Tiny Navajo Reads: Ice Massacre

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

*Published September 18, 2014*

Mermaids, female warriors, and the possibility of the annihilation of a people. This. Book. Was. So. Good! So much better than The Seafarer’s Kiss and I’m so damn happy about that!

There was only one reason for a mermaid’s beauty: to lure a sailor to their death. For the people of Eriana Kwai, the Massacre is a way to bring peace to their island. For the past decade or more, each year’s massacre was a set of 20 young men. And each year, fewer and fewer of these young men come back. It’s been about 10 years before Meela’s brother never came back from his Massacre.

This year though, this is the first year that the Massacre’s warriors are young women. It was decided that because the mermaids use their beauty to defeat the young men, that sending out young women who will not be lured in by the mermaids. But for Meela, not only has she lost her brother to the Massacre already, but there’s a secret in her past that she must overcome to become the ruthless killer her island requires of her.

I love this! I love female warriors, I love warriors that have flaws, I love the antagonists have a legitimate reason to being there, and I love the mermaids were not just about beautiful, but they were beautiful for a deadly reason. This, to me, is one of the best portrayals of mermaids as more than just a beautiful object. These mermaids use their beauty to do battle. I also enjoyed Meela and her thought process as she came to terms with what happened in her past and how it was impacting her life now as she was on her own Massacre.

There are a great many things to enjoy about Ice Massacre, but for me, the biggest was that this was a new way to enjoy the mythical creatures mermaids are and how their being in the real world would work.

What portrayals of mythical creatures has been your favorite? Why is that? Comment below and let me know!