Photo credits: igorovsyannykov (pixabay), monicore (pixabay) Edited by Vaishali Title: The Iron Crown Series: Dragon Spirits Author: L.L. MacRae Publisher: Self published ISBN: 9781838233914 (paperback) Year of Publication: 2021 Format: Paperback copy kindly provided by the author Genre/Themes: High/Epic Fantasy, LGBT, Adult Fantasy, Dragons R E V I E W...
L.L. MacRae's The Iron Crown, series debut to the Dragon Spirits series cuts across that age old exploit of adventurous misadventure on a scale that only be characterised as epic and chronicled as expansive. It's big. It's vast. It's talented. And shifted away from a traditional telling, MacRae freshens up this character driven peregrination with a fantastical spritz that gives presence to the ethereal dragon. The chilling darkness of an invading enemy against the fire-breathing champions of Tassar is what The Iron Crown sets the scene for. With talking creatures and sharp lifeforms, an amnesiac with the weight of deciding how his finite time is spent, uncertainty pressing on his chaperones’ steps, a footslog that casts across land, life and sea, scrapes with an enemy and a returning darkness prime this roomy landscape. A diverse selection of characters inhabit the broad territory of Tassar, and firstly introduced is one of the biggest curiosities. The story finds fumbling Fenn with nothing to his memory but his name. Without even a history to his name, no memory to his mind. What is a man without his memory, can he be trusted, should he be trusted, is he a casualty of something much bigger, an underdog like his fellow lost souls, or somebody to rightly hold suspicion against? Without certainty we can claim that the world is a labyrinthine warren without reference and recall, and without knowing his place within it, Fenn is as unenlightened as a newborn fawn. With very few options but to follow, he puts his faith in an assortment of people who'd rather avoid him than help him out of his situation. A 'lost soul' he is indeed, only one who longs to be found. And while vulnerability is known to endear, Calidra Vantonen is quicker to suggest doubt and assume suspicion than to believe in the unassuming, which remains unchanged when she discovers a soaked, sodden on-the-verge-of-collapse Fenn. While Fenn's journey is easily the most unknown, a letter from her remaining family takes Calidra from a removed island to a home she never dreamed of returning to. Years apart and leagues apart, Calidra hopes to rebuild bridges burned by her mother's cold fire, a childhood spent under her formidable thumb. Sober, emotionally hidden, seemingly self-serving and none too trusting, this trek home opens Calidra up to a lavish past of control and burnt, still-burning feelings where we see a different side to a girl who'd have palmed off a lost soul without thrice a thought. As Fenn is convinced of nothing but his memory loss, Calidra is convinced of little else but her found family and love for her brighter opposite, Jisyel. Near or apart, they’re never far from the other’s mind. But not even a day later do this threesome travel to the mainland are they embroiled in a spate of certain dangers, with Fenn garnering the attention of the Master Inquisitor as that first step introduces them to a world of growing darkness. Lost souls are being secured for interrogation by the Iron Crown, chilling shadow creatures are terrorising mainlanders and beliefs that Tassar's bygone enemy is ascending. From the initial intimately contained character aims, as each of the central cast push their way through the problems that plague them, so does the plot snowball into something much bigger. For Calidra, that's facing what's left of her estranged family. For Jisyel it's the hope of reversing a curse. For Fenn, it's the determination and desperation of recovering what was taken from him. And while this begins as little more than a vague hodgepodge of interpersonal possibly’s, MacRae's world is a steadily opened up bloom but one that ripples at the edges with a swirling smog, and not once did I feel flooded with an influx of information. The author tactfully takes us on a long trek, supplying us with need to know details as questioned and encountered with the coming developments. There's certainly a lot going on. From the plot, the subplots, the political maneuverings, the layered society, the growing cast, their might, movements and motivations stirs up a rolling and spacious sweep. The size is considerably ‘Maas’ (the only similarity, just to mention), but even with a solid 550+ pages of pure fantasy, I felt comfortably unbothered without feeling full to bursting with a scope crammed full with a fool's treasure. From the callous Master Inquisitor Torsten with a fiendish touch who weaponises his authority, desires the upper hand with all that unsettles him, and punishes with perhaps the repressed complex of someone who was once dominated; his level-headed colleague Nadja, who, while duty-bound to her Queen has a more humanised reasonability that puts her apart from her Inquisitor ilk. The temperamental, war-ravaged Varlot who fell from his rank as the Porsenthian General and sorries over his losses like man with nowhere to go; interesting Apollo, a marked criminal turned family man who is far from blameless in the Crown’s eyes, his quiet, respectable life upturned as he's forced towards the centre of the conflict and Selys, a calm controlled and mission-focussed priestess with a rogue edge. The ensemble is eclectic, and while not every character is allotted a POV, it’s the multiple perspective approach that’s nothing short of complimentary to a sweeping high fantasy that spans Tassar’s empire. Then we have other characters such as Furyn Vantonen, a flush Lady of the Manor who drove Calidra away and saw her as little more than a potential inheritor of their land and title, guilty of class bigotry despite once living within the lower echelons of society; Jisyel, Calidra's lover, quick to look up