THE BOOK OF WORDS by J.V. Jones

The Baker's Boy kicks off the exciting Book of Words trilogy. These are J.V. Jones' first published books and already she had pinned down all that we as fantasy lovers enjoy most about our genre: picturesque settings, dangerous cities, noble and mysterious heroes, three-dimensional villains, plotting royalty, charismatic rogues. And it's all seasoned with just the right amount of sorcery.

I was introduced to J.V. Jones with A Cavern of Black Ice, which I enjoyed so much that I found myself reading all her books. Jones has an unsurpassed story-enhancing gift for detail. Lovable peasants cook up mouth-watering meals in their cozy little cottages. Rowdy backstreet taverns make you thirsty for a cold one. Two-fisted action brings to mind Read More

The Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones

My favorite novel by J.V. Jones is The Barbed Coil, a stand-alone novel set in both 20th century Earth and a strange and distant world. It begins in a most unusual manner, and I didn't think it would work for me, but I read on, and I was glad I did.

Tessa McCamfrey suffers from tinnitus, or a ringing in her ears. She is never entirely free of it, but at certain periods of her life she suffers from especially bad spells. At the point where the book opens, she is suffering from such an episode.
Little does she know that she's suffering from the effects of magic.

While in a futile attempt to drive away from her tinnitus, she happens upon a treasure: a pile of stolen safety-deposit boxes lying discarded in the woods. She roots through them, not realizing that she is looking for something until she finds it: A barbed ring. She puts it on. Th... Read More

A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones

While I await my copy of the third book of Sword of Shadows, A Sword from Red Ice, I'm re-reading the first two books of what may be my all time favorite epic series. For A Cavern of Black Ice, which I first read back in 2000, it's my third reading and it's still just as much fun and exciting as the first time.

I've read all of J.V. Jones's books and I've enjoyed every one of them. The Book of Words Trilogy and The Barbed Coil are both good stories that have a cozy kinda feel to them that only adds to the entertainment value.

But this Sword of Shadows series takes Ms. Jones to a whole new level. She creates her w... Read More

A Fortress of Grey Ice by J.V. Jones

As one might expect from the obvious length, there's a lot going on in J.V. Jones' second work of the Sword of Shadows series. A Fortress of Grey Ice is constantly shifting between locales and characters, offering many storylines, each of them interesting and tension-filled in their own right. Jones has a nice touch for when to turn away and when to return, seemingly having no trouble juggling the multiple plots, which in turn means the reader also has no problem.

The important characters are too many to name (another testament to Jones' juggling ability), but again we spend a lot of time with Raif the clan outcast and the various members of his family — brother, sister, widowed mother, uncle; Ash March — the girl "Reach" whose ability is a danger to herself and the entire world; and ... Read More

A Sword from Red Ice by J.V. Jones

This series hooked me with the first one, A Cavern of Black Ice, and I've since read all of J.V. Jones' books. Sure there are better writers out there, but as far as good story-telling goes, Jones is up there with the best of them.

Sword of Shadows reads like a tale told by the village story-teller or a traveling minstrel earning his next room and board. To me, that's the way a fantasy story should be written, like it's a story you'd expect to hear while waiting out a storm in cozy hearth-warmed pub or told to a group of warriors-hunters gathered around a camp-fire deep in a primeval forest. JVJ writes just enough description to give you a solid image and feel of the people and places of this world without bogging down the story with too much detail. (Unfortunately description has seemed to become a forgotten art in a lot of the... Read More

Watcher of the Dead by J.V. Jones

Watcher of the Dead has a momentum that’s like watching black clouds grow in mass for a storm you just know will be enormous.

In a world fraught with clan wars and military invasions, the individual power struggles grow even more desperate as the ancient evil called the Endlords opens a breach into existence. Sadaluk No Ears, the Listener for the Ice Trapper people, may never return from a dangerous trek into the frozen wastes. Raif Sevrance, now possessing the sword called Loss, is learning the hard way what it means to be the Watcher of the Dead. Ash March must choose a Sull name, and even though she is finally in the land of her new people, she still finds no safe haven. Raina Blackhail becomes more entrenched in treason against her husband, the chief of the Clan Blackhail. Bram Dhoone begins his training as a member of the Phage, a clandestine group dedicated to de... Read More