Age of Iron

Iron Age #1

by Angus Watson

Legends aren't born. They're forged.

Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar's army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.

First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar's most fearsome warriors, who's vowed revenge on the king for her sister's execution.

Now Dug's on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join ­- and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that's going to get them all killed . . .

It's a glorious day to die.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

In his twenties, Angus Watson’s jobs ranged from forklift truck driver to investment banker. He spent his thirties on various assignments as a freelance writer, including looking for Bigfoot in the USA for the Telegraph, diving on the scuppered German fleet at Scapa Flow for the Financial Times and swimming with sea lions off the Galapagos Islands for the Times. Now entering his forties, Angus lives in London with his wife Nicola and baby son Charlie. As a fan of both historical fiction and epic fantasy, he came up with the idea of writing a fantasy set in the Iron Age when exploring British hillforts for the Telegraph, and developed the story while walking Britain’s ancient paths for further articles.

Reviews

[Mogsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/09/26/b...

Age of Iron ended up surprising me in many delightful ways, but what I didn’t expect at all was how addicting it was. It simply grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. It’s dark, brutal, violent and gritty, and yet I was completely immersed in its harsh, war-torn world.

We begin the story with an introduction to Dug Sealskinner, a mercenary on his way to join up with King Zadar’s grand army at Maidun Castle, hoping for a way to earn some steady coin. But then he is waylaid at Barton, a town that gets attacked and annihilated by the very same people Dug had wished to join. In the aftermath, he meets up with a strange young girl named Spring, and together they encounter Lowa Flynn, formerly one of Zadar’s favored fighters who now finds herself on the run and seeking revenge on the king for her murdered band of warrior women.

King Zadar is a tyrant like no other with his twisted sense of how the world should be. His betrayal of Lowa and failure to capture her has earned him a dangerous enemy, but his killing and pillaging across the country has also made him the target of a young druid named Ragnall, who too seeks to make his way to Maidun to rescue his kidnapped fiancée. Ragnall and his mentor Drustan end up joining with our trio, and together the five make up a rather motley party of unlikely adventurers, all with a common foe.

Very little is known about life in Iron Age Britain; that the book began with this fact and a “this is what really happened” kind of statement in its foreword made me wonder what I’ll be in for. Large swaths of the book filled with history lessons, perhaps? But no, while we do indeed get a torrent of rich, scintillating details about the world, all of it no doubt painstakingly researched and cross checked and checked again by the author, none of it felt blatant or overtly shoved down my throat.

In fact, Watson placed storytelling and characters first, which is what I think made the book’s pacing so successful. He gave backstories to even the more minor characters, in a way that didn’t bog down the story but instead enhanced it, as every detail seems purposely placed to provide insight into the people and life at the time. The plot is also constantly driving forward, and there aren’t many places where it loses steam. History clearly has a role in this book, but the ultimate goal here is epic adventure, and we certainly don’t sacrifice storytelling or momentum.

It also wouldn’t feel complete without a bit of magic, which brings us to the druids. I admit I was very much drawn to the mention of them in the book’s description, as I’ve always been interested in the subject. And the druids of Age of Iron are fascinating indeed. There are all kinds of druids – healers, soothsayers, magicians, some who are benevolent and others who are bloodthirsty and depraved. This latter sort of druid seems to get the most attention, in the form of Felix, the druid who serves King Zadar. As cruel and wicked Zadar is, Felix makes him look like a snuffling choir boy. Some of the druid’s deeds are hard to read about, described in all its gruesome, gory details, and Watson doesn’t spare his readers one bit in this area.

I guess here’s where I should mention that no one is safe in this book – men, women, children and animals are all subjected to some horrific, violent fates, and it can get quite graphic – disturbingly so. If you’re squeamish or turned off about that kind of stuff, here’s a caveat: you might want to stay far away.

And yet, Age of Iron isn’t all doom and gloom, and blood and guts. There is humor, and there are inherently good people in this book. However, none of them are so black-and-white as that either. Characters like Dug, Lowa, Spring, and Ragnall serve as good counterpoints to the depravity and viciousness of people like Zadar and Felix, but our so-called heroes aren’t without their weaknesses. They may endear themselves to you, make you laugh or make you root for them, but be prepared to despise them sometimes too, because in the end they are also flawed people and simply trying to survive a world trying to do them in. I was all the more impressed by the well-roundedness of these characters, and whether you love them or hate them, I thought they were all very developed and well written.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for the next book. Age of Iron is one hell of a novel. The polish and skill in the writing makes it hard to believe it’s his fictional debut, but you can bet Angus Watson’s got my full attention. I’ll definitely be watching for his future works as well as the progress of this series with great interest.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dug Sealskinner is a simple man and mercenary looking for a steadier job. He's heading south to join up with King Zadar's massive army. On his way to join them he gets sidetracked by a battle that sounds simple, but changes everything. Dug finds himself traveling with an intelligent young girl in Spring along with Lowa, a woman who's seeking vengeance against Zadar for his betrayal.

Age of Iron was quite different from what I anticipated after seeing the cover and reading the description. I only expected a war hardened protagonist and battles galore, but the story is more than that. Age of Iron is quite humorous at times, touching at others, and sickeningly brutal at other times. I'm not generally a squeamish person when it comes to reading, but there were a few instances I thought I might be sick because of what I read.

