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Jan 22, 2011

Misfit rated it:

Ice Land is a somewhat fanciful take on the legends of the Old Norse Gods set in the year 1000. It is told through the point of view of several characters in alternating chapters - from Freya who can don her feathers and fly like a bird, orphaned Fulla who does not wish to marry the man her grandfather has chosen, Vili son of the sworn enemy of Fulla's family who can't stay away from Fulla, the half-dwarf Dvalin who dwells inside the mountain with his half brothers, as well as the Norns who fore More...

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Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

When I started this book I thought it was going to be a really good one. I love mythology, especially Norse mythology. Unfortunately the awkward writing takes away from the fascinating landscape the book is set in.

The book alternates between three viewpoints. The first viewpoint is done in first person and deals with Freya the goddess of beauty. She is on a mission to save the Gods from self-destruction. The second viewpoint is done in third person and deals with Fulla, a young girl More...

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Sep 02, 2010

Ksenia rated it:

The comparison to The Mists of Avalon and the blurbs from Diana Gabaldon and Kristen Britain sort of swayed me to read this book.

But, this was a hard book for me to get through. Part of it might be my fault since my knowledge on Norse mythology is a bit shaky. I found myself referring to my copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths to get some background on these characters. Plus, my image of these gods are influenced by Xena and Hercules.

The other part might have been that More...

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Nov 10, 2009

Latis rated it:

I really enjoyed this one! And though some of the reviews rate it up there with Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Mists of Avolon" and such, I found it much easier to follow and stay interested in (and I like Bradley's books!). The book's a great introduction to the Aesir (Nordic Gods) and a fun "fancy" that spins an epic tale of how the People of 10th century Iceland transitioned from pagan to Christian theologies. The best part is that the author uses both characters from mythology More...

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Nov 07, 2009

fleegan rated it:

This is the best fiction book I’ve read all year. I loved the Freya character, as well as Fulla and all the rest. Usually I’m not good at reading fantasy fiction, there’s always too many characters and too many things to remember, but this book was written very well, and the author totally sucks you in. You care about the characters and what’s happening to them. you even care about the landscape in this book. It’s amazing how Ms. Tobin uses the landscape in this book. It becomes a character too. More...

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Aug 31, 2009

Kim rated it:

I really enjoyed reading this book. It interweaves tales of the Aesir (Nordic Gods) with the lives of common folk and dwarves, all set against the backdrop of 10th century Iceland. The story is partly narrated in first-person by the goddess Freya, and tells of her quest to find a necklace, the Brisengen, created by a family of cave dwelling dwarves. Dwalin, a dwarf man, is one of the craftsmen who made the enchanted necklace, and is unfortunately possessed by it. The novel also follows the adven More...

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Aug 26, 2009

Cinnamon rated it:

Definitely not what I was expecting. With ICE LAND by Betsy Tobin I expected a fantastically magical and lighthearted adventure. ICE LAND was certainly full of magic and there were many lighthearted moments, but I think that the story was a little more epic than I had originally expected. That was a wonderful surprise and I quickly found myself engrossed in the story. If you are looking for a great fantasy, something that pushes the bounds of adventure and romance, I would highly suggest tak More...

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Jun 18, 2010

Susan rated it:

I read Betsy Tobin's Bone House earlier this year and really didn't care for it. Luckily for me I decided to give her another chance - Ice Land was fantastic! Tobin's writing is clear with beautiful phrasing. The story alternates seamlessly between Freya (the Norse goddess of love,) and Fulla, a young woman struggling to find her place in a frightening and ever-changing world.

I loved the historical tidbits - especially the information about King Olaf of Norway - and the sprinkling of More...

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Oct 22, 2009

Tania rated it:

I loved this book. I was first attracted to the cover (I know, I know), but as soon as I read the first paragraph I was hooked.

It loosely follows the myth of the Norse Goddess Freya and her quest for a magical necklace that she believes is the key to preserving her world. Along the way are a cast of characters: star crossed lovers, dwarves, and gods.

The writing is dreamlike and pretty, as was the setting of 1000AD Iceland, and I enjoyed seeing how the characters' lives w More...

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Sep 08, 2009

Rhonda rated it:

this wasn't my typical type of book to read, but it sounded interesting. i admit - i wondered if this tale full of odd named characters from places i can't pronounce would hold my interest long enough to get into the meat of the story - especially since it went off in 3 different directions right off the bat. oddly, the strange names were easy to keep track of and the story was easy to follow, and soon i found myself wanting to read on to find out how everything/everyone would weave together in More...

