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The Girl and the Stars
(Book of the Ice #1)
by
In the ice, east of the Black Rock, there is a hole into which broken children are thrown.
On Abeth the vastness of the ice holds no room for individuals. Survival together is barely possible. No one survives alone.
To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fata ...more
On Abeth the vastness of the ice holds no room for individuals. Survival together is barely possible. No one survives alone.
To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fata ...more
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Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
April 30th 2020
by HarperVoyager
(first published April 21st 2020)
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Start your review of The Girl and the Stars (Book of the Ice, #1)

The ebook is a mere £1.99 on Amazon UK this month!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Stars-B...
And book 2, The Girl and the Mountain, comes out next month.
Very many thanks to the 3,782 readers who voted for The Girl And The Stars on the Goodreads Choice Awards as the best fantasy they'd read this year!
At first glance it's an action-packed high-stakes adventure. Scratch a little deeper and it's about right and wrong in a place where the two can be hard to disentangle.
Join my 3-emails-a-year newslet ...more
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Stars-B...
And book 2, The Girl and the Mountain, comes out next month.
Very many thanks to the 3,782 readers who voted for The Girl And The Stars on the Goodreads Choice Awards as the best fantasy they'd read this year!
At first glance it's an action-packed high-stakes adventure. Scratch a little deeper and it's about right and wrong in a place where the two can be hard to disentangle.

Join my 3-emails-a-year newslet ...more

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Girl and the Stars. I would like to thank Mark Lawrence and Harper Voyager for the opportunity.
This tale is set in the same world as The Book of the Ancestor, yet in a completely different environment. We follow Yaz, a sixteen-year-old member of the ice tribe the Ithca. To progress from being a child and ascending to adulthood the younger members of all the tribes have to be judged by regulator Kazik. All the clans converse at the Pit of the Missing wh ...more
This tale is set in the same world as The Book of the Ancestor, yet in a completely different environment. We follow Yaz, a sixteen-year-old member of the ice tribe the Ithca. To progress from being a child and ascending to adulthood the younger members of all the tribes have to be judged by regulator Kazik. All the clans converse at the Pit of the Missing wh ...more

“There are stars in every darkness.”
DAMN that ending!!!!!
This was a wonderful and chilly fantasy world to fall into!
Yaz is from the Ithca tribe, one of many tribes who send their children to be “judged” by the regulator Kazik on their abilities & if they find them too weak or even sometimes too strong they throw them down the pit of the missing which is essentially a hole of ice where everyone assumes they die on impact.
When Yaz’s brother Zeen is thrown down the pit she doesn’t hesitate and ...more
DAMN that ending!!!!!
This was a wonderful and chilly fantasy world to fall into!
Yaz is from the Ithca tribe, one of many tribes who send their children to be “judged” by the regulator Kazik on their abilities & if they find them too weak or even sometimes too strong they throw them down the pit of the missing which is essentially a hole of ice where everyone assumes they die on impact.
When Yaz’s brother Zeen is thrown down the pit she doesn’t hesitate and ...more

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRjh...
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Great world-building and prose, but I have mixed feelings on the book.
First of all, The Girl and the Stars is blessed with gorgeous cover arts. The US edition cover art done by Bastien Deharme—he did the US edition cover arts for Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy—and the UK edition cover art done by Jason Chan—he did the cover arts ...more
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Great world-building and prose, but I have mixed feelings on the book.
First of all, The Girl and the Stars is blessed with gorgeous cover arts. The US edition cover art done by Bastien Deharme—he did the US edition cover arts for Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy—and the UK edition cover art done by Jason Chan—he did the cover arts ...more

My experience with this book summarized:
“This is cool
Can’t wait to know what happens next
Wow interesting
What... what’s happening...
Hey why are you doing that!
I’m so bored, do I still have many pages to read...
Of course! Still tedious.
Last page: ahaa, I wonder what next...”
then the books ends.
It saddens me to say that The Girl and the Stars that started so promising and exciting, ended up being so disappointing and boring. And not because of lack of action, from chapter one, the story consumes ...more
“This is cool
Can’t wait to know what happens next
Wow interesting
What... what’s happening...
Hey why are you doing that!
I’m so bored, do I still have many pages to read...
Of course! Still tedious.
Last page: ahaa, I wonder what next...”
then the books ends.
It saddens me to say that The Girl and the Stars that started so promising and exciting, ended up being so disappointing and boring. And not because of lack of action, from chapter one, the story consumes ...more