Age of Iron is compared to Game of Thrones and Joe Abercombie's books in the description. I can't say I agree with the Game of Thrones comparison, but I would definitely say Age of Iron is like Abercrombie's First Law series. The only difference being Age of Iron has two completely likable protagonists in Dug and Spring. Dug while being a realist, is a genuinely good guy who would help when he has the chance. Spring is simply something else, but in the best way possible.

The story itself was a familiar one of revenge and fleeing. Lowa was one of Zadar's best warriors until Zadar sent the order to kill her and her archers. Zadar's men succeeded in killing her archers, but Lowa escaped and plans to find out why she was betrayed in addition to murdering Zadar. Lowa is largely cold-hearted which is understandable considering the circumstances.

Age of Iron was an enjoyable tale and I'm curious to see what's next for Dug, Spring, and the others.

3.5 out of 5 stars

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was great! This is similar in style to Michael J Sullivan's work. The author writes with a great sense of humour. The main characters are well developed, the historical context seems quite accurate ( in house fighting between tribes prior to Roman invasion), the language is colloquial and modern at times, but this doesn't deflect from the flow of the story.
I'm impressed and ready for the next. The best thing about discovering this book and author now is that the trilogy is already finished.
Heartily recommended for lovers of fast paced historical fantasy, well written and witty romp, and fans of Michael J Sullivan.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age of Iron was a nice blend of fantasy and historical fiction. It had an Iron Age setting with a bit of druid magic thrown in to spice things up. The tone of the story was definitely Grimdark, and some of the happenings were pretty brutal, but it was mitigated by the fact that the story did not take itself too seriously.

The story was told from multiple POV's but the main character was Dug Sealskinner. Dug is a battle weary warrior who finds himself regretting his latest commission of defending a town against a possible(though not probable) attack from the local Warlord, Zadar, who's army has just wiped out a rebelling neighbouring village and is due to pass by the town Dug agrees to defend. Things go poorly and Dug barely escapes with his life. He decides it would be best for him just to join Zadar's war band but soon finds himself derailed after first rescuing a strange young girl from bandits and then a women who is determined to have her vengeance on Zadar after he killed her sister.

The story was entertaining enough. Dug and Lowa were not your typical heroes but I think both showed some good character growth over the course of the tale. Which was essential as most of the characters in this story were horrible!

All in all this was an enjoyable story and I'll definitely be moving on to the sequel.

Rating: 4 stars.

Audio Note: Sean Barrett was fantastic. He seems to be the go to guy for this sort of alternate history/fantasy story and it is easy to see why.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

6 August 2015: $1.99 on Kindle

DNF at 15%

I feel badly giving this one-star. It's not that it's written badly (mostly), it's just definitely not for me.

The beginning gave me hope:

In 55 BC, ten thousand Roman soldiers commanded by General Julius Caeser invaded Britain. They advanced no further than the Kentish beach they'd landed on before returning to Gaul.

A year later Caeser crossed the Channel again, this time with twenty-five thousand soldiers, plus cavalry, in six hundred newly built transport ships. This huge force certainly intended to conquer and occupy Britain. Yet a few months after landing, the mighty Roman army fled back to Gaul with nothing to show for its expensive venture.

The Romans did not return until AD 43, almost a hundred years later.

History has always accepted the only surviving account of the 55 and 54 BC invasions - Julius Caeser's diary - which says that the Romans won every battle in Britain, had never intended to stay anyway and departed in triumph with their forces intact.

The following is what really happened.

I read for characters. And there has to be something there that I can root for. Some little aspect that can make me care, right off the bat. Showing me a middle-aged Warrior who doesn't care for anyone but himself, and doesn't even have the honor to live up to the jobs he gets paid for....well, you haven't sold me. Then when he does something really despicable, yeah, I'm pretty much done with you.

He'd been paid Warrior's wages to stay in the front rank to marshal the troops, so arguably he should have stayed in the front rank and marshalled the troops. But he didn't feel the need to fulfil every tiny detail of the agreement. Or even the only two details of it.

Then there's Ulpius - a vain, idiotic, cruel, asshole of a guy. Please let me read more in his POV. /sarcasm.

Then enter Lowa. Who doesn't question the status quo, because she's getting paid a lot of money to do what she does. Never mind the children being slaughtered by the druid. Never mind the whole community of farmers and simple folk razed to the ground because some idiot king said so. But when it's her threatened...well, then you can bet she's going to oppose the status quo and fight. I could root for that if she'd cared at all, felt even the tiniest niggling of wrongness when she was doing something that she had to know was wrong.

But she didn't.

And finally, we have Zadar and his druid, Felix. Felix is said druid that executes children to read their entrails. Apparently nine in a single village isn't bad. Great guy. Just the kind I'd want on my side. But he works for Zadar who apparently finds it okay to slaughter whole villages just because his army is passing by. And then, after the "battle" is won, he decides to kill some of his most skilled warriors. At the party. W.T.F?! How does someone that turns on his allies like that, randomly, without provocation or warning, manage to stay in power? Why don't people revolt against that? Who would want to work for someone that might one day decide their usefulness has come to an end?!

So, being that I read for characters, and I couldn't find a single character to care about...I gave up.

