This is my first time reading this title.

Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I just wish it could have been a more satisfying diversion.Series: Iron Covenant #1 (Kate Daniels #9.5) I wasn’t like I was going to do anything useful or educational. Perhaps because of low emotional investment in the characters.ĭid I waste time reading this? Probably, but I would have just been wasting it somewhere. Who/what are these strange soldiers in the woods? Are there gods involved again? Yet somehow, it lacked the interest of any of the Daniels’ wars and I’m a bit at a loss to say why. There seems to be people missing from a nearby settlement and Elara is convinced her people will be blamed. The plot is a little scattershot: bring the Iron Dogs together. Although Elara’s powers are hinted at, they aren’t well elaborated on. Hugh ends up with a horse that occasionally glows. There’s a few moments of trademark Andrews world-building that seem potentially interesting, but most never are filled out. “Harpy.” “Bastard” ad nauseum, resulting in a (view spoiler) Set romance level to ‘adversarial,’ and cue the insults.

The job, of course, is guarding a town, which for some reason means an arranged marriage with Elara, the leader of the group. Since they find meaning through employment (not really a band of moral mercenaries here), it feels far less worthwhile than it could. As it is, the emotional plot is of a man bereft of his leader (in the many senses of the word) and who is only given meaning by his few remaining soldiers, the Iron Dogs. Had it been me, I think I would have spent more time in his early years, building that dysfunctional relationship between Hugh and Roland so that the reader can appreciate how positive traits can be twisted, and explain how we were supposed to admire/like this person who kidnapped people and starved them to death. Mostly, Hugh reflected on the enormous void in his life, frequently.

Anything in-between was rare, either in flashbacks or in explanation to his new employer. We have his brief history as a foundling child, then a depressed man trying to drink himself to death after Roland separates Hugh from him. Hugh, for those not in the know, is a Major Villain in the Kate Daniels series, and I was curious to see if he could gain a redemption angle. Thanks to Covid, my trip was canceled, but I still needed a quick distraction. I essentially bought it because it was cheap, and because I needed an airplane read. Read February 2020 Recommended for Andrews fans ★ ★Ī lack-luster entry into the Kate Daniels universe.

Ilona andrews iron and magic series