Thawing out ‘A Frozen World’ reveals something great underneath

I’ve had a copy of Nick Andors’ ‘A Frozen World’ for far, far too long. I’ve had a lot of review copies for too long. I’ve always said to myself it should be the first one to look at when I feel the moment come back to me, when I feel like I’m capable of writing again. It’s a quaint indie title, funded and released through a Kickstarter campaign that blew past it’s goal last may and quietly released this year. A full fledged black and white tale of a dystopian world set inside a world known as Irongates that bills itself as a psychological thriller, a demented love story and a science fiction epic.

See, that’s really my only problem with ‘A Frozen World’. It’s billed as three things, but in trying to do three things it’s spread itself so thin. The book is four unique stories: ‘Flight of a Nocturnal Vampire’, which is really nothing more than an establishing shot for our book; ‘Dying Love’, the demented love story of octogenarian Geoffery; ‘Anneka’s Story’, the grim and violent tale of a girl who becomes the primary enemy of Irongates’ mob factions and ‘A Cold Farewell’, a wrap up piece that serves as a science fiction wrap-up. The four stories are each linked and paint a broad tapestry of the life inside of Irongates.

I say broad because that’s what this is, the “broad strokes” of Irongates. There’s not a lot of world building. There are a handful of really great ideas, and potential for an amazing world, but I never really felt as though I was sucked in wholly to the world of Irongates. I enjoyed the stories, but found myself wanting to know more about the world these characters lived in, and found their own experiences secondary to this. The book’s final story punctuates this with it’s sudden science fiction infused flair, something which we hadn’t really been given a taste of inside Irongates; it feels almost tacked on to create a moment of poignancy. The stories are aided by Andors’ art style, a style with a tinge of abstract style to it that lends to the insanity of Irongates. The world looks gritty, dark, terrifying. It’s a shame it’s in black and white, but I fear a colored Irongates would be almost too terrifying to witness.

Don’t let my critique fool you, though. I’ve really enjoyed the book. It’s second story in particular has some of the best ideas within, and is definitely packed with visuals and concepts that will stay with you. Andors has created the bare bones skeletal structure of a world that can provide years of stories and become something truly amazing. It’s first outing, while not perfect, it still an outstanding book that I would definitely recommend.

You can purchase your own copy of ‘A Frozen World’ by Nick Andors at it’s official website, www.afrozenworld.com/.