Prince of Ice by Stobie Piel

The peace of Amrodel has come to an end. The power of the Arch Mage had grown strong enough to reach the woodlands even from where he lay undead in the mountains, and he’d wasted no time in immobilizing the kingdom’s defenders. Only one hope remained: a girl, the would-be sorceress Cahira. Her archery was nonpareil, but she had never been able to focus her magic.

Upon her shoulders lay the fate of her people.
Long ago it had been prophesied that “only one of pure light could withstand the darkness.” Cahira’s task was to find that man and give him the Dragonfly sword. But how? Not the man foretold. She had seen him as a youngster, been captivated by his fine blond curls and devilish grin… but Aren was one of her people’s ancestral enemies, a brutish Norskman. He was their leader! All Cahira loved lay in the balance, and she and her friends were being sent into the cold north to find a barbaric rogue. North to danger, north to salvation, north to find the Prince of Ice…

My Thoughts

Darkness has settled over the land of Amordel, and the Arch Mage, who had been temporarily defeated in the past, once again seeks to take over the world. With all the mages under a spell and in a deep sleep, it us up to Cahira, daughter of the late King of Amrodel, to find the Warrior of the Light so that he may use the Dragonfly sword and defeat the evil Mage. She is joined on her Quest by her non-magical friends and they journey into the land of their enemy, Norskland, to search for the Warrior of Light.

Aren, son of Arkyn, is Chief of the Norsk and is the warrior needed to wield the sword. Aren is a non-magical being and after much convincing, he and a few of his men are persuaded to join the quest and they begin their journey to the catacombs of the Arch Mage for the final confrontation. On their journey, tempers flare as those loyal to one or the other try to dominate the group and loyalty is questioned.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I loved it. The triumph of good over evil, the tale of timeless love, a sexy, strong, sensitive hero and a quirky, strong and empowering heroine is always a good read. There were also several strong supporting characters, including the wise old sage, Felix, a talking bat. The ending was unique, completely unexpected and very satisfying.

What I didn’t like about this book is the character development, especially the development of our hero and heroine. We know that both Cahira and Aren have special abilities, but we do not see these abilities progress. In the beginning, we know that Cahira is a mage, but that her ki - her magical ability- is erratic and unpredictable. Over the course of the book, I was expecting her to ‘come into her own’, to gain control of her power. This did not happen. And then there is Aren. While he is not a mage, he does have mage-like abilities and not once do we see these abilities discovered. I found it very frustrating.

Another thing I disliked was the character Shaen. Annoying, predictable and boring, I found myself skipping over her scenes as they bored me senseless.

Over all, not a bad book but one I am unlikely to recommend. If you must read it, I suggest borrowing it from the library or finding one cheap at a used bookstore.