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| - The Icemark Chronicles is a little-known trilogy of books by equally little-known British writer Stuart Hill. The trilogy takes place in a world so full of counterpart cultures that it may as well be a straight-out parallel world. Most of the action takes place in the Icemark, a 'tiny kingdom' in the north, and the Icesheets even further north. The Icemark is British/Norse in feel. The main antagonists are the Polypontian Empire: basically Romans with better technology. There are also the Desert People, who are Muslim Arabs, the Lusu people who seem to be based on the Zulu, and the Venettians (from Venezzia) and Hellenes(Greeks). The books are, in order:
* The Cry of the Icemark (2005) Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, fourteen-year-old protagonist, becomes Queen of the Icemark when her father, King Redrought, is killed in battle against the invading Polypontian army. Unfortunately this battle also wipes out the Icemark's entire army, so Thirrin has to do some pretty fast organising and treaty-making over the winter to fend off a second invasion. With their new friends and allies, including werewolves, giant Snow Leopards, vampires, the Kings of the Great Forest, and a young warlock (no, not that kind) named Oskan, the Icemark faces up to the seemingly undefeatable General Scipio Bellorum and his very, very big army. They win, but Bellorum escapes, leaving things open for...
* Blade of Fire (2007) Set twenty years after the end of the first book, the Icemark prepares for another invasion by Bellorum. This time, he has two sons and a fleet of bombing airships to help him. The Icemark High Command decides to evacuate the entire civilian population, including the youngest son of Thirrin and Oskan, Charlemagne Athelstan Redrought Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, or 'Sharley' considering that nobody can really be bothered to say his whole name. Sharley, more than a little annoyed at being sent away, takes it upon himself to carry on his mother's alliance-forging work and make friends with the Desert People, with the help of his elderly tutor Maggiore Totus and Crown Prince Mekhmet of said People. Mekhmet suggests they go south to bring the Lusu people into their fight, the Lusu Queen hardly needs persuading, and they return to the Icemark in a just-in-time blaze of glory. Hurrah! A subplot involves Sharley's one-year-older sister Medea dabbling in Dark magics. How exciting it is compared to the main plot is a matter of opinion, but it sets things up for...
* Last Battle of the Icemark (2008) Not quite as ominous as the title makes it seem. With the defeat of the Polypontians at the end of the second book, Hill needed a new antagonist. He settled on Erinor of Artemision and her dinosaur cavalry (Triceratops used like war elephants, if you're wondering), and Oskan's father Cronus, his Ice Demons and his new Dragon, Medea. Erinor's dinosaur cavalry move in on what remains of the Polypontian Empire, fully intending to move on to the Icemark afterwards. Responding to a plea for help from the Empire, a reluctant Thirrin leads her army into the heart of what was once enemy territory, leaving the Icemark open for an invasion from the Darkness. Cronus' invasion is but an attempt to force Oskan's hand, either to tempt him to join the Dark and make them invincible, or to destroy him so no mortal may stand against Cronus and his eventual invasion of the heavens. Instead of any great battle with trebuchets and fire, Oskan sacrifices himself to make use of an ancient curse that destroys magic-users who slay their own kin, defeating Cronus and Medea. There is no further Sequel Hook though a prequel called 'Redrought' will be released.
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