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The Copper Cat #2
The Iron Ghost
Beware the dawning of a new mage...
Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services.
When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin - retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking...
Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services.
When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin - retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking...
544 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2015
120 people are currently reading
2286 people want to read
About the author
Jen Williams
37 books1,635 followersJen Williams lives in London with her partner and their small ridiculous cat. Having been a fan of grisly fairy tales from a young age, these days Jen writes dark unsettling thrillers with strong female leads, as well as character-driven fantasy novels with plenty of adventure and magic. Her debut novel, The Copper Promise, kicked off the Copper Cat trilogy in 2014, and since then she has twice won the British Fantasy Award for her second trilogy, the Winnowing Flame. Her first thriller, Dog Rose Dirt, was published with HarperCollins in July 2021. Jen has two upcoming releases in 2023: Games for Dead Girls with Harpercollins, and Talonsister with Titan. When she’s not writing books she enjoys messing about with video games and embroidery, and also works as a part-time bookseller and a freelance copywriter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
July 24, 2020
“ I take it you have a plan, then?”...”Of course I do. It involves sneaking about, the cover of night, and good old fashioned beating people up.”
3.5 ⭐️
I’ve really been enjoying this series. My only gripe that keeps it from 4 stars is that near the end far too much stuff seems to happen all at once and it’s too much for my poor brain. I’m never really sure what’s going on.
But throughout the story I love the adventures, the characters, the sass! All of it, the world building is excellent and vast. Wydrin is basically me - a cynic who 9 times out of 10 has an alcoholic bev in her hand when she isn’t stabbing people.
Sebastian is the most loving and loyal human ever! Frith is neither here nor there for me but he makes the third member of the Black Feather Three so cant be without him I guess.
When the trio are hired to find and steal back an artefact stolen from a town of ancient people, they reignite a feud between the two peoples. Throw in an evil mage brought back from the dead and a demon that keeps jumping between bodies and suddenly things become a lot more cray.
With plenty of dark and gruesome elements this series has plenty to offer so don’t miss out!
***********************
Update - Jan 2020.
I have now recollected this from the library so hopefully can pick up where I left off.
3.5 ⭐️
I’ve really been enjoying this series. My only gripe that keeps it from 4 stars is that near the end far too much stuff seems to happen all at once and it’s too much for my poor brain. I’m never really sure what’s going on.
But throughout the story I love the adventures, the characters, the sass! All of it, the world building is excellent and vast. Wydrin is basically me - a cynic who 9 times out of 10 has an alcoholic bev in her hand when she isn’t stabbing people.
Sebastian is the most loving and loyal human ever! Frith is neither here nor there for me but he makes the third member of the Black Feather Three so cant be without him I guess.
When the trio are hired to find and steal back an artefact stolen from a town of ancient people, they reignite a feud between the two peoples. Throw in an evil mage brought back from the dead and a demon that keeps jumping between bodies and suddenly things become a lot more cray.
With plenty of dark and gruesome elements this series has plenty to offer so don’t miss out!
***********************
Update - Jan 2020.
I have now recollected this from the library so hopefully can pick up where I left off.
May 8, 2017
4.5 STARS ✩✩✩✩
Buddy read with my homies at BB&B
This book gave me the feels & made me want to do a happy dance after finishing it. So here's my happy dance, I kinda wanna sing "I loooove everything I l-l-love everything I do" while doing it!
Okay so I'm going to start this review off by talking about my rating, so I absolutely loved this book.. Why didn't I give it 5 stars than? Well firstly it isn't one of my 'favorites', I can't compare this book to some other books I've read this year because they were just unbelievable but in saying that this book has three of my favorite characters ever. The story is awesome it just didn't blow my mind! From now on I'm saving my five stars for those books that change my life in some way and this book just didn't do that for me. I had my issues with this book, even tho it is much better then the first I did struggle a tiny bit while reading it, I'm not sure if it is because I've been super busy lately or if I'm in abit of a reading slump. But with all that aside I enjoyed this book, I loved nearly everything about it.
The authors writing skills have improved so much since book one, I am truly impressed. The first book was abit choppy and hard to read because it was a bunch of short stories put into one big story, so a lot of the time it just didn't add up. In this book you don't get that! Thank god, it actually reads like a normal novel. The story itself is amazing and really unique and different, the author certainly hasn't ripped anyone's ideas off, it is a super original fun read and guess what it is totally fucking weird... But in a good way! IT is a great refreshing read for all fantasy lovers.
