Monday, May 25, 2015

The Iron Ship - Review


Title:  The Iron Ship
Author: K.M. McKinley
Series:  The Gates of the World #1

Synopsis:  “The Twin flees across the sky, bringing in its wake the Great Tide.  The Earth trembles under the shadow of its brother.  Times are changing.
     “The order of the world is in turmoil.  An age of industry is beginning, an age of machines fulled by magic.  Sprawling cities rise, strange devices stalk the land.  New money brings new power.  The balance between the Hundred Kingdoms is upset.  For the first time in generations the threat of war looms.
     “In these turbulent days, fortunes can be won.  Magic runs strong in the Kressind family.  Six siblings strive – one to triumph in a world of men, one to survive murderous intrigue, one to master forbidden sorcery, one to wash away his sins, one to contain the terrible energies of his soul.
     “And one will do the impossible, by marrying the might of magic and iron in the heart of a great ship, to cross an ocean that cannot by crossed.”

ReviewThe Iron Ship is a well developed novel with an immense cast of characters and an excellent story.  The effort that McKinley put forth on this novel is evident in the development of the world, and the people in it. 
     Don’t let the title and the cover fool you, this is not just a story about an iron ship; there is only one chapter of the novel that is actually set at sea, aboard the ship.  There are a lot of characters in The Iron Ship, the story is focused on the siblings of the Kressind family, but draws in other characters as well.  There is a lot of head hopping that occurs, which was distressing to me at first, however it is so well handled by McKinley that the switches are smooth and not distracting from the story. 
     I kept having trouble putting The Iron Ship down, the quality of the world building was such that I kept getting lost in the story and forgetting that I do not actually live in the Hundred Kingdoms.  My only complaint is that the book ends too soon.  When is the next one coming out?  I want it!

**I received a free copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review, via NetGalley**

Publisher:   Solaris

If you like this book you may want to read:



The Sentinel Mage (The Cursed Kingdoms Trilogy #1) by Emily Gee (Read BookGirlR’s review here)




Chronicles of the Necromancer by Gail Z. Martin

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