Book Review: Ironside, Holly Black
Oct. 19th, 2007 03:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: Ironside
Author: Holly Black
Published: New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 323
Total Page Count: 42,324
Text Number: 123
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: A direct sequel to Tithe, Ironside picks up two months after Tithe left off. At Roiben's coronation as King of the Unseelie Court, Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, who in turn sends her on an impossible quest to prove her love to him. Meanwhile, Kaye decides to tell her mother that she is a changeling, and the Queen of the Seelie Court attacks Roiben, leading to a series of quests wherein Kaye must find her human double, find a way to save Roiben, and bring Roiben a faery that can lie before she can see or speak to him again. Continuing with the vibrant magical atmosphere and faery world of Tithe, Ironside is the work of a much more mature and accomplished author: the characters are more realistically flawed while still being sympathetic, and the writing style is skillful and polished. Meanwhile, the story is still otherworldy, emotional, and honestly confronts difficult subjects. This book is not perfect, but it is a magical and enjoyable read, and I do recommend it.
I should note here that I have not read Valiant, which falls between Tithe and Ironside in the series. However, these two books do make sense without Valiant.
After reading Tithe, I had high hopes for Ironside. I hoped that it would have the same intense and well-conceived since of magic, but that it would exhibit Black's increased experience as a writer, and have better characters and a more polished style. I'm glad to say that my hopes were fulfilled on all accounts: Ironside contains all of the good qualities from Tithe and avoids many of the pitfalls of that first novel. The characters return, and continue with many of respective flaws: they drink and shoplift, they have deadbeat parents, they are immature and over-emotional. Yet these flaws are more realistic and the characters have gained good qualities. They have GEDs, they have real problems behind their emotional complaints, and they have become affectionate and sometimes even thoughtful. These are now characters that, however unusual or even non-human they may be, the reader can identify with, and the text benefits for it. The text also benefits from an experienced and matured writing style: the plot flows at a smoother pace and the climax and conclusion are better crafted and more complete, the repetition of phrases and actions is largely absent, and the overall text reads smoother and exhibits better editing. This book is written by an experienced author, and it is a sympathetic, well-paced, skillful piece of work.
Alongside these clear improvements, the magical and human aspects of Tithe remain in all of their glory. Black's faeries are vividly conceived and described, from the grotesque and violent Unseelie Court to the apple blossom-strewn Seelie Court. Even better: The Unseelie Court now has a sympathetic ruler, and the Seelie Queen is a villain, adding realistic complication and interest to the darks and lights of faery politics. Kaye's search for her human double explores new aspects of Black's faery life and culture, as does the journeys of the two human characters, one of which desires to be more than human, the other of which hates faeries. The multiple quests of the plot are a classic storytelling structure, and they create subtle but important character growth in all of the main characters. Black does not try to avoid mature subjects, but rather explores everything from homosexuality to love to death in a way that is respectful, honest, and still appropriate to a young adult audience (that is, there are no explicit sex scenes or exceptional gruesome deaths). Both magical and distinctly human, Ironside is at once enjoyable and avidly readable as well as meaningful and personally relevant.
While Ironside is by no means a perfect book (the characters and plot points are cliche, the dark court remains pointlessly dark, and Kaye and her friends in their personalities and experiences are not entirely realistic or deeply explored; all in all, it is not the most skillful or most memorable text), it is a great improvement and an enjoyable read. I believe that it makes more sense and is more enjoyable if the reader has already read at least Tithe, so pick up that book first. But Ironside shows a true step forward in Black's work as an author as well as being magical, meaningful, honest, edgy, and an approachable and swift read. I was happy that I picked up this book, and I do recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Holly Black
Published: New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 323
Total Page Count: 42,324
Text Number: 123
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: A direct sequel to Tithe, Ironside picks up two months after Tithe left off. At Roiben's coronation as King of the Unseelie Court, Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, who in turn sends her on an impossible quest to prove her love to him. Meanwhile, Kaye decides to tell her mother that she is a changeling, and the Queen of the Seelie Court attacks Roiben, leading to a series of quests wherein Kaye must find her human double, find a way to save Roiben, and bring Roiben a faery that can lie before she can see or speak to him again. Continuing with the vibrant magical atmosphere and faery world of Tithe, Ironside is the work of a much more mature and accomplished author: the characters are more realistically flawed while still being sympathetic, and the writing style is skillful and polished. Meanwhile, the story is still otherworldy, emotional, and honestly confronts difficult subjects. This book is not perfect, but it is a magical and enjoyable read, and I do recommend it.
I should note here that I have not read Valiant, which falls between Tithe and Ironside in the series. However, these two books do make sense without Valiant.
After reading Tithe, I had high hopes for Ironside. I hoped that it would have the same intense and well-conceived since of magic, but that it would exhibit Black's increased experience as a writer, and have better characters and a more polished style. I'm glad to say that my hopes were fulfilled on all accounts: Ironside contains all of the good qualities from Tithe and avoids many of the pitfalls of that first novel. The characters return, and continue with many of respective flaws: they drink and shoplift, they have deadbeat parents, they are immature and over-emotional. Yet these flaws are more realistic and the characters have gained good qualities. They have GEDs, they have real problems behind their emotional complaints, and they have become affectionate and sometimes even thoughtful. These are now characters that, however unusual or even non-human they may be, the reader can identify with, and the text benefits for it. The text also benefits from an experienced and matured writing style: the plot flows at a smoother pace and the climax and conclusion are better crafted and more complete, the repetition of phrases and actions is largely absent, and the overall text reads smoother and exhibits better editing. This book is written by an experienced author, and it is a sympathetic, well-paced, skillful piece of work.
Alongside these clear improvements, the magical and human aspects of Tithe remain in all of their glory. Black's faeries are vividly conceived and described, from the grotesque and violent Unseelie Court to the apple blossom-strewn Seelie Court. Even better: The Unseelie Court now has a sympathetic ruler, and the Seelie Queen is a villain, adding realistic complication and interest to the darks and lights of faery politics. Kaye's search for her human double explores new aspects of Black's faery life and culture, as does the journeys of the two human characters, one of which desires to be more than human, the other of which hates faeries. The multiple quests of the plot are a classic storytelling structure, and they create subtle but important character growth in all of the main characters. Black does not try to avoid mature subjects, but rather explores everything from homosexuality to love to death in a way that is respectful, honest, and still appropriate to a young adult audience (that is, there are no explicit sex scenes or exceptional gruesome deaths). Both magical and distinctly human, Ironside is at once enjoyable and avidly readable as well as meaningful and personally relevant.
While Ironside is by no means a perfect book (the characters and plot points are cliche, the dark court remains pointlessly dark, and Kaye and her friends in their personalities and experiences are not entirely realistic or deeply explored; all in all, it is not the most skillful or most memorable text), it is a great improvement and an enjoyable read. I believe that it makes more sense and is more enjoyable if the reader has already read at least Tithe, so pick up that book first. But Ironside shows a true step forward in Black's work as an author as well as being magical, meaningful, honest, edgy, and an approachable and swift read. I was happy that I picked up this book, and I do recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
