The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

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

Meghan Chase is an outsider.  She lives in the middle of nowhere, barely has any friends, and her own family sometimes seems to forget she even exists.  And all of that is bad enough, when Meghan's 4-year-old half-brother is kidnapped, replaced with a violent faery changeling, and Meghan learns that her best friend is really a faery, and hey, so is she -- the daughter of the Summer King, Oberon.  And so Meghan must descend into the Nevernever to rescue her brother and reconcile the life she's always known with the life she must now lead.


I liked it, I didn't like it, I liked it I didn't like it IlikeditIdidn'tlikeit...
I'm torn.
On the one hand, The Iron King can be a really fun read, and I think a lot of people are going to fall in love with it because it's going to give them what they wanted going in: a little faery lore, a little magic, a little otherworldliness and a little lovelust.  If you can just read it on that level, it's not bad, a bit of fun fluff.

But at the same time, there are some real drawbacks for me.  So here's what I'm going to do: the following is a bulleted list of my pros and cons in the book, and you can decide for yourself whether it's a good or bad review.  As I said, I can't decide how much I like this one.

PROS

• Kagawa is pretty successful visually.  There was enough description to help me see the Nevernever, but it was never really overkill.
• I really liked the idea of the iron fey.  I don't want to give away too much, but it makes sense, it makes faeries current, and it adds another layer of BigBad to the already scary and dangerous fey world.
• I think Kagawa gave herself room to grow in the series, and even though there are things you can see coming a mile away, she was able to wrap this book up fairly nicely while planting a hook for the next.  I have friends who hate a hook, so let me be clear that it is not a cliffhanger type of hook; if you want to stop after The Iron King, you can and I don't think you'll feel like you didn't get a complete story, but if you want to continue on, there is something there to pull you back in.
• The Pack Rats.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Pack Rats, and elements like this made me see this as a potential movie, because I think they'd be pretty neat and visual.

CONS

• The beginning was very slow for me, and thoroughly predictable (truthfully, predictability is a problem throughout, though at some point, I guess I just accepted it).  The writing and plot seemed a little write-by-numbers, and other works (Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, The Labyrinth, Peter Pan, Spiderman, etc) were alluded to or mirrored throughout, and it left me with an impression of unoriginality for a good portion of the book.  
• I felt Kagawa was rash with the love aspect; in the beginning Ash is aloof and, as we learn, wounded and closed off, and had there been a slow build up over the entire 3-book series, beginning with a grudging trust and some crushing, then some lovelust, I would have bought it more, but as is, it felt again like write-by-numbers: "I need a love interest, so this is going to happen, then she'll do this and he'll say that, and presto, aren't they just devoted?"  It didn't work.  Also, there's a whole lot of Puck v. Ash love triangle going around the blogosphere, and I just don't get it.  I feel it's hinted at but not developed or even necessary in the book, and it's become so gimmicky anyway...
• Weird continuity errors.  This got on my nerves a bit.  It was just stupid things, like Ash saying Meghan's name, then a couple of pages of stuff happening, and then Ash saying her name again and Meghan getting all fluttery that it's the first time Ash has ever called her Meghan -- when it's not.  The first time was about five minutes ago, when he said "Meghan, blahblahblah"...  Or, when Meghan is leaning propped against Ash's chest, so there's no way she can see his eyes, and he's telling his sob story (which someone noticed was like a scene from The King's General) and Meghan narrates "Ash fell silent, his eyes dark and haunted."  Except you can't see them, so you don't know that.  Grr.
• Oy, with the deals already!  Anyone who is familar with faery lore at all, or has read any fey book knows no saying "thank you" and NO making deals.  Even if Meghan was lacking in faery lore before entering the Nevernever, she is told not to say thanks or make deals, and still, it's like practically every single badguy faery she meets, she walks up and plays Lets Make a Deal.  She's smart about it once, but the rest of the time, she basically offers herself up on a platter.  She'll be thinking, "I hope they don't want my firstborn child," or something along those lines, but she'll say "I'll do anything."  What?  Think, Meghan.  Stop getting yourself into situations where you become the dumb damsel in distress and just THINK.
• And speaking of the damsel thing, we're told that Meghan has loads and loads of untapped power, which I am always leery of (but more on that in a minute), but she gets herself into these situations and then stands there waiting to be saved.  If you're so powerful, or will be so powerful, show some damn spunk.

[A sidenote on all-powerful protagonists:  Just don't.  If you're writing a book, just don't.  Have the gumption to have an MC who isn't some deep font of powerpowerpower.  It's too tempting a crutch to write your characters into an impossible situation and then have them finally "discover" the confidence and ability they've been shying away from using, and BAM, sticky situation solved.  Just don't.  Think how much more interesting it is, how much more tension there is, and edge-of-your-seatness, when the MC has some ability, some brains, and some pluck, and have to really work to get themselves through.  It is so much more rootforable, so much more believable, and so much more relatable.  I know it makes your job as a writer a little harder if you can't go all Deus Ex... but really, just don't.]

So.  That's the list.  As I said, if you can go into it willing to set some things aside and just enjoy it, it flows well and is a nice bit of funfluff.  But I'm still torn, and am hoping for growth in book 2, which I have a review copy of, so that the Pro list will begin to outweigh the Con.  But I guess only time will tell. 

[Sidenote 2: I'm going to ignore the fact that Meghan says on pg 17 that she's killed rats on the farm.  I know Kagawa meant know harm, as she has had pet rats, and she introduced the Pack Rats, which I enjoyed.  But you're on notice, Julie.  I'll train mine to attack, and Mama's got some bite in her...]




<--- don't forget, this book is part of the Debut YA Book Battle.  Make sure to stop back by tomorrow to find out which Natalie and I chose as the winner, Before I Fall or The Iron King.