Okay so in my opinion this book was super creepy, like some moments I was scared... It had demon possession, ghosts, dragons, zombies, mountain creatures, spiders, centipedes... So anything epic.. This book has it!
I found this story wasn't as fun as the first one, some really sad shit happened and I did cry more then once while reading it. I cried at the sad parts and I also found myself crying because I didn't want it to end, I could read about the black feather three for eternity.. Haha. But even if it was grimmer & a lot darker then the first it had a lot of relief; it had funny moments, pure badassery, romance & a lot of fun times for the three besties (the comradeship is actually amazing in this book, it feels so real and unforced)
Okay so now I'm going to talk about my babies and there could be some MAJOR spoilers so don't read any further unless you've actually read the book.
Who would I recommend this too; everyone! So go read it people, you won't be disappointed, it's a warm, happy (sometimes) awesome read & if you don't I will throw it at you & it will hurt because its a big ass book.
Buddy read with my homies at BB&B
“Ye gods and little fishes!”
This book gave me the feels & made me want to do a happy dance after finishing it. So here's my happy dance, I kinda wanna sing "I loooove everything I l-l-love everything I do" while doing it!
Okay so I'm going to start this review off by talking about my rating, so I absolutely loved this book.. Why didn't I give it 5 stars than? Well firstly it isn't one of my 'favorites', I can't compare this book to some other books I've read this year because they were just unbelievable but in saying that this book has three of my favorite characters ever. The story is awesome it just didn't blow my mind! From now on I'm saving my five stars for those books that change my life in some way and this book just didn't do that for me. I had my issues with this book, even tho it is much better then the first I did struggle a tiny bit while reading it, I'm not sure if it is because I've been super busy lately or if I'm in abit of a reading slump. But with all that aside I enjoyed this book, I loved nearly everything about it.
The authors writing skills have improved so much since book one, I am truly impressed. The first book was abit choppy and hard to read because it was a bunch of short stories put into one big story, so a lot of the time it just didn't add up. In this book you don't get that! Thank god, it actually reads like a normal novel. The story itself is amazing and really unique and different, the author certainly hasn't ripped anyone's ideas off, it is a super original fun read and guess what it is totally fucking weird... But in a good way! IT is a great refreshing read for all fantasy lovers.
Okay so in my opinion this book was super creepy, like some moments I was scared... It had demon possession, ghosts, dragons, zombies, mountain creatures, spiders, centipedes... So anything epic.. This book has it!
"He made a pact with a demon, and through that made his greatest and most terrible works. He crafted the Edeian, as well as wielding the powers of a mage. But one day he asked to see the true form of the demon, for he had grown fond of it. When he saw its real face, he went insane." The shape of the prophet was very still now, and the clacking of the bones had stopped. Nuava swallowed hard, wondering if she should keep talking." It was terrifying, they said, and ugly beyond anything mortal. They said that if he were a normal man, he would have been struck blind aswell. They said-"
"That is quite enough Nuava." All the good humour had vanished from the prophets voice
I found this story wasn't as fun as the first one, some really sad shit happened and I did cry more then once while reading it. I cried at the sad parts and I also found myself crying because I didn't want it to end, I could read about the black feather three for eternity.. Haha. But even if it was grimmer & a lot darker then the first it had a lot of relief; it had funny moments, pure badassery, romance & a lot of fun times for the three besties (the comradeship is actually amazing in this book, it feels so real and unforced)
Okay so now I'm going to talk about my babies and there could be some MAJOR spoilers so don't read any further unless you've actually read the book.
There she was, standing in the dark, lit in shades of grey and orange by the moon and their dying fire; a girl, taller than he remembered, wearing leathers and furs, her long brown hair brushed back from her face and secured into a braid. Her eyes were filled with blood, and her hands were red to the wrists.
Who would I recommend this too; everyone! So go read it people, you won't be disappointed, it's a warm, happy (sometimes) awesome read & if you don't I will throw it at you & it will hurt because its a big ass book.
October 25, 2016
*** 4.35 ***
A buddy read with the Fantasy Addicts at BB&B! This Demon has to DIE!
Wonderfully imaginative, a bit of a throwback to the cool 80's Science Fiction and its world building and creatures. This is a compliment, because I loved that stuff :-)
The second book in the series is a definite improvement on the first. Not that anything was truly wrong with it - it just had some continuity issues and did not read as a cohesive unit. In this volume we get some back and forth in the form of memories or action developing outside of the main timeline, but the author does not lead us astray and we get a logical resolution, which is always what we as readers desire in order for our world to be as we need it to be:-)
The writing is very good, the pacing a bit slow in the beginning, but gained speed as the book went along. What I really, really loved were some of the characters and the way they made me root for them, despite their imperfect nature and many mistakes. I actually ugly cried at one of the scenes involving a returning Knight and my beloved brood sisters!!! I felt like my heart was being sliced into pieces, and if anyone had told me that I will experience such emotional turmoil over not essential characters in this book, I would have not believed it.
