The Iron Knight - Julie Kagawa



Another Julie Kagawa novel, this time from her much-loved Iron Fey series. I've spent the last eighteen months finding and reading the other three books in the series, and waited with bated breath for the end of the story.

I'd read a mixture of reviews during the wait for this: some loved it, others hated Ash's voice and some thought it was very predictable. I'd agree with the first and last of those opinions. No, it wasn't exactly an unexpected story, but it a way you didn't want it to be. You always know that Meghan and Ash are going to end up together somehow, this book is just the explanation of how.

As always, Julie Kagawa is a gripping storyteller who paints very vivid pictures of the world that she has created. This time around we get to see some new places in the Nevernever that are even more weird and wonderful than the ones you've aready grown to know.

As for Ash, while he isn't exactly the most animated of narrators, it was good to get inside his head as he was always acts so calm and collected - it's good to know he has doubts and worries of his own. Plus it turns out he finds some things funnier than he shows. I also liked getting a bit more information about his past, the good and the bad, and how his vows and contracts actually affect him and his actions.

Puck and Grim were exactly the characters I already knew from the first three books, from Puck's habit of pushing buttons to Grim's instinct for danger. It was nice to have these familiar aspects while having to adjust to someone else's point of view. The new characters that we met didn't add enough interest as they should have done, though. One you thought was going to be vicious and a tricky ally for Ash to have but he ended up almost being another Grimalkin, just with more of a noble streak and not inclined to run away from danger. The other, while and unexpected and interesting addition, was very predictable, once you got used to the idea of them being there: you knew the entire time what was going to happen at the end.

Overall, a fitting end to the Meghan/Ash love story, just with a few niggles and not very much mystery to it. I liked it but other certainly wouldn't.