Wednesday 30 May 2012

The Iron King

Julie Kagawa
7 / 10



From the blurb: My name is Meghan Chase.

In less than twenty-four hours I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs, and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset.

I don't think it will be that way for me.
 


Okay. I will stress this now in an attempt to get past it, so I don't bring it up later. How Meghan can be even a little attracted to Ash, I will never know. So, he's a prince of the Winter Court and therefore very pretty (oh, and he's a good dancer). But that's really the only explanation we're given for her pretty sudden (and ample) feelings for him. And to top it all off, the first time they meet he's trying to kill her. I did find myself intrigued to see where this romance would head in spite of this though, and Ash did endear himself to me more and more as the plot progressed.

The iron fey are definitely this book's high point. They're fascinating, like nothing I've ever heard of before. Born from the innovative dreams of mankind, they are the fey's worst nightmare. And now they're starting to crawl out from the shadows... The little clockwork-faery spiders had chills crawling up my spine, and the Ironhorse is more than a little unnerving!

There's also a curious dash of Shakespearean lore mixed in from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Oberon and his malicious wife Tatiana are in there, but the highlight is the adorably infuriating Puck. He's up to the mischevious pranks you'd expect, but with a surprising dash of valour and chivalry. There's a whole host of other types of fey, too - phoukas and redcaps and the delightful "pack rats" - but I would have liked to see these explored more.

The plot in this book was fantastic. Meghan never forgets the threat of the Iron Kind, or the purpose of her visit (to rescue her younger brother, Ethan). Yet she manages to struggle through forest hikes and Titania's cruelties without letting her panic overwhelm her. Meghan may not be the strongest protaganist I've ever met but she is determined, making her a heroine you can invest in. The action really picks up towards the end of the book, the last few chapters of which are filled with superbly written fight scenes and peppered with self-examination. And the ending, whilst not the most dizzying of cliffhangers, is horrifying and arresting.

I may have been slow to catch on to this series, but I can't wait to read the next book.

If you liked this you might enjoy 'Wicked Lovely' by Melissa Marr, 'The Iron Witch' by Karen Mahoney, or 'Tithe' by Holly Black.

'The Iron Daughter' was released in April 2011. Julie Kagawa's newest series starts with 'Immortal Rules', published in April 2012.

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