Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa


This is my first book review that I posted on Book Reviews couple of days back but never got to share it here. Below is the post.

Genre: YA Fantasy

Fantasy fiction novels introduce you to a new world bringing with it the story of an ordinary person like us. It is an absolute thrill for some readers like me and I cannot get enough of it. Yet there are only few such books that really stay with you for a long time. Remember Harry Potter? Twilight? Eragon? Therefore, I am delighted that I can add one more to my list - The Iron Few Series.

The Iron King is the first of the series and this review is only about this book.

The book is about a sixteen year old girl, Meghan Chase, who is half-human and half-faery. She discovers this shocking truth on her sixteenth birthday when she is forced to enter the faery world with her best friend Robin Goodfellow a.k.a Puck (who also happens to be a faery) to save her kidnapped younger brother, Ethan. Not just that. She also discovers that she is the daughter of the Summer faery King. She is shocked, worried and utterly confused. To make things worse, she also falls in love with the Winter court prince Ash whose mission is to kill her.  But something sinister awaits both the Summer and Winter courts and it threatens to wipe out their existence. So, Meghan, Puck and Ash (who are also sworn arch-enemies) along with Grimalkin (the cat) join hands reluctantly to save not just her brother but also the faeryland.

What works for the book?
The cover page draws you in immediately. It's mysterious, beautiful and haunting and you are tempted enough to see more. Just like some of the creatures in the book's faery world!

The writing is beautiful. Its very descriptive. Not in a dragging way but in a good 3D movie way. The writer has put in a lot of effort to help the reader visualize the whole fearyland. The English is not complicated and is an easy read.

The world of faery is not too explored (at least not many that I have read). So, the unique world pulls you in to it immediately. Combine it with the author's superb descriptions, you are totally captivated.

The well carved out characters play a strong role as well. You have some interesting characters like Grimalkin (a cat!), Puck (the notorious Midnight Summer's fame), Ash (the swoon-worthy hero) and of course Meghan (nothing ordinary about this girl when it comes to courage!). You start to feel for them from, say, page 10!

What doesn't work?
According to me, only one thing - too many feary creatures in the very first book. It was sometimes difficult to follow who attacked who but that, in no way, matters too much in the whole scheme of things.

Verdict
If you are a fantasy novel enthusiast, it is MUST READ. It would enthrall you, I can guarantee that much!
If you want to know more about the author, you can click here: Julie Kagawa

Comments

  1. Saru SinghalAugust 25, 2011 at 9:49 AM

    Will go with your review and search for the book:) Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shilpa MudigantiAugust 25, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Great! I am sure you would enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Spiritual SherpaAugust 25, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    :) so many twists and turns...but then what is a fiction novel without them...so when is your book hitting the stands...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Missie, The Unread ReaderAugust 25, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Yes, I remember feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of feary creatures I was constantly being introduced to, many without much of an explanation, as if I was just supposed to know what the heck it was. It certainly make the journey through the Nevernever more jarring. :)

    And... *le sigh* Ash!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mimi ValentineAugust 25, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    Oh my gosh, I love love LOVE this series! I totally agree that Julie Kagawa has beautiful writing -- I remember picturing everything like a movie in my mind. :)

    In my opinion, the other books in the series get much better, so I can't wait to see how much you love the next few! (And your reading it just in time, too -- The Iron Knight comes out in October! In Ash's point of view!)

    Awesome review, Shilpa! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Shilpa MudigantiAugust 25, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    @India's No1 blog - You are right. That is what makes fiction so much fun! My book has a long way to go before it hits the stands. Its under revision. Thanks for asking! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Shilpa MudigantiAugust 25, 2011 at 2:46 PM

    @Missie - Ah, I thought it was just me who couldn't get so many creatures. I had to get my reference book to know what they were after a while. But it could not distract me enough from Ash..:)

    @Mimi - Thanks Mimi! After reading this book, I couldn't wait any longer and read all of them last week and seriously, LOVED it! I devoured them! I cant wait for Iron Knight! I am hoping to put up the reviews next week...right now, counting days for the release. :D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In A Name?

I have both good news and bad news today. Good news is I am finally done with my romance novella that I had been working on since last month! So, that means I have nothing to do but turn it over to my publisher and pray that I don't have to edit too much. Now the bad news. After all the writing I did, I still haven't figured out a name! Isn't that incredible? I have tried hard but nothing really seems to fit it. And if it does fit, its been taken up. I have been crossing off quite a number of names off my list and now, I wonder if it really matters. What's in a name, eh? A good book title is like a magnet to the reader. That piques their interest. The visual hook if I might say. They give an indication to what might be inside. They give meaning to the story that is about to come. But with so many books releasing every week, how are we ever going to get a unique name for our books? I want to ask, how important is the name for you to buy a book? Would you buy a boo...
READ MORE >>

Are We Hooked Yet?

Image
We readers are impatient. The cover page, synopsis at the back cover, the first page, the first line. We are always looking for the hook. Ever more so, if you are of the internet generation. We have just about 5-10 seconds attention span! Now imagine thousands of wonderful books trying to claim that attention of yours when you are in the bookstore. Well, out of the thousands good books, your attention bows to only about a handful. And finally about couple of books actually make it to the counter. Ever given a second thought to those hooks that actually captivated you? Below are some hooks that worked for me and I guess for lot others too! :) HP and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K.Rowling: "Mr. And Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange ormysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense." Twilight...
READ MORE >>

My weekend dilemma - ebook or print?

Image
I know it is now 19th century to debate about printed vs ebooks but guess I am from 19th century for I just can't let go of the printed book. I dearly love the shiny covers, the not-so-fine paper and the printed word. Somehow I feel the worth of the book only after I feel its weight in my hands. As if the same book is an ebook, the author did not work as hard which is ridiculous but that is how I feel. So, this weekend I was faced with a very uncommon problem. The urge to read. No not a simple urge. That would be common. It was the strong, unavoidable pull to a book. I had to read a book, a romance novel and specifically a Mills and Boons (yeah I read them and I am not hiding it! They are a good break from the heavy stuff! :)). So, I scoured through my collection which isn't much due to my recent move from India and sat disappointed that I had none. Then I looked at my husband like a hopeful puppy for a quick trip to the bookstore, but he didn't buy it as he was work...
READ MORE >>