Book Reviews

The Ice Dragon (1980)

The Ice Dragon – George R. R. Martin (1980)

Rating: 4/5

Genre: fiction, short story, fantasy

I have never read anything by George R. R. Martin before so I feel like this was a definitely a good thing to read before diving into A Game of Thrones. I had heard that Martin’s writing was really good and I was certainly not let down (HIS WRITING IS PHENOMENAL).

The Ice Dragon is a short (roughly 100 pages) story about a little girl named Adara who lives on a farm with her father and her siblings as her mother died giving birth to her. Adara was born in one of the worst and coldest winters in history so throughout the book she is known as “winter’s child”, when she was born she was blue and ice cold and has remained cold her whole life.

As well as being physically cold to the touch Adara is also emotionally distant and prefers to spend time by herself, neglecting her family. Adara has never outwardly shown any emotion and has never cried, not even when she has a terrible injury.

Adara’s favourite time of the year is winter and during winter she usually makes an ice castle but one year she meets the Ice Dragon and they become friends, now every year in winter she meets with the ice dragon.

The Ice Dragon is large dragon that cannot be interacted with or tamed, it is also more powerful than other dragons.

“And when the ice dragon opened its great mouth, and exhaled, it was not fire that came streaming out, the burning sulfurous stink of lesser dragons. The ice dragon breathed cold. Ice formed when it breathed. Warmth fled. Fires guttered and went out, shriven by the chill. Trees froze through to their slow secret souls, and their limbs turned brittle and cracked from their own weight. Animals turned blue and whimpered and died, their eyes bulging and their skin covered over with frost.

The ice dragon breathed death into the world; death and quiet and cold.”

While the story is child-friendly the writing is not the sort of language usually used in childrens books so really you should find an excerpt from the book or borrow it before you buy it. This is more of a deeper and more serious book than your typical childrens story as well.

I highly recommend this story, it is a great quick read (it also has the best illustrations ever!) and is incredibly engaging.

AGE RECOMMENDATION: 9+