kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
In a very different set of voices from Monk's Allie Beckstrom Urban Fantasy series, she delves into a steampunk/magical age of the American Old West.
Set in Hallelujah, Oregon, this book presents us with the tale of a magical creature's attempt to reopen the closed door to his own plane of existence.
Don't be fooled by the cover blurb, this story isn't centered around Cedar Hunt, the man cursed by Pawnee Gods to turn wolf at the full moon in order to hunt and kill the Strange magical folks beginning to swarm the West.
This is an ensemble cast with shifting POV; including the main villain, Shard Lafel, Mae Lindson, a white witch settled out in Hallelujah married to a black man, Jeb Lindson, her husband, killed by Lafel multiple times but pulled back to Mae by vows of love and marriage, Cedar Hunt, the cursed loner on the edge of town drawn to help find a lost boy because of how he lost his own brother, Rose Small, the adopted daughter of the town merchant who is decidedly unladylike in the ways she yearns to devise mechanical contraptions and can see the Strange.
Also important, but not POV, are the Madder brothers, who bring their own magic and ability with matics and tickers from the old country, and Mr. Shunt, a creepy and deadly servant of Lafel.
The richness of the characters, the well-realized town of Hallelujah inhabited by humans, witches, Strange (fae-like magic, but not exactly fae, so very interesting to people like me who've read widely. I especially liked the marriage of magic and mechanics used by the villains, black oil and bugs seeping form wounds-shiver-)and the sheer coolness of ideas makes this book stand out from the pack.
However, and there has to be a however because it doesn't get the whole hearted 5 stars, is my undercurrent of dissatisfaction with both the depth of characterization and the convoluted series of bargains, promises, and pleas made between the main characters.
The shifting POV, while keeping the pace fresh, was sometimes irritating when it shifted away from a POV right when that POV was getting interesting. I'm not talking about the cliff-hangar kind of action moment, but just as I, the reader, got comfortable with Rose or Cedar's voice and wanted to spend more time with them, we'd switch, sometimes for quite a long time.
This is a difficult thing to balance, and Monk does a fairly good job with this, but it did keep me from whole-heartedly jumping in bed with Rose or Cedar or Mae, despite wanting to.
The second issue, which is just a slight one, granted, is the complex series of bargains and deals made between Rose and Cedar, Cedar and Mae, Mae and the Madder Brothers, Madder Brothers and Cedar, Rose and the Madder Brothers, Shunt and Lafel....etc.
While providing a kind of reality to how life in that world must work (keeping one's word about promises made, and the magical aspect of vows) it got just a bit cumbersome keeping track of them all through teh shifting POV's. At one point, Mae's POV starts off looking outside at a darkening sky and realizing Cedar wasn't going to keep his promise to come back....and I had to go back through the book to remind myself which promise when she was referring to.
Regardless, it is a slight beef, not a quarter pounder beef with this intriguing start to Monk's series.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A plate of delicious small "bites" appetizer-style, where just as you savor one awesome flavor combination, it's all over and you have to go on to the next.
Set in Hallelujah, Oregon, this book presents us with the tale of a magical creature's attempt to reopen the closed door to his own plane of existence.
Don't be fooled by the cover blurb, this story isn't centered around Cedar Hunt, the man cursed by Pawnee Gods to turn wolf at the full moon in order to hunt and kill the Strange magical folks beginning to swarm the West.
This is an ensemble cast with shifting POV; including the main villain, Shard Lafel, Mae Lindson, a white witch settled out in Hallelujah married to a black man, Jeb Lindson, her husband, killed by Lafel multiple times but pulled back to Mae by vows of love and marriage, Cedar Hunt, the cursed loner on the edge of town drawn to help find a lost boy because of how he lost his own brother, Rose Small, the adopted daughter of the town merchant who is decidedly unladylike in the ways she yearns to devise mechanical contraptions and can see the Strange.
Also important, but not POV, are the Madder brothers, who bring their own magic and ability with matics and tickers from the old country, and Mr. Shunt, a creepy and deadly servant of Lafel.
The richness of the characters, the well-realized town of Hallelujah inhabited by humans, witches, Strange (fae-like magic, but not exactly fae, so very interesting to people like me who've read widely. I especially liked the marriage of magic and mechanics used by the villains, black oil and bugs seeping form wounds-shiver-)and the sheer coolness of ideas makes this book stand out from the pack.
However, and there has to be a however because it doesn't get the whole hearted 5 stars, is my undercurrent of dissatisfaction with both the depth of characterization and the convoluted series of bargains, promises, and pleas made between the main characters.