This ARC was provided by the publisher (HarperVoyager) in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
A scintillating start to this new series!
Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother’s love to think it is a good sign. In such cases a second opinion is often sought.
If the old adage that you’re only as good as your last book holds true for authors, then it’s hardly a surprise ...more
4.5 stars
A scintillating start to this new series!
Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother’s love to think it is a good sign. In such cases a second opinion is often sought.
If the old adage that you’re only as good as your last book holds true for authors, then it’s hardly a surprise ...more

THE GIRL AND THE STARS IS PUBLISHED IN THE UK TODAY!
Amazon
My review of this masterpiece is on BookNest -
The Girl and the Stars - BookNest
And you check out two other reviews on BookNest which are also 5-star ratings!
I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from Mark Lawrence that included a signed copy of The Girl and the Stars. So, thank so much again Mark Lawrence and That Thorn Guy.
When it comes to Mark Lawrence, it’s not a question of whether I will enjoy it or not. It’s more, how much am I go ...more
Amazon
My review of this masterpiece is on BookNest -
The Girl and the Stars - BookNest
And you check out two other reviews on BookNest which are also 5-star ratings!
I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from Mark Lawrence that included a signed copy of The Girl and the Stars. So, thank so much again Mark Lawrence and That Thorn Guy.
When it comes to Mark Lawrence, it’s not a question of whether I will enjoy it or not. It’s more, how much am I go ...more

2 1/2 stars. The Girl and the Stars is a kind of spin-off series of The Book of the Ancestor trilogy, set in the same universe but years later and with a new cast of characters. You do not necessarily have to have read Red Sister to enjoy it, but it would make some parts of this world and story easier to understand.
I thought the world-building in this book was incredible. The fierce, icy landscape, the history and culture of the ice tribes, the tainted, and the world beneath the ice... I was ver ...more
I thought the world-building in this book was incredible. The fierce, icy landscape, the history and culture of the ice tribes, the tainted, and the world beneath the ice... I was ver ...more


What the hell! I want a print arc of this damn book!!!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

Abeth, a frozen ice planet. Many years ago, a home to Nona and the sisters of the Sweet Mercy convent. Now home to nothing but wandering ice tribes, struggling to survive in the harshest conditions imaginable.
To survive is to sacrifice. Outliers must be culled. Whether you are weak and lag behind, or if you’re too big or strong and eat more than the average share, then you can no longer exist within the tribe. You are thrown away, torn from your home and family forever. Yaz, our teenage protagon ...more
To survive is to sacrifice. Outliers must be culled. Whether you are weak and lag behind, or if you’re too big or strong and eat more than the average share, then you can no longer exist within the tribe. You are thrown away, torn from your home and family forever. Yaz, our teenage protagon ...more

Apr 06, 2020
Holly (The Grimdragon)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-sci-fi,
i-will-go-down-with-this-ship
"Many babies have killed, but it is very rare that the victim is not their mother.
When the father handed his infant to the priestess to speak its fortune the child stopped screaming and in its place she began to howl, filling the silence left behind.
Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother's love to think it a good sign.
In such cases a second opinion is often sought."
The Gir ...more
When the father handed his infant to the priestess to speak its fortune the child stopped screaming and in its place she began to howl, filling the silence left behind.
Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother's love to think it a good sign.
In such cases a second opinion is often sought."
The Gir ...more

4.75 stars.
“To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal.”
Thank you to ACE books for the advance reading copy of this book. Receiving this arc did not affect my review in any way.
It was so good to be back in the world of Abeth. I had really enjoyed Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy set in the same world and was so excited to dive back in. Let me tell you, I was not disappoi ...more
“To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal.”
Thank you to ACE books for the advance reading copy of this book. Receiving this arc did not affect my review in any way.
It was so good to be back in the world of Abeth. I had really enjoyed Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy set in the same world and was so excited to dive back in. Let me tell you, I was not disappoi ...more

3ish stars.
I think Mark Lawrence is a really talented writer. I appreciate his classical prose and his creative world-building. That's the case even here, in which the "world" he builds is only a narrow, claustrophobic sliver of the planet explored more fully in the Book of the Ancestor series.
Which makes me question why it was overdrawn so much as to be almost as long as the first book in that series, Red Sister, which is itself not a lightweight.
Honestly it could have been a cool little side ...more
I think Mark Lawrence is a really talented writer. I appreciate his classical prose and his creative world-building. That's the case even here, in which the "world" he builds is only a narrow, claustrophobic sliver of the planet explored more fully in the Book of the Ancestor series.
Which makes me question why it was overdrawn so much as to be almost as long as the first book in that series, Red Sister, which is itself not a lightweight.
Honestly it could have been a cool little side ...more

