The Iron King

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Summary from Goodreads:
Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.

My take on it:
First of all, I wasn't sure I would care for this book at all. I've read so many fairy books that I was afraid it would all just be old hat. I was so wrong. I love the old folk tales about the fey as well as traditional fairy tales and modern retellings. I also love it when someone takes these tales and does something new with them. I had a reaction to The Iron King similar to the reaction I had to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Both of these stories were able to bring new life to old tales.


I loved the idea for the Iron Fey - grown out of the imagination of men who created the technology we so love and crave in our modern world. There is a steam punk quality to some of the creatures. My favorite iron fey creatures were the pack rats – little gnome-like creatures gathering “treasure” they find in the piles of junk and carrying it in packs on their backs. The concept of the Iron Fey is an interesting idea and although in this book it is shown to be mostly dark and menacing, it might be nice to see if there is any positive to it. Positive or negative, I think this is an idea worth exploring.

I loved Puck! -- Who doesn't love Puck?? I was not quite so sold on the Ash/Meghan pairing, however. I will withhold judgment on that relationship until after I have read the next book, The Iron Daughter. This is definitely worth reading!

Rating: 4 of 5