Iron Traitor (Iron Fey #6, Call of the Forgotten #2) by Julie Kagawa

Keirran has gone missing and, despite his best intentions, Ethan and Kenzie are being drawn into the search and his quest

Annwyn, the Summer Fae Keirran loves, is dying. She is fading, the fate of all exiled fae cut off from faerie. She is losing her magic, her memories and her very self until she just disappears.

Desperate, and ignoring that his relationship is banned by all 3 courts, Keirran is searching for some way to save her. But how high will the cost be, how dangerous the journey – and what will the consequences of their desperate search be?

There’s a very unusual and interesting element about this book which I’m going to try to allude to in non-spoiler terms though it may make it hard to get it across.

Throughout this book, I’m kind of cursing the main characters – especially Keirran. Yes, he’s in love and yes his love is dying and of course he will want to do anything to fix that. Isn’t that basic nature? You want to save the one you love – how can I object to that? Well… it’s the “anything” here. Because “anything to save the one you love” covers a whole lot. In fact, that “anything” covers a whole lot of highly dubious things which really left me wondering just how much was I supposed to accept as justified by true love? Harvesting children’s nightmares was bad, but repeatedly risking wars between the three courts of faerie, destroying ancient and vital spirits, picking a fight with Titania – it was foolish, it was reckless and it was deeply, deeply selfish.

Yes, he’s in love. But his love doesn’t mean that he can reduce the rest of the world to ruins for the sake of it.

A lot of the time a contrast is drawn between Kenzie, Keirran and Ethan with Megan, Ash and Puck – look at these kids, just like the last generation! But I really don’t see it. While Megan and Ash were in love, their primary quest was always saving others – rescuing Ethan, defeating the Iron King, stopping Summer and Winter going to war, stopping the false Iron King; their primary quests were noblely helping others, not preserving their love. Similarly, they didn’t defy the courts and refuse to work with anyone else just because – they did it because they had no other choice and no-one was willing to help or work with them. And when they did break rules for their love, the consequences were personal, not public. Ash and Megan’s love stopped wars, it didn’t risk them; they risked exile, they risked Ash’s fae nature, they risked their lives – they did not risk the world. And when faced with a choice between her family and Ash or stepping up as the Iron Queen, Megan put on her grown-up trousers and stepped up to the throne. The whole Nevernever being consumed by war was too great a price to pay for her love.

To compare Keirran & co with that is… lacking. Even Keirran’s sympathy for the Forgotten is a side issue that is barely covered or addressed and certainly not his driving motivation. And, yes, Ash is responsible for the Forgotten situation in the first place - but that was a problem he caused without knowing and without any realistic chance OF knowing he was causing a problem – Keirran is leaving devastation in his wake, fully aware of the risks.

So, for a lot of the book, I was kind of irritated with the main characters. I wanted Ash to find them. I wanted him to ground his son until he can grow up and act like a reasonable adult. I sympathised a little with Annwyl (but not really because “Keirran’s love interest” is pretty much the sum total of her character – and she could be replaced by not just any woman but any suitably desireable toy, bauble or shiny thing that Keirran would want to save without massively changing the story) but not to give Keirran a pass.

And then, towards the end, the book itself acknowledged these problems and issues. I was irritated for the entire book and we end on something openly flipping the story and reframing the whole thing in a truly excellent fashion, which leaves me kind of confused on how to feel. Because I was still annoyed for most of this book – but it does flip. I’m left saying that, yes, it’s annoying, yes the protagonist needs a slap, yes it’s frustrating, but hang in there, it’s worth it in the end.

The Lost Prince (Iron Fey #5, Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa

Ethan, brother of Megan Chase, the Iron Queen, has spent his life hiding from the fae and hiding that he can see them. When they notice him, chaos ensues. School buildings are destroyed, people are hurt and he inevitably lands him up to his neck in trouble

This has left him friendless and isolated, determined to drive people away. It’s also left him a little bitter. Not least of which towards the sister who abandoned him

But when a half-breed at school disappears, he finds himself drawn in despite himself, he and Kenzie, a girl who refuses to be driven off. They may be the best able to take down this new threat – but on the way Ethan learns just how much his sister has been hiding from him

When I reviewed the Iron Prince I said that I wasn’t a big fan because I just didn’t like Ash. But it’s not just Ash. I just don’t like his character Archetype. I don’t like the broody, angsty, male hero whose every other thought is about how tortured and sad he is, how much his life sucks, what a terrible person he is, what a terrible person everyone else is, etc etc etc.

