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The Icebreaker Trilogy Takes Kids On An Exciting Voyage Through a Dangerous Future World
It’s so satisfying when the third and final book of a much-enjoyed trilogy comes out. Partly this is for one’s own reading pleasure, but also because one can be much more enthusiastic about recommending a completed series to kids, because they’ll get to read straight through with all the events of the first books clear in their minds, and they won’t have to wait to see how it all ends! So I’m very happy that Battlesong, the third book of Lian Tanner’s Icebreaker trilogy, is now out in the world!
The Icebreaker trilogy tells of a world where centuries ago a war was declared against technology. A handful of men and women, scientists and story-tellers, took steps to ensure that one day humanity could once again regain the knowledge that was being destroyed, and now that day has come. But whether the anti-machinist devouts who have almost total power over the downtrodden remnants of humanity can be overthrown depends on a handful of brave kids.
The first book, Icebreaker, tells of the Oyster, an ancient icebreaker, that has been following the same remote course for three hundred years. Her crew has forgotten the original purpose of their mission, and broken into warring tribes. Twelve-year-old Petrel is an orphaned outcast, a Nothing Girl, shunned for her parents’ crimes. Her only friends are two most extraordinary rats, Mister Smoke and Missus Slink (just how extraordinary they are only becomes clear as the series progresses). Then one day the Oyster passes by a boy, frozen on an iceberg, and Petrel defies the status quo of her home to save him, not knowing that she is stepping into a trap set by the anti-Machinist Devouts that will threaten the secret the Oyster was created to keep safe for the future—a mechanical boy hidden on board who holds all of human learning in his computer brain.
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The second book, Sunker’s Deep, expands the story beyond Petral’s cold and lonely world. A giant submarine has also been lying low at sea. Sharkey is one of the Sunkers who call it home, and all his life he’s lived a lie, pretending to be the chosen hero of the ancestors. When the Devouts attack, he must become the hero he’s always boasted he was. Out on dry land, Petrel and Fin, the boy she saved from the iceberg, and the crew of the Oyster are determined to launch an attack on the rule of the Devouts. Amidst much adventure and danger, some progress is made, but victory can only be achieved when the ancient song is found that will activate the full potential of the mechanical boy.
And this is where the third book comes in. Battlesong introduces the singer of the song, a girl named Gwin who is part of a family who travels the land of West Norn, bringing stories and music to the miserable villages oppressed by the harsh rule of the Devouts. But her family falls afoul of the Devouts, and her father is captured. Meanwhile, the Oyster’s crew and the Sunkers have joined together to lay siege to the Citadel. All the kids from the previous books join forces with Gwin (and the two most remarkable rats) to bring the light of learning back to a dark and bitter world.
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There’s a lot more adventure and backstory and sub-plots going on, that these summaries don’t do justice to. There’s more than enough adventure, even before the world expands beyond the old icebreaker, to keep the pages turning very nicely indeed. Those who love to cheer for kids triumphing through perseverance and intelligence against terrible odds, battling paranoia and evil extremism, will not be disappointed, and readers who are fascinated by shattered worlds on the eve of rebuilding will be enthralled. It’s especially satisfying to see the various plans made three hundred years ago coming together, and perhaps even more satisfying to see Petrel firmly putting her old identity as a Nothing Girl behind her, and finding the love of a family.
There’s violence, but it’s not extreme, and the books stay firmly on the younger side of romance—it seems quite possible that some of the kids will pair up in the future, but that’s not happening right now. Love of family, and loyalty to friends, is more important than romantic love.
Battlesong is on B&N bookshelves now.