This doesn't take into account the info-dumping. Long histories of characters are laid out when we meet them, along with names of everyone they've ever known or that is present and descriptions of them. I got bored reading them. To give you an example:

Aithne was big-boned, big-arsed, busty and tall with hair the colour of piss-soaked stable straw, while Lowa was average height, slender, with hair so blonde it was almost white. Admittedly she was on the stocky side of slender. Riding and archery had built muscle, and a keen observer would have seen that her right shoulder and arm were bigger than her left from drawing the longbow, but she was slim-waisted and supple, with a bottom that lobbed slingstones would have bounced off. Aithne had the small-featured, freckled face of a milkmaid. Lowa had the pale skin and high cheekbones of a fairy princess. Aithne had dark, bovine eyes with long, heavy lashes. Lowa's eyes were blue, pale-lashed and slanted like a wildcat's. Aithne was gregarious while Lowa watched from the edges. Aithne was confused and idealistic where Lowa was logical and pragmatic. Aithne was a glutton for food and booze, often to be found vomiting before bed, while Lowa never overate and had never been sick after drinking. Aithne was two years older, but Lowa had been the leader as long as she could remember.

Bored. Bored.....After a while I just saw 'blah, blah, blah bla.....'

I feel sure that this is going to appeal to many people, just not me.

Buddy read with Sarah

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Posted at Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2014/0...

4.5 stars

This was a very down and dirty, gripping, enjoyable read. It is dark, twisted, funny and exciting. Despite that, this is going to be a really hard review to write. I enjoyed it. Actually, I really enjoyed it. But the interesting thing is, while reading I could pick out things that I think other people may complain about. So, do I ignore them, since I don’t really care? Or do I let people know, since am sure some readers will. I decided to go with a list of who I think should read this book at their own risk. I’m certainly not going to tell them to not read it, because, like I said, I found it to be a really good story.

Who should read this book with caution?

* People who are easily offended by descriptions of women’s bodies. Personally, I never felt it was out of line in this book, I didn’t feel the women were objectified. But were there descriptions of the female form? Yes. If that bugs you, well prepare yourself. Now you know and can choose to read at your own risk of being outraged.
* People who don’t like to laugh at dark humor. I don’t know who these people might be, but if humor that comes from a dark place or sarcasm, or self-deprecation bothers you, well, I have to wonder why you are reading my blog. I love this stuff. And you probably won’t get this book.
* People who are easily disturbed by deranged characters. If you lose sleep at night easily when reading about twisted individuals who get their jollies in depraved ways, well, you might not want to read this book.
* People who don’t enjoy seeing women excel in battle. What? You think only men can be useful in battle? Well, then, you are not my friend. And you might not enjoy this book.
* People who are unsettled by violence. Don’t want to hear about a skull getting crushed under the weight of a war hammer? This may not be the book for you.
* People who hate bright and mysterious little girls. If you are the type to dislike orphans (and probably kick puppies in your free time), then this book might irk you.
* People who would rather read ancient British Celtic than a modern translation/style of speech The speech in this book has a more modern feel, with some modern words like OK. I found its easy and fun to read, but I know some people complain about this. If it’s something you tend to bellyache about, and you'd rather read the more authentic ancient British Celtic, prepare yourself.

There, that’s out of the way. Now I can move away from my anticipated reaction of some others to what I care about with my review, this is about my reaction.

There are several things really going for this book. First. I love the characters. Dug, Lowa and Spring are all fascinating, strong characters. You could flip between any of them, and I’d be happy because at the end of this book, I want more of all of them. I love when a story features multiple characters and I can’t pick a favorite because I just love them all. That was definitely the case here.

The humor is another strong aspect of this. Like many of the successful grimdark authors, Watson is able to balance the horrific aspects of his story and world with some dark edged humor that lightens things up and makes everything more palatable.

I do want to mention, this is a fantastical story, and as such sometimes has moments that require a little bit stronger suspension of disbelief. But that’s fine since the story is so fun. Some of the characters, especially antagonists, almost seem like caricatures, but they are fun to read, and in my opinion do not take it too far. And the main characters are all so enjoyable.

As for magic, it is still lighter on fantasy than a Sanderson book, but I don’t think it is as low magic as many of the popular grimdark books. That’s not a bad thing, just an observation.

My only complaint, and it is minor, is that at times I felt the “Slavery and oppression are bad …. mmm’Kay?” message was a bit heavy handed. Often less is more, and for me personally, I felt it would have been a stronger book if parts of it were trimmed to sound a bit less …. preachy for lack of a better word. And this is MINOR! It was by no means a preachy book, it just maybe dwelled on this particular message a tiny bit more than I would have liked.

Overall, I have to say this is a great debut, the next one is firmly on my TBR list as I look forward to continuing the adventure with Dug, Lowa and Spring.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Spoilers here.
I have to say I really enjoyed this book.
Watson presents a time with not much written history, Britain in 61 BC, very brutal, gritty, dirty, just surviving is truly difficult. Britain is ruled by an amalgamation of tribes, with power transferring constantly within these tribes. Leaders murder torture, along with their Druid magicians.
Here we are given three main characters, Dug our seasoned soldier (mercenary) looking just to eat and survive. Lowa our skilled archer and soldier for the evil tribal leader Zadar, and Spring a mysterious girl.
As their lives come together, Watson gives us a wonderful interaction, especially with Dug and Spring.
Watson also gives a a line up of supporting characters that are diverse from their cruelty to their good.
I anxiously move onto to book two.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really enjoyable historical fantasy, a grimdark fan's delight.

very likable characters, nice dark humor and Dug can hold his place with Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

a 3.5star rating. good first fiction novel with goods signs of improvement to come from this author.

not sure about the historical reading purist would enjoy this but as a fantasy book bloody good.

in this case bloody is not a swear word but descriptive. lols

forgot to say its a arc from netgallery.

