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Katyana's Reviews > The Iron Duke
The Iron Duke (Iron Seas, #1)
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by
Katyana's review
bookshelves: fantasy, historical, zombies, steampunktastic, ass-kicking-women, romance, redeemed-criminals, favorites
Sep 18, 2010
bookshelves: fantasy, historical, zombies, steampunktastic, ass-kicking-women, romance, redeemed-criminals, favorites
Wow wow wow! I reallllllllly loved this book.
Mina was amazing. Strong, brave, loyal, and amazingly good-spirited, given everything she had to deal with. And Rhys... I really loved him. It is hard to find the words. A reluctant hero, a guy who pulled himself up out of the horrible life he had as a child, but yet still managed to be a good man.
Both of these characters are people who don't handle emotions well. I don't want to get into the reasons why (except to assure you all that it is well done and believable), because the way the author feeds the reveals and the backstories is just too artfully done; I refuse to spoil anything. But watching these two discover this tremendous affection for each other is honestly beautiful. At times it is heartbreaking.
And the plot itself is well constructed. The world is a wonderful one to romp in, and the Black Guard arc is fabulous.
Let's talk for a moment about steampunk.
I love the gadgetry of it. I love the look of it. But in books, though I enjoy the hell out of it, I generally find it to be pretty clunky. Don't get me wrong, I have read some fabulous steampunk books. But personally, I have a very visual imagination. So when I am reading steampunk books, the reading itself is very stop/start - I am always pausing to puzzle out how something would look, or work, or sound. All the description the author puts in, with these amazingly cool gadgets, generally has to coalesce in my head and form a picture.
I can't tell you why this wasn't the case for this book, but it wasn't. For whatever reason, the images "on screen" in my head just flowed like water. It wasn't stop/start at all. The author really did a tremendous job with it in this book. All the fun of steampunk, without the clunky bits on the page.
If I were to offer ANY criticism at all, I would just briefly whine that we didn't get another chapter or so at the end of the book. The resolution between Mina and Rhys happened LITERALLY in the last 3 pages, and there was just not enough time (for me) to revel in the joy as they finally understood each other. But did that diminish my enjoyment of the book? Not at all.
This book was really fantastic, and overall I am just terribly excited for this entire series. I can't wait to see where it goes next!
Mina was amazing. Strong, brave, loyal, and amazingly good-spirited, given everything she had to deal with. And Rhys... I really loved him. It is hard to find the words. A reluctant hero, a guy who pulled himself up out of the horrible life he had as a child, but yet still managed to be a good man.
Both of these characters are people who don't handle emotions well. I don't want to get into the reasons why (except to assure you all that it is well done and believable), because the way the author feeds the reveals and the backstories is just too artfully done; I refuse to spoil anything. But watching these two discover this tremendous affection for each other is honestly beautiful. At times it is heartbreaking.
And the plot itself is well constructed. The world is a wonderful one to romp in, and the Black Guard arc is fabulous.
Let's talk for a moment about steampunk.
I love the gadgetry of it. I love the look of it. But in books, though I enjoy the hell out of it, I generally find it to be pretty clunky. Don't get me wrong, I have read some fabulous steampunk books. But personally, I have a very visual imagination. So when I am reading steampunk books, the reading itself is very stop/start - I am always pausing to puzzle out how something would look, or work, or sound. All the description the author puts in, with these amazingly cool gadgets, generally has to coalesce in my head and form a picture.
I can't tell you why this wasn't the case for this book, but it wasn't. For whatever reason, the images "on screen" in my head just flowed like water. It wasn't stop/start at all. The author really did a tremendous job with it in this book. All the fun of steampunk, without the clunky bits on the page.
If I were to offer ANY criticism at all, I would just briefly whine that we didn't get another chapter or so at the end of the book. The resolution between Mina and Rhys happened LITERALLY in the last 3 pages, and there was just not enough time (for me) to revel in the joy as they finally understood each other. But did that diminish my enjoyment of the book? Not at all.
This book was really fantastic, and overall I am just terribly excited for this entire series. I can't wait to see where it goes next!
