Thursday, August 25, 2011

Ashes of a Black Frost-Chris Evans

Ashes of a Black Frost
Chris Evans
Gallery, Oct 18 2011, $25.99
ISBN 9781439180662

Major Konowa knows his Iron Elves’ Swift Dragon unit fought valiantly against the elf witch. Those who survived the epic combat need time to heal, but the adversary still comes at them relentlessly. Konowa knows his courageous battered force is in trouble as the Shadow Monarch continues its evil assault though somewhat abated.

Struggling with what to do next, Konowa decides his side has one chance, which is to take the war directly to the enemy rather than retreat. He understands waiting to heal is lethally dangerous so he chooses a seemingly suicidal mission, which ironically will not be appreciated by the people of the Calahrian Empire who his Iron Elves try to protect as the tattoo on them symbolizes their subservience to the enemy that they fight against with their blood and guts. The major will soon learn probably too late the evil enemy he fights against is nothing compared to the real evil enemy lurking in the fog and chaos of war.

Book 3 of the Iron Elves military fantasy (see A Darkness Forged in Fire and The Light of Burning Shadows) is a super entry as the beleaguered Swift Dragon struggle to keep fighting while those they keep safe (mostly humans) loathe them. The story line is action-packed and at its best when the focus is on combat, military readiness and the impact of war on the soldiers and the civilians. When the plot turns romantic it detracts from an otherwise excellent blood and guts thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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