I also don’t like the broody, angsty, male hero who decides that, because of some curse or powerful enemy or sheer poutiness, that he can’t possibly have any friends or loved ones because they will get hurt. The whole “I want them but I can’t have them waaaah!” has been done often and every time I’ve read it I have loathed it. It leads to endless navel gazing, endless self-pity and when coupled with point one up there, it makes me want to tear my hair out.

I also don’t like the broody, angsty, male hero who thinks he’s cursed so not only is alone, but preserves his “protective” solitude by being a complete and utter arsehole to everyone around him. It is actually possible to be a loner without lashing out at everyone like a rabid warthog; no, really, it is. And then we have the inevitable female love interest who, despite the rabid warthog behaviour, finds him interesting and intriguing and keeps coming back no matter how he tries to drive her off.

To finish all this, we have Ethan also hating his sister for leaving the family to save the Nevernever from a multi-sided war leading to inevitable genocide. Which I could have dealt with if he then didn’t feel guilty because of that.

That last one I wouldn’t have made an issue of because it’s a very human reaction; we’re not all saints and it’s perfectly reasonable for a teenaged boy to resent the sister who abandoned him when he was a child in favour of a load of fae who have since spent his life making him very very miserable. It’s a very human, very real reaction

Iron's Prophecy (Iron Fey #4.5) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan is the Iron Queen, Ash is her consort and everything couldn’t be better. Being Queen is hard work but Meghan rises to the occasion – even making notes to ensure Mab remembers where their borders lie. Ash still has the power to ensure his old associates at the Winter Court respect his ice and his blade. And there’s a baby on the way – things couldn’t be better

Except for an oracle with a dire prophecy concerning that child. A prophecy that requires them to delve into the outer reaches of the Nevern

This is a nice, bridging novella. I think it was just what was needed to mark the transition of the Iron Fey to the next set of stories no doubt set a considerable time in the future from where they are now.

Meghan and Ash both have their happily ever after. Meghan is settling in as Queen, Ash is finding his place as consort. They both seem more than capable and Meghan is even willing to stare down Mab in her own hall – she’s come a long way, she isn’t a simple mortal girl any more.

We even have some wonderful moments of that – like Ash trying to play the protector and Meghan (nicely) making it abundantly clear, SHE is the super powerful faerie monarch, thank you very much, she doesn’t need to hang around at the back like a delicate little flower waiting for the menfolk to save her. She can not only save herself, but has done so – and can save her menfolk and her kingdom as well for that matter.

And Ash is, for once, wonderfully free of the angst that makes me want to bury him somewhere. Of course, he has no reason to angst. He has some natural wistful thoughts about the court and family he left behind, but compared to the epic, book consuming moping that characterised his every breath to date, it’s a blessed relief. Ash is now happy (I know, I nearly fainted) and even has sufficient power that he isn’t angsting about that either – it’s a wonderful addition of closure to their story.

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa

Ash made a promise to Meghan – he would find a way to be with her in the Iron Realm, a realm poisonous to the fae. Even if that means becoming human.

Which calls for a quest – first to find Grimalkin because he normally knows, well, everything and from there a quest to make Ash mortal. To find him a human soul. All the while accompanied with Puck for his own brand of randomness – and the deep underlying pain that still strains their broken friendship.

A pain that only becomes more acute when they find the surprising identity of the seer that can guide Ash to humanity – and to Meghan’s side

This book, as can be guessed by the title, focuses on Ash. Hmmmm…

Ok I’m going to confess a “your mileage may vary” moment, but I don’t like Ash. I don’t like the whole centuries old immortal falling head over heels for a teenager after spending 5 minutes with them trope. I don’t like the idea of a centuries old immortal deciding to give up his life, his allegiances – just about everything that defines him – to dedicate his whole being to a teenager he’s known for a month, if that. The whole concept of Ash from book 1 has annoyed me.