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Sep 07, 2009

Sherrie rated it:

"Ice Land" by Betsy Tobin
(from the back cover)

A Beautiful epic of love, longing, redemption, and enchantment

ICELAND, AD 1000

Warned by the fates of an impending disater, Freya embarks on a dangerous journey deep into the mountains to find a magnificent gold necklace said to have the power to alter the course of history. Meanwhile, the country is on the brink of war as the new world order of Christianity thre

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Aug 25, 2009

Bridget rated it:

A revolution is taking place that will surely change the lives of the gods and mortals who live together in Ice Land. Freya sets out on a desperate search for the one item that may help save her and her people. There is a necklace with an immense amount of power that is capable of changing everything.

Fulla has found her soul mate. The problem is, she has been promised to another. And if that wasn't bad enough, the love of her life is part of the enemy clan.

Will Freya's jo More...

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Feb 15, 2011

VeganMedusa rated it:

I love anything set in Iceland, so enjoyed this. It's probably not a book that will stay with me, but it was an enjoyable read of Iceland in 1000AD, and Freya, Odin and the rest of the gang (only a small role from Loki, unfortunately). In this book, Asgard is in our world, just in an uninhabited and hard-to-reach part of Iceland, which I enjoyed.
I'd forgotten how Iceland's conversion to Christianity happened, so it was especially interesting to read that part. And reading about Þingvellir! More...

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Oct 21, 2009

Sara rated it:

I gave this 5 stars because it is EXACTLY the sort of book I like. As soon as it came out, I was prepared to buy it, and I rarely buy books anymore.

Ice Land takes place in Iceland, one of several countries I have never visited but am obsessed with and intend to visit ASAP. It's 1000 A.D., the year when Iceland officially converted to Christianity. Some of the old Norse gods are beginning to get unsettled, worrying about the possibility of their world falling into ruin (Ragnarok) More...

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Dec 28, 2009

Tammy rated it:

Fulfilling the wishes of the Fates, the Norse goddess Freya becomes enchanted by a necklace crafted by four dwarves. The price they set for the necklace is high: Freya must spend a night with each of them. From this myth grows Betsy Tobin’s Ice Land.

Tobin weaves Freya’s quest for the necklace with that of a young Icelandic girl’s for love. Fulla lives with her grandfather in an Iceland at the turn of the first millennium. It is time for her betrothal, and, as in all good love stories More...

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Mar 20, 2010

William rated it:

Beautiful, magical, and highly evocative of the land and people of Iceland, Betsy Tobin's "Ice Land" is a retelling of Norse myths mixed with an evocation of Icelandic sagas. This is not epic fantasy, but a kind of Icelandic magical realism where the Aesir are just people like us, struggling with love and loss and family, and Ragnarok is, at heart, more of a personal ending than anything else. The scenes, images, and day-to-day life reveal her love affair with the island and country More...

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Sep 27, 2011

Jacqie added it

I was hoping for more from this one because of comparisons to Marion Zimmer Bradley and a review from Diana Gabaldon. This book is not up to their caliber.
I love mythology, but this book didn't do a good enough job of fleshing out myths and personalities of the gods for me. Iceland (a place I hope to visit) wasn't easy to visualize from the descriptions. The love story, at least as far as I got, was uninspired.

I've read Icelandic saga and myth, and there is a richness to More...

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Jan 16, 2010

Lauren1012 rated it:

I was expecting a little more from this book, based on the reviews and comparison to Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon. It was an ok book, a decent enough story, though the parts about Freya and the gods had a fantasy element to them that I'm not used to reading. However, I did learn something. The author's note at the end was very interesting, since I am not familiar with Iceland and its lore. In the light of that, the stories about the gods made a little more sense - that they were not perfect More...

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Apr 12, 2011

Erin rated it:

This book was not my cup of tea. The mediocre love story, the disjointed narrative, the boring dialogue, the flat characterizations… I don’t even know where to begin. Tobin’s writing didn’t appeal to me and neither did her novel. It wasn’t awful, it had potential and there were vaguely interesting concepts but I don’t think I’ll be recommending this one to anyone or rushing into another of Tobin’s titles.