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One part epic, one part grimdark, one part historical fiction, one part adventure tale. All parts: an amazing fiction debut.

A great setting: Britain in the Iron age. Tribes at odds with each other. Settlements in cities and marshes. The looming invasion of the Romans, welcomed by some but feared by others.

3 very likeable main characters: Each of them with a past that determines his/her behaviour and actions. None of them flawless, but they're very easy to root for.

A great story: The lives of the main characters intertwine as they embark on a quest for revenge. What follows is a tale of love, friendship and non-stop action.

The best of it all: The amazing storytelling. Vivid discriptions. Sparkling dialogues. Very tongue in cheek. Even the most horrific parts of the novel are told in a mild, humoristic way.

I didn't mention: Armies. An evil king. Druids, some of them with magical powers. Mercenaries. Heroical combats.

A real treat.

5 stars.

[Maja (The Nocturnal Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much is known about the British Iron Age – a terrible thing for historians, but a very promising fact for historical fantasy authors like Angus Watson. It gives them centuries of nothing more than vague information to build upon and in Age of Iron, the first book in a major new epic fantasy series, Watson does this (and more) quite impressively.

The story takes place in Britain during the first several years of Roman invasion – around 40 AD. Our three protagonists come from three different sides: Dug is a mercenary who (more or less accidentally) fought for the losing side, Lowa is a celebrated archer in King Zadar’s winning army, and Spring is just a little girl on the run from the Romans.

A lot had to come together in order for this story to function, which made the beginning a bit slow and demanding, but when things started picking up, they were quite spectacular. The story is told from multiple perspectives, but Dug, Lowa and Spring are at its very center. It must be said that Dug Sealskinner is a very unlikely hero. He is unusually old for a mercenary, a fact that speaks for itself. He didn’t make it to his forties by being kind, generous and self-sacrificing. His most important rule is ‘every man for himself’, and that includes the women and children as well.

He is, however, a fully fleshed and fascinating character. Although he’s a fairly successful warrior, he is in fact deeply insecure, and he doesn’t think much of himself. He is not a leader by nature, far from it, he is a weapon to be aimed by those who pay the most. Lowa, on the other hand, is a force of nature. She is much younger than Dug and far more successful in everything she does.

Age of Iron is extremely dark at times, but that was to be expected considering the time period. There were scenes that made me cringe in disgust and horror, but I didn’t mind them at all, they gave the story more weight and authenticity. On the other hand, when an author has hundreds of years of historical tabula rasa to build upon, he can do whatever he likes with things like social structure and gender equality, and Watson chose to portray women as equal, just as strong and fierce as any man, which I greatly appreciated.

Angus Watson’s fantasy debut is multi-layered and quite brilliant at times. There were a few things I wish were done differently, but overall, this was a splendid beginning to what promises to be a brilliant new epic fantasy series.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that had caught my attention some time ago, based on description and the comments I'd seen on it, but I'd casually tossed it on the to-read pile without putting much thought into "when". Based on Lisa's review at Tenacious Reader, I decided that this book sounded like my kind of thing, and moved it up my list. And I was glad I did.

Age of Iron is a telling of what might have happened during the period of time where the Romans were occupying Britain, and little history is available of the events of this time. Britain is ruled by a tyrannical king, named Zadar, with his right-hand-man, a powerful druid. Zadar is ruthless, oppressive of his own people, and rules with an iron fist.

The book follows Dug, a crude mercenary who wields a warhammer, who in a series of events finds himself the companion of Spring, a young girl who seems oddly intelligent for her very young age. The two end up linked with Lowa, a former warrior of Zadar's army, who has sworn to kill Zadar in revenge for the killing of her sister.

Without going too deep into the plot synopsis, I want to say that Age Of Iron was one of the most enjoyable, and downright hilarious books I've ever read. I had more things that made me laugh out loud than any other fantasy book I can ever think of, including Pratchett - a couple jokes had me laughing so hard I couldn't continue reading. The characters are witty, but not just for the sake of being so, and the jokes work very well within the confines of the book. They *fit*. The book definitely leans towards what you would call 'grimdark', with fairly liberal use of gory violence, sex, nudity, profanity, etc. Battles are exciting and brutal, with all the vivid descriptions that I look for in a book.

The story itself wasn't anything mindblowingly original, but Watson handled it well, kept it moving at a steady clip which made the book feel a lot shorter than it actually was. And I generally judge a book by whether I feel the urge to stop reading, and I never really felt that during the entire story - I just wanted to keep going, finding out what happened and what was coming next.

The magic is fairly simple and low-key, but gave wonderful opportunities for lore drops. If you're looking for a fancy, original magic system, this probably isn't your book. However, grimdark often tends to lack a lot of plot-centric magic, so I personally didn't feel anything was missing by not having it be a more integral part of the story. However, I think there's a lot more magic in the book than it seemed like on the surface - it was very subtle at times, and towards the end you find yourself looking back going "ohhhhhhh" at previous events.

Overall, Age of Iron was a ton of fun - funny, exciting, brutal. It was well written, had excellent battle scenes and dialogue, and some cool history mixed in. I enjoyed the hell out of it.

[Lynn Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/...
Just finished reading Age of Iron by Angus Watson – which I loved. I just really liked this – it’s very entertaining and it kept me glued to the page. Literally, I’ve read this in 2 days or maybe even less because I didn’t want to put it down! Anyway, I get ahead of myself.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Age of Iron other than three unusual characters who come together out of need. Dug, Spring and Lowa – the most unlikely set of companions that you could imagine!

