, yet one that demands significant time and attention and seems to require much more reading for an appreciable payoff. Recommended for mature, hard-core fantasy readers. —Rob Rhodes

A Fortress of Grey Ice: Improves on and deepens the first book

As one might expect from the obvious length, there's a lot going on in Jones' second work of the Sword of Shadows series. A Fortress of Grey Ice is constantly shifting between locales and characters, offering many storylines, each of them interesting and tension-filled in their own right. Jones has a nice touch for when to turn away and when to return, seemingly having no trouble juggling the multiple plots, which in turn means the reader also has no problem.

The important characters are too many to name (another testament to Jones' juggling ability), but again we spend a lot of time with Raif the clan outcast and the various members of his family — brother, sister, widowed mother, uncle; Ash March — the girl "Reach" whose ability is a danger to herself and the entire world; and the Dog Lord who is having some buyer's remorse about the means employed and the end result of his attempt to become king of the clans. Whereas in the first book Ash and Raif come together, in this one they are separated and become two wholly independent storylines, giving Jones the opportunity to broaden and deepen our understanding of the world. Through their two stories we spend a lot of time with the Maimed Men (a semi-clan formed of outcasts) and the Sull, an older race than man whose history is given in more detail than in the first, giving the reader a sense of the larger battle between good and evil that is raging above, beyond, and through, the more petty human wars.

New side characters are introduced and as is typical of J.V. Jones, given full flesh so that they stand as characters in their own right as opposed to plot movers. Raif's time with the Maimed Men and Ash's journey to the heartland of the Sull are both well-plotted and paced and filled with tension. Meanwhile, the clan wars grow as I've said in complexity as motivations become cloudy, unintended results become clear, new characters enter the stage, new alliances form, even between former enemies. Through it all stand the Dog Lord, one of Jones' best characters and most human and even at times most humane (even as he orders the deaths of many) and Raina, Raif's mother who sacrifices her own happiness to do what's best for her clan, though she struggles throughout the book with just what that means. Then there are the storylines involving Raif's younger sister, terrorized by Mace Blackhail and accused of witchcraft; the sorceror's former servant who escapes the mines and treks across the land to try and rescue his lord from below the Splinter, the various machinations of those who would be rulers — the surlord Iss, his general One-Eye, his sorcerous accomplice.

What most impresses is not simply the complexity of the plot or the manner in which Jones manages to make that complexity readable, but also the complexity of the characters and their decisions. While grey is the color of the ice in the title, it could also stand for many of the situations the characters find themselves in. There is little clear-cut in this work. Characters are seldom if ever given an easy — there is rarely a choice between good and bad but rather between bad and less bad. Our characters can't avoid killing and Jones doesn't give them or the reader an out by making everyone they kill evil. Characters are torn, they are unsure, and even their best intentions sometimes rebound on them in horrible ways.

And here comes the bad part. She does such a good job of creating, maintaining, and raising the tension, such a good job of creating complex situations and complex characters, that several of the endings to the storylines feel anti-climatic in the way in which they happen so abruptly. Resolved or unresolved, they come to a close in a rushed fashion, robbing the book at the very end of much of its power. But, if the biggest complaint is a few dozen pages out of several hundred, I can live with that. A Fortress of Grey Ice, rather than be a placeholder for the trilogy, moves the story in interesting, exciting, and unexpected ways and I look forward to the next book, hoping that its ending keeps the promise of its middle.
—Bill Capossere

A Sword from Red Ice: J.V. Jones is a great story-teller

This series hooked me with the first one, A Cavern of Black Ice, and I've since read all of J.V. Jones' books. Sure there are better writers out there, but as far as good story-telling goes, Ms. Jones is up there with the best of them.

Sword of Shadows reads like a tale told by the village story-teller or a traveling minstrel earning his next room and board. To me, that's the way a fantasy story should be written, like it's a story you'd expect to hear while waiting out a storm in cozy hearth-warmed pub or told to a group of warriors-hunters gathered around a camp-fire deep in a primeval forest. JVJ writes just enough description to give you a solid image and feel of the people and places of this world without bogging down the story with too much detail. (Unfortunately description has seemed to become a forgotten art in a lot of the new fantasy books). She is truly gifted at character creation. They are real and interesting. The vilest can have commendable traits and the most heroic can carry dark secrets.

A Sword from Red Ice keeps the momentum of the series rolling and leaves you anxiously waiting for the next book. Just like one of its characters, Angus Lok, this installment gives you just enough information to keep you traveling the path but holds some back and you'll just have to see this adventure through to get all the answers. —Greg Hersom

Watcher of the Dead

Watcher of the Dead has a momentum that’s like watching black clouds grow in mass for a storm you just know will be enormous.

In a world fraught with clan wars and military invasions, the individual power struggles grow even more desperate as the ancient evil called the Endlords opens a breach into existence. Sadaluk No Ears, the Listener for the Ice Trapper people, may never return from a dangerous trek into the frozen wastes. Raif Sevrance, now possessing the sword called Loss, is learning the hard way what it means to be the Watcher of the Dead. Ash March must choose a Sull name, and even though she is finally in the land of her new people, she still finds no safe haven. Raina Blackhail becomes more entrenched in treason against her husband, the chief of the Clan Blackhail. Bram Dhoone begins his training as a member of the Phage, a clandestine group dedicated to defending against the Endlords.

Meanwhile, Angus Lok proves just how dangerous a Phage can be, as he must go rogue to protect his daughter. With the return of the Endlords, Vaylo Bludd, the war-hardened chief of Clan Bludd, may be forced into another treacherous alliance. Little Effie Sevrance discovers that she also has a significant role as she investigates the curse of Clan Grey, who has taken her captive. And the Sull, well, the Sull are just “bad-to-the bone.”

J.V. Jones paints a world of wild artic forests, frozen wastelands, snow-capped mountains and — just south of the Clanholds — an occasional frontier city. Knowing that I was returning to her world, I felt cold before I even opened the book.

In fact, it’s the believability that makes this all so much fun. J.V. Jones knows this world like she’s lived there. She’s a master with little details and uses them cleverly — never too much and written in a simple matter-of-fact way. I’d love to know where she gets her inspirations, because it’s all so fascinating.

SWORD OF SHADOWS is written in a multi-person point-of-view format, but unlike many fantasy epics that have the occasional “filler” chapters devoted to a character that’s not particularly interesting, every SWORD OF SHADOWS character is exciting. Because of this, the reader is eager to start each new chapter. Even their names are flat-out-cool and they’re easily pronounceable, which (fantasy authors please take note) makes the reading flow effortlessly.

I’ve read all of J.V. Jones’ books and thoroughly enjoyed each one, but with the SWORD OF SHADOWS she proves that she can stand up to any of today’s popular fantasy authors. Watcher of the Dead reinforces my belief that this series should be getting as much notoriety as George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE or Steven Erikson’s MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN.
—Greg Hersom