Especially since this relationship defines Ash. His relationship with Meghan and his relationship with Ariella are pretty much all there is to Ash. I’ll go a step further and say that the only defining characteristic about Ash is his angst. He angsts over Meghan and being with her. He angsts over Ariella and her dying. He angsts over Puck causing Ariella’s death and further angsts over their broken friendship. He angsts over being an Unseelie fae and the darkness within him and what that could mean. He angsts over the politics of the court. He even angsts over all the bad things he’s done in the past as an Unseelie fae.

Add to this that Ash isn’t exactly romantic and glamorous in his angst. He sulks, he pouts, he becomes passive aggressive and snarky and doles out the silent treatment. He’s moody and just a little petulant; I suspect he looks like a teenager, but he’s supposed to be several centuries old, we would hope for a little more maturity.

And this book feels like a grand show case for the angst and every encounter feels like another way to develop more angst into the tale. Puck comes along with him – allowing lots of angst about Ariella being dead, lots of angst about Puck loving Meghan and even a side order of angst from Puck about how he never took his chance to be with Meghan. (And, side point again – but uckies, ew, creepy! Puck has been watching Megahn since she was a baby. He watched her all her life until the age of 16. The idea that he missed the chance to make his feelings known is just intensely, skin crawly creepy here. She’s 16! He knew her as a baby! Get away from her you creepy creepy person you).

Summer's Crossing (Iron Fey #3.5) by Julie Kagawa

Ash has made an oath, he will find a way to be with Meghan. But before then the Leanansidhe would like to remind him that he owes her a favour. And a fae can never go back on his word.

He really should have known that she’d call it in at the worst time – and that the request would be far from simple

A story with lots of Puck’s point of view! Excellent!

I like Puck. I like his joy, I like his fun. I like his effortless competence. I like the fact he breezes through life secure in the knowledge that he can usually get himself out of whatever mess he gets into. I like his irreverence. I like his willingness to try anything and truly embrace his life and immortality. And I like that, under it all, there’s a hard edged core that shows you just how dangerous the Trickster can be

So a book following Puck’s POV primarily? Count me in.

And then Ash comes along – noooooooooo! Ash being Ash, he drags Puck into his angst aura and the moping begins.  In particular Puck’s unrequited love for Meghan. I hate this – I hate this when Ash is moping but even more so when it’s Puck. It strikes me as the worst character conversion since Marvel turned Loki from a source of utter chaos to Angsty McDaddyissues.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I do not like Puck’s crushing on Meghan. I find the idea of a centuries old being and a teenager creepy at the best of times, but add in that Puck has known her since she was a baby and it goes well beyond merely creepy. I don’t like it, don’t like it at all.

So there’s some angst and some moping and Puck wondering if he could let Ash die just so that he can then make moves on the grieving Meghan which turns the moping unrequitedness into a special kind of arseholery that leaves me yelling “whyyy Puck? You and Grimalkin are the only characters in this book that doesn’t make me want to slap them!”

I also hate that Titania is dragged in again. Now I would love the idea of the tumultuous and volatile Summer monarchs sparring passionately, playing devious little games against each other and generally being capricious, malicious and, well, fae. That would really work for me. I also like the idea that the Seelie court is not the source of light and goodness and even they will snatch mortals for their own ends.

Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa

Ash and Meghan have been banished from the Summer and Winter courts due to their illicit love. They are free to go to the human world, free to live with Meghan’s family again – except the Iron fae are still interested in her and she can’t bring their conflict to her parent’s home.

The only place to turn is the Queen of the Exiles, the Leanansidhe – and Meghan’s own mission to save her father

But the Iron fae haven’t gone away, led by a false king, they launch their armies against the beleaguered forces of Summer and Winter. Meghan may be their only hope.

I already love the world building but I further love how it is developed in this book – new insights introduced, new angles to consider. The nature of Iron glamour. What oaths mean to the fae who cannot lie. What releasing a fae from a promise means in their culture. The power of a true name. What happens to mortals trapped in faerie land. The very nature of the Iron fae and the way they fascinatingly contrast with the old fae – the old fae are timeless and immortal and eternal, while the Iron fae fully expect to be replaced over and over again because they become obsolete. With that comes the very nature of the Iron King’s power passing to the next worthy candidate – the next upgrade.

