The Frost Eater

A great journey into a new earth with magic and interesting powers. For much of the book you will feel connected to both main characters. The surprise comes when you find out who the antagonist is. A new must read for both young and old alike

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

What a fantabulous read! With a unique twist on a post-apocalyptic fantasy world this well written story takes you on an amazing adventure with a princess who can make magical ice and a boy who can eat feathers then fly to find a missing girl. The world building is amazing so much so that you could easily imagine being there and the characters are relatable and likeable. Filled with action, good guys, bad guys, magic , mystery, suspense and a couple of dragons, I am anxious to read more!

This book is brilliantly written and a great read, it’s not like any other book I’ve ever read the story line is fun original and draws you in from the start. The characters are great and there are lots of twist in the story.

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” CS Lewis

I had the pleasure of being asked to do an honest review of Beth Anderson’s young adult, dystopian fantasy novel The Frost Eater; book one of The Magic Eater’s Trilogy. I have always been a fan of fantasy and all of its sub-genres. I spent many hours in my youngest years reading books like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I progressed to Anne Mc Caffrey’s blend of fantasy and science fiction. By my teenage years I began books like Dragon Lance series and the Wheel of Time. While I don’t write fantasy myself at this time, I admire writers who have the capability of building unique new worlds without bogging the story down.

What is Dystopian Fiction?

Dystopia is an antonym for Utopia. In contrast to a perfect society described by Sir Thomas Moore in his book written in 1516, a Dystopian society is dark, impoverished, and inhumane.

Beth does a good job of easing into the dystopian theme in the Frost Eater. Her novel is set 200 years after a cataclysmic disaster wiped out most of the planet Anyari’s population. Anyari is a future colony of earth that has been cut off from its home planet for some time. It thrived until the event known as “the Day.” A mysterious orange stone pulled from the ground unleashed a deadly wave of radiation. It killed most of the planet, destroying technology. The survivors discovered it had also created magic creatures and capabilities amongst the once humans inhabiting the planet.

Beth’s novel reminds me of Anne McCaffrey’s style of blending science fiction and fantasy. One of the things Beth does well here is leaving some information open to questions. I think some science fiction writers feel they have to describe EVERY detail of the science behind their stories. I almost want to scream at them that they’re writing fiction, not a tech manual or survival guide. If I want that, I’ll shop in the non-fiction section, thanks. It’s great to leave some things open to question, even debate. Especially in writing targeted toward the young adult crowd. Beth provides enough science to intrigue, but not drag down the story.

Showing vs. Telling

Sometimes fantasy and science fiction novels lend themselves toward data-dumping and too much exposition that bogs down the plot. Beth does a great job of giving out the background behind “The Day,” in little snippets throughout the story. She does this the form of excepts from history written by the first survivors of the cataclysm. The allow her to maintain the pace of the story but give the reader insight and history. She matched the excerpts very well with the theme of each chapter.

Characters

Magical Powers or Mutant Capabilities?

I really enjoy the Marvel X-men series. Super Villain Magneto is one of my favorite characters. His fears of being exterminated by humans for his differences are founded on his past experiences. In the Frost Eater, this trope is turned on its head. It is the people with magic capabilities that have become royalty, and the people without are commoners. The friction between the two factions is growing.

Princess Nora Abrios

One of the trends in fiction that bothers me is the rise of the “bad-ass” female stereotype trope. In my opinion, this has become worse than the dreaded “Mary Sue.” In the name of feminism, I see a lot of writers striving for the ruthless “alpha” female. She is better than any man—dammit! She is going to prove it any way she has to, with no help from anyone. She can out-smart, out-fight, out-drink, out-cuss and out-sex any man or woman for that matter. Set up on a pedestal, she has a long hard way to fall, but never does, of course.

This also runs the risk of making a character unrelatable. Unlike Mary Sue or the “Super-Alpha-female,” no one is perfect. As readers, we fall in love with flawed characters and their insecurities that remind us of ourselves. It’s great to have a larger than life character, but there has to be believability.

What Beth depicts in her female lead here is far better. She shows honest character development that reminded me of my own high school years. Was I a beautiful, rich princess on an alien planet? No. But I was young with hopes, desires and insecurities about where I belonged in the world and my future.