At the start of the story Dug, a warrior for hire, has been roped into help defend the town and hillfort of Barton against King Zadar’s army. Having already completely annihilatied the town of Boddingham Zadar’s army are going to swing by Barton on the way back to Maidum Castle. At this point, there is still a debate about whether a battle will actually take place or not or whether this will be simply a display of strength and chariots. After all, Barton pays its taxes and tributes! Well, we don’t sit on a knife edge for long before a simple whim that could have gone either way brings Zadar’s army charging across the field to slaughter Barton’s defences At the same time, Lowa is helping Zadar achieve victory – one of his favoured she is a warrior and expert with a longbow. Whilst, awaiting the outcome of the battle and ready to move onto the field and collect the spoils of war is a rag tag bunch of misfits led by a man called Ogre and accompanied by a young girl called Spring. As mentioned, the three come together in unusual circumstances involving a lucky knock to the head rendering Dug unconscious during the massacre, Lowa being betrayed by Zadar and escaping with her life and ideas of revenge and Spring attaching herself to Dug who finds himself unable to forsake her!

What really worked for me with this story were the pacing, which is just constant and almost immediate and boils down to a fairly narrow time frame overall. The author’s style of writing which seems to casually and effortlessly set the scene without the use of long wieldy descriptions, difficult names and families/relationships. And the characters. Not only did I really like the three main characters but I also equally disliked some of the baddies! I love it when I get some proper nasty characters who I can really genuinely dislike! That being said, there are no really simple black and white characters here. Dug is a great character but he’s far from perfect. He’s not above walking away from a situation if it puts him in danger. He’s definitely a bit dictated to by his ‘little man’ and, on top of this – let’s not forget he’s a mercenary for hire and was originally intending joining the ranks of Zadar’s army. Similarly, Lowa has a very brutal and bloodthirsty past which she has time to reflect on once she’s on the other side of the fence. Spring is a very mysterious character. She’s only young, I think about 10 years old maybe, and yet she seems to be one of those people who things seem to come together for. I really liked her. If pushed though, I’m not sure I could name a favourite – they all have their own individual roles to play in this story and they all have their moments to shine.

On top of this the story itself is entertaining. It’s a strange mix of bloody warfare, torture and truly horrible nastiness but it’s all wrapped up in a humourous style package that prevents it from becoming too grisly. Darkly humourous I guess. Although, if you are a bit squeamish I’m just going to chuck in here that this might not be for you. Just saying. For me, I like that this isn’t too grim and takes a slightly less serious stance on what could become a very dark tale indeed.

In terms of the fantasy element – this is only very lightly done and comes in the form of the magic used by the druids of the period. Of course, some of them are simply charlatans but there are others who are truly capable.

Now I’m not a historian but I don’t think I really need to be to know that certain elements of this are not maybe factually accurate – for example the manner of speech which is modern. Personally, I like the modern take on the historical story and find the use of this type of language much easier in terms of the flow of the story. Others might have a different opinion but it certainly wasn’t an issue for me.

If you like a good romping adventure, a tale of revenge, a tale of comradeship and you can stomach the more grisly side (which has been tempered by a slightly humourous take not to mention some very inventive cursing) add to this a sprinkling of magic, some good old arena style games and an old fashioned tale involving difficult situations and heroic solutions then this could be the very book you’ve been waiting for.

Frankly, I really enjoyed this and have no hesitation in recommending it.

I received a copy of this courtesy of the publishers through Netgalley for which I give my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is the biggest surprise of this year for me. I had little expectations, but this book has nearly ripped me off my shoes.

To be absolutely frank with you, I used to be a fantasy aficionado, but fantasy books lost all their appeal to me around 7-10 years ago. I still enjoy what Abercrombie publishes, but I find very little joy in the stuff coming from Sanderson, not to mention the new wave of authors (whose selling points are more ideological than story-related, but that's my opinion).

Anyway, I occasionally reach out for some fantasy book, especially if it's a classic (not this case) or if it's somehow dark, as opposed to high-fantasy or similar genres. That's why I picked up Age of Iron (covered by my Audioteka subscription).

And it was a bullseye - I haven't read anything comparable since the initial 6 Abercrombie's books. It's mature, it's logical, it's strongly based on historical foundations (even if some supernatural elements are present), and it's placed in an interesting historical setting (before Britannia is invaded by Romans).

The characters are pleasantly "grey" (their motivations are not noble or idealistic, but ... believable) but very distinguishable and likable, the storytelling is surprisingly good (for a debut), the plot and it twists are more than satisfying for the reader. That all made me CARE and root for them. For nearly all of them, even when some cracks have appeared in the "core" group of the main characters.

Cons? There's a lot of brutality here, and sometimes it is a bit grotesque (even keeping in mind the druidic shamanism). But fortunately, the author didn't cross the delicate boundary between being gruesome and being cringy.

