REVIEW: The Ice by Ryan Cahill
The Ice is the third accompanying novella in The Bound and the Broken series by Ryan Cahill, and is meant to be read between books 3 and 4 (Of War and Ruin, Of Empires and Dust, respectively). If you read it too soon, you might encounter spoilers, if you don’t read it before Of Empires and Dust, you’re missing out on valuable information that enriches the vast story of this series.
The Ice focusses on Aeson Virandr as a singular POV as he leads a dire, bloody and deadly trek across the frozen lands of Valacia to find a dragon egg. The dragons of Epheria haven’t hatched in 400 years and Aeson, in his desperation, hopes an egg from Valacia could offer a sliver of hope for something different. The Ice shows us a side of Aeson we haven’t seen much of in the novels; a man steeped in desperation and fear, struggling to handle the emotions he experiences after nearly 400 years of feeling very little of anything.
Aeson is afraid for the lives of his sons, Dahlen and Erik, and will do anything to keep them safe. Everything he feels is exacerbated in their quest across the Valacian tundra, as their party is slowly and brutally whittled down by the strange, unknown and dangerous creatures seeking to protect their home. From the novels, we know Aeson, Dahlen and Erik make it back with a dragon egg, and The Ice is here to expand on just how much was sacrificed to get it.
Despite being a supporting novella, The Ice has a lot to offer. There’s beauty, mystery and secrecy in Valacia as Cahill expands the known world beyond the continent of Epheria and adds a great deal of extra flavour that will broaden the scope and horizon of any theories you may have for where The Bound and The Broken is heading. My heart sings with the potential!
Although we know the Virandr trio are going to survive Valacia, Cahill has managed to write The Ice in such a way that nevertheless instills tension. The story ties nicely back into Of Blood and Fire towards the end as Aeson, Dahlen and Erik escape a betrayal at sea and make it into Milltown just as, we know, Calen, Rist and Dann are celebrating their successful Proving.
Cahill has, once again, brought us a grimdark gem with The Ice that fits in perfectly with the rest of the series while offering something new and exciting in the same package. As companion novellas go, those in The Bound and the Broken are proving to be essential reading.
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