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A review by lucyknitsandreads
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
4.0
Imagine a world where some people have a certain "affliction of the blood", so called hemopaths. Iron and its alloys are like kryptonite to Superman or silver to vampires. But hemopaths also have a rare gift: they can create illusions through songs and poems, and some of them can pull objects from paintings they made.
Ada and Corinne are teenaged hemopaths in Boston just months before Prohibition goes into effect. They work in an underground hemopath bar, the Cast Iron, where they preform illusions - Ada plays the violin while Corinne recites poems.
But there's an organisation - Hemopath Protection Agency - which hunts hemopaths and locks them up in Haversham Asylum. Rumor has it, there are even worse things going on there.
This is a story of the two girls' struggle to keep the bar going while escaping from the clutches of the Agency - and experiencing illusions, love and betrayal.
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I really enjoyed this book, although I feel like I have to point out a few details that kept me from giving 5*.
But first, let's see the positive side:
- diversity (Ada's mixed-race, Swahili mom and Portuguese dad; James and Sebastian are in love, although it's never explicitly mentioned)
- a unique magical world where art is a way to create illusions, but this, of course, can be used to manipulate non-hemopaths as well
- easy to follow plot, pretty straightforward (some might say boring, but for me it was interesting)
And now the downsides:
- it may be a personal preference but I have a hard time believing that two 14-year-olds can muster enough authority to intimidate and blackmail people. Especially not a biracial girl in 1919.
- it must be my "old age" but the only time I realised these characters were supposed to be teens was when their age was mentioned. Otherwise they sounded older, more mature.
- this book is set in 1919, in Boston specifically, but honestly, I wouldn't have been able to tell.
I guess what I mentioned as an advantage can be mentioned as a disadvantage as well: the plot. If you're looking for a shocker, this one is not for you. It's a bit like in Sense8, the sensates trying to shake off BPO. Here our hemopaths try to do the same with the Hemopath Protection Agency chasing them.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, it was perfect for a holiday read. But what I adored most was the atmosphere of illegal clubs, music, magic and illusions. I kind of wish someone made a movie based on this because it would be visually stunning!
Ada and Corinne are teenaged hemopaths in Boston just months before Prohibition goes into effect. They work in an underground hemopath bar, the Cast Iron, where they preform illusions - Ada plays the violin while Corinne recites poems.
But there's an organisation - Hemopath Protection Agency - which hunts hemopaths and locks them up in Haversham Asylum. Rumor has it, there are even worse things going on there.
This is a story of the two girls' struggle to keep the bar going while escaping from the clutches of the Agency - and experiencing illusions, love and betrayal.
-------------------------------------
I really enjoyed this book, although I feel like I have to point out a few details that kept me from giving 5*.
But first, let's see the positive side:
- diversity (Ada's mixed-race, Swahili mom and Portuguese dad; James and Sebastian are in love, although it's never explicitly mentioned)
- a unique magical world where art is a way to create illusions, but this, of course, can be used to manipulate non-hemopaths as well
- easy to follow plot, pretty straightforward (some might say boring, but for me it was interesting)
And now the downsides:
- it may be a personal preference but I have a hard time believing that two 14-year-olds can muster enough authority to intimidate and blackmail people. Especially not a biracial girl in 1919.
- it must be my "old age" but the only time I realised these characters were supposed to be teens was when their age was mentioned. Otherwise they sounded older, more mature.
- this book is set in 1919, in Boston specifically, but honestly, I wouldn't have been able to tell.
I guess what I mentioned as an advantage can be mentioned as a disadvantage as well: the plot. If you're looking for a shocker, this one is not for you. It's a bit like in Sense8, the sensates trying to shake off BPO. Here our hemopaths try to do the same with the Hemopath Protection Agency chasing them.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, it was perfect for a holiday read. But what I adored most was the atmosphere of illegal clubs, music, magic and illusions. I kind of wish someone made a movie based on this because it would be visually stunning!