Publisher:
Mira INK
Release
Date: 29th
October 2013
Edition:
e-proof
Source:
NetGalley
Other
Titles by this Author: The
Iron King, The
Iron Daughter, The
Iron Queen, The
Iron Knight, The
Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure, The
Lost Prince
In
the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to
notice.
After
his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get
back to normal. Well, as “normal” as you can be when you see faeries every day
of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to
try for – his girlfriend Kenzie. Never mind that he’s forbidden to see her
again.
But
when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful
faeries in the Nevernever, “normal” simply isn’t to be. For Ethan’s nephew,
Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in
the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and
faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the
Forgotten. As Ethan’s and Keirran’s fates entwine and Keirran slips further
into darkness, Ethan’s choice may decide them all.
I love Julie Kagawa’s faery
world and the characters in it, but I still feel like there’s a spark missing
from this series in comparison to The
Iron Fey.
It’s strange. Meghan, Ash, Puck,
Grim and other characters that I feel in love and hate with over the course of
Kagawa’s original series still play a fairly major part in this spin-off and
yet I still miss them. I tend to spend pages wishing for them to appear and
take over almost. And yet I love Ethan and Kenzie so it just doesn’t make
sense! Saying that, however, I don’t think that as a couple they have the same
levels of chemistry or forbading over their heads that Meghan and Ash did that
makes my heart ache for them; I have no burning desire for their interactions
or anything. I just can’t figure out what’s missing from this series...
By about half way, The Iron Traitor takes us back into the
Nevernever. Now I love the Nevernever, worryingly so, in fact. As twisted and
dangerous as it is, I want to go there. I want to fight redcaps, have a mysterious
conversation with a dryad and be on the receiving end of Grimalkin’s chargrin. It’s
a beautiful, enchanting and exciting world that I want to leap straight into, especially
the Courts. Gah. I really enjoyed the foray into the New Orleans Goblin Market
as well. I’ve had a fondness for them for years so seeing one woven into a
magical, old city and get to experience it through Julie Kagawa’s exquisite
description was a pleasure.
As well as a gift for setting
and description, Kagawa really knows how to make the feelings of her characters
something visceral for her readers. One of my favourite elements of The Iron Traitor was Ethan’s feelings
regarding the whole Meghan/Ash/Kierran family situation. Ethan’s confusion of
feelings towards Ash and Kierran because they took his sister away from him is
kind of heart-wrenching, especially as his loyalty and general tendency towards
being a good person means he can’t help but care and want to help them. And, oh
Kierran. I simultaneously love and hate him. At certain points he was so much like
Ash it broke my heart, but a darker, more twisted Ash. He’s incredibly powerful
and I was scared what would come of that pesky prophecy as I was reading the
novel. then came the ending and I exclaimed a rather loud and horrified ‘What?!’
while I was on the Tube. I got a few odd glances...
Although this series isn’t my
favourite, I love Julie Kagawa’s writing and this world so I’m still looking
forward to the next instalment.
Thanks to MiraINk and NetGalley
for the review copy.
Sophie
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