The shifting POV, while keeping the pace fresh, was sometimes irritating when it shifted away from a POV right when that POV was getting interesting. I'm not talking about the cliff-hangar kind of action moment, but just as I, the reader, got comfortable with Rose or Cedar's voice and wanted to spend more time with them, we'd switch, sometimes for quite a long time.
This is a difficult thing to balance, and Monk does a fairly good job with this, but it did keep me from whole-heartedly jumping in bed with Rose or Cedar or Mae, despite wanting to.
The second issue, which is just a slight one, granted, is the complex series of bargains and deals made between Rose and Cedar, Cedar and Mae, Mae and the Madder Brothers, Madder Brothers and Cedar, Rose and the Madder Brothers, Shunt and Lafel....etc.
While providing a kind of reality to how life in that world must work (keeping one's word about promises made, and the magical aspect of vows) it got just a bit cumbersome keeping track of them all through teh shifting POV's. At one point, Mae's POV starts off looking outside at a darkening sky and realizing Cedar wasn't going to keep his promise to come back....and I had to go back through the book to remind myself which promise when she was referring to.
Regardless, it is a slight beef, not a quarter pounder beef with this intriguing start to Monk's series.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A plate of delicious small "bites" appetizer-style, where just as you savor one awesome flavor combination, it's all over and you have to go on to the next.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
4.0
Good story. Great characters. Looking forward to the sequel.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
A kitchen sink kind of a book. Basically a steampunk western with witches and werewolves thrown in for good measure. Or bad measure as it was kind of over the top. But still enjoyable. This was an Endeavour read but not a bad one - I'll probably read the sequel. 3.5 of 5.
felinity's review
3.0
I wanted to like this, I really did. I liked the characters, the setting, and the ingenious tweaks which made it steampunk rather than just a slightly weird story in a vaguely Western setting, but it just didn't click with me.
rclz's review against another edition
5.0
Dead Iron is the first book in Devon Monk's Age of Steam series. It's the first Steam Punk book I've read and enjoyed. I'm very interested to see if all the ensemble cast makes it into the next book. The Madder brothers have employed Cedar Hunt (a werewolf) to look for the pieces of The Holder a device that has been corrupted for evil. I have to believe that Rose (who has a bit of the strange about her) and Cedar's brother Will (who is cursed to live as a dog) will be there. Surely Mae (who is a witch) will come along despite her grief. They are all good characters and I'm sure will just get better as the series goes along. This was a good first book for a series. Lots of action but not at the expense of character development.
emmafromoz's review against another edition
4.0
Devon Monk is one of my favourite authors and anything she writes automatically goes on my to-buy list. Having said that, Dead Iron is quite different from her previous novels. I'm not a big fan of steampunk (& this novel sits unashamedly right in the middle of the steampunk genre), nor did I like how reminiscent Dead Iron was in some places of Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel (which I really liked). I was slow to start enjoying this although as it went along I started to get into it more & was really quite enjoying it by the end.
Probably more a 3 1/2 star read for me....
Probably more a 3 1/2 star read for me....
mmelibertine's review against another edition
4.0
Second reading! I really can't say enough about this 'verse, you guys. I often struggle with steampunk. I love the idea of it, but too often the story is secondary to the 'verse. That's not at all the case here. The characters take center stage, and man, they are vivid. I can't wait to see more of Rose Small. Time to go home and delve headfirst into the sequel!
(My first-reading review: I liked this book's fast paced, engaging plot, but I fell in love with its world. Monk has built a fascinating universe with a truly unique, well developed feel. Highly recommended for fans of engaging supernatural and/or steampunk fiction. Also c'mon it's STEAMPUNK WESTERN. Firefly and Cowboy Bebop fans, get on this.)
(My first-reading review: I liked this book's fast paced, engaging plot, but I fell in love with its world. Monk has built a fascinating universe with a truly unique, well developed feel. Highly recommended for fans of engaging supernatural and/or steampunk fiction. Also c'mon it's STEAMPUNK WESTERN. Firefly and Cowboy Bebop fans, get on this.)
buuboobaby's review
Either I'm not in the mood for this or the awful villain is a complete turn off - I can't figure out which. I'm setting this aside for now
heyt's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book of many a genre and yet it somehow fits together. You get steampunk, werewolves, zombies, and fae set up like a western. The world building at first makes you think of it as a stand alone but towards the end you can clearly see it start to set up as a series which makes the story seem somehow less than it could've been. Cedar Hunt and the rest of the characters seemed well fleshed out and likeable so I'd most likely read the next one (If there is one.)