I'll definitely reach out for the next part, especially keeping in mind that "Iron Age" is one of the few book series where the average rating of every successor is clearly higher than the one of the predecessor. RECOMMENDED.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Technically not badly written, as in good punctuation and grammar etc, but in terms of wit and plot, very much badly written. The humour was forced, the "this is what really happened" at the beginning was completely unnecessary (and inaccurate: claim cannot be made). Dialogue and general characterisation just bland. A fairly regular piece of historical fantasy if that's what you're after.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* Read this awhile back but hadnt got around to writing anything. Great fun light historical fiction and light fantasy novel. Dug and crew are great characters in a great time period. Now if youre expecting real heavy fact based historical fiction or heavy fantasy novel dont read this novel. Has a great grimdark feel to the writing, characters and action. However what sets it apart is it dry sense of humour. Some of the dialogue definitely made me crack a laugh. The major drawback for me was sometimes it was trying to be too comedic. It also could've been a little shorter. Not epic fantasy in any sense but still a fun read.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

We barely know anything about the Iron age in Britain - all the information we have we got from archaeological finds. This shows us what people wore and how their day to day life looked like, but we don't know anything about their culture or what motivated them. We know even less about the Roman invasion, except for the diaries of Julius Caesar. Age of Iron tells a story of what could have been in this rather dark age, wrapped in a nice fantasy package.

Dug is an old warrior, and he hopes for a comfortable life in the army of Zadar, a growing power in Britain. Lowa is a fighter in Zadar's army, until she is betrayed. Together with the mysterious little girl, Spring, these three get caught in wars bigger than their personal grudges.

The biggest strength of Age of Iron is that it's just so easy to get into. There are no big info-dumps, no complex world building sequences or dozens of families to get used to (I am looking at you, Mr Martin). It drops you in the action, and shows you the ropes of the setting through the eyes of a handful of characters, without losing the momentum. Age of Iron is one of the most accessible fantasy books I've ever seen, and I can tell Mr Watson is a fan of Joe Abercrombie, has a similar approach to world-building.

I really liked the characters, especially the girl, Spring. I think she's the most interesting one, maybe also because we rarely see through her eyes. In many ways she reminded me of Arya, from the Song of Ice and Fire series. She's just as feisty and stubborn, and yet is still a kid. The other characters weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be - Dug, the warrior from the north, was a great guy but a little shallow. Lowa had had very little emotions, which is understandable for someone that has killed as much as she has, but she still felt empty.

One of the reasons that Age of Iron is so readable is that the characters speak in a very modern way. In a sense I think this is fine, we don't know how people back then spoke anyway, so there is no reason to act like they speak like 19th century aristocracy. At times though, the speech became way too modern or even contradictory. Coins and money are a new invention, brought to Britain by the Romans. Yet, when Dug sees a rich looking woman, he thinks to himself that she looks like "old money". How would he ever think this expression when they've only been using coins for a few months? EVERYONE is new money. I felt like some of these glitches were jokes meant for the modern reader, but for me they were jarring.

This book should come with a few warnings. First of all, they're not very dainty concerning sex - there are plenty of rapings (though not on-page), whores, and even the main characters are all very casual about humping here or there. Although I quite liked that the heroine for once isn't a cleanly virgin, but someone that just has sex when she feels like it, it might be a bit much for other people. The sex scenes aren't explicit by the way, it's just mentioned a lot. Secondly, there is quite some gore. At one point a man is forced to eat pieces of his wife. A strong stomach is recommended for this story.

The world of Age of Iron is pretty brutal, and it's a very entertaining and engaging story.

[Adrian Dumitru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book !

I like the settings and i like the originals characters and how they realy look real in my mind .

I also enjoyed the humor ( some time dark ) .

Also the interview with the author in the end of the book was also very good ... I hope the next book in the series will apear faster .

Thank you for a wonderful book ,
Adrian

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...

Last year I read a terrific debut set with Vikings, and since then I have gotten a taste of the dark and gritty and historical epic fantasy. When I saw Orbit’s publishing schedule for the second half of this year with the release of the debut of Angus Watson’s Age of Iron I knew I was in for a treat. Age of Iron isn’t a Viking story but it is set in England during the Roman invasion times 40AD-ish, so quite the change of scenery but still packs a heavy punch when it comes down to the gritty dark epic fantasy setting. As you can perhaps make up out of the synopsis and which becomes obvious when you read Age of Iron is that it isn’t a book that shows the good times during that age but shows hard times, how to survive. It’s messy, it’s bloody but it’s good. Age of Iron is written by Angus Watson who has written numorous stories as a freelance writer for several newspapers like: the Times, Financial Times and the Telegraph. Age of Iron is his debut.

The story of Age of Iron picks up with the focus of the main protagonist Dug Sealskinner, a mercenary. He is currently residing in the village of Barton, which is about to be attacked by King Zadar who is on returning back from his streak of devastation across England and returning to Maidum Castle. Dug isn’t a young “just-out-of-academy” type of warrior, he is old, in his forties and a well seasoned warrior but he isn’t all that brave actually. Though an attack is imminent the villagers still speculate whether the attack will take place at all because Barton does pay everything to keep King Zadar happy. But Lady luck doesn’t work in the favour of barton and their village gets devastated to the fullest, but as luck would have had it for Dug, he get’s knock-out cold during the battle of Barton and falls unconscious just to wake up in the devastation. Now you would think that having witnessed this in particular Dug would fight to set things right for King Zadar, but Dug has other plans, he wants to join up in the ranks of Zadar’s army. He is still a mercenary, can you fault him for that?

Dug’s character is only the first in the story of Age of Iron that you follow. The second storyline and character that you get to meet up with is that of the young girl Spring, her age is hard to guess but I reckon she is about 7-11 year old category. Dug meets up with Spring when she is out scavenging on a battlefield, Spring is being kept by a big man called Ogre. Dug kindly liberates Spring from Ogre and from there on Dug has another companion, not one that you would think of by an mercenary. But Spring isn’t an innocent girl at all, she defnitenly has some darker shades going on. From the beginning that you get introduced to Spring she is really a mystery, she is shown as a young girl and that is it. Her involvement in the story only becomes apparent later on and that is when it starts to get interesting.