This insight also applies to the characters, their motivations and roles – removing many of the obvious villains and casting both Ferrum and Mechania in a very different light. There’s the added complexity that, while the Iron fae are destroying the Nevernever, if they weren’t on the offensive the Old bloods would probably kill them as well – the two sides are inherently damaging to each other.

There’s some old gems as well – Grimalkin is always shiny (even if, for once, she managed to confuse him), effortlessly perfect and amazingly snarky. And I do like Puck – and his unconventional magic that is a nice shift from the more direct attacks that Ash throws.

The story itself was fun and adventurous. The fight scenes were exciting, the descriptions never got in the way of the story expanding the theme and the characters while still keeping everyone largely on task (I do think there was something of a lul while they stayed with the Leanansidhe) – but it wasn’t exactly unpredictable. You could sort of see how the book would end just as it began.

The title fits the theme and all that – but it’s also a bit of a solid giveaway of how this book ends. I can’t say it ruined it because I think it was fairly clear where we were heading and it was definitely a fun ride anyway, but I still feel the need to object to a spoiler in the title on sheer principle.

As is very common with books about supernatural creatures and the fae in particular, there are no POC in this book. In fact, with Ironhorse’s death, there aren’t even any dark skinned fae (and I’d not exactly be eager to consider that as representation anyway – even aside from the fact he was an animal). There are also no GBLT people. I don’t approve of erasure in any book – it’s never a good or acceptable thing – but as casts get larger and series get longer, erasure becomes more and more blatant and worsens the problem. We’re on book 3 now.

The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan begins her stay in the Winter Court, hostage to the Unseelie Queen, Mab, and seemingly friendless, especially as Prince Ash turns cold towards her in the unforgiving environment of Tir Na Nog.

But The Iron Fey have not stopped their plotting just because their king is dead. A new monarch has arisen and he has sent his agents to steal the Sceptre of the Seasons, the powerful artefact passed between the courts to signify their changing power – and the changing seasons. Mab instantly accuses the Summer court and the two great courts of faerie march to war – leaving them vulnerable to the Iron fae’s attack

Only Ash and Meghan know who truly took the sceptre – and no-one believes them. It’s down to them to find the sceptre and save the fae. And the world – because while the sceptre is out of the court’s hands, the weather will rage out of control.

I said in the review of the last book that, while I found the romance and budding love triangle annoying and fast tracked, they were properly second to the main plot and while they were a little irritating, they were ignorable.

Which is why, when this book started there was a moment when I nearly put the book down and refused to pick it up again.

They’re heading to Tir Na Nog and Ash reminds Meghan that any display of fluffy emotion will mean that Mab & co will see it as weakness and promptly exploit it to the doom of them both. We even get a vast copy and paste from The Winter Passage to drive the point home. So when we get Meghan in the same room as Mab and Ash?

Meghan: *soulful puppy eyes at Ash*
Ash: uh… hide emotions… remember
Meghan: love me Ash! Love me! ZOMG WHY ARE YOU NOT LOVING ME!?
Ash:… y’know, Mab is RIGHT THERE watching us
Evil prince: Hey human-princess I loathe and despise – want to eat this totally innocent apple?
Meghan: Fairy food in fairy land offered by an obvious enemy? WHY THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS! Clearly there can be no catch to this
Ash: Meghan…
Meghan: And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
Ash: *sigh* Of course we do not love each other, that is only banned by all our laws and would get us both banished or executed *hint hint* so no, I don’t love you. *icey angry eyes*
Meghan: ICY EYES! Zomg he hates and despises me! It was all a lie! He clearly isn’t acting and he must totally mean he hates me! Oh woe is me! WOOOOOE! WOE!!!!!!

Later:

Ash: Come Meghan we must go!
Meghan: NO! You hate and despise me!
Ash: uh – secret remember? Showing emotion is weakness? We did explain all this – did you hit your head or something?
Meghan: NOOOO! Clearly you only pretended to be in love with me and it was all a trick to get me to Tir Na Nog!
Ash: Yes, that makes sense. You had no power, no magic and can’t fight – I could have dragged you to Tir Na Nog by your hair if I wanted to. Why would I even bother to trick you?
Meghan: You did it all to mess with my head and break my heart like you do to mortal girls!
Ash: Yes, I went to a land that poisoned me with its very air, burned me with acid rain and nearly killed me so I could screw with some girl’s head. That makes perfect sense.

