Stop.....the.....presses! A thoughtful, intelligent children's book?...Yeppers, it's true...behold... ...The Ice Dragon.That wascally wabbit, George R. R. Martin, has done it yet again! He's written an elegant, pulchritudinous children’s/YA novella that spins a captivating tale that has the added virtue of respecting the brain matter of its readers. Well done, Ser Martin, well done......okay, you've been dipped in glory and praisified...now get yon self back to thy scribing of the next SOIAF volume before thou ist given the slappeth of bitch by thou adoring but impatient fanatics. I feel better now...I call this a children's story but this is really located somewhere along on the murky, contentious border between YA and kiddy book. It's structured much like a children’s story but deals with subtle, more adulty themes as well as being infused with a number of Martinesque dark moments...Hey, it’s GRRM so what would you expect? Call it a tweener, but a tweener that this adult (and I use that term VERY loosely) found well done and read-worthy with or without the offspring. PLOT SUMMARY:The main character is a clever little girl named Adara who lives on a small farm with her father, brothers and sisters after her mother died giving birth to her (I told you, it's GRRM, so just be happy she wasn't raped or tortured first). Adara is known as a “Winter’s Child” for she was so ice cold when she was born that she was almost blue and has remained this way all her life. In addition to being physically cold, and here the true genius of Martin’s story pops up to say "hello," Adara is also emotionally distant and detached from her family and outwardly shows virtually no emotion. She's never cried and even when in physical pain, her reaction is muted and stoical. Martin uses this “fantasy” element of Adara’s physical temperature and the tie in to her emotional detachment as a roadmap for exploring Adara’s growth and change throughout the tale. While the prose is straight forward and child-friendly, there is a depth to the writing that is often lacking from stories aimed at a younger audience. Brief pause so I can info dump:Here is a less than subtle world-building/backstory exposition that's not really important to my review but is included for those, like me, who like a sense of the story setting. The tale takes place in what seems to be a pretty standard medieval type locale with the only fantasy elements being Adara’s condition and the existence of dragons. The land that Adara lives in has been in a long, protracted war with a neighboring kingdom. Each army has their own core of trained dragons that act as air support for ground troops. Adara’s uncle is a captain of a regiment of dragon riders and is the means by which Adara and her family (and us as the reader) are made aware of events outside the farm. ... End of brief pause...Back to the review. So Adara’s favorite time of the year is, DUH, winter and this is the only time she feels truly content. One winter, she meets and befriends the titular Ice Dragon, an extremely rare breed that, unlike the fire-breathers, have never been tamed or interacted with humans. The Ice Dragons are considerable larger and more powerful than the more common fire-breathers but can only survive in the cold. Here is an excerpt from the book in which Martin does a great job of describing the Ice Dragon: The ice dragon was a crystalline white, that shade of white that is so hard and cold that it is almost blue. It was covered with hoarfrost, so when it moved its skin broke and crackled as the crust on the snow crackles beneath a man's boots, and flakes of rime fell off. Its eyes were clear and deep and icy. Its wings were vast and bat-like, colored all a faint translucent blue. Adara could see the clouds through them, and oftentimes the moon and stars, when the beast wheeled in frozen circles through the skies. Its teeth were icicles, a triple row of them, jagged spears of unequal length, white against its deep blue maw.When the ice dragon beat its wings, the cold winds blew and the snow swirled and scurried and the world seemed to shrink and shiver. Sometimes when a door flew open in the cold of winter, driven by a sudden gust of wind, the householder would run to bolt it and say, "An ice dragon flies nearby."And when the ice dragon opened its great mouth, and exhaled, it was not fire that came streaming out, the burning sulfurous stink of lesser dragons. The ice dragon breathed cold. Ice formed when it breathed. Warmth fled. Fires guttered and went out, shriven by the chill. Trees froze through to their slow secret souls, and their limbs turned brittle and cracked from their own weight. Animals turned blue and whimpered and died, their eyes bulging and their skin covered over with frost.The ice dragon breathed death into the world; death and quiet and cold. So Adara and the Ice Dragon, these two creatures of winter, form a special relationship over several winters. That is, until the outside world in the form of the ongoing war changes circumstances forever and Adara is forced to make some very difficult and life-changing decisions. I thought this story was smart, engaging and deftly done. I think that older children can read this and enjoy it even if they don’t absorb the more subtle points of Martin’s narrative (which the grown ups will be happy are there). One of the better children stories of its type that I have read and one that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 4.0 stars.