--Originally posted on BookNest.eu--
Mark Lawrence is considered by many (myself included) as one of the greatest fantasy authors of our age. By often treading a thin line between prose and poetry, his writing compliments and further elevates an already compelling story, resulting in books loved by many and appreciated by all. The Girl and the Stars is no exception.
Yaz is traveling with her whole tribe to the Black Rock, a place where, once every four years, cursed children are thrown into a hol ...more
Mark Lawrence is considered by many (myself included) as one of the greatest fantasy authors of our age. By often treading a thin line between prose and poetry, his writing compliments and further elevates an already compelling story, resulting in books loved by many and appreciated by all. The Girl and the Stars is no exception.
Yaz is traveling with her whole tribe to the Black Rock, a place where, once every four years, cursed children are thrown into a hol ...more

Oct 18, 2020
Claude's Bookzone
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult-book,
fantasy
Dear Mr Lawrence,
That ending!
I am dead.
Kind regards
Claude
You know when you pick up a book by this remarkable author you will read dramatic writing that can contain both spare and lyrical prose. The world-building will blow your mind with its rich complexity, and it is inevitable you will fall in love with characters that are both fierce and fragile. All these elements were in The Girl and the Stars. However there were also some pacing issues in this book. It was chaotic one moment then very flat ...more
That ending!
I am dead.
Kind regards
Claude
You know when you pick up a book by this remarkable author you will read dramatic writing that can contain both spare and lyrical prose. The world-building will blow your mind with its rich complexity, and it is inevitable you will fall in love with characters that are both fierce and fragile. All these elements were in The Girl and the Stars. However there were also some pacing issues in this book. It was chaotic one moment then very flat ...more

Having already read some of Lawrence's early grimdark fantasy with SF elements and his Impossible Times books, I figured it was about time to enjoy his more usual YA fare.
Did I say usual? Well, yeah, that's what I THOUGHT, anyway. Instead, I got what appeared to be a far future or far past Ice Age world that immediately recalls a legend of having traveled the stars to get there, and then I'm utterly hooked.
I think it was the gorgeous descriptions of the ice. The characters are pretty good, but I ...more
Did I say usual? Well, yeah, that's what I THOUGHT, anyway. Instead, I got what appeared to be a far future or far past Ice Age world that immediately recalls a legend of having traveled the stars to get there, and then I'm utterly hooked.
I think it was the gorgeous descriptions of the ice. The characters are pretty good, but I ...more

I have a simple routine that works every time. Mark Lawrence publishes something, I read it. A win-win situation for all involved.
The Girl and the Stars takes place in the world of Abeth known to readers from The Book of the Ancestor series but in both a different timeline and in a harsher region. The story’s protagonist, Yaz, differs from Nona, so don’t expect a simple rewrite of your favorite character. She’s a young Ichta woman who lives in the harsh frozen land.
When the Regulator throws her ...more
The Girl and the Stars takes place in the world of Abeth known to readers from The Book of the Ancestor series but in both a different timeline and in a harsher region. The story’s protagonist, Yaz, differs from Nona, so don’t expect a simple rewrite of your favorite character. She’s a young Ichta woman who lives in the harsh frozen land.
When the Regulator throws her ...more

If Mark Lawrence was a new author The Girl and the Stars would be the SFF debut of the year.
I blogged about the book here (no spoilers):
https://thatthornguy.com/2019/05/03/a...
...more
I blogged about the book here (no spoilers):
https://thatthornguy.com/2019/05/03/a...


Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I knew that since I loved the Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister), set in the same world, that this one was bound to be good. And I was right. I loved this one.
Strong female character? Check. Really cool setting? Check. Deepening of the world's lore? Check. Creepy villains? Check. Plot twists galore? Check. Oh, and let's not forget about the one thing I didn't r ...more
I knew that since I loved the Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister), set in the same world, that this one was bound to be good. And I was right. I loved this one.
Strong female character? Check. Really cool setting? Check. Deepening of the world's lore? Check. Creepy villains? Check. Plot twists galore? Check. Oh, and let's not forget about the one thing I didn't r ...more

DNF @ 55%
What a journey of expectation and difficulty this read has been. I had high hopes with that cover, that synopsis and genre. The story started off incredibly strong, I really liked the world above the ice and felt excited about the storyline ahead. Things changed drastically and the protagonist Yaz, found herself below the ice. Everything following this for the first half of the book gave me Maze runner vibes, just in a different context. I was not thrilled about this, at all.
The world u ...more
What a journey of expectation and difficulty this read has been. I had high hopes with that cover, that synopsis and genre. The story started off incredibly strong, I really liked the world above the ice and felt excited about the storyline ahead. Things changed drastically and the protagonist Yaz, found herself below the ice. Everything following this for the first half of the book gave me Maze runner vibes, just in a different context. I was not thrilled about this, at all.
The world u ...more

