A Cavern of Black Ice arrived at a perfect time for me. The last four books that I tried to read I got too bored to continue before I could finish fifty pages. A Cavern of Black Ice was completely the opposite. I couldn't wait to read it each night and it was tough to put down to go to bed. The characters are well described and interesting. The action is surprising and enthralling.

Ms. Jones is one of the best fantasy authors I have read at characterization. They are usually very multi-dimensional. The heroes aren't totally perfect and the villains aren't totally evil. And there is sometimes even a fine line between them. Vaylo Bludd is a great example of this. Even though he is opposing Raif, at least on the surface, he comes across as a sympathetic character. Magdalena Crouch was probably my favorite minor character. I was about to call it a night, but how could I put the book down when I read the sentence "The assassin sat in a chair well illuminated by the amber-burning lamp, yet Penthero Iss still found it hard to behold her."

There is some great action in this book as well. The rape scene through the eyes of an eight year old was very powerful. The early scene of Drey and Raif arriving back to camp was enough to totally suck you into the book if Raif's character hadn't already done so. The fire scene through Cassy Lok's eyes was full of suspense. With many fantasies, minor characters and side stories get frustrating. I just want to get back to the main thread. But with Ms. Jones, the side stories are very interesting and I actually felt the opposite.