Winter's Passage (Iron Fey #1.5) by Julie Kagawa

There isn’t really a plot to summarise of this story – this is Meghan’s travel from her home to Tir Na Nog to fulfil the contract she made with Ash.

This novella is a nice bridge book.

It doesn’t exist to advancer the plot per se. Nor really to develop the characters. Puck, Meghan and Ash are the same people in this book as they were in the last book. You don’t need to read this book.

But it does elegantly take you from the end of The Iron King to the beginning of The Iron Daughter without having to slow down the beginning of the next book with unnecessary travel or having a huge jarring leap from one scene to the next. It’s a bridge book

Along the way it helps fill in a few of the gaps – checking on Puck where he rested in his tree, a little revisit with Grimalkin just to add to his omnipresent mystery. And it added a little depth and texture to Ash and Meghan’s relationship. Since that relationship was pretty fastforwarded in the last book, I appreciate some attempt to flesh it out into something more meaningful, even if it is awfully fast.

It also reiterates a theme that will be important in the next book – how emotion is a weakness in the Unseelie court, how Mab and Ash’s brothers are Not Nice People and how Ash doesn’t look forward to coming home and they need to carefully hide their relationship or, better yet, call the whole thing off and recognise it as doomed to failure.

This message is important for the next book when Meghan IGNORES IT ENTIRELY!

We also get heavily reminded that Ash is the supreme Prince of emo moping, Lord of pouting, Grand Duke of the Sulk and Knight of the Order of Passive Aggressive Silent Treatment. It’s not endearing. Which also adds layers of insecurity and “waaaah he doesn’t really love me” to Meghan. It’s important to get these fixes now so you are not completely smacked with it in the next book

Romance does not bring out the best of either of these characters.

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan was struggling through her normal life, having to deal with the standard problems of a teenaged girl: the mean girls at school, bullying, getting her work done at school because of the antiquated machine they have at home, hoping to get her driver’s license.

But she keeps seeing things – and she’s not forgetting them. Even harder to forget is her baby brother trying to kill their mother. And growing claws at that.

It’s the first of many revelations – about her heritage, her parentage, about her best friend and that her brother has been kidnapped and replaced. And that faerie is real and lurking all around her – and faerieland is just a closet away

She has the chance to forget and return to a normal life – but her brother is out there and she’s the only one who can save him.

This book had some pretty flawless writing. From page 1 to the very end I can’t really point to anything and say “clumsy” or “awkward” or “over-described” and there’s nearly always something I’ve highlighted, but not a line here.

The pacing is excellent – despite being in several sections from Meghan’s ordinary life at school, to the world of the fae, to the different fae courts – everything moves well and quickly. Each section gets enough attention to truly establish it and characterise it. Each section is fully realised with its characters, the nature of what it is and what it represents and the forces in play – but none of it is over described or cluttered with lots of new information we don’t need. We don’t dwell anywhere or dawdle or rehash the same old lines over and over again. It’s impressive how careful the writing is to manage all this

It’s even more impressive since we’re dealing with the fae and fae worlds that pull in a lot of mythological creatures (both faerie and otherwise). We have an extremely rich world here – not just the two courts of the fey, but the way the fey react with the human world, why they react, their feeding on dreams and glamour and excitement and emotion that gives them their vibrancy and even their essence. The power of human belief – and the damage caused by the banalty of non-belief. And even how that belief feeds into things like monsters under a child’s bed or imaginary friends – the powerful belief of the child empowering and attracting the fey.

These are concepts I’ve come across before – but not often and it’s definitely fun to see a new take on them. But then we have the rise of the Iron Fey, the acknowledgement that human kind hasn’t stopped believing or dreaming – only now instead of dragons and faeries, we’re believing in technological wonders. Wonders built from science and iron and things that are the very antipathy of the fey themselves. The interplay and development between them isn’t only fascinating but it really has both a lot of plot hooks and nuances, especially when we can see that it’s far from a simple case of good fae vs bad fae