and spin positivity into any situation. And then we have Queen Surayo, The Iron conqueror, who’s role in this story is a bit more obscure, just as her powers are. Even with Fenn at the biggest disadvantage, little sense of where to go except to follow on the heels of his travelling companions, even as he gingerly develops a determinism that encourages a desire to see him thrive and discover his history, the author manages to excellently maintain a healthy and lingering suspicion of everybody. Whether tainted or unpolluted, we never quite know who’s intent might bend, or where their desires might take them. The uncomplicated prose and straightforward storytelling smoothly compliments the style of exploratory and remedying escapade, one which steadily scans the horizon and the landscape, as curiosity and mystery circle as a mist. From expansions of land, large bodies of sea, travelling through shifting weather and changing locale, fresh off the sea from Ballowtown to places and palaces and beyond, to unfamiliar landmarks that mark the great, grand dragon spirits of Tassar, the odyssey eats up a solid chunk of the land. And if I'm not mistaken delivers a setting not even fully travelled. Admittedly, I’ve read a total of one book that explores any style of dragon lore but the image that conceptualises MacRae’s dragon spirits is brilliantly inspired. I often likened these shifting, shrinking and rising reptilian deities born from land, element and life to ethereal mother hens who safeguard their respective territories. Where the Myr are icy hauntings and cold death, the dragon spirits are unforgiving protectors of their natural element, even as they are the very thing they protect, the voice of their element, not disparate from that which they protect. The magic is interesting. Like ethereal echoes, with and without form, they certainly are the guardians of Tassar, even as they toil away with its people. The author plays with the idea of this mythical, larger than life life-form and grants them the role of the supreme, revered and feared. From the enfeebled spirit of Miroth to the powerful Toriaken, idolised enough that his Queen’s palace is an honorific shrine to her iron ally, the spirits were perhaps the most fascinating part of the story. Since the author has entitled her series after them, they must be elemental in what will most likely follow an escalating war. As soon as a I received my ARC copy of The Iron Crown, I planned to squirrel away some time late into the year to sit down and dip my toes into the work of an author that I’ve long since been curious about. I’d heard encouraging things about this series starter so I Immediately donned my hopeful hat. Aside from repeated character thoughts and drawn out sentiments, a lack of depth where depth was needed, with some misspellings scattered throughout, technically speaking, there’s little I could fault about this fantasy novel. My struggle with this read stemmed chiefly from a feelings perspective because I mostly struggled to form a connection with what I was reading. It took me a solid third of the book before I felt some level of traction or interest in the quest of the main characters. I had genuine doubts that I’d find the connection I was looking for. As curious as I was, I realised that this was perhaps a book that I wouldn't have selected had it not happened upon me in the form of a request. As talented as it is, I struggled with a lack of appeal. Fantasy was the genre that turned me from an unassuming heathen to a true and tested book lover so I’m always delighted to see what the Indie published community has to offer when I’m not shoulders-deep into my next romance. Despite taking me a long while to find some interest between the pages, I did gradually find myself wanting to know more and more about Fenn and what would become of him. If not superbly reeled in from the offset, and despite not feeling particularly attached to any one character, I observed and overlooked more than I felt bound by a keen interest. But as mentioned, the writing is wonderfully reader friendly and yet the unburdened prose stretches the senses with every new place, person and creature to see. Action scenes are something of a seventh heaven for me so I was happy to see some small skirmishes padded into story that lead up to a few bigger battle scenes. They introduce the Myr as much as they bring the advancing chaos into focus. Very exciting! I’d describe the plot as an overarching curiosity rather than a minefield of surprises. The Iron Crown doesn’t just wear a gorgeous cover, It holds within a fantasy with classic textures and original strokes. It’s a crossing of the unknown in a world believed to have safely done away with their ancient enemy. Fenn gradually, and through effort and danger, learns about the empire, the Crown and the world of Tassar. Fenn, Calidra, Varlot, Jisyel and Selys; a genial, merry band of travelling companions they are not, always hovering on precipice of something happening to them, a remark away from falling apart as they embark on a hopeful footslog through Tassar’s mainland. The answers aren’t simple, darkness is flooding, darker times are beginning to once again lord over Tassar, steadily brewing in a cauldron well on its way to erupting. This first installment steadily stretched its limbs with grace, creativity and lucid prose. Fantasy lovers will enjoy the thick plot, the quizzical setting and the awaiting answers. I gave this book 3.5 stars - A BIG thank you to the author for sending over a physical copy of The Iron Crown in exchange for an honest review! C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Describes gory injuries. Violence. Mentions torture/sometimes describes it. A few f bombs. --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK L E A V E A C O M M E N T A N D L E T' S T A L K A B O U T |
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February 2024
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