Sunday, January 30, 2011

Ice World: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow


This ice world brought to you by Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George:

The roar of the north wind blasted the snowdrift into a million sharp, cold diamonds, and the lass fell down and down, into a crevice of blue ice and white snow.  Rollo landed heavily atop her, knocking the breath from both their bodies.
The north wind howled down the crevice, smashing the lass against a jagged wall of ice.  She struck her head, and all went dark.
_____


When she awoke, the lass found herself in  a snow cave sitting propped up by a chunk of ice.  A pool of water as gray as steel reflected dim light onto the roof of the cave, and a walrus was lying beside the pool only a few paces away.  It was big, and brown, and had long yellow tusks....
The lass realized that she was covered in the white parka, and various other items of clothing had been spread over her,  She wasn't sure if Rollo or the north wind was responsible, but she was grateful all the same.  It was very, very cold.
Riding the south wind had dampened her clothes and now they were frozen stiff.  She stood up and quickly undressed, then yanked on the first things she could get her hands on.  In the end, she had a nightgown on over an outer shift, but she didn't care.  There were layers of skirts and vests over that, and then the white parka.  Besides, there was no one here to see her but Rollo and the walrus, and the walrus had not returned.
The north wind arrived before the walrus did.  A great whirl of icy particles whipped into the cave and tore at the lass's clothes and hair.  Before she could protest, it lifter her off her feet and carried her out of the cave, with Roll and her pack as well.  The wind dropped her just outside, near the water, and then pulled back.
Looking around, the lass felt her jaw fall open.  She was not on solid ground.  She was on a large sheet of ice and hard-packed snow, floating in a sea of other sheets of ice, mountains of ice, pillars of ice.  That hadn't been a little pond inside the snow cave earlier; it had been the sea coming through a hole in the floor.


Make sure to check out my review of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
and this awesome guest post from author Jessica Day George!

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