The author of the series is Margit Sandemo. The novels are based in historical facts, mostly occurring in Scandinavia, but the fantastic is never far off. The series first began as a feuilletonin the Norwegian magazine Hjemmet. The first volume was released 1982, and the series became one of the best-selling series of novels in Scandinavia, with more than 25 million copies sold. The series has been published in at least Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Polish, Russian, Hungarian and most recently English.The story begins in Trondheim, Norway in 1581, with the story of Silje Arngrimsdotter, and how she comes into contact with Ice People, a community of people living in an isolated valley. From there on it follows Ice People through the centuries, with members of the clan migrating from Norway to Denmark and Sweden. Other members of the clan wind up in or visit various corners of Europe and Asia over the course of the series.Ice People are cursed with a terrible forefather, Tengel the Evil, whose actions resulted in at least one cursed individual being born in every generation. The cursed individuals were born with magical and mystical abilities, but also the potential for bottomless evil. They have also yellow eyes, malformed shoulder blades and Mongol features. Some cursed individuals fought their tendency to evil, whilst others embraced it.Each book tells a separate story, very often the story of one or a few individuals of the clan. Quite often the protagonist of each book is a female, sometimes of Ice People, but sometimes one who will marry into the clan. Many of the books also focus on the cursed individuals, their battle with their evil tendencies, and also how they utilise their powers, be it for good or evil.

    The essays cover a wide range of topics, from magic and trance healing to cockfighting and seaweed farming. The author, who has lived on Bali for 28 years, is widely recognized as a self-taught guru of Balinese folk traditions.