The pampered, sheltered Princess Nora has never experienced the true hardships the commoners of Cellerin face. She also has no real friends, which leaves her naïve, lonely and bored. Surrounded by adults in a world where she knows that someday she will face the pressures of running the kingdom, it leads her to befriend the enigmatic Krey. He is a Frost Eater like herself and has talents that no one else is willing to teach her. As her eyes become open to what is really going on, she begins to mature. She also develops latent magical capabilities. While she always dreamed of having these powers, they will alter the course of their quest and even her own destiny as Princess.

Her loss of innocence as she discovers the truth about herself and her family is what bridges the gap to real friendship between herself and her companions. It also gives her credibility that she really will have what it takes to be a competent ruler someday.

Kreyven West

Krey has a huge chip on his shoulder when it comes to the royal family and an ulterior motive for grudgingly accepting Nora’s friendship. He is on a quest to find his girlfriend Zeisha. He was told she left for an apprenticeship, and subsequently sent him a letter coldly breaking off their relationship. Certain the note was fake, he is determined to find her. Even with his mistrust of the royal family and his belief that they are behind Zeisha’s disappearance the slow development of their friendship is heartwarming and believable.

The one thing I would say that could have been done better here was a few more hints as to why he mistrusts the royals over the beginning parts of the book. Maybe more flashbacks to the reason without coming out and saying it (avoiding spoilers the best I can here). We’re bombarded with his anger and his constantly being nasty to Nora which starts to make me resent him. She puts up with it because she’s lonely, wants a friend, and wants to learn more about being a Frost Eater. Frankly there’s times in the book I would have told him to get over it or explain why.* At the scene where he finally ‘fesses up, it is because of the character in the story I like to call “the voice of reason.” Almost like Samwise Gamgee in the LOTR trilogy, this person usually the calm, logical, collected one. In the Frost Eater, its Beth’s character, Ovrun.

*Just to be clear—this is a very minor dislike and just my personal opinion, otherwise, great character development. And I understand why she might not want to reveal much as it might take impact away from “the big reveal scene” you could argue the point either way.

Ovrun

Ovrun starts out a secondary character in the story, but becomes a stronger presence in the adventure as the story unfolds. Nora’s crush, he loses his job as a royal guard for the sake of helping the two on their quest to find Zeisha and the truth. His logic and practicality during the action and tough situations is a great foil to Krey’s recklessness and Nora’s naivety. I really enjoyed the slow burn of romance between Nora and Ovrun. Beth builds on genuine conflict between the princess and the commoner. At first it comes off as just teenage hormonal passion, but as the story progresses, they realize they have something deeper. A real future together may not happen since she is expected to have her future husband chosen for her, and that future husband has to have magical capability (which he doesn’t). This prevents them from acting further on their romance, but you can cut the tension between the two with a knife by the end.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” CS Lewis

As the three teens travel into the “abandoned” cities on Anyari, searching for Zeisha, the bond between them grows. They test the limits of their magical capabilities and the bond of friendship. The vivid images of a decaying modern city gave me the chills. High rise buildings filled with bones, crumbling light rail lines suspended in mid-air, and empty streets decaying in the sun were all easy to visualize. While the city is “abandoned” it is not empty. The teens encounter Troggs, the people they have been taught are savages. There will be many things that make them question their upbringing and what is right and wrong. It is clear from the beginning of the story that the government has something to do with the disappearance of the young people with magic capabilities. By the end of the story, all three will have to decide where they will make their stand. With each other, or the life they once knew.

Beth’s first book in the Magic Eaters Trilogy leaves the reader hungry for more. Unlike some dystopian novels, I would argue there is a sense of hope that our young people will prevail, though it will be a tough rough ahead. I can’t wait to see where she takes us in the next offering, The Vine Eater.

This is a wonderful new start to a new series. The magic is slightly different than what you expect and that makes it so unique and interesting. I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author. She did a fabulous job! Great world building, great character development. I highly recommend this author and can’t wait for the next story in the series!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A very strong first book of the trilogy. I enjoyed the new world that Anderson has brought to life. The characters are as charming as ever and the plot is unique. I’m definitely looking forward to book two.