I admit I picked up this book largely because it was hailed as “a beautiful epic More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 15, 2010

Renee rated it:

If I am lucky, I read about three or four books a year that jump to my list of favorites. Ice Land is easily one of those books. Every aspect of this novel was drawn so clearly. Tobin integrates Norse mythology as well as historical realities from Iceland into her storyline about a group of people (and others) at a cultural turning point in Icelandic history. At times I felt I was seated around a fire pit listening to a professional storyteller and other times I was so intensely focused on wh

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Nov 20, 2010

Author Anna del C. rated it:

The year is AD 1000 and the myth and rich history of Iceland is loosely related by Betsy Tobin in her work Ice Land. The beauty of the countryside and its people are represented in a magnificent way in this book.
The book starts when the goddess Freya realizes that Iceland is at the brink of imminent disaster and she must find a necklace that will change the course of history. In her travels she finds two sisters who tell her where to find the necklace and dwarfs that are willing to exchange sex More...

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Jan 17, 2010

Tamsin rated it:

There were times when I was reading this book that I would look up from the pages and be startled that I wasn't in Iceland. The writing is as beautiful as anything I have ever read and the story was a perfect fit for my winter mood. I was in love with this book-- the same anticipation, the quickened breathing as I opened it's pages-- a physical reaction to this lovely story. Sometimes you have the feeling that no one else will understand how this book felt as you read it, and quite possibly More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Rachel rated it:

I loved this book. It's a well written and interesting story of great quests, of forbidden love, of magic, of medieval Iceland, and of people who don't even know how lonely they are until they find each other. I found this enjoyable and easy to read, and the story was entertaining, moving, and satisfying.

Ice Land tells a few intertwining stories from different points of view, all of which eventually end up as one story, taking place in Iceland in AD 1000, when the people and the cultur More...

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Sep 13, 2011

Bronwyn rated it:

Betsy Tobin matches the simplistic language and fluid storytelling of the Icelandic Sagas in this ode to Scandinavian folklore and mythology. This book relies heavily on the readers' familiarity with the famous Norse Eddas as authored by Snorri Sturlson, and mentions many of the great names and characters outlined in these famous texts, such as Thorstein, Hogni, Gudrun, Skallagrim and Fulla. Norse gods such as Freya, Odin and Loki all make appearances throughout the novel and interact with morta More...

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Nov 17, 2009

Alex rated it:

Posted with permission from the Sacramento Book Review

In Tobin’s second novel, after Bone House, she takes on the world of Iceland in the year A.D. 1000, setting the stage with research details of Viking and medieval Iceland, combining it with a host of characters from Norse mythology. The main character, Freya – one of the Aesir (gods) – has her own problems to deal with in life and love, while a host of other characters including Odin, an unusual dwarf, and a group of giants deal More...

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Sep 14, 2009

Kelly rated it:

"This book is my love letter to Iceland and its people," writes Betsy Tobin in her afterword to Ice Land. And so it is. Tobin is at her best when describing the landscape of Iceland:

"The day we met, I had flown deep into the central highlands, seeking a spot where I could be alone. I found it on a high desert plateau, where a hidden spring had forced its way up through the lava shield, forming an oasis. The water was a brilliant cobalt blue. It spread like fingers acro More...

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Sep 19, 2008

Catyche rated it:

In this book Betsy Tobin uses sparse and wintry prose to bring to life the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology. The setting is Iceland in 1000 AD in the weeks before the volcano Hekla is to erupt and a new religion (Christianity) is spreading across all of Iceland. The story follows Freya, the goddess of love and fertility, on her quest to posess a special gold necklace in order to possibly prevent the great eruption. There is also Fulla, an orphan being raised by her grandfather in the mid More...

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Sep 23, 2009

Anna rated it:

What a disappointment. I was really excited about this book because the little teaser sounded so enticing. First of all, it took me quite a while to get accustomed to the authors writing style. The plot jumped back and forth between characters that had no depth whatsoever as the author found odd ways to connect them. I felt like I was reading a fantasy version of Six Degrees of Separation. I found Ice Land to be dry and shallow with underdeveloped characters in a bizarre plot that was not More...

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Apr 05, 2011

Leigh rated it:

I expected this to be a Nordic "Romeo and Juliet," complete with a side story of gods and goddesses and a bit of the Icelandic conversion to Christianity thrown in. This was not that book. This book was full of flat characters raising their eyebrows at every phrase, question, or explanation coming out of their mouths. It got to be comical in one scene. What a disappointment. This had nothing whatsoever of the history of Iceland and all I learned from it was that there are hot springs b More...

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Oct 24, 2010

Bridgett rated it:

I have not read much about Iceland specifically, though I've read a bit about Scandinavian mythology. I really liked how the different lands and races in mythology were related in the story. I also liked the different perspectives shown (Fully -- a human girl forced into betrothals she does not want, Freya and her journey for a sacred necklace, and the dwarf Dvalin with his complicated past having sought revenge for his sister). I liked the happy ending, too.

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