Series: Moonfall #2
Author: James Rollins
Narrator: Nicola Barber (From Anyplay)
Playtime 26h 25m
Publisher MacMillan Audio
Genre: Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi
First published February 7, 2023
Book description: The second book in the New York Times bestselling Moonfall series from thriller-master James Rollins, The Cradle of Ice is a page-turning tale of action, adventure, betrayal, ambition, and the struggle for survival in a harsh world that hangs by a thread.
To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed.
A soldier, a thief, a lost prince, and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster.
Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater
enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might
unleash. Armies wage war around them.
For each step has come with a cost—in blood, in loss, in heartbreak.
Now, they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they’ve only known in stories. Time is running out and only the truth will save us all.
Review:
So initially, I started this audiobook by mistake. In the first few chapters I noticed something off. I had to stop and go look it up. It was book two of a series I had never heard of . So I forced myself to stop, and leave it for later. A few weeks later I went back and found the first book. It was an enjoyable read and it left me eager to get to the continuation. And finally here I am.
It is a quick and easy to get through read. It gives a type of conclusion but there are still hints of more dire things to come. That gives me the idea that the series is meant to grow. But it can be seen as a duology for now.
The world depicted here is intriguing, it has the classic the world is divided in empires, that are always in a very tentative peace. It seems like its always in the brink of war.
The most intriguing aspect is that after generations of people being so controlled, the ruling people do not wish them to get knowledge, as usual knowing is power. So after generation of the world that is locked- the people has been led to believe that the very idea of rotation of the planet is a sacrilege, everything in their religion and superstition is based on the fact that their world is locked in position.
The story is getting good. The search for a solution of the moonfall and annihilation of the world is still the most pressing issue. Nyx continue to face her own situations- trying to continue with her "brother", get comfortable with her biological father a man she can't help but despise for abandoning her. Her group as the task of finding allies to stop the apocalypse, they are traveling across the Urth.
They also, continue to struggle with the incoming war of the empires. We follow Prince Kanthe, second son of King Toranth, as he tries to do all in his power to avoid the upcoming war. Their quest took them to a neighboring kingdom to find allies and run from his murderous older brother and the heir of the throne. So we do have a bit of political intrigue- making its apperance with an arrange marriage, a possible enemies to lovers that would come up more into play in future books right now we are in the I don't like you/ ok maybe you're not the worst human on the planet but I dislike you anyway. The other intrigues are pretty standard (the question to the heir lineage) but its ok I guess. The pacing felt all over the place specially as we jump back and forth between al the groups.
The group splits up and then we get a few more characters added here and there. I still have issues with the pacing of the book, but the story is compelling enough that I couldn't put it down. This story is not as quick to read, maybe because its super long. Also I was going through this in audio format so I got lost a bit, had to retreat my chapters but that is probably a me issue not a book issue.
The split of the group was not my favorite.
The positive things we have is that we get a bit more of background and exploration of the characters- it gives us a way to connect to the characters. I have no problem with the tropes, this is definitely an epic fantasy full of overwriting and over the top plot, so it feel like a cozy read ina way as you are enjoying a very familiar epic storyline. I am looking forward to the upcoming releases. Also I think my favorite way of going through the Moonfall is going to be in audio. I would feel the drag of the storyline much more if I had to read this in ebook format, just adding my two cents here.
This story was used to complete the challenges:
Continue/Complete series
Big books >650 pages
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