A pregnant woman stumbles through the snow, collapses and breathes her last, even as she gives birth, and a sinister figure appears over her to take the child for his own. So opens "A Cavern of Black Ice" by J.V. Jones.

The book picks up years later and follows two main characters. Ash March is the child born in the snow. A girl possessed of growing, sorcerous power that she is unable to control, and which her sinister stepfather Penthero Iss, ruler of the city of Spire Vanis, intends to use for his own terrible purposes.

Raif Sevrance is a young, untried warrior of the northern barbarians with his own strange gifts. He will soon find himself unwittingly drawn into a web of intrigue he cannot hope to comprehend and made an exile from his own people.

Though they begin the tale unknown to one another, together these two will face challenges sorcerous, otherworldly, and from their fellow humans on a quest to save the world from ruin.

The first book in a trilogy, Jones crafts an epic fantasy far above average. Two things especially stand out: firstly, the climate. The story is set in the frozen north, and Jones has done her research well concerning the survival mechanisms of a primitive culture in such an environment. The cold is like a living thing, ever present and apt to steal your breath away if you're careless. It's hard to read without shivering at times.

Second, the names. Jones has a rare gift for stringing syllables together in a way that catches the imagination. 'Ash March' suggests the tragedy of this character's past and the long and difficult quest ahead of her. 'Raif Sevrance,' his fist name eerily similar to 'waif' reinforces his status as an outcast. 'Penthero Iss' is as suave, cunning and ruthless as his name hints.

Other names include Mace Blackhail, Marafice Eye, Angus Lok, Vaylo Bludd and Sarga Veys. These sounds quickly come to embody the characters and I often found myself saying them to myself while I read.

In addition, Jones' secondary characters are also engaging, especially Effie Sevrance, Raif's young sister and probably the most endearing character in the book.

Recommended for all lovers of good fiction, though I must caution that Jones doesn't flinch from describing the brutality of her medieval world.

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Created Feb 17, 2006 at 1:46pm • Submit your own review...