The Icemark Chronicles
#1924.13 adjusted 4.13 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2005–2013 Reading commitment Medium Stuart Hill Last reviewed 2026-10-23
Overview
Stuart Hill's Icemark Chronicles tell of the Icemark, a tiny northern kingdom forever caught between dangerous neighbours, with Viking and Celtic elements, against the cannons and muskets of the expanding Polypontian Empire. When her father dies in battle, fourteen-year-old Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield becomes the Icemark's warrior queen and, with Oskan, the witch's son, rallies extraordinary allies, vampires, Wolf-folk and giant Snow Leopards, under her battle cry of Blood and Fire. The sequels follow Thirrin, Oskan and their five children twenty years on, including the youngest son Sharley and the murderous daughter Medea, and the prequel tells of Prince Redrought, who must rally his people when his brother the King is killed in battle and defend the kingdom against werewolves, vampires and zombies. The first book won the Ottakar's Prize for the best new children's novel.
Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Icemark Chronicles Stuart Hill
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Cry of the Icemark | 2005 | 1 | core | 4.13 (11,910 ratings) |
 | Blade of Fire; ISBN recorded is the first US edition (Chicken House/Scholastic, 2007); first published in the UK in September 2006. ISBN recorded is the Chicken House UK first edition (September 2006); the US edition (2007) is 9780439841221. | 2006 | 2 | core | 4.14 (5,140 ratings) |
 | Last Battle of the Icemark | 2008 | 3 | core | 4.16 (2,664 ratings) |
 | Prince of the Icemark; A prequel to The Cry of the Icemark. | 2013 | 4 | core | 3.98 (434 ratings) |
Stuart Hill's chronicles of the northern kingdom of the Icemark.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Icemark Chronicles? The Icemark Chronicles's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Icemark Chronicles? Publication order, starting with The Cry of the Icemark. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Icemark Chronicles finished? Complete (2005–2013).
- How much reading does The Icemark Chronicles take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is The Icemark Chronicles ranked? #192 in this site's official ranking, based on 20,148 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #192?
Ranked #192 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.13 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (20,148 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.03 behind #191, The Green Man.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 4 books · Complete · 20k ratings · Ranks #192 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- The Cry of the Icemark (2005)
- Blade of Fire (2006)
- Last Battle of the Icemark (2008)
- Prince of the Icemark (2013)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Waterstones Children's Book Prize (Ottakar's Children's Book Prize), 2005: won: The Cry of the Icemark; The inaugural Ottakar's Children's Book Prize, later the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.
- Highland Children's Book Award (Long Novel), 2006: won: The Cry of the Icemark
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.13 across 20,148 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Icemark Chronicles (Stuart Hill) accepted 2026-10-22
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Reader list on the rating platform (rating with title) Tier 2
- Romance.io (series listing with publisher descriptions) Tier 2
- San Mateo Public Library (publisher author note) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
Rule: Core Canon = The Cry of the Icemark (2005), Blade of Fire (2006), Last Battle of the Icemark (2008) and the prequel Prince of the Icemark (2013).