The Icebound Land

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, addiction, and substance use.

“Evanlyn was whimpering with fear. And so was he, Will realized with some surprise—muttering meaningless words over and over, calling out to Halt, to Tug, to anyone who might listen and help. But as wave followed wave and Wolfwind survived, the blinding terror lessened and nervous exhaustion took its place and, eventually, he slept.”

The tone for Will and Evanlyn’s half of the novel is set in the very first chapter, with both teenagers experiencing intense fear during the ocean storm. This passage also establishes Will’s sources of comfort: his mentor, Halt, and his horse, Tug. Since he is separated from those sources of comfort and strength, this page foreshadows Will’s arc in this book of gradually weakening under pressure and abuse.

“There was an angry silence between the two men, made all the uglier by the years they had lived as friends and comrades. Halt, Crowley realized, was possibly his closest friend in the world. Now here they were, trading bitter words and angry arguments. He reached behind him and straightened the fallen chair, then made a gesture of peace to Halt.”

Although this passage tells the reader that Crowley and Halt are close friends, their lack of real intimacy—and Crowley’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge Halt’s clear reasoning for acting out—shows that their friendship is not as deep as it could be. While they are certainly friends, they do not seem to trust each other in their personal lives, even if they trust each other on the battlefield or as professionals. This loneliness colors Halt’s character throughout the novel since he and Horace seem to be the only people willing to bend or break the rules to help the people they love.

“As the Ranger went down under the rain of blows, no one noticed him drop the small blade he had used to sever the bowstring. But the tavern keeper did wonder how a man who had moved so quickly to defeat a stevedore twice his size now seemed to be so slow and vulnerable.”

A significant narrative technique in the novel is pointing out the various details that different characters notice. The shifting