There were so many bright moments, moments of pain, destruction, hope and despair, that I had to take some breaks in order to savor every moment. This is an adventure, a story of a rag-tag gang who always start off a job for the "Copper Promise", or the money, and end up fighting for their lives and turn into reluctant heroes. The Evil ones are truly EVIL, while all the rest suffer with the human condition of clashing values, dubious decisions, and strengths and weaknesses typical for all of us.
I would absolutely recommend this series to all lovers of the genre and those who like to spend some time in lands unknown, fighting the never ending battle of Good and Evil!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you never tire of grand adventures found in books!!!
A buddy read with the Fantasy Addicts at BB&B! This Demon has to DIE!
Wonderfully imaginative, a bit of a throwback to the cool 80's Science Fiction and its world building and creatures. This is a compliment, because I loved that stuff :-)
The second book in the series is a definite improvement on the first. Not that anything was truly wrong with it - it just had some continuity issues and did not read as a cohesive unit. In this volume we get some back and forth in the form of memories or action developing outside of the main timeline, but the author does not lead us astray and we get a logical resolution, which is always what we as readers desire in order for our world to be as we need it to be:-)
The writing is very good, the pacing a bit slow in the beginning, but gained speed as the book went along. What I really, really loved were some of the characters and the way they made me root for them, despite their imperfect nature and many mistakes. I actually ugly cried at one of the scenes involving a returning Knight and my beloved brood sisters!!! I felt like my heart was being sliced into pieces, and if anyone had told me that I will experience such emotional turmoil over not essential characters in this book, I would have not believed it.
There were so many bright moments, moments of pain, destruction, hope and despair, that I had to take some breaks in order to savor every moment. This is an adventure, a story of a rag-tag gang who always start off a job for the "Copper Promise", or the money, and end up fighting for their lives and turn into reluctant heroes. The Evil ones are truly EVIL, while all the rest suffer with the human condition of clashing values, dubious decisions, and strengths and weaknesses typical for all of us.
I would absolutely recommend this series to all lovers of the genre and those who like to spend some time in lands unknown, fighting the never ending battle of Good and Evil!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you never tire of grand adventures found in books!!!
February 10, 2017
The 2016 re-reread of book two is done and it was just as good as before. I love this series!
------------------------------------------
It's re-re-reread time with my friends over at BB&B!
------------------------------------------
Re-read before The Silver Tide.
Jen Williams has really upped her game with this sequel to her debut novel, the Copper Promise.
The first book originally started as a bunch of novellas that melted together to form the whole that is The Copper Promise and I loved it. Even though it did have an episodic feel to it, enjoyment is what I value most in a book, and it deeeeeeeeee-livered. So. Much. Fun. I do not even hesitate to recommend it.
The second book in the series however really starts to show off what Ms. Williams can do. Without a doubt it establishes her as a force to be reckoned with and one of the best new fantasy authors out there. She is now one of my must buy authors. The characters are sublime, the story is fantastic, and I want more and more and more.
Did I mention the psychotic mage with severe and sudden mood swings? The sarcasm? The dragons? The assassin? The sword fights?
I cannot recommend this one enough. Read this series.
PS: Admit it.
You marked this as to read based on the cover anyway.
Look at that font, that colour, those dragons! "The dawning of a new mage"! Oh yeah.
------------------------------------------
It's re-re-reread time with my friends over at BB&B!
------------------------------------------
Re-read before The Silver Tide.
Jen Williams has really upped her game with this sequel to her debut novel, the Copper Promise.
The first book originally started as a bunch of novellas that melted together to form the whole that is The Copper Promise and I loved it. Even though it did have an episodic feel to it, enjoyment is what I value most in a book, and it deeeeeeeeee-livered. So. Much. Fun. I do not even hesitate to recommend it.
The second book in the series however really starts to show off what Ms. Williams can do. Without a doubt it establishes her as a force to be reckoned with and one of the best new fantasy authors out there. She is now one of my must buy authors. The characters are sublime, the story is fantastic, and I want more and more and more.
Did I mention the psychotic mage with severe and sudden mood swings? The sarcasm? The dragons? The assassin? The sword fights?