The third and final character that you follow in Age of Iron is Lowa, a twenty-ish year old female archer, from the army of King Zadar. Lowa is one of the best of her trade and is held in high regard amongst the ranks of the army. She is an expert bowman and once she has you in her sights there isn’t nothing that can save you. Lowa and her small squadron of fellow archers get into a trouble with King Zadar... Zadar wants to execute Lowa and her squad, Lowa just barely escapes from her execution. Accidentally or planned by the Gods, Lowa runs into Dug, and perhaps by the charms of Lowa, Dug the seasoned warrior decides to help this “damsel in distress”. But with meeting up with Lowa; fighting against King Zadar, Dug does finds himself on the other side that he wanted to be...

These three characters make up the storyline of Age of Iron. I have to say that Angus Watson really build up his story in a great way. First each of the stories start of individually, where he gives a clear grip and base on every character of the story, only later to have all the three stories collide with each other to great an even better one. The writing style that Angus Watson uses in Age of Iron has a fast pace, and he cleverly switches talking scenes with information that is crucial to the story with several very action packed, gritty and violent fighting scenes. I already tweeted that it is a messy and bloody business and this is shown more than a few times. By alternating the story of Age of Iron in this way Angus Watson created a nice page turner that will keep you reading in the late hours.

I already mentioned the character that make up the main story of Age of Iron and i have to say I was impressed with them. All three of them showed a nice development along the way and foremost Dug proved to be a interesting perspective. He isn’t the likeliest of heroes, he is a mercenary who goes where he can find the best job security and pay, but he is far from the breaveheart kind of mercenary and would rather take a secure place in the back. He is a seasoned warrior and more than once does show that he knows how to deftly swing his enormous warhammer, yes, not a sword but Dug wields a WARHAMMER! Circumstances make Dug’s character to “grow up”, he can no longer just think for his own self but with his companions he has to make sure they survive as well. It a really nice turnaround of events that shape this unlikely hero into one. Lowa also offers a nice perspective on the wars of King Zadar, she was a loyal follower of him right until the moment she was betrayed and hunted down for her own life, now she is hellbent on revenge, King Zadar killed her sister and this is something she just can let be. She also grows thoughout the story when she is all of a sudden no longer able to have everything the army has and being set on her own with Dug and Spring does ask much more than she could have guessed. Lastly there is Spring that has a great air of innocence around her, but she will proof you wrong over many a occasion...

One thing that I liked about Age of Iron was that Angus Watson also shows the perspective of King Zadar, though in a much lesser extent than those of Dug, Spring and Lowa. King Zadar is the bad guy of the story, the King who want to rule it all, and by showing his line of thinking Angus Watson gives another great ring to the dark and gritty setting that features in his story. Because King Zadar isn’t an innocent King who allows his subordinates to go with a simple pad on the back, no you loose limbs or simply don’t walk away from a meeting with him. Though it can be quite visceral at times, for me this only gave a better look on just how nefarious a person King Zadar was and found myself rooting much more for Dug to finally pick up his hammer and swing it...

Epic Fantasy is often accompanied with magic, fiery elemental spell flinging mages. Well Angus Watson goes into a different direction with his and introduces Druids. These are the closest things that come to magic, but it is never actually mentioned. They are more shown as a kind of seers, advisors and healers. Take for example the Druid of King Zadar, Felix, (yes it does get messy) Felix sacrifices children to read the future. But luckily Felix is only one Druid and there are several others that achieve their goals in a more savour kind of way. Nonetheless though many call it all make-believe, later on in the book Angus Watson does spin the story of Druidism in an interesting way and does make you wonder what all else will be possible in the sequel... this definitely caught my attention!

From the start of Age of Iron, Angus Watson got my attention. This was just the book I was looking for, I hadn’t read such a story in a long while, it’s dark, gruesome Epic Fantasy. Given the day and age wherein the story of Age of Iron takes place around 40AD this whole dark setting definitely works it’s wonders and made me see several scenes quite vividly, especially the fighting scenes. The build up of the story with focussing on every character individually then letting the story all converge into something much bigger was done in a clever way that with even though you were given a lot of information, about them all, it was all easy to digest, which was needed given the fact that it has a pretty high page count. Orbit has brought some very spectacular debuts over the last years and they can definitely add Age of Iron as another big success. The story has a great focus on the action scenes but Angus Watson also introduces those hints of betrayal and intrigue into it that gives a true sense of Epic Fantasy. With his debut Angus Watson has managed to hit the rights snares. I am eager to see that will follow in Clash of Iron. In the arc that I read there was already a few words. Look to be another great read.

[Tom H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read this year by a country mile. I absolutely adored it .. it's got everything I look for - it's fun, it's a little bit brutal, it has inherent humour, it has well written characters, it has strong character dynamics, it's well paced.

In terms of style, think Joe Abercrombie's First World, but set in the UK, as our tribes prepare themselves for the impending Roman invasion.

