I am a fan of myth and fantasy. I am a huge fan of authors who can blend reality with that of the fantasy world together so skillfully. Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale, c2007 is the third book in Holly Black’s Modern Faery Tale series. The first book, Tithe, introduced us to this wonderful, vivid world where faerie’s are malevolent creatures who steal mortal children and their mothers for their own dubious purposes. They enjoy the spill of blood and use curses, enchantments and bargains to make humans do their bidding. In this world, monsters do exist.
Ironside is a term that describes the mortal world as viewed by the fae. It is where most exiled fae live and call home. Exiled fae are bound to no court. Living “ironside” presents all sorts of problems for the fae. The iron that is built into everything is deadly to them. However, most fae are able to survive in Ironside by using humans to help them blend into society using glamour called Never More. The glamour the fae use is highly addictive to humans who abuse it.
When Ironside opens, two months have passed since Roiben won the Unseelie Court Crown. He is now Lord of the Night Court. The killing and the pain do not have the taste of sweetness to it like it used to for Roiben. He chooses to rule his court differently. However, as his coronation draws near, the threat of war is in the air. Roiben is finding his power to control the solitary fae problematic since the Tithe was botched. Thus he sees no way to win this war with an army lacking in his court and with very little of the solitary fae under his control.
Silarial, The Bright Court Queen, was once loved by Roiben. However, she sent him to servitude to her sister, Nicnevin, the Queen of the Unseelie Court. It’s a court that thrives on pain and violence. Silarial sent Roiben to the Unseelie court as a sign of truce to her sister’s court. Upon Nicnevin’s death, that truce ended. Instead of giving the Unseelie court to Silarial when the Tithe was botched, Roiben kept the crown for himself. However, Silarial wants to rule both courts and thus she sets out to bargain with Roiben. She uses every weakness she can find to get him to relinquish control of the Unseelie Court.
There are several subplots in Ironside that the author decided to throw in that were just as interesting as Roiben’s threat to the throne. Starting with Kaye, we learned in Tithe, that she wasnot human but a changeling. She decides to tell her mother the truth and offers to find her real daughter. Then there’s her best friend, Corny, who surprisingly had a significant role in this story. He inadvertently gets cursed by a faerie. So they must seek out a human with True Sight who can help Corny break the curse. Then there’s Luis and Dave, two brothers who were introduced in Valiant. Both have a bargain with the fae and are forced to work for them. It’s a long story and a sad one. A little of their back story is told here and is spoilerish if you haven’t read Valiant. Luis has a savior complex: he’s always trying to save his baby brother from himself. He’s also skilled and most sought after in that he is able to help humans who have faerie problems:he can break their curses and see through their glamour.
Of course there’s the romance between Roiben and Kaye that made up about 20% of the book. There are some tender moments when they are together that makes up for the little time we get to spend with them. However, they are apart for much of the book so be prepared. During the coronation ceremony, Kaye drunkenly declares her love for Roiben but he rebuffs her and sets her on a impossible task: to find a faerie that can tell an untruth. Any consort who completes the task is forever tied to the Lord of the Night Court. Kaye is also forbidden to see Roiben during this quest. Roiben has his reasons for keeping Kaye out of Faery Land. He wants to keep her from being used as a pawn in Silarial’s war.
Ironside was not as good as Tithe to me. It doesn’t mean it was a bad book either. Ms. Black has a very vivid imagination. Her prose is very visual. She blends the everyday world with that of the fantastic very, very well. In this world, monsters exist while humans sleep comfortably in their beds every night. What I didn’t like was the resolution to Kaye’s quest: I felt that it was just too convenient. Also the author left a few dangling threads unresolved. So does this mean that the author will revisit this world again? I certainly hope so but I’m told that this is it.Ironside is a dark and quick read. I’d say that a B+ best describes my level of enjoyment. Kudos to you, Ms. Black and good job for creating such interesting characters in a world of magic and suspense.
Technorati Tags: Holly Black, Ironside, Fantasy, YA novels
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aha =] one more thing!
Any good fantasy books recommended?
This is the third one, i’m pretty sure of that =]
I haven’t read this one yet but am totally looking forward to it!
Tithe and Valient were really epic, and Tithe was my favourite!
Hey is this the 3rd or 2nd book please oh PLEASE! tell me I didn’t read them wrong!!!
I read
tithe
VALIANT
and now should I move on to
iron side or ir IRON SIDE THE 2ND ONE?!?!?!?
Okay, shameless plug for my blog, so feel free to delete. But next Tuesday (6/19) we’ll be posting an interview with Holly Black as part of the Summer Blog Blast Tour in which she briefly discusses what she’s currently working on. And I’m not telling what she says until then!
Got it and have it ready to read next! Thanks Trisha!
One more!
Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
Yes, I have read the Eugenides books. Love them!
