Friday, April 9, 2010

Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

16 year old Meghan Chase has never quite fit in, and she finds out why when she discovers that she’s the daughter of a mythical faery king. Driven by her desire to rescue her younger brother from the land of faery, Meghan begins a dangerous quest that will have her making costly bargains with a faery cat and a young faery prince with a heart of ice named Ash.

THE IRON KING grabbed me from page one with its strong voice and characterization. I loved Meghan and became quickly invested in her wellbeing – even though she too quickly ditched the real world for a quest through the faery world. Now those of you who regularly read my reviews know I’m not one for fantasy worlds and quests because frankly, they bore me. And yes, there were a few parts of Meghan’s quest, especially in the middle of the novel, that made my eyes glaze over (iron fay controlling humans into New Orleans, I'm looking at you). Fortunately, I was also propelled to keep reading not just because I liked Meghan, but also because I was totally in love with one of Meghan’s companions…the cat Grimalkin! Oh and Ash was pretty swoon-worthy too.

I really liked the whole concept that the warring faery winter court and summer court had a new enemy: the iron court and progress as a whole. It reminded me a lot of the way The Nothing in THE NEVERENDING STORY was destroying Fantastica because no one dreamed anymore. I am definitely very excited to see where the story takes us next in THE IRON DAUGHTER. I’m hoping for lots of Grimalkin and Ash!

THE IRON KING is available in paperback now. Find out more about this great new series at the author's website.

12 comments:

Staci said...

This has been on my radar screen solely because of the awesome cover. Nice to know that the pages within tell a stellar story!

bookaholic said...

Cant wait to read this one!!

Danny said...

I just started reading it and I love it so far! Love the characters too but I really have a soft spot for Robin!

bermudaonion said...

I'm not into fantasy worlds either, so I'm on the fence about this one.

Lola said...

Yay! I am soooo glad you enjoyed this one! I just adored it! I simply cannot wait for the sequel to come out! :)

Library Cat said...

I think I am going to wait and see how you feel about the next one - not so keen on fantasy.

Jan von Harz said...

I really enjoyed this book too and am excited about the sequel Iron Daughter.

Marie Cloutier said...

sounds like fun :-) glad you enjoyed it!

Cecelia said...

Since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool fantasy fan, I should probably read this one - fast! Sounds very interesting, and I like the take on 'progress' and fairy. Nice review!

Michelle said...

I loved this one too! In fact I've already read Iron Daughter (which is on netgalley if you have an ereader) and loved it even more! I won't spoil anything but if you're an Ash fan (which I totally am!) you'll be adoring the follow up even more.

Shweta said...

With Iron Daughter already in my possession through NetGalley , I can't wait to read Iron King. Every review of this book has been awesome ! I agree quests can be a tad boring at times but then haven't seen many fantasy novels without them !

brizmus said...

the Neverending Story = BEST BOOK EVER! (and best movie!). And the Nothing is just sheer awesomeness as a bad guy. I've got to read this book!