I cannot recommend this one enough. Read this series.
PS: Admit it.
You marked this as to read based on the cover anyway.
Look at that font, that colour, those dragons! "The dawning of a new mage"! Oh yeah.
January 19, 2018
The Iron Ghost is a strong sequel to The Copper Promise. We have the necessary development of the main characters, whom I have grown to like quite a fair bit. Then there are higher stakes at hand and expanded worldbuilding. And to top it all off, a whole lot more magic is involved in the storytelling.
The narrative structure alone made it a better book just because, unlike its predecessor which was made up of four novellas, it is a single continuous plotline. Given that the story starts with a time jump after The Copper Promise, there are some chapters which occasionally go back in time to provide some continuity to the events from the end of the first book. Jen Williams demonstrated a higher standard of writing in this instalment while retaining prose that is still direct and easy to read.
Maintaining its classic fantasy slant of sword and sorcery, and great adventures, the tone of The Iron Ghost takes a darker edge as it increasingly deals with concepts of power, suffering, death and madness. With the return of the most celebrated mage ever to live in Ede, there is significant exploration and discussions of the magic system employed in this world. There is a sense that "I might have seen this before" as far the magic is concerned. It entailed both hard and soft aspects with two different types of magic that can be tapped and channelled - one from nature itself and the other being pretty much a gift from the Gods.
The Copper Cat, Sir Sebastian and Lord Frith return, now known as the Black Feather Three, undertaking potentially dangerous quests in return for a reward, preferably monetary. Their latest adventure brings them to distant cities, nestled within haunted and frozen mountains, to retrieve a stolen artefact of great import. Although I find the worldbuilding to be sufficiently intriguing, the series is sorely in need of a map! This absence felt even more apparent in the sequel as the narrative moved to new locations and I have no clue where these places are relative to one another. In a fantasy world, this detracts from being fully immersed when all I can do is to conjure in my mind a vague image of the world.
I also noted improvements in the characterisation, especially in the case of Frith and Sebastian where we spent more time delving into their thoughts, emotions, conflicts, insecurities and all. Even though I do like her, Wydrin still felt slightly detached to me for the most part – her quips and bravado seeming to hide her true self even from the reader. The author also incorporated cultural and sexual diversity into her characters, with love and acceptance being key themes.
With plenty of good action scenes and decent pacing, I never found myself bored while reading this book. I do, however, have some minor issues. Aside from my earlier grouse on the absence of a map, I also found a lack of firm footing of which fantasy sub-genre the author is trying to write for this series, so far. It seemed to, more or less, have a dose of everything. Don't get me wrong, it is not necessarily a bad thing, but it unsettled me whenever the tone varies from what I was expecting at times. There are also certain plot devices, particularly around the magic system which I find to be almost too convenient, to help our protagonists along. And this is where the co-mingling of the hard and soft magic aspects appears detrimental to the overall narrative.
Nit-picking aside, I did enjoy reading The Iron Ghost. It is entertaining and well-paced with likeable and interesting characters. With the final instalment to go, let's see what is in store for the Black Feather Three.
This review can also be found at Booknest
The narrative structure alone made it a better book just because, unlike its predecessor which was made up of four novellas, it is a single continuous plotline. Given that the story starts with a time jump after The Copper Promise, there are some chapters which occasionally go back in time to provide some continuity to the events from the end of the first book. Jen Williams demonstrated a higher standard of writing in this instalment while retaining prose that is still direct and easy to read.
Maintaining its classic fantasy slant of sword and sorcery, and great adventures, the tone of The Iron Ghost takes a darker edge as it increasingly deals with concepts of power, suffering, death and madness. With the return of the most celebrated mage ever to live in Ede, there is significant exploration and discussions of the magic system employed in this world. There is a sense that "I might have seen this before" as far the magic is concerned. It entailed both hard and soft aspects with two different types of magic that can be tapped and channelled - one from nature itself and the other being pretty much a gift from the Gods.
The Copper Cat, Sir Sebastian and Lord Frith return, now known as the Black Feather Three, undertaking potentially dangerous quests in return for a reward, preferably monetary. Their latest adventure brings them to distant cities, nestled within haunted and frozen mountains, to retrieve a stolen artefact of great import. Although I find the worldbuilding to be sufficiently intriguing, the series is sorely in need of a map! This absence felt even more apparent in the sequel as the narrative moved to new locations and I have no clue where these places are relative to one another. In a fantasy world, this detracts from being fully immersed when all I can do is to conjure in my mind a vague image of the world.
