The Anvil of Ice
The Anvil of Ice is the first chronicle of The Winter of the World, a history of ancient magic, mystery and enchantment, of light and darkness, a great quest with an epic conclusion, and a hero whose deeds would live on in myth and legend.
In the Northlands, beleaguered by the ever-encroaching Ice and the marauding Ekwesh, a young cowherd, Alv, saved from the raiders by the mysterious Mastersmith, discovers in himself an uncanny power to shape metal – but it is a power that may easily be turned to evil ends. Alv flees the Mastersmith and embarks on the quest to find both his own destiny and a weapon that will let him stand against the power of the Ice.
Michael Scott Rohan
Michael Scott Rohan (1951-2018) was a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author and writer on opera.
He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel Run to the Stars and the non-fiction First Byte. He then collaborated with Allan J. Scott on the nonfiction The Hammer and The Cross (an account of Christianity arriving in Viking lands, not to be confused with Harry Harrison's similarly themed novel trilogy of the same name) and the fantasy novels The Ice King and A Spell of Empire.
The Winter of the World
The chronicles of The Winter of the World echo down the ages in half-remembered myth and song - tales of mysterious powers of the Mastersmiths, of the forging of great weapons, of the subterranean kingdoms of the duergar, of Gods who walked abroad, and of the Powers that struggled endlessly for dominion.
The Winter of the World consists of six books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Book Reviews
The Anvil of Ice is the first book of Winter of the World series. This book was recommended to me a couple of years ago, so I bought the whole series. It was a good purchase. I liked The Anvil of Ice. This book isn't quite as good as some of the fantasy books I've read, but it's interesting and entertaining.