Apr 17, 2020
thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
This is the first book by Mark I have read and I was blown away, this is not just a book it’s a piece of art. It’s an amazingly beautifully crafted piece of literature. Mark’s world building is just perfection, he creates characters that are completely three dimensional, relatable and that you love and hate with equal measure. This is some of the best story telling I’ve ever read and I’m off to read his other books now, if they are as good I think I’m about to add Mark to my favourite authors li
...more

An ARC from net gallery.
Well Mark show us once again that he’s still on top of his game at writing wonderful characters, great worlds and well everything else and it comes to books.
Set in the same world as the wonderful book of the ancestor series, this time we are taken north to the land of snow and ice, complete with buried cities of the Missing.
Highly recommended to all on here.
Well Mark show us once again that he’s still on top of his game at writing wonderful characters, great worlds and well everything else and it comes to books.
Set in the same world as the wonderful book of the ancestor series, this time we are taken north to the land of snow and ice, complete with buried cities of the Missing.
Highly recommended to all on here.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Ace) in exchange for an honest review.
So begins Mark Lawrence’s newest novel, The Girl and the Stars. As always, Lawrence knows how to captivate an audience and set the tone for the book all within the first sentence. We know immediately that Yaz of the Ictha, our perspective character, is an uncommon child. On the Ice, differe ...more
I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Ace) in exchange for an honest review.
“Many babies have killed, but it is very rare that the victim is not their mother.”
So begins Mark Lawrence’s newest novel, The Girl and the Stars. As always, Lawrence knows how to captivate an audience and set the tone for the book all within the first sentence. We know immediately that Yaz of the Ictha, our perspective character, is an uncommon child. On the Ice, differe ...more

The Girl And The Stars is certainly not Mark Lawrence’s first rodeo. However, It is the most poignant epic fantasy that I have experienced in a long time. The story envelops you like a long lost relative after decades apart…everything about it just feels right. This is the kind of story that leaves you grappling with the fight for cognitive cohesion. How on earth do you get your thoughts down in a review in regard to a book of this magnitude. The narrative took me hostage and posted my ranso
...more

Well Mark show us once again that he’s still on top of his game at writing wonderful characters, great worlds and well everything else and it comes to books.
Set in the same world as the wonderful book of the ancestor series, this time we are taken north to the land of snow and ice, complete with buried cities of the Missing.
Highly recommended to all on here.
Set in the same world as the wonderful book of the ancestor series, this time we are taken north to the land of snow and ice, complete with buried cities of the Missing.
Highly recommended to all on here.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Look at that, I gave a Mark Lawrence book 5 stars. Are we honestly surprised? Didn't think so - and not merely because I fall exactly into his target audience. I've loved all Lawrence's books and have been benignly stalking his writer's journey since Prince of Thorns was released (in 2012?) It's always a treat to find an SFF author who consistently delivers excellent books. Mark Lawrence goes beyond this, giving us not just new worlds and ...more
Look at that, I gave a Mark Lawrence book 5 stars. Are we honestly surprised? Didn't think so - and not merely because I fall exactly into his target audience. I've loved all Lawrence's books and have been benignly stalking his writer's journey since Prince of Thorns was released (in 2012?) It's always a treat to find an SFF author who consistently delivers excellent books. Mark Lawrence goes beyond this, giving us not just new worlds and ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Fantasy Buddy Reads: Lawrence - The Girl and the Stars [May 7, 2020] | 41 | 71 | Jul 21, 2020 05:23AM | |
Illumicrate Group: Day two- Chapters 6-9 (inclusive) | 16 | 49 | Jun 24, 2020 08:06AM | |
Illumicrate Group: Introduction and Chapter splits | 19 | 64 | Jun 22, 2020 09:08AM |
[My new books The Girl And The Stars and Dispel Illusion are out now!]
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Blog here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLawrence...
Three-emails-a-year newsletter here:
http://eepurl.com/cimnK1 #Prizes #FreeContent
I'm even on Tumblr!
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Pintrest!
https://uk.pinterest.com/princeofthor...
https://www.instagram.com ...more
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Book of the Ice
(3 books)
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“Sometimes all your words are the wrong shape and none of them will fit into the silence left when the conversation pauses.”
—
13 likes
“There's a darkness in each of us, afraid to show itself, wrestling with such blunt tools as words and deeds to make itself known to the darkness in another person similarly hidden behind walls of camouflage, disguise, interpretation. Honesty is a knife that we can use to pare away those layers, but one slip, go too deep, and who knows what injuries might be inflicted … The wounds an honest tongue can open sometimes take a lifetime to heal.”
—
11 likes
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