Review of "The Ice Dragon," by George R. R. Martin

Review of

The Ice Dragon, by George R. R. Martin ISBN 0765316315

Four out of five stars

 This is a story about a young girl named Adara that was born with a cold disposition, meant in the literal sense of having a body colder than normal. This makes it possible for her to make physical contact with the ice lizards, small creatures that would die if they were touched by a normal human. Her mother died as a consequence of her birth, so her farmer father is distant towards her.

 The kingdom that they live in is protected by soldiers that ride dragons in the sky. Her uncle Hal is a dragon rider and he flies south in the winter because the normal dragons cannot tolerate the cold. The kingdom’s forces are in constant battle with those of another kingdom.

 There are legends of ice dragons, creatures that cannot tolerate any form of heat and their exhalations are freezing rather than of fire. At least one such dragon exists, and it befriends Adara, giving her rides in the winter when the temperatures are cold enough to allow it to travel to her residence. Hers is the only body that can ride such a dragon without damaging it.

 The war for the kingdom is going badly and Hal tells his brother that he will soon have to flee from the approaching army. There is a major final battle where the dragons demonstrate their loyalty to the humans that befriended them.

 This is an interesting story involving the legend of dragons that is found in most cultures. There have been many stories of dragons used as war mounts, this one involves a young and idealistic girl and is very well executed. While there is no happy ending in the usual sense, there are many positive aspects to the tale.