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kraley's review
4.0
I read this book because it was on mp3 and available at my library (not always the best criteria), but I was pleasantly surprised. The author did a great job telling the Norse stories without being heavy handed. He wove us a tale of ice and snow to be followed by a great thaw. It was more pleasurable than I hoped for. Kirby did his research and made the time period come alive. Well done.
abbieallen's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
michellehenriereads's review
4.0
I found this to be a well crafted and enjoyable read. Kirby has set the story in a Nordic medieval time period. I loved the simplified Norse mythology which had the cadence I would imagine the bards of the time would have used. I also liked it when Solveig states that she can imagine the fear the people in Ireland must feel when they see the dragon crested ships coming to attack their lands, as she feels the same fear looking at the ship.
Solveig is the middle child, and vastly under-appreciated. She is not the heir, she is not beautiful to help with an advantageous marriage, she is worthless in her father's eyes. Not only does the king believe she is worthless, she believes it herself. The skald, or bard, recognizes that she has a rare talent to tell stories.
Icefall is violent with many characters dying because of poison, warfare and a terrible flood, though not ...
To read the full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
Solveig is the middle child, and vastly under-appreciated. She is not the heir, she is not beautiful to help with an advantageous marriage, she is worthless in her father's eyes. Not only does the king believe she is worthless, she believes it herself. The skald, or bard, recognizes that she has a rare talent to tell stories.
Icefall is violent with many characters dying because of poison, warfare and a terrible flood, though not ...
To read the full review go to http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
aoosterwyk's review
4.0
Just in time for the release of Brave, here is a story of a young Norse girl who is a middle child and largely in the shadow of her younger brother, the heir, and her older sister, the beauty. She must find her place in life and proves to be both brave and wise. Her mother is dead and her father is warring against a persistent suitor of the elder sister. The children are sent away to hide with some trusted servants and beserkers (crazy-mad soldiers). The book provides frank discussions about loyalty, obedience, storytelling, myth, and freedom.
surlymanor's review
4.0
Mystery & adventure, set in viking-ish era perhapsIceland.
A couple thoughts:
-main character Solveig reminds me of Arya from Game of Thrones
-really well developed characters, both human and animal
-lots of lovely, lonely, claustrophobic passages describing life on a glacier in the middle of the winter as an overlooked, self esteem grappling middle child
A couple thoughts:
-main character Solveig reminds me of Arya from Game of Thrones
-really well developed characters, both human and animal
-lots of lovely, lonely, claustrophobic passages describing life on a glacier in the middle of the winter as an overlooked, self esteem grappling middle child
sparklingreader's review
5.0
Stuck in a tiny fortress situated between high mountains, a glacier, and a frozen fjord, Solveig, her brother Harald, and sister Asa, are surrounded by their father’s warriors, a few servants, and a skald (storyteller). The king sent them to the far north for their protection during a war, but no one considered treachery from one of their own.
Solveig has always been the overlooked on. She is not beautiful like her older sister, nor a male heir like her younger brother. She’s just Solveig. Even her father rarely acknowledges her. But Solveig is important in a different way, as she finds out during the long winter. She is the one whose stories calm the restless warriors during the long nights and bring them comfort when they are struck down by a fatal poison. Thanks to the tutelage of Alric, her father’s skald, she learns she has a voice and that gives her power. Forced to face harsh realities, she comes to understand that the fiercest warriors may have the gentlest hearts and the ones you trusted most may have dark secrets. She also learns that courage comes in many forms.
Mr. Kirby has written a moving story full of action and adventure that will appeal to both boys and girls. It is the type of story that draws you in and doesn’t let go until the last page. Though younger readers may not understand all the Viking references and terms, they’ll figure it out through contextual clues, and even if they don’t, it’s still a great story.
For a strong story set in distant Viking times with a touch of suspense, myths, action, and emotional ups and downs, definitely pick up Icefall when it comes out in October. Your tweens will enjoy it – and while you’re at it, read it yourself. You’ll be glad you did. It’s definitely a story worth reading.
Solveig has always been the overlooked on. She is not beautiful like her older sister, nor a male heir like her younger brother. She’s just Solveig. Even her father rarely acknowledges her. But Solveig is important in a different way, as she finds out during the long winter. She is the one whose stories calm the restless warriors during the long nights and bring them comfort when they are struck down by a fatal poison. Thanks to the tutelage of Alric, her father’s skald, she learns she has a voice and that gives her power. Forced to face harsh realities, she comes to understand that the fiercest warriors may have the gentlest hearts and the ones you trusted most may have dark secrets. She also learns that courage comes in many forms.