3.5 «When the ice dragon beat its wings, the cold winds blew and the snow swirled and scurried and the world seemed to shrink and shiver.»Este es un libro corto que se lee muy rápido. Si les gusta George Martin y las historias infantiles (aunque ésta lo es taaanto) probablemente lo disfruten. Por momentos la narración es un poco más simple que en sus otras historias, pero se encuentran muchos de los elementos que vuelven su modo de escribir tan reconocible, aunque en un tono más inocente. En los diálogos de los adultos, sin embargo, se ve bien claro el estilo característico del autor.Se lee sorprendentemente rápido, y si no fuera por las bellísimas ilustraciones de Luis Royo (que no pude apreciar completamente por leer la versión digital) la historia ocuparía muchísimas menos páginas. Adara es una niña del invierno. Nació un día helado que le costó la vida a su madre, y quizás sea por eso o por alguna otra razón, es fría en alma y piel. Jamás sonríe, jamás llora, y no tiene amigos realmente. Es una niñita solitaria y distinta, que ni su propia familia comprende realmente. Simplemente tiene una personalidad diferente y un cuerpo constantemente helado, y es por eso que los animales del invierno –que normalmente no resisten el calor humano– pueden acercarse a ella sin derretirse.La alegría de Aldara es la llegada del clima frío, cuando vuelve el dragón de hielo que sólo se muestra ante ella, y con quien ha formado un lazo de lealtad y amistad.La descripción del dragón de hielo es hermosa, y me hizo desear que aparezca alguno en Canción de Hielo y Fuego (aunque no estoy tan segura de que sea el mismo mundo, el ciclo de las estaciones no coincide). Sólo con las descripciones y la construcción del pequeño mundo de Adara la historia ya me compró, además de que ella me enterneció con su soledad, sus castillos de nieve y el amor especial que tiene por los animales.No diría que es un cuento para niños, la verdad es que no se lo daría a nadie de menos de 12 años, y siempre dependiendo de lo impresionable o sensible que sea. Hay soldados volviendo mutilados de la guerra y muertes crueles y dolorosas (en serio, George Martin no puede con su genio), y otros momentos agridulces que de chica no me hubieran hecho gracia. La verdad verdadera es que me entristecieron aún ahora, siendo una grandota pava.De todos modos es un libro muy bonito para los seguidores del autor (algún día lo compraré impreso), y si bien no es lo mejor que ha hecho, es una historia bien pensada que se disfruta. Lo recomiendo para el que quiera tener una dosis breve de George R.R. Martin y ver unas bellísimas ilustraciones de Luis Royo.Reseña de Fantasía Mágica
What do You think about The Ice Dragon (2006)?
You can read this review and more on my blogIn a nutshell: The Ice Dragon is a great fantasy read for all ages with beautiful illustrations. I picked this book up from my library in the spur of the moment. I'm a big fan of A Game of Thrones and I've been eying The Ice Dragon ever since I heard about its re-release fairly recently. It was a well-written little story set in the world of ASOIAF. The premise is a simple one but I really enjoyed reading it. The Ice Dragon is about a young girl named Adra, a child born in the winter, and her beloved ice dragon. A war is waging and the pair seem to be the only ones capable of saving Adra's world from destruction when dragons from the North attack. It's essentially a story of winter, dragons, war and sacrifice. (view spoiler)[It's sad that the dragon had to die, but I'm glad that Adra got the ending she did. (hide spoiler)]
—Rebecca
I was shocked to see that most reviews on here of The Ice Dragon sing its praises. It makes me wonder if anyone actually comprehended the story at all. I wouldn't even give it one star on here, but of course, zero stars isn't an option. I picked up the book because the cover art intrigued me, and I thought a story about a little blonde girl who rides a dragon would be cool. When I started reading it, I immediately could see what was coming. I just knew. This would not be the mystical, uplifting, beautiful story I was hoping for from the cover. Indeed, it is hardly mystical at all.Adara is the protagonist, and I liked her well enough. She is not a typical child; she doesn't cry or throw tantrums. Her father calls her his 'winter child', because she loves the winter season, while her brother and sister prefer summer. But her father thinks of her as emotionally cold, and incapable of love. I thought this premise of an emotionally cold child, like Mary in The Secret Garden, would be interesting, especially when it came to Adara's relationship with the Ice Dragon. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Let me get back to the characters. The story follows a family consisting of the father, named John, and his children; Geoff, Teri, and Adara. (view spoiler)[Their mother died while giving birth to Adara in the winter, during 'the freeze'. (hide spoiler)]
—Grace
I always have high expectations when reading George R.R. Martin. He really did it to himself, have you read A Game of Thrones? So going into The Ice Dragon, GRRM's children's tale, I still had nothing but the highest and happiest of attitudes until I was completely disappointed...in nothing at all. :DOkay, I've learned from the cases I've been reading in law school that in order to have a successful argument, all you have to do is act like you're going to decide one way, but then go the exact opposite. Did it work? (No, I'm not simplifying it at all, why would you say that?)The plot is simple, yet extremely subtle as we've come to expect from Martin. Adara is a winter child who's not only physically cold, but distant from her family as well. She was not only born in winter, but was the reason for her mother's death and her father has had a difficult time with that.Adara loves the winter and counts the days until it comes back. She stays out longer than anyone else and can even hold the ice lizards for long periods of time without hurting them like other children end up doing. Soon the eponymous Ice Dragon enters the picture, visiting Adara at times during the winter, even letting her ride. You see, ice dragons are not only rare, but it is known that ice dragons never let anyone ride them. Other, smaller dragons are used by people, especially for war as we see in this story.Without going into too much more detail, the land is filled with war and it is creeping toward Adara and her family, but her father belongs with the land as is important for many in the medieval-type society.While we follow Adara closely, the land and the environment were probably my favorite part of the story. It's filled with hard-working farmers and dragons are commonplace. I would really love to read more of this world Martin's created, possibly outside of a children's tale.But on that note, I would read more children's tales as well at this caliber. Although, I don't quite know if I'd categorize The Ice Dragon as a children's tale. About 99% was for children, but there was a section about split-heads and relatively gruesome scenes for children. In the end, I highly enjoyed The Ice Dragon and would recommend it, especially at this time of year...or maybe not, GRRM does such a good job with atmosphere I was actually colder while reading it. Maybe wait till summer. Then again, you're probably hot enough. And you wonder how I get all the ladies. :)4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)Note on the eBook: This is an illustrated novel and I can't say they're done justice on the Kindle Touch at least (or anything with eInk). Mostly you can see them fine, but there are still quite a few that are hard to make out and all of them are at least somewhat difficult to view.
—seak
