I first learned about Kate Elliott’s Cold Magic series while reading John Scalzi’s website. In the Big Idea section Elliott described what The History of the World Begins in Ice is all about. It is a collection of short stories written in the “Spiritwalker Trilogy” as well as essays about the characters and aspects of the world. The trilogy sounded fascinating, to quote Kate:
When I began writing Cold Magic, my primary goal (besides making it shorter than Traitors’ Gate) was to tell a story that would be exciting and rich, a page-turner that was difficult to put down. I wanted to tell a story in which the central emotional relationship was a female friendship (sisterhood), and one in which the concerns of a young woman finding her way in the world could include sword fighting, sewing, finding enough to eat, sex, science, revolution, spying, and fashion. I wanted her voice to carry the tale. I wanted to write a fantasy novel in which the neutral universal stance—the one that expresses the story’s highest level of privilege, which no one thinks about in this world because it is the default expectation—is embodied in a man of African ancestry. And I wanted to write about lawyer dinosaurs.
All that and the setting is an alternate version of Earth that had an extended Ice Age and is in the early stages of an industrial revolution with magic, sign me up! While Elliott assured that the short stories can be appreciated on their own, I wanted to read the source material first. Over a year later, I devoured the trilogy and wasn’t ready to leave the world yet when I remembered that there was a collection of short stories. With ten dollars in Barnes and Noble rewards coupons burning a hole in my digital pocket, I hit the order button and then anxiously awaited its arrival.
Just like the trilogy, I didn’t want to put The History of the World Begins in Ice down. Any thought of slowly savoring these last writings quickly went out the window. The stories cover events that happened before Cold Magic, during the trilogy, and after the trilogy. Unlike the trilogy which only has the first-person perspective of Cat, an array of characters give voice to the short stories. We find out more about dragons and a lifelong devotion. Serena, a young woman, is given a backstory to display how clever, intelligent, and magically gifted she is. Rory shares what happened with the peahen and pug when he’s learning his shapeshifting ability, while hiding from authorities in an estate. An amusing tale, passingly told in Cold Magic, of Cat and Bee tormenting haughty girls at the Academy, is fleshed out here. Bee writes her own version of events in the trilogy accompanied with illustrations, as she is an artist. One story is from one of the aforementioned lawyer dinosaurs (trolls) explaining how the ice age evolved the trolls from big dumb lizards to the intelligent, sentient race they are today. We get a glimpse of what the radical lifestyle is like for Bee, Cat, Rory, and Andevai as they deliver the message of equal rights and right to a voted on representational assembly, to the delight of commoners and dismay of local authorities.
Two of my favorite stories are told from Andevai’s perspective after the events of the trilogy. In them we get to see Cat through his eyes.
He had fallen in love with the person she was. He would no more wish, nor attempt, to change her than he would wish or attempt, to change the rise and fall of the tides, the phases of the moon, the rounding of the seasons, or any other natural phenomenon.
The first takes place just days after the trilogy ends and happens over the course of 24 hours. We get a glimpse of how Cat and Andevai will navigate her adventures and balance with his responsibilities going forward in their lives. The second story is several years after the events of the trilogy and finds the pair crossing a war zone to find a particular doctor. It’s great to see how they have matured and now work together so smoothly.
The final story of the collection is even further in the future and told from Cat and Andevai’s 6 year old daughter’s perspective. It is another lovely window into their happily ever. The essays are an interesting mix of character study and world building, and it was nice to get further insight into the books.
While Elliott says the stories can be read without prior knowledge, they definitely won’t have the same impact and there are spoilers. Also, the short stories give us happily ever after moments with Cat and Andevai which, in my opinion, hasn’t been earned if you haven’t gone through the trials and tribulations of their relationship beforehand! If you’ve read and enjoyed the “Spiritwalker Trilogy”, The History of the World Begins in Ice is definitely worth a read. I am glad that Elliott had so much more to say after the trilogy. I’ve greatly enjoyed my extra time in the “Spiritwalker” world.