« I think it’s just what what people are like everywhere if you give them enough to eat and some spare time. We build wonders and horrors in equal measure. Sometimes both at the same time.”
- Release date : April 28th 2022
- Publishing house : HarperVoyager
- Series : Book of the Ice
- Pages : 544
Spoilers ahead
The Book of the Ice series is coming to an end with the solid and compelling The Girl and the Moon! All the series has been full of plot twists and I enjoyed my time reading about Yaz’s story and those of her friends. Seus and his friends are already present in this new world and Yaz must work fast to keep him from destroying the moon, bringing destruction and death.
« It’s coming to an end that gives the journey meaning. »
Yaz’s journey has been a long and arduous one, surviving on the ice, escaping the Black Rock, crossing the ice to arrive to the green lands through a warp gate with several of her friends. At the very end of the second book, they are all arrested by Eular who has been leading a double life as a priest of the Black Rock and an important person within the faith of the green landers.
Discovering these green lands really overwhelmed Yaz and her friends, well, most of them anyway. Lawrence’s descriptions of what everyone is thinking, feeling and so on were fun to read about : they discovered beds, different clothes, books, the sun and the feeling of having a full stomach. No wonder most of them felt out of place in this new world.
It’s in our nature to be dissatisfied with what we have. We want the next thing, the greener grass, whatever the cost. We’re only happy when we’re moving towards something better. It’s not getting the thing that makes us happy. Not for long. It’s the progress.
I have found myself liking all the characters, from the three main characters (Yaz, Thurin and Mali) to the nuns of the Convent of Sweet Mercy. The relationships that have developed between them remain the heart of the book. Some were reunited only to be torn apart a bit later on and I didn’t know if they would survive what Mark Lawrence had in store for them. Getting to know the inner thoughts of some characters really helped me become more attached to them. All the characters faced dangers and they had to sharpen their wits and skills to get out of it alive.
I have enjoyed all books written by Mark Lawrence. His prose, the way he keeps the reader engaged and wanting for more and his incredible characters are his strengths. There were so many quotes I could have written down but I was too engrossed to do so. The links between this series and The Book of the Ancestor were well-thought-out and in retrospect, I might have missed some.
L'Antre de la Fantasy 