The Winter of the World

This series is one of the lesser known (at least outside Great Britain) works of fantasy. It deserves more readers as it is one of the best series I have read. It stands head and shoulders above most other fantasy series. In the first book The Anvil of Ice, a young boy, Alv witnesses the pillaging of his village by sea raiders. A mysterious man sailing with the raiders saves Alv from being sold as a slave and takes him to his remote castle. There he becomes an apprentice to the mysterious man who is a Master Smith. As Alv becomes older he begins to wonder who the Master Smith really is. Why does he live in a remote castle far from any towns ? Who are the mysterious visitors .... Part two in the series is The Forge in the Forest. The third and concluding part is The Hammer of the Sun. They are of the same high quality as the first installment.


Not only are peoples, cultures and various races portrayed, gods intervene from time to time. Some of these gods are influenced by norse mythology. Rohan has a remarkable ability to bring life to his fantasy world, its a joy reading about all its details. This is high fantasy, very much in the tradition of Tolkien as far as the quality of the work is concerned, but also very original. The series is accompanied by a lengthy appendix which adds greatly to this work. Rohan has recently (winter 98) written a fourth part in this series, The Castle of the Winds. I haven't had the time to read it as yet.