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Reading Progress
September 18, 2010
– Shelved
September 29, 2010
– Shelved as:
fantasy
September 29, 2010
– Shelved as:
historical
September 29, 2010
– Shelved as:
zombies
October 11, 2010
–
Started Reading
October 11, 2010
– Shelved as:
steampunktastic
October 11, 2010
–
0.26%
"I know, finally, right? Catherine, were you ready to slap me silly?"
page
1
October 11, 2010
–
2.6%
"I think they should have charged the bounders some horrendous huge tax to return to England. Screw those pampered pieces of crap, thinking they can come in and take over. I say, if they wanted to return and reclaim their titles, fine, but they should have been required to donate their fortunes to the government, and live like everyone else."
page
10
October 11, 2010
–
4.95%
"Yeesh. Why invent air filters, I guess, if you can just infect your body with tiny robots to keep your lungs from rotting out. On a separate note, I would have a hard time not taking an instant dislike to anyone known as "the Saviour of England"..."
page
19
October 11, 2010
–
8.59%
"So, they keep saying "airship"... I am thinking zeppelins. But maybe spiffed up to look like something out of a Miyazaki film."
page
33
October 11, 2010
–
14.58%
""Yes, I imagine that he possesses a rather large cannon." -- LOL @ Mina's mom!"
page
56
October 11, 2010
–
17.45%
"His slow smile didn't soften his hawkish features. "You'll come to my bed. And you won't think it a waste of time." -- sheesh, he really is an arrogant bastard."
page
67
October 12, 2010
–
47.66%
""Accept my offer and share my bed," he said, "and I'll take you with me to find your brother. And we won't return until we discover his location, whether he's on the Terror or not. But only if you come with me." -- *gasp* I... I can't believe he said that. I would punch him in his iron face!"
page
183
October 14, 2010
–
81.51%
"I find it a little bit heartbreaking that Rhys doesn't realize how much Mina cares for him. He said something a few pages back, expressing some relief that she was starting to maybe like him a little, or at least not dislike him so much. I am sad that he doesn't realize the impact he has had on her. I don't think she's being particularly shuttered about it, either..."
page
313
October 14, 2010
– Shelved as:
ass-kicking-women
October 14, 2010
– Shelved as:
romance
October 14, 2010
– Shelved as:
redeemed-criminals
October 14, 2010
–
Finished Reading
March 24, 2011
– Shelved as:
favorites
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by
Catherine
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 14, 2010 11:45PM
Yeah! You finished it!
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Great review!!! I am so happy that you loved it too! I would have loved to have a few more pages at the end too. That would have been icing on the cake for me.
Yeah, icing on the cake is a great way to put it. It wasn't required, but it just took them so long to come to understand each other, it seems like they (and us too!) should be rewarded with an epilogue chapter or something. :DBut yeah, utterly loved it. LOVED it. Part of me would just love to rave and rave about it, but I think part of what made it so fantastic is that it is... a very unique world, and the author spooled out the story and info perfectly, which makes me hesitant to put spoilers out there.
I will definitely be re-reading it in the future. I feel like, without the distraction of work this week, I would have loved it even more. Which is silly, I mean, I gave it 5 stars. But it definitely didn't get the attention it deserved this week.
I feel the need to rave constantly too, but you're exactly right. Half of the enjoyment is watching the story and the relationship slowly unfold. It wouldn't have quite the same punch if people knew certain details in advance. I think this is definitely one of those books where you should NOT read reviews or hear spoilers in advance.
That's exactly how I feel about the Guardian series too. As the series builds the punch of certain things is drawn from the tension that comes as you read each book. I really think it's not one of those series where you shouldn't know anything before you discover it on your own.
I think this book is exactly like that.
I think this is definitely one of those books where you should NOT read reviews or hear spoilers in advance. I am beginning to see that. I had to close my eyes at the end of your review. Hopefully, by the time I pick up this book, I won't remember.
Great review, Katyana.
Are you talking about my review, AH? (I only ask because you quoted me and then said "your" review so I just wanted to check who you meant) I didn't realize there was a spoiler in there! Or are you referring to this review?
Naw, I was just talking generally. The more I look at these reviews, the more of the story I see - I didn't see any major spoilers - but then again, I wouldnt know.
well it looks awesome--another book that I will have to buy after Christmas when I have approved of myself buying books again :-)
I hope you guys like it. I really thought it was very well done. :)
April, want to do a buddy read after Christmas of this book?