Mr. Kirby has written a moving story full of action and adventure that will appeal to both boys and girls. It is the type of story that draws you in and doesn’t let go until the last page. Though younger readers may not understand all the Viking references and terms, they’ll figure it out through contextual clues, and even if they don’t, it’s still a great story.
For a strong story set in distant Viking times with a touch of suspense, myths, action, and emotional ups and downs, definitely pick up Icefall when it comes out in October. Your tweens will enjoy it – and while you’re at it, read it yourself. You’ll be glad you did. It’s definitely a story worth reading.
brandypainter's review
4.0
Originally posted here.
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby is a book I have had my eye on for a while. It is excellent historical fiction full of mystery, treachery, and deceit with Vikings and berserkers. I love when books are set in different times and places we don't have an overabundance of books about. So much the better when they are as well written as this one.
Solveig suffers from middle child syndrome in the worst kind of way. Her older sister is beautiful and valuable to their father in the marriage she may make. Her younger brother is the heir. She is plain, unhelpful, and unnoticed. As the story moves on Solveig comes to see she has valuable strengths that she can use to carve a place in the world for herself. I love stories like this, where the character embraces who they are and uses that rather than trying to become something they are not. I loved how Solveig came to see herself as worthy and began to care less about how others saw her. She is brave, smart, and talented and uses all of these to save her companions from the treachery they are facing. I enjoyed the sibling dynamic of the story as well and thought it played out very realistically.
I particularly enjoyed the way the setting reflected Solvieg's feelings and mood. The frozen cold of winter, the thawing, the breaking, and renewal. This parallel was subtle and done very well. The language is wonderfully descriptive:
I sit down. I don't want t o cry anymore, so I keep my thoughts away from Hilda and listen to the ice. It speaks to me of scouring winds, of cloudless nights, of endless cold. It measures its loneliness by the weight of its layers, the years and years of snow falling unobserved. I've been told its lament is the loudest at the beginning of winter and the coming of summer, as if it knows that is the closest it will ever come to warmth and thaw. As if it yearns for its own demise. But it can will be only what it is, bleak and alone, until the breaking of the world.
This language could have been too much and overdone but Kirby uses it sparingly. The result is that when he does it packs a punch and drives a point home.
The mystery was not a terribly difficult one to unravel (though it will be harder for a young reader) but I did enjoy watching the interactions between the people as it all unfolded.
Icefall was a finalist for this year's Cybil Awards in the category of MG science fiction and fantasy. I feel like calling this a fantasy is a bit of false advertising. It is fantasy in the same type of way one might classify Holes by Lois Sachar or Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta as fantasy. Which is to say I wouldn't. I'm clearly in the minority on this but I believe it is more accurately labeled as simple historical fiction. Of course it is also a mystery as its recent Edgar Award proves.
Nitpicky genre discussions aside, this is a book that will appeal to any who like stories with brave protagonists, mystery, action, and adventure.
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby is a book I have had my eye on for a while. It is excellent historical fiction full of mystery, treachery, and deceit with Vikings and berserkers. I love when books are set in different times and places we don't have an overabundance of books about. So much the better when they are as well written as this one.
Solveig suffers from middle child syndrome in the worst kind of way. Her older sister is beautiful and valuable to their father in the marriage she may make. Her younger brother is the heir. She is plain, unhelpful, and unnoticed. As the story moves on Solveig comes to see she has valuable strengths that she can use to carve a place in the world for herself. I love stories like this, where the character embraces who they are and uses that rather than trying to become something they are not. I loved how Solveig came to see herself as worthy and began to care less about how others saw her. She is brave, smart, and talented and uses all of these to save her companions from the treachery they are facing. I enjoyed the sibling dynamic of the story as well and thought it played out very realistically.