I also noted improvements in the characterisation, especially in the case of Frith and Sebastian where we spent more time delving into their thoughts, emotions, conflicts, insecurities and all. Even though I do like her, Wydrin still felt slightly detached to me for the most part – her quips and bravado seeming to hide her true self even from the reader. The author also incorporated cultural and sexual diversity into her characters, with love and acceptance being key themes.
With plenty of good action scenes and decent pacing, I never found myself bored while reading this book. I do, however, have some minor issues. Aside from my earlier grouse on the absence of a map, I also found a lack of firm footing of which fantasy sub-genre the author is trying to write for this series, so far. It seemed to, more or less, have a dose of everything. Don't get me wrong, it is not necessarily a bad thing, but it unsettled me whenever the tone varies from what I was expecting at times. There are also certain plot devices, particularly around the magic system which I find to be almost too convenient, to help our protagonists along. And this is where the co-mingling of the hard and soft magic aspects appears detrimental to the overall narrative.
Nit-picking aside, I did enjoy reading The Iron Ghost. It is entertaining and well-paced with likeable and interesting characters. With the final instalment to go, let's see what is in store for the Black Feather Three.
This review can also be found at Booknest
Read
March 10, 2019✘ A MacHalo Buddy Read That Nearly Was But Mostly Wasn’t (MBRTNWBMW™) with Elena and Shelly my nefarious little self ✘
It took me FIVE bloody shrimping days to get to the 45% mark in this book, ergo I think it’s time to put it on the Back Burner of Doom (BBoD™) . Why take such a ruthlessly radical step, you ask? Because:
① In terms of characterization, this feels way too much like a Winnowing Flame of Scrumptiousness (WFoS™)copy-paste thingie draft. The three main characters in this book—Wydrin, Sebastian and Frith, aka the Somewhat Moderately Slightly Dull Trio (SMSDT™)—seem to be naught but early sketches of Vintage, Tormalin and Noon—aka the Lusciously Luscious Trio of Winnowing Lusciousness (LLToWL™)—with Sebastian as Vintage, Wydrin as Tormalin and Frith as Noon. The members of the SMSDT™ pale in comparison with those of the LLToWL™, and are most definitely NOT nearly as likeable or mouthwatering or captivating or yummmilicious or harem-worthy as them. So you might perhaps say I’m not quite terribly excited by the SMSDT™’s most, um, fascinating adventures and stuff. I mean, that may very well be a possibility. I think.
② Not that the pace is slow as fish or that I’m bored or anything like that but…
③ I might or might not possibly very well be in a Book Slump of Eternal Damnation (BSoED™) right now. Maybe. Which might or might not possibly very well call for Drastically Drastic Measures (DDM™). Maybe.
Now time for me to restin my case. So toodeloo and stuff.
· Book 1: The Copper Promise ★★★
· Book 3: The Silver Tide - to be readwhen my great grandchildren have great grandchildren
It took me FIVE bloody shrimping days to get to the 45% mark in this book, ergo I think it’s time to put it on the Back Burner of Doom (BBoD™) . Why take such a ruthlessly radical step, you ask? Because:
① In terms of characterization, this feels way too much like a Winnowing Flame of Scrumptiousness (WFoS™)
② Not that the pace is slow as fish or that I’m bored or anything like that but…
③ I might or might not possibly very well be in a Book Slump of Eternal Damnation (BSoED™) right now. Maybe. Which might or might not possibly very well call for Drastically Drastic Measures (DDM™). Maybe.
Now time for me to rest
· Book 1: The Copper Promise ★★★
· Book 3: The Silver Tide - to be read
March 3, 2016
Final rating: 5/5 stars
This book was... 5 words.
TERRIFYING. FANTASTIC. EPIC. HEARTBREAKING. FUN.
THIS BOOK was everything I needed and more. Perfect balance of angst, world building, funny moments, serious moments, cute moments, hot scenes, definitely hot and cold scenes like wow, epic fights, fantastic ideas, but I could do without absolute horror scene at the end of the first part of the book (out of four).
I never thought a scene could make me cry so much because of the sheer horror of it. I am serious - THIS never happened to me before, I was literally horrified. I was like... when did I start reading a horror book? Because damn. I watch pretty messed up stuff like The Walking Dead (you can already guess what the scene was), but I have to say - Jen Williams has a damn good imagination - and her imagination made me unable to sleep for 2 hours. You see, my blessing/curse is when I read a good writing (and Jen improves so much which is great) I can imagine all the scenes perfectly, as well as characters. Despite all of that, there is only 1 scene that was terrifying like that, thank god.