So, I received a complimentary digital copy of this book for review. But, having every faith in the author, I also purchased a physical copy. (Psss, it’s Gorgeous!)

What a fun ride! Dystopian but also sci-fi but also fantasy but also (teen) romance. If any of these things appeal to you this might be a book for you. I got Grishaverse vibes and mockingjay vibes. Also some wicked cool fantasy vibes that I won’t compare here because that would just spoil the surprise. (And it was a surprise I wasn’t expecting but really loved.) There were well developed characters and a well thought out world. The magic system was quite unique. Though it did cause me to cough here and there. (and then maaaaybe gag. Hahaha.) There was a satisfying ending, though it left just enough of a hook to make you want to come back for part two! (September 1, 2020!)

Princess Nora has lived a sheltered, protected life, which is perhaps why she is so intrigued by Krey’s recklessness. After seeing him work magic on a tour of the country, she invites him back to the palace to intern (and hopefully help her strengthen her own magic). Little does she know that wrapped up in a world filled with his conspiracy theories and get more than a glimpse of life beyond the palace.

Krey just wants to find his girlfriend. After she was admitted a special training program for those gifted with magic, he received a message that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Convinced that should would never write such a message of her own accord, he accepted Princess Nora’s invitation so he could be closer to where his girlfriend was supposedly training. Unfortunately, proximity alone isn’t enough to help him find her.

There is also a rebel group seeking to undermine the monarchy, but when negotiations fail, they seem willing to do whatever it takes to gain their independence. Would they risk an all out war or secretly abduct magic users, forcing them to serve their cause?

Told primarily through Nora’s perspective, the story is filled with twists and turns, new ideas, and her struggle to know who can be trusted. She begins to grow up as a result of her own quest, not for what is comfortable and known, but for what is true. She is also asked to make great sacrifices, and she comes through every time.

I liked Nora. I liked that even when she was a bit snotty, she always tried her best. I liked that she was willing to give up her own comforts, initially for the adventure of it, but ultimately for loyalty. I liked her idiocies with boys because she truly had no idea how to socialize with people of her own age. I was a bit annoyed by her constant “desire” for Ovrun. Sure, he was “hot,” but he was also a really good person. It seemed like her distraction by his muscular physique overwhelmed the comfort she could have felt by his presence alone.

I liked Krey and his mistrust of everyone. His character made sense, especially when he finally revealed his history. I especially liked that there were dragons. Hopefully future books in the series give us more of them.

The magic system was fascinating. While certain individuals were gifted with magic of various types, they had to feed their powers. Ice lysters gained power by eating ice, fire lysters by eating ashes, those with the power of flight by eating feathers, healers by drinking blood, etc. Some types of magic were definitely more repulsive and disturbing than others, but the system was consistent and it worked well for the story.

The beginning of each chapter also gave a hint at the history, as a former princess from the first generation after the change tells of conversations with her parents (who knew life before) as well as her own experiences.

Finally, while I often struggle with the narration quality when it is done by the author, Carol Beth Anderson has a good voice for the story and I quickly forgot that she was narrating her own book.

I was given a free copy of the audiobook by the author and have reviewed it honestly.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and am leaving an honest review. This is not the first time I have read this author. Anderson is amazing and capable of captivating her audience whether in a short story or a novel such as this one.
I love how it’s a book within a book. Each chapter begins with an excerpt on the history of this world seen through the eyes of the main character’s ancestor. Princess Nora and Krey West are traveling difficult paths together bonding them in a friendship. Sometimes in life you have to choose between what is right or family. Nora faces many choices in this book becoming stronger, more aware of life outside the palace and discovering what it might take to unite the people of her world creating a better place for all. Anderson creates unique creatures, magical abilities and a cast of characters I felt a part of and rooted for them every step of the way. Can’t wait for her next book in the trilogy.

This is a wonderfully creative beginning to a new fantasy world. A unique take on magic and magical creatures. The storytelling and world building are top notch. The characters are easy to get caught up in. It can easily appeal to teens and adults. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.