Ice Country (The Country Saga) by David Estes
A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published by David Estes (03/29/2013)
Summary:
“To fight or not to fight? Why is it that I constantly have to make this decision over and over again?” (Kindle Locations 1578-1579).
Ice Country is the winter version of Fire Country. There are mountains and forests and snow for days. Ice Country is home to the Icies and the main character Dazz. He lived a normal life, getting into bar fights at Fro-Yo’s, hanging out with his best bud Buff, being told off by his brother Wes, disappointed in his drug-dependent mother, and living for one of his sister Jolie’s smiles. But Dazz gets into one bar fight too many and is kicked out of his second home. Desperate to make the money to pay back Fro-Yo’s for the damages, Dazz and Buff head to the local gambling den. It seems like anything Dazz does cannot end well. When they’re offered employment to help pay off debts, Dazz and Buff jump at the chance. Their employer is not who he seems and the job is exactly what it looks like. Then Jolie goes missing in the night, taken right in front of Dazz’s nose and he will stop at nothing to find her and bring her home. In the middle of his investigation into her kidnapping and during the increasing curiosity that has become his job, Dazz meets the most unlikely allies from the Fire Country. There are bigger things afoot than just the abduction of Jolie, and Dazz is determined to pick himself up and do the right thing now.
Keywords:
Cold, Survival, Fighting, Disease, Death, Post-Apocalyptic, Convoluted Truth, Friendship, Romance, Love, Family, Curiosity, Allies, Fire Country, Revenge, Murder, Corrupted Leadership, Trust, Strength
My Review:
Dazz seems, at first, like a lowlife good for nothing seeking-out-trouble young bad boy. He gets into bar fights with little to no provocation. He aims high in the girlfriend realm without really falling in love. He has no money and no job and spends all day at the local bar. This is what life is like in the Brown Disctrict, where the poor have less opportunities and many vices. Even Dazz’s brother Wes is only barely getting by. Dazz comes to life as a character to look up to when he is given morally charged choices. He is bound by his family and his love for his sister and wants to protect her, but he is also compelled to protect the weak and innocent. He is a good person stuck in a bad situation, a rut of life in the poorer district. He is a true underdog and grows up to his potential with the story.
Skye from the Fire Country Book one of the Country Saga Series comes into this story with her fierceness and determination. She is more developed and more cool than ever in Ice Country. As Dazz puts it so eloquently, “Skye’s not the type to wait around for heroes to rescue her. She is the hero.” (Kindle Locations 4100-4101). When you need a fighter who won’t back down and can take a punch like any bar-fighter, Skye’s your man (I mean woman). Isn’t that cool to have such a kick-butt female!
Estes brings in more of the characters from book one, interweaving the sinister plot they were discovering in book one into a whole mess of a situation that gets bigger and bigger in this second book. Seina, Circ, and Feve are all back for more.
Dazz is the main character and all events are told from his perspective. He’s a fun, intelligent, and interesting narrator and does the story proud in his telling. I can’t wait for book three, Water & Storm Country.
This novel was published by David Estes 03/29/2013 and is available on Amazon here.
TLDR Star Rating: 5.0
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 