I have so many things to say about this book. But there probably won't be enough room to write it all. I loved everything about it and world building improved a lot as well. Also, I don't think I've ever cried so much over an animal or a stone. A stone!!!! Well, it's justified in this case.
Also, so many supernatural things! Gods, mages, freaking zombies but not zombies but you get the idea, creepy sea creatures, wyverns, gargoyles but not gargoyles, griffins, ravens, raven gods, cool and somewhat adorable and bloodthirsty dragon ladies/daughters, sexy prince with ice type of magic which is not a magic but he makes me want to add him to this list, awesome ghost ladies. Creepy mage and even creepier demon, giant scorpions, etc.
Everything you desire is in here.
Other than that, she did absolutely amazing job with characterization - the characters get a lot of it in this book, not to mention NEW characters, WHO WERE AMAZING. I am fascinated with some of them, and I have to say, Joah, the enemy, is a different villain from what I'm used too as well as completely complicated. And not just him, but his companion as well. Fantastic characterization.
Also, prepare for a lot of angst - and funny moments. But angst kinda wins. Minor spoilers for book 1 here: As you can imagine, Frith once again goes through Trauma Conga Line (and then you just can't forget that he was literally tortured before, lost his family, had half of his castle and outer town citizens slaughtered or sacrificed). This guy needs break. And Sebastian needs a proper man to fall in love with, cause his previous relationships didn't end well. But will he find someone in this book? Find out yourself, I'm not telling, but he needs someone asdhaksjdhasd. And Wydrin? She is damn awesome girl who needs to be a bit more honest with herself before jumping into danger. Reckless but damn awesome and damn brave. You go girl. And her comments - always so damn precious!
*Spoilers for the first book of course. (includes the character section too)*
This book follows 2 timelines.
Timeline 1: present.
Wydrin, Sebastian and Frith have now formed a mercenary group called "Black Feather Three". A year or so has passed since the business with the dragon goddess Y’Ruen and her brood of daughters. Despite Frith not wanting to abandon his estate now that he finally has it back, he decided to keep them company and go on businesses with them. Quickly enough they became popular and wanted for their services. And now they have got a mission, from the people of Skaldshollow and their Prophet, and particularly by Tamlyn Nox (Edeian Crafter), who instructed them what to do. A while ago, their enemies, called Narhl, who ride on wyverns and can use a type of ice magic (which is not the type of magic Frith has though), stole the Heart-Stone - the object of power which was until recently used by Skalds to make werken, beings of stone with no soul. Narhl, however, believe that what Skalds are doing is slavery, because they believe werken actually have soul. But who is right out of the two, and which side will our trio support?
Meanwhile, assassin Siano, a girl from the House of Patience, receives a grim task from a talking head, her current client, to kill three families and take their blood and bring it to him. The Head has a plan - and it plans to once again meet his beloved partner, Joah Cirrus - also known as the greatest mage that ever lived... and the most vicious one.
Timeline 2: past - set between events of the previous book and beginning of this one.
Sebastian struggles with his daughters - actually, the 48 that are left. Ephemeral, known before as Thirty-Third, and her sisters have to learn the value of life, and how to live in a world filled with humans where they won't be predators.
◈ Frith is back in the action. And he is now a part of the new formed trio. Having escaped from his cruel condition by becoming a mage, he now knows that there are risks to preforming certain spells, like healing for example. And this time, he will find out that magic sometimes goes in package with madness - and cruelty. And one day, Frith will have to decide whether morality is enough in order to survive or stop the madness he got into. His survival skills come in handy, especially when it comes to manipulation of his enemies.
Frith also knows that he has a duty to his home, but more than anything, he wants to be near Wydrin...
◈ Wydrin has no bounds when it comes to sarcasm and snarky comments. Reckless, absolutely brave, and willing to do anything to save people she loves, but never giving up, makes her outstanding heroine.
And now, she bonded with a dysfunctional wolf shaped werken, who moves from time to time without a rider. And because of that, no one wants it. But, Wydrin, being who she is, decides to bond with him as a part of her payment.
And when you think about the quote above, she does have sympathy for broken people - mainly, Seb, who was broken when she met him, and Frith, who was mysterious and exotic to her, despite being severely crippled and scarred. Not to mention that now, Wyd finds Frith: "‘Infuriating. Exasperating. Fascinating. Half the time I want to stab him, and half the time I want to eat things off his body. He’s a mess. I’m not sure I’ve got the patience to wait for him to stop tying himself in knots over everything."
