''Blade of Fire'' is the second novel in Stuart Hill's fantasy series, the Icemark Chronicles.

Plot

''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 Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at a young age, and much to his chagrin, cannot be a warrior; and finally

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

, 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 In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

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 Chronicles This is a list of characters in The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill. These fictional characters are sorted by the book they appeared in, and by alphabetical order: The Cry of the Icemark Elemnestra, Basilea of the Hypolitan Elemnestra was the ...

''. ''See Medea (The Icemark Chronicles)''.

Reception

Blade Of Fire received mainly positive reviews but with a few negative reviews.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

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."

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blade Of Fire 2007 British novels British fantasy novels The Icemark Chronicles The Chicken House books