| abstract | - The sequel to Chris d'Lacey's bestselling novel, The Fire Within, Icefire continues the story of student, David Rain, and his life in the Pennykettle household. The dragon on the cover is crying because this series sucks. Life isn't exactly normal lodging at the Pennykettles - not when you're surrounded by hundreds of clay pottery dragons. Fate seems to be dictating an unusual course for David when his college tutor gives him a writing project on the existence - or not - of dragons. The tantalizing prize - a fully-funded research trip to the Arctic - seems just within his grasp. David starts to research the subject and soon discovers a connection between dragons and the Arctic just as it begins to snow. Is it only a coincidence? Or could deeper forces be at work? As David starts to uncover more about the dragons, he finds himself drawn down a path from which there is no going back to a time when dragons really did exist, and their secrets were guarded by the polar bears of the Arctic. If David is going to have any chance of winning the research trip, he has to open his mind to the legend of dragons and the mysterious secret of Icefire ... He starts receiving messages from Lorel (a polar bear with amazing knowledge, and also the Teller of Ways who seems to have a connection with the mysterious Dr. Bergstrom). He also makes friends with a Goth at his college named Suzanna Martindale, and they eventually fall in love. Zanna is invited by David over to Liz's house, and David takes her to the Dragons' Den without permission, which results in Zanna touching a bronze egg, quickening (fertilizing) it. It becomes a real egg, with a real dragon (Grockle) in it. Unfortunately, Grockle is born without fire and turns to stone without it. Sophie returns from a trip to Africa, with Zanna in the house. David tries to tell Sophie that Zanna isn't his girlfriend. Over a walk, Sophie tells him that she cannot be with him anymore, and will be going on a long trip to Africa, and tells him to look after Zanna. Sophie takes Grace with her to Africa. David learns that he has won the chance to go to the Arctic-with Zanna. Liz has a snowball she has kept since she was a child, which is the icefire. The icefire keeps all the dragons alive. Bonnington, their cat, accidentally drinks some of the icefire and obtains some dragon skills as well as the power to morph into any type of feline.
|