◈ Sebastian had to deal with his daughters - how to make them be closer to humans, when they learned everything from their mother? Stuck with 48 of them, he has to make them realize that they can coexist with people. But, their attacks are still a sore subject for most of the world and it's a harder task then he realized. Now, however, Seb needs someone to be with - considering his other 2 lovers had unfortunate ends. Not that his taste in men is anything better than Wydrin's. He just tended to love people who were either killed for being with him, or betrayed him under the influence of a god.
Other than that, he is much changed than before, but still deeply cares about Frith and Wyd, and sees what they don't. Because they are dancing around each other and not doing anything about it.
Did I mention that I love the relationship between Seb and Wyd?
And also:
◈ Others:
✦ Ephemeral hasn't changed. She is still curious, loyal and so unlike her sister that she is just amazing. I love how she accepts concepts given to her and how she never stops asking questions and wants to see everything there is. And her and her brood sisters need to accept that there is more to world than them being predators and everyone else their pray. They follow instructions of their "Father", but sometimes have hard time dealing with his decisions.
✦ Nuava, Tamlyn's apprentice, and her brother Bors, who is fond of werkens, are also related to Tamlyn, their aunt. Their parents are dead and she is the only family they have left. Bors is relaxed, curious, open-minded and welcoming, as well as cheerful, while Nuava is quiet, and is genuinely happy that she was chosen instead of her brother for this job. She, like her aunt, don't believe in the fairy tales that werken are alive. Tamlyn, however, would do anything for her cause, for herself, and for the power. She is defiant, stern, and very serious.
✦ Prince Dallen, first and only son of King Aristees of the Frozen Steps, of the Narhl is quite amusing, open-minded and curious. He is fascinated with people, things, sceneries from "outer world" and his curiosity wins most of the time. But sometimes duty comes first. And sometimes, (in most cases) lives of other people are worth to him more. He cares for his people and is quite bonded with them, and hides more than it looks like. {This might be my favorite scene with him though:
You can probably imagine what happened next. I could have seen that coming million pages ago. And that kissing scene @_@. As for my final opinion of him, I loved him and I understand him: }
✦ Gwiddion, Frith's loyal griffin, a gift from O'rin, their ally and god, is a most welcome companion. Not to mention just adorable. O'rin himself, the god of lies, prefers to stay at his Rookery, visited Frith few times, to ask about his griffin, and probably, to keep an eye on Frith.
✦ And finally, Joah and his partner:
Fantastic indeed. A great ride of emotions, and also, a very big book - double the normal sized book and next one is even larger. What a ride!
Also, another bonus! We have 2 glbt couples (lesbians and gays) and lot's of sexual tension between the other two main characters. But nothing overdone or explicit.
Bless you Eon, for recommending this series to me! I'm enjoying it so damn much and now I understand how much epic it is!
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:
⚠ Standalone: Has a beginning and the end, so partly stand alone as it heavily focuses on the prequel. Can't be read out of order. Part of a series.
⚠ Point of View: Third POV, multiply characters.
⚠ Cliffhanger: No.
⚠ Triggers:
⚠ Love triangle: No. Yohohoho.
⚠ Angst: Yes. (Give poor Frith a break, please. Also Seb.)
⚠ Supernatural: Yes. Gods, mages, freaking zombies but not zombies but you get the idea, creepy sea creatures, wyverns, gargoyles but not gargoyles, griffins, ravens, raven gods, dragon ladies, sexy princes with ice type of magic which is not a magic but he makes me want to add him to this list, awesome ghost ladies. Creepy mage and even creepier demon, giant scorpions, etc.
⚠ Explicit content: No. Except steamy kissing scenes :P
⚠ Ending type:
⚠ Recommended: Yes.
◈ Sorrow's Isle (The Copper Promise #0.5)
◈ The Copper Promise (The Copper Promise, #1)
◈ The Iron Ghost (The Copper Promise, #2)
◈ The Silver Tide (The Copper Promise #3)
‘You are willing to die for love, but not to live for it. What are you afraid of?’
This book was... 5 words.
TERRIFYING. FANTASTIC. EPIC. HEARTBREAKING. FUN.
THIS BOOK was everything I needed and more. Perfect balance of angst, world building, funny moments, serious moments, cute moments, hot scenes, definitely hot and cold scenes like wow, epic fights, fantastic ideas, but I could do without absolute horror scene at the end of the first part of the book (out of four).
