J. V. Jones

En los lejanos Territorios del Norte, ciudades fortaleza se aferran a picos desnudos, clanes feroces cazan en las estepas heladas y los baldíos territorios árticos son el último refugio de un pueblo antiguo y enigmático.
Tras mil años de tregua, la violencia estalla entre los helados gigantes del lejano norte.
El poderoso y antiguo clan Granizo Negro se enfrenta a lord Perro del clan Bludd y dos guerreros se ven atrapados en el derramamiento de sangre.
Raif y Drey Sevrance son hermanos y miembros del mismo clan, pero las maquinaciones de su nuevo caudillo los separarán y marcarán a Raif como traidor.… (mais)

Summary: The continuing story of the rise of the 'dark/end lords' and the preparations being made for the 'final battle'. The story continues not much has substantially changed by the end of the book. It's starting to get a bit boring.

Things I liked:

Some of the characters are still pretty interesting e.g. Riana, Vallo (dog lord).

The author seems remembers to add details about hunting and survival that I think adds to the atmosphere of the setting.

Kid characters have a distinct voice.

Things I thought could be improved:

The author could use less modern metaphors e.g. 'the seeds exploded like shots' (shots of what a modern firearm I guess). It also seemed to me that the battle strategies of the 'clan chiefs' seemed to resemble modern warfare in both language and style. I think it should be the job of a good editor to spot these gaffs and suggest fixing them. They totally break the 'suspension of disbelief' that allows me to enjoy the fantasy setting.

Some of the scenes felt a bit like a script for a movie. I'd suggest less focus on schlick, movie stunt scenes and more work on believable, fail-able characters which is what gets me reading these books in the first place.

Highlight: Probably the bit with Raif and the moon snakes. It was a cool build up with the heart-empathy and the final battle. Also it put enough work in for me to believe his transition the 'the watcher' … (mais)