Okay, now a couple more romantic recs:
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton (Tam Lin retelling)
The Chronicles of Faerie books by O. R. Melling
The War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (which I believe was mentioned in Ironside; not YA)
Hey Janine, ah, hope you get a chance to read them. This author does an excellent job of blending reality with fantasy.
[quote post=“497”]As for romantic YA fantasy recs, off the top of my head, I’d suggest:
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle (got this one)
Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Goose Girl or The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (got this one, too)
anything by Tamora Pierce[/quote] (got several)
Will have to track down and give the others a look. Have you read Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief books yet? The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia? LOVED them all. Excellent blend of fantasy and history.
Huh, no trackback. Anyway, here’s the link to my Ironside review. http://theyayayas.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/ironside-by-holly-black/
As for romantic YA fantasy recs, off the top of my head, I’d suggest:
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Goose Girl or The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
anything by Tamora Pierce
Will try to think of more books.
Me too. I actually won’t read the fourth book because Charmed Thirds really ruined the entire romance of jessica and marcus for me.
You’ve whetted my appetite for this series, Keishon. I really want to read Tithe sometime.
I’ll have to read Sloppy Firsts and I have Second Helpings. I’d heard that Chamed Thirds wasn’t as good and should be avoided
I assume that they broke up or something. I’d hate that if that indeed is what happened. I am looking for other fantasy YA or just good fantasy with a dash of romance so if you have any rec’s please don’t hesitate to drop them. I have a nice litte pile of YA fiction that I would like to get through. Holly Black was a gem to find and read. I’m getting her Spiderwick serial from the library.
Yes, there are spoilers, but I mean “ruin” in the sense that it didn’t negatively impact my feelings about Tithe. So in addition to being a great book on it’s own, it also worked as a sequel because I didn’t immediately wish that I hadn’t read it. Which sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not. To use another series as an analogy, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings totally work together and complement each other, but Charmed Thirds? I have to try to forget about that one so I can remember the Jessica/Marcus relationship as it was in the first two books. After everything that happened, I want to read about them together and happy, not, well, what actually happened in Charmed Thirds. I’m apprehensive about Fourth Comings, but here’s hoping that it will be more to my liking.
[quote post=“497”]Back to Tithe and Ironside, I’m still writing my review of Ironside, but the viewpoint I’m working from is that it works as sequel. By which I mean nothing happens in Ironside that ruins the events of Tithe, plus we get the added benefit of returning to, and learning more about, a fascinating world and characters who have grown but remain consistent to the people/faeries we were first introduced to. If that makes sense. (Which is why I’m still writing the review.)[/quote]
Well, I partially agree but there are aspects of Tithe that are known that might be spoilerish for some readers if they care to read Tithe. Ironside works as a sequel for closure for both Valiant and Tithe where there are spoilerish events mentioned from Valiant but not so much for Tithe. I’d love to read your review and sorry Twilight didn’t work for you. You’re not alone
And I completely agree, there are other wonderful books out there to read.
I did read Twilight! I thought it was okay, but didn’t like it enough or find it compelling enough to bother reading New Moon when there are so many other books I really want to read.
Back to Tithe and Ironside, I’m still writing my review of Ironside, but the viewpoint I’m working from is that it works as sequel. By which I mean nothing happens in Ironside that ruins the events of Tithe, plus we get the added benefit of returning to, and learning more about, a fascinating world and characters who have grown but remain consistent to the people/faeries we were first introduced to. If that makes sense. (Which is why I’m still writing the review.)
Trisha, well you have to read Twilight. That book blew me away like Tithe blew me away. I think my level of expectations for New Moon may have had more to do with my response to it other than the fact that the author failed to convince me of a triangle of sorts between Bella, Edward and Jacob. I find it really silly, actually, since Edward far outshines as a character to me than Jacob. I’m going to have to hunt up her Spiderwick serial and my library has it! Yes!
Jane and Ames, hope you guys like it as much, if not more than I did
. If not, don’t wanna hear about it. *hands over ears*
Great review Keishon! I’ve read Tithe and Valiant and Tithe is definitely my fave. I’m still super anxious to get this novel-today in fact. LOL
That’s not a bad grade. I was expecting more of a B-. I really liked Tithe and so I might just pick this one up.
After Valiant, I was worried about what to expect in Ironside. So what a relief to read Ironside and have my expectations exceeded.
No comment about Twilight/New Moon, but I agree that Tithe had more of an impact because it was new and memorable and unlike anything I’d ever read before. Tithe blew me away when I first read it, and as awesome as Ironside is, it didn’t come with the same sense of discovery, if that makes sense.
Holly Black’s cover quote caught my attention as well but they are both writing for the same publisher so there’s bias there. The reviews haven’t been all glowing either. I browsed it at the bookstore, too, and it just didn’t catch my interest. If you decide to read it and liked it, I may give it a shot
Keishon, have you read (or heard anything about) Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones? I saw it while browsing at the bookstore the other day. Holly Black has a cover quote, which is why it caught my eye.