The Cradle of Ice is the second book in James Rollins’ Moonfall series. It picks up several months after the end of the first book with the group preparing to go their separate ways in order to best achieve their goal. Nyx is preparing to head deep into the ice covered side of the planet as she works on finding whatever was left behind for Shiya to find. She is joined by the majority of their group as they forge forward through unknown obstacles including the ice, mountains, ice storms and potentially even a fiercesome and malevolent cousin of the myr bats though things look up slightly upon finding out people may live up there. Kanthe is joined by Pratik and Frell in the Southern Klashe as they work on finding a potential second sleeper, similar to Shiya, who may know more about how to prevent Moonfall. Things become complicated though when Kanthe ends up embroiled in Klashean politics as he works on getting the information they need. Betrothed to the local princess he ends up fighting for his life against local rebels and the forces of his brother Mikaen.
This book was a worthy successor to the first one as it continued what was already an incredible story. In terms of plot and world building it was just as well done because the story was always incredibly complex and just drew me right in while the world had such rich detail sprinkled into the story. I was definitely impressed by how well this world is developing, which I can’t say very frequently. The story, while still complex, was in some ways less complex than the previous story as it didn’t juggle as many separate storylines. With so many of the characters together there was less back and forth between storylines. At the same time there was actually more back and forth in terms of point of view as it introduced several new narrators in addition to the four from the first book. I actually liked this as I felt like it helped give the story a more rounded perspective overall but it did take some adjusting as it frequently switched perspectives within a section but stayed in the same group. It wasn’t bad as it did provide a broader perspective but it was different from before. I guess, depending on your preference, that can be either a positive or negative change. The story was just as fast-paced as the previous one with only a handful of slower scenes which ended up with some pretty fast pacing and made it a little difficult to find a good stopping spot at times. There was just so much going on and it definitely increased the farther in you got. I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and am seriously looking forward to the next one. This book gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
This book is a great example of an adult fantasy series and should hold considerable appeal for those who tend to prefer that kind of work. I will suggest that you read the previous book before reading this one as you will end up heavily lost if you don’t. It also contains considerable levels of violence and references to brainwashing as well as numerous adult references though nothing explicit there. I would suggest only older teens, those older than fifteen or sixteen, should consider this as it would probably not be considered okay for younger readers. It is really good though and well worth the read so consider trying it if it sounds appealing. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments if you do.