I
am quite familiar with the works of Melissa de la Cruz. I also know that she is a Filipino and came
from the Visayas, coincidentally the region in the Philippines where I am. I have always wanted to read her books and
knew that her first series, that of high society vamps, Blue Bloods has
constantly been in the top selling list but I was just a little hesitant to
read books because the covers were too “girly” for my taste (there goes my
penchant of judging books by their covers, hahaha, but then again, it is my
preference so nobody really should comment). I have never read any of her
so-called hits. Then came … Frozen, her new book and (thankfully) the start of a new series.
The
cover is simple; that of a girl in profile, hair slicked behind her as she
seemingly immerges from a pool of water.
There is an emblem, a swirl of gold that looks so much a like a
miniature dragon and the title, Frozen. Finally,
a Melissa de la Cruz that I can stomach to read (duh, such a stupid reason as
how the cover looks to label a book I can stomach, again, so what? That’s how I
want it…and yes, I judge people by their looks too…hahaha).
Now,
I always believed that I am a sort of an authority on the draconian mythology
having read almost all the known series that features this race of majestic lizards. Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern (my own
collection of numerous titles donated) being one of my earliest reads in the
genre of magic, fantasy and science fiction; not to mention, Eragon and its
succeeding titles, Dragonlance (I also donated these books), and the newly
popular Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (for the clueless, it’s
the basis for the HBO hit, the Game of Thrones which is the title of the first
book). I never really thought that there
would be a new take on the dragon stories but as what the reviews say about de
la Cruz, she can sure spin a whole new take on what is old, traditional and
classical and make it seem like it’s really possible in the world of reality. And not only dragons (which I falsely thought
this books is centered on) but also elves, dwarfs (for the uninitiated, this is
the correct plural for dwarf, the word “dwarves” was created or used by J.R.R.
Tolkien in the Lord of the Rings trilogy to describe the race) and even
zombies.
This
story is written by a goddess of world building. The realities and nuances of the characters
are so real that I almost can see them onscreen as a movie. The adventures and the back stories are so
believable that I had to stop for moments and imagine what was happening within
the pages. It is Waterworld, Tombraider,
and the Day the World Stood Still combined all in one. It is a dystopian tour de force that will
surely transport you from where you are reading to where the action is. This book
is to be believed and I can’t wait for the next one.
*I’m
reading one of Melissa de la Cruz’s earlier series next, she is a gem of a
writer and I’m not entirely convinced that Frozen is a collaboration with her
husband. But then again, I can be wrong like I am with the covers (I’m reading
her earlier book covered with a non-transparent covering, hahaha).
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