I particularly enjoyed the way the setting reflected Solvieg's feelings and mood. The frozen cold of winter, the thawing, the breaking, and renewal. This parallel was subtle and done very well. The language is wonderfully descriptive:
I sit down. I don't want t o cry anymore, so I keep my thoughts away from Hilda and listen to the ice. It speaks to me of scouring winds, of cloudless nights, of endless cold. It measures its loneliness by the weight of its layers, the years and years of snow falling unobserved. I've been told its lament is the loudest at the beginning of winter and the coming of summer, as if it knows that is the closest it will ever come to warmth and thaw. As if it yearns for its own demise. But it can will be only what it is, bleak and alone, until the breaking of the world.
This language could have been too much and overdone but Kirby uses it sparingly. The result is that when he does it packs a punch and drives a point home.
The mystery was not a terribly difficult one to unravel (though it will be harder for a young reader) but I did enjoy watching the interactions between the people as it all unfolded.
Icefall was a finalist for this year's Cybil Awards in the category of MG science fiction and fantasy. I feel like calling this a fantasy is a bit of false advertising. It is fantasy in the same type of way one might classify Holes by Lois Sachar or Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta as fantasy. Which is to say I wouldn't. I'm clearly in the minority on this but I believe it is more accurately labeled as simple historical fiction. Of course it is also a mystery as its recent Edgar Award proves.
Nitpicky genre discussions aside, this is a book that will appeal to any who like stories with brave protagonists, mystery, action, and adventure.
bookgirl4ever's review
5.0
Solvieg isn't beautiful like her older sister Asa, nor can she inherit the throne (her younger brother Harald has that honor). Solvieg's father doesn't seem have much use for a second daughter. She is invisible. When her father and another king go to war, she and her siblings are shipped to a hiding place for safety. Their father entrusts a select group of people to keep his children safe. He promises to send supplies but winter is fast approaching and the fjord (their only way out) is icing over. Then appear the berserkers and a storyteller sent by the king as more protection. Soon the group finds a traitor is in their midst. Solvieg must use her burgeoning talent to keep the party from turning on each other and save her family.
Lots of Norse mythology and suspense.
Middle school on up.
Lots of Norse mythology and suspense.
Middle school on up.
aneeqah's review
4.0
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
Dang, this book was so much better than what I was expecting! The beginning was super slow, but the ending totally made up for it.
Full review to come!
Dang, this book was so much better than what I was expecting! The beginning was super slow, but the ending totally made up for it.
Full review to come!
asimilarkite's review
4.0
With all the Rick Riordan obsessiveness and the focus on Greek/Roman/Egyptian mythology, I was REALLY excited to find a book that focuses on Norse mythology. Also really excited to find out that it was a mystery, and not set in contemporary times, and with a strong female protagonist and beautiful writing.
I listened to the audio book on this way (without knowing at first that it's narrated by my FAVORITEST audio book narrator, Jenna Lamia), and it was a great way to experience the book. First, because a lot of the names/words are not super intuitive to pronounce (of course the word "skald" is pronounced "scowled"...), and second because Jenna Lamia is THE BEST at internal monologue and thoughtful heroines.
I LOVED that this book centers around a mystery and Norse mythology, but at its core it's a book about the POWER of STORIES. It explores a lot about what it means for a story to be "true", and what it means to be a storyteller. I also loved how the author wove in the Norse mythology to parallel the journey taken by its main characters. Solveig is such a lovely, wonderful character, and I want to find out what happens to her after the book ends.
This book also has the distinction of being able to transcend age. I am pretty sure that a strong 4th grade reader will appreciate this as much as a 10th grader would. I am reading this book with my 9-12 year-old book club, and I hope they like it.
I listened to the audio book on this way (without knowing at first that it's narrated by my FAVORITEST audio book narrator, Jenna Lamia), and it was a great way to experience the book. First, because a lot of the names/words are not super intuitive to pronounce (of course the word "skald" is pronounced "scowled"...), and second because Jenna Lamia is THE BEST at internal monologue and thoughtful heroines.
I LOVED that this book centers around a mystery and Norse mythology, but at its core it's a book about the POWER of STORIES. It explores a lot about what it means for a story to be "true", and what it means to be a storyteller. I also loved how the author wove in the Norse mythology to parallel the journey taken by its main characters. Solveig is such a lovely, wonderful character, and I want to find out what happens to her after the book ends.
This book also has the distinction of being able to transcend age. I am pretty sure that a strong 4th grade reader will appreciate this as much as a 10th grader would. I am reading this book with my 9-12 year-old book club, and I hope they like it.