A Covenant of Ice is the third book in the Crowns of Ishia trilogy. This time, the POV is mostly from Lilley's point of view, except when it's from Raka's point of view. (The ghost currently possessing Lilley, not Dragon-Raka. Though that would have been interesting--and pretty much like a prose poem if the way they "talk" is any indication.) In this third installment Janan and his family are approached by the Mazemoor government to go to the north, so as to block off the attempts of the Kattakan to explore the region.

Absolutely no one wants to take this mission. They also want nothing to do with the Ba'Suon enastramyth, a boy named Gherijtana ele Railé the agent delivering the request brings with her. Yet somehow, they all end up going north. With the enastramyth in tow. This is in part because Raka (both dragon and ghost) are very insistent about going north, and part because Railé claims that his Greatmother had a vision that going north is necessary for some greater plan or purpose that Railé will not--or cannot--relate.

Things of course, do not go entirely to plan. (Or do go according to plan, considering we don't actually know the Greatmother's vision.) The northern dragons are not like the dragons of the Ba'Suon, or the dragons of the Mazoön. For one, they breathe ice, for another they are actually kind of terrifyingly territorial and have been holding off any and all potential settlers for a very long time. (Raka's family was the only Ba'Suon family they had a contract with.)

There is a lot of backstory into Lilley and to a lesser extent Raka's pasts, and their joint and separate traumas are explored--and has a great deal to do with the endgame of the plot. We also see the beginnings of Lilley and Janan's relationship, and how they met Raka. As a result we end up with a (slightly) more sympathetic view of Raka.

The falling action is something of a gut punch, as nature finally balances itself. (In so far as the situation with the Kattakan people colonizing Ba'Suon lands is concerned. There's still the mythicism towers that are draining the life out of Mazemoor...though I can certainly forsee a "balancing" on that end of the equation.) I enjoyed the book, and appreciated the potential of the open ending.

My over all feelings for the trilogy is that it's a great read with excellent worldbuilding. The characters are very fleshed out and distinct. I enjoyed their interactions and their developing relationships with each other. I liked the "western" feel of the setting, and the general message of "imperialism/colonialism is kind of terrible, actually." A great book with lots of action--in the sense of things actively happening, not so much in the way of fighting, mind--and emotional character arcs.

This review is based on a galley received from NetGalley.

I entirely fell in love with book 1 in this series and feel so lucky to have been able to read this advanced copy. Lowachee’s storytelling is a soul working experience wherein it seems the reader must move through the soul of the story to come out the other side with a new understanding of life. Dare I say this series has been a religious experience? I’m not sure I have a better term for it. Book 3 has the four heroes united after years of world and life changing events. While overjoyed, there is still anger and a brokenness lingering. They are all called upon to make another perilous journey to reestablish balance to themselves and the world.

Short concluding novella to the series. A great series. Thank you to the author. Thank you to # NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I enjoyed this trilogy very much, but this felt like an anticlimactic conclusion for what was building. The first half of the novella moved rather slowly, and the last third moved incredibly quickly. I'm happy that Lilley, Janan, and Meka got their good ending, but it felt rushed and unsatisfying. This installment, especially, had much less about the dragons, the suon, despite introducing a new type, which was a smidge disappointing. I still think this trilogy is worth reading, I'm just a little underwhelmed by the way it ended.

WIth this novella, Karin Lowachee cements her reputation as a master of painting a difficult, imperfect world and giving narrators from different, often polarized, sides of it a compelling voice to fill the world with. I keep mentally comparing this series to Warchild, and it's not the same - of course it is not - but something I have learnt to love and appreciate from it being masterfully pulled off again is just a pure pleasure to watch. It's bittersweet, it doesn't answer every question it raises, but boy does it leave an impression.

I love the writing in this series, each book is a little different in ways that reflect the POV character. I was, however, left wanting by the conclusion of this novella. There are still some unanswered questions, some loose threads. Maybe that's how this story needed to end, because there was never going to be a tidy ending to this story. All and all, it's well worth reading.

Hard to talk about this without spoiling, but this was a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. I thought it wrapped everything up nicely - its a brutal and bloody world that these characters live in, so the bittersweet ending was fitting I think.
I'd love to read more from this universe, but I'm very satisfied with what we got!

Enjoyed the book courtesy of NetGalley and the Publisher, my opinion is my own.

I think the middle volume was my favourite, but the way the third novella concludes the story, bringing consequences and emotional weight, is certainly very satisfying. I found the purposefully disorienting effect of POV shifts between the two consciousnesses vying for control to be very effective. The world is so dark and so violent, and yet the characters hold care and gentleness for each other.

I kind of wish we could have more hope, less violence, but it's not that kind of story. It is about family and love among ruins.

At the end of "The Dester Talon," Lilley and his lover Janan were finally reunited after years of separation. But they get no chance to rest, as the connection with the soul of a king dragon and Raka consumes him, transforming his thoughts and feelings into something other than his own. Added to this is the ongoing conflict with the Kattakans, and so Lilley and his companions Janan and Meka must travel north to appease Raka and put a stop to the Kattakans' claim of possession.

I really enjoyed reading the final part of this story, and it's a good conclusion to the trilogy, but for me it doesn't compare to the brilliant second part. Lilley struggles with his connection to Raka and the guilt he feels over his sacrifice. He's in danger of losing himself in Raka's memories and feels his connection to Janan and the world in general growing weaker and weaker. I found the portrayal very impressive, but at times it was a bit confusing. It wasn't always immediately clear to me who was speaking, or whether they were just memories or whether what was being told was actually happening. Nevertheless, I liked the way the themes of nature, origins, and family were once again presented, with the latter being given a whole new perspective through Raka's past.

Overall, the series has a well-deserved place on my shelf and in my heart, but in some places I would have liked there to have been more space to discover the world and the characters.

I'm really sad to hear that this is the end of the Crowns of Ishia series, because it's grown to become one of my favourites. But this was a bittersweet and fitting ending to the trilogy.
I think this series might have suffered a little from mis-marketing. It's presented as 'gunslinging dragonriders', perhaps to try to exploit the current dragon rider craze. But that doesn't really do the story justice. It's a quietly profound meditation on humanity and our relationship with nature and each other and it's really beautiful, but perhaps not what those looking for a fun western adventure would vibe with.
There was everything great here that was great in the first two books: beautiful immersive prose, a genuine and human cast of characters, a short but impactful story and dragons! The relationship between Lilley and Janan was really the heart of this book, it felt real and raw and I just wanted the best for them.
As the point of view was from Lilley, we didn't hear the dragons' thoughts so much in this one, which I missed a bit. However, I still really loved how they were presented in this book: as forces of nature, ferocious and unyielding. I love sassy, friendly dragons as much as the next person but I need more of this too! Dragons should be terrifying and awe-inspiring and they were certainly that here.
I'm not sure what else to say about this one other than it was the perfect conclusion to a perfect series. It may be bittersweet, but it's so genuine and heartfelt and I honestly can't reccommend it enough. Go read it!

Oh this book! I had the time of my life reading it. A Covenant of Ice by Karin Lowachee is a masterpiece! I rated it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down for a second.

The final book in the novella trilogy The Crowns of Ishia is a fitting ending to this interesting series. Like the previous two books, this is a short but poignant read. We are reunited with Janaan and Lilley in the North. The conclusion ties up themes of loss, healing, trust, and reclaiming heritage that ran through the series. Readers who enjoyed the first two books will surely see this as an apt way to resolve the story and say goodbye to the characters.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Rebellion - Solaris) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.