Ice Planet Barbarians Review
It’s time to address a series I haven’t been very vocal about. This series is many things: a cult hit that started on the internet and is now being republished with gorgeous new covers by a major company; the main reason The Smutty Trio, my romance-based book club, not only began monthly meetings but also reinvigorated our friendship; a strange and silly journey from Earth to an icy planet populated by barbarians. Yep, I’m talking about Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon.
IPB, as I’ll call it from here on out to save my fingers, is an alien-love-interest erotic series. In summary, you’ve got human females kidnapped from Earth by grotesque and violent aliens, intent on selling their cargo. However, an emergency lands the ship (and the human cargo, half of whom are in a cryogenic state) on a wintry planet. Left to their own devices, these women must band together in hopes of survival. Enter the sa-khui, a caveman-like society of hunter-gatherers who have lost most of their female population. They’re like 8 feet tall, blue-skinned, horned, tailed, and, to put it politely, amorous. However, these lustful feelings are mainly due to something called resonance – a biological purring of sorts that alerts males and females to their destined mate, their best match for procreating. When the human females start resonating to the male aliens and vice versa, shenanigans ensue…
That’s a crude synopsis, but you get the gist. Each book primarily focuses on one human female and one sa-khui male as they navigate their cultural differences, the aftermath of major trauma, and lots and lots of sex. Initially, The Smutty Trio was looking for a light-hearted affair with the literary flair of a soap opera. Low stakes, high entertainment. IPB began as just that, but as we’ve continued the series, IPB has revealed itself to be much more.
Dixon is a master of tropes, of course: grumpy/sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, kidnapping(s), etc. The scarred and jaded Raahosh finding love in the defiant and headstrong Liz, the patient and sensitive Salukh waiting for the broken but mending Josie. Dixon sneakily inserts serious psychological shit in the midst of these seemingly ridiculous plot devices. The depths of sexual trauma are plumbed. Father issues resonate throughout, having emotional consequences particularly when – spoiler alert – the women get pregnant. The sixth book in the series (depending on how you order them; I go by the Berkley publishing system) releases in July. I’ve been waiting for the two characters at its center to get their time to shine for months, and best believe I will be purchasing day of, setting my ample rear in a comfortable location, and ignoring all responsibilities to enjoy Barbarian’s Mate. Ultimately, this enthusiasm is because Dixon’s work always speaks optimism, the kind of books a girl needs sometimes.
The sex is something altogether, and, honestly, I’d rather not ruin anything. However, I will exit this review and leave you with a list of fun and intriguing tidbits: bone-carving dildos, the “third nipple,” tail play, bone spurs, and ridges EVERYWHERE…
Below are the links to the individual books. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commissions based on sales led from these links.
