Blade of Fire
Encyclopedia
Blade of Fire is the second novel in Stuart Hill
's fantasy series, the Icemark Chronicles
.
But this time, they have the help of their five children: Cressida, the Crown Princess and military extraordinaire; Eodred and Cerdic, the twin warrior princes; Charlemagne (Sharley), stricken with polio at a young age, and much to his chagrin, cannot be a warrior; and finally Medea
, the dark daughter and the only inheritor to her father's gift.
A burning hatred for Charlemagne causes Medea to turn against her family. Early on in the book Oskan has a prophecy
about Sharley. About a week or two later Sharley is sent off into exile to be Prince Regent to the exiles. Maggie, his tutor, goes with him. He is sent to the Southern Continent where he makes some unexpected allies and friends. This includes the Desert People (he befriends the Sultan's son) and the Lusu people of Arifica.
Maggie falls ill on the journey to the Sultan's palace and is sent to stay in oasis where he recovers. On the journey to Lusuland, an unexpected storm comes but the spirits of the desert (the blessed women) save them from harm. On the sea voyage back to Icemark the fleet of Lusu people and the desert people are attacked by the Empire's biggest allies.
Then before the final battle against the Polypontians, Medea possesses the Crown Prince of the desert people, Mehkmet, and turns him against Sharley. With the help of the Blessed Women though, Medea is defeated. Later when Oskan is about to call down lightning, Medea steals his lightning and is about to use it against Sharley but Oskan blocks the lightning, sending it back toward Medea. Oskan attacks Medea because he found out that Medea betrayed the Icemark and banishes her to the seventh plain of the magical realms called The Circle Of Dark.
Octavius is killed by Sharley and Sulla is killed by Cressida. After the battle Scipio is beheaded by Thirrin and the Vampire Queen rips apart his body. Icemark has defeated the Empire.
.
See Medea (The Icemark Chronicles)
.
said of it, "Hill is great at battle-scenes, and his benign werewolves and vampires are a pleasing twist on the legendary monsters. Despite that The Times wasn't over enthusiastic about the sequel. Books For Keeps noted that, "Hill is ingenious in his use of real historical figures and societies as the basis of fantasy."
Stuart Hill (Author)
Stuart Hill is a British author. He was born in Leicester, where he still lives. He has written three books in The Icemark Chronicles: The Cry of the Icemark, Blade of Fire and Last Battle of the Icemark. He studied English, Classics and Ancient History at Newcastle University.On July 25 2011 ...
's fantasy series, the Icemark Chronicles
The Icemark Chronicles
The Icemark Chronicles is a series of books consisting of The Cry of the Icemark, followed by Blade of Fire, and Last Battle of the Icemark and the upcoming prequel called Redrought. The books were written by Stuart Hill from Leicester. Fox 2000 Pictures optioned the film rights to the book...
.
Plot summary
Blade of Fire takes place 20 years after the first novel. The story follows Thirrin's and Oskan's (now married) new efforts to repel the imposing threat of Imperial invasion, yet again at the hands of Scipio Bellorum and his bloodthirsty sons, Octavius and Sulla.But this time, they have the help of their five children: Cressida, the Crown Princess and military extraordinaire; Eodred and Cerdic, the twin warrior princes; Charlemagne (Sharley), stricken with polio at a young age, and much to his chagrin, cannot be a warrior; and finally Medea
Medea (The Icemark Chronicles)
Medea Clytemnestra Strong-In-The-Arm Lindenshield is a fictional character and the chief antagonist from Stuart Hill's fantasy trilogy of books called The Icemark Chronicles. She appears in a major role in both Blade Of Fire and Last Battle Of The Icemark...
, the dark daughter and the only inheritor to her father's gift.
A burning hatred for Charlemagne causes Medea to turn against her family. Early on in the book Oskan has a prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
about Sharley. About a week or two later Sharley is sent off into exile to be Prince Regent to the exiles. Maggie, his tutor, goes with him. He is sent to the Southern Continent where he makes some unexpected allies and friends. This includes the Desert People (he befriends the Sultan's son) and the Lusu people of Arifica.
Maggie falls ill on the journey to the Sultan's palace and is sent to stay in oasis where he recovers. On the journey to Lusuland, an unexpected storm comes but the spirits of the desert (the blessed women) save them from harm. On the sea voyage back to Icemark the fleet of Lusu people and the desert people are attacked by the Empire's biggest allies.
Then before the final battle against the Polypontians, Medea possesses the Crown Prince of the desert people, Mehkmet, and turns him against Sharley. With the help of the Blessed Women though, Medea is defeated. Later when Oskan is about to call down lightning, Medea steals his lightning and is about to use it against Sharley but Oskan blocks the lightning, sending it back toward Medea. Oskan attacks Medea because he found out that Medea betrayed the Icemark and banishes her to the seventh plain of the magical realms called The Circle Of Dark.
Octavius is killed by Sharley and Sulla is killed by Cressida. After the battle Scipio is beheaded by Thirrin and the Vampire Queen rips apart his body. Icemark has defeated the Empire.
Characters
See Characters in the Icemark ChroniclesCharacters in the Icemark Chronicles
This is a list of characters in The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill. These fictional characters are sorted by book they appeared in, and by alphabetical order:-Elemnestra, Basilea of the Hypolitan:...
.
See Medea (The Icemark Chronicles)
Medea (The Icemark Chronicles)
Medea Clytemnestra Strong-In-The-Arm Lindenshield is a fictional character and the chief antagonist from Stuart Hill's fantasy trilogy of books called The Icemark Chronicles. She appears in a major role in both Blade Of Fire and Last Battle Of The Icemark...
.
Reception
Blade Of Fire received mainly positive reviews but with a few negative reviews. The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said of it, "Hill is great at battle-scenes, and his benign werewolves and vampires are a pleasing twist on the legendary monsters. Despite that The Times wasn't over enthusiastic about the sequel. Books For Keeps noted that, "Hill is ingenious in his use of real historical figures and societies as the basis of fantasy."