If the final two books live up to this one then it's probably going to be vying for a spot in my top 5 series list! =)

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFECT BOOK TO END THE YEAR WITH!!! There is so much to this story line that I don't even know how or where to begin telling it. I love books from this time era. It reminds me of the movie 300, where the warriors walk down the hill all oiled up and muscles bulging (drool...). Angus Watson does such an amazing job at descriptions, storylines, plots and twists. The characters were very well developed. I liked the main characters and the supporting ones, and I completely disliked the villains. Little Spring was my absolute favorite and she had such an innocence to her. Dug and Lowa...how could you not like those two!?! Both are so strong mentally and physically. They make a great pair! I can't wait for the second installment of this trilogy!!!!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get this book as a proof from Netgalley.
I really enjoyed this book, the first in a new fantasy trilogy. I liked the feeling of the historical novel that I got from this, with the magic being very subtly introduced. I really liked that, for a long time, it wasn't even clear whether there actually was magic or not.
I liked the diversity in the three main characters - and how completely disparate motives ended up bringing them together. It was packed full of action and adventure, brilliantly rounded characters who all have mixed motives, and just a sprinkling of believable magic.
A really strong, engrossing first book, and I'm excited to read the rest of the trilogy.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! Thoroughly entertaining (pre)historical romp, with intriguing characters and relationships, nasty druids, vicious fighting and combat, gore and trickery, all set within a fascinating prehistoric landscape of hillforts, marsh towns and tors. I know this is described as fantasy but for me it ticked all the right historical fiction boxes. Can't wait for the next one.

[Scott Hitchcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*'s. An enjoyable historical fiction piece with elements of fantasy and magic thrown in. Definitely in the GrimDark model with a lot of humor intermixed. Some of the main characters cursing with different animal names and body parts merged together made me laugh.

A good first book I look forward to the other two.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

I really enjoy Angus Watson’s combination of grim dark humor and historical factoids. His books should get more attention, period.

[Doros Lesesofa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etwas zu blutig für meinen Geschmack, daher nur vier Sterne.
Ansonsten solide Story, sympatische Charaktere, eine gute Portion Humor und ein schöner Spritzer Magie.

[Nat]

after reading this, I am certain that Angus Watson's books both delight and kill me!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out Iron Age Britain is not an easy place to get by in. The country is fragmented into many warring tribes constantly at one another’s throats. Bickering warlords try to grab hold of as much land and power as they can manage while trying to ignore the ever growing threat of the Roman Empire.

Dug Sealskinner is a slightly shabby warrior, past his best, with a suitably world-weary outlook towards life. It’s not difficult to spot, the sardonic attitude, resigned acceptance of just about every horror he’s faced, hell he even manages to look a little grumpy on the front cover of the book. Dug would like nothing better than to spend his remaining days working the land or fishing. Cantankerous and more than a little curmudgeonly I warmed to him immediately. It helps I’m more than a little curmudgeonly myself. Be warned, if you are easily offended there is a good chance that Dug may not be the hero for you. His language can best be described as fruity. Actually, no, that’s actually a bit of an understatement. Dug swears (a whole lot), mostly using colourful epithets related to various items of a badger’s reproductive anatomy.

Lowa, another warrior, finds herself suddenly persona non grata with her previous employer. For reasons she has difficulty trying to fathom, she has become public enemy number one and people who were previously friends are now trying to dispatch her with extreme prejudice. Full of rage and driven by revenge, Lowa’s only chance is to throw in her lot with a shabby looking mess of a man with a large war hammer and a world-weary outlook.

Rounding of the trio is Spring, she’s the polar opposite of Dug and Lowa. A young girl with an inquisitive mind and far more secrets than is appropriate for someone of such a young age. She has an unerring knack when it comes to finding trouble, and her presence in everyone life guarantees things are never going to be anything other than interesting.

Together, once they have found one another, these three form their own weird little dysfunctional family. They end up getting caught up in a plot involving the local maniac king, Zadar, and a couple of sinister druid types. Zadar is a lovely fella, a consummate sadist he likes nothing better than seeing others suffer. It doesn’t matter if he’s torturing victims in increasingly gruesome ways or leaving no-one left alive after a battle. If it’s just plain nasty, he’s more than happy to do it. Zadar has a grand vision and there are only a few things standing in his way, their names – Dug, Lowa and Spring.

Ok, I’m willing to concede that the Age of Iron is not perhaps what you would consider 100% historically accurate, but you know what? I don’t care one little bit. Not in the slightest. This debut is a whole heap of frenetic chaos, and is thoroughly entertaining from the get go. Sitting tonally somewhere between Spartacus, Chelmsford 123 and Slaine, I really got a kick out of the Age of Iron. Angus Watson has also deftly injected some darkly comedic moments that sit well within the structure of the narrative. Overall, this novel is ferocious, unashamedly adult, fun with some fantastic characters and some great action packed moments. It’s well worth a look in my humble opinion.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and fun. My one problem was that it was occasionally abrupt. especially the climax. I am still scratching my head about what exactly happened at the end. Otherwise great book.

[Literary Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never really got into ancient historical books but this was a major surprise!

The plot was intriguing and there was non-stop action. Incredibly blood thirsty and a hint of magic!

I highly recommend this book to fantasy, historical and action book lovers!

READ IT!!!!

[Doros Lesesofa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wie schon bei Band 1, tolle Geschichte und Protagonisten, aber zu blutig. Daher 4 Sterne.
Ein tolles "Gimmick" war aber das Dörfchen "Seaview" in Nordgallien. Sehr fein!! :D Dafür gibt es einen halben Stern zurück, also sind wir bei 4,5 Sternen.