I never thought a scene could make me cry so much because of the sheer horror of it. I am serious - THIS never happened to me before, I was literally horrified. I was like... when did I start reading a horror book? Because damn. I watch pretty messed up stuff like The Walking Dead (you can already guess what the scene was), but I have to say - Jen Williams has a damn good imagination - and her imagination made me unable to sleep for 2 hours. You see, my blessing/curse is when I read a good writing (and Jen improves so much which is great) I can imagine all the scenes perfectly, as well as characters. Despite all of that, there is only 1 scene that was terrifying like that, thank god.
I have so many things to say about this book. But there probably won't be enough room to write it all. I loved everything about it and world building improved a lot as well. Also, I don't think I've ever cried so much over an animal or a stone. A stone!!!! Well, it's justified in this case.
Also, so many supernatural things! Gods, mages, freaking zombies but not zombies but you get the idea, creepy sea creatures, wyverns, gargoyles but not gargoyles, griffins, ravens, raven gods, cool and somewhat adorable and bloodthirsty dragon ladies/daughters, sexy prince with ice type of magic which is not a magic but he makes me want to add him to this list, awesome ghost ladies. Creepy mage and even creepier demon, giant scorpions, etc.
Everything you desire is in here.
Other than that, she did absolutely amazing job with characterization - the characters get a lot of it in this book, not to mention NEW characters, WHO WERE AMAZING. I am fascinated with some of them, and I have to say, Joah, the enemy, is a different villain from what I'm used too as well as completely complicated. And not just him, but his companion as well. Fantastic characterization.
Also, prepare for a lot of angst - and funny moments. But angst kinda wins. Minor spoilers for book 1 here: As you can imagine, Frith once again goes through Trauma Conga Line (and then you just can't forget that he was literally tortured before, lost his family, had half of his castle and outer town citizens slaughtered or sacrificed). This guy needs break. And Sebastian needs a proper man to fall in love with, cause his previous relationships didn't end well. But will he find someone in this book? Find out yourself, I'm not telling, but he needs someone asdhaksjdhasd. And Wydrin? She is damn awesome girl who needs to be a bit more honest with herself before jumping into danger. Reckless but damn awesome and damn brave. You go girl. And her comments - always so damn precious!
► STORY:
*Spoilers for the first book of course. (includes the character section too)*
This book follows 2 timelines.
Timeline 1: present.
Wydrin, Sebastian and Frith have now formed a mercenary group called "Black Feather Three". A year or so has passed since the business with the dragon goddess Y’Ruen and her brood of daughters. Despite Frith not wanting to abandon his estate now that he finally has it back, he decided to keep them company and go on businesses with them. Quickly enough they became popular and wanted for their services. And now they have got a mission, from the people of Skaldshollow and their Prophet, and particularly by Tamlyn Nox (Edeian Crafter), who instructed them what to do. A while ago, their enemies, called Narhl, who ride on wyverns and can use a type of ice magic (which is not the type of magic Frith has though), stole the Heart-Stone - the object of power which was until recently used by Skalds to make werken, beings of stone with no soul. Narhl, however, believe that what Skalds are doing is slavery, because they believe werken actually have soul. But who is right out of the two, and which side will our trio support?
Meanwhile, assassin Siano, a girl from the House of Patience, receives a grim task from a talking head, her current client, to kill three families and take their blood and bring it to him. The Head has a plan - and it plans to once again meet his beloved partner, Joah Cirrus - also known as the greatest mage that ever lived... and the most vicious one.
Timeline 2: past - set between events of the previous book and beginning of this one.
Sebastian struggles with his daughters - actually, the 48 that are left. Ephemeral, known before as Thirty-Third, and her sisters have to learn the value of life, and how to live in a world filled with humans where they won't be predators.
► CHARACTERS:
◈ Frith is back in the action. And he is now a part of the new formed trio. Having escaped from his cruel condition by becoming a mage, he now knows that there are risks to preforming certain spells, like healing for example. And this time, he will find out that magic sometimes goes in package with madness - and cruelty. And one day, Frith will have to decide whether morality is enough in order to survive or stop the madness he got into. His survival skills come in handy, especially when it comes to manipulation of his enemies.
‘I have been an idiot. All the time, I have been thinking about the past, about what other people wanted, when they are gone and there is nothing I can do to bring them back.’
Frith also knows that he has a duty to his home, but more than anything, he wants to be near Wydrin...
‘Hold on a moment,’ said Frith. ‘(...). How do we know that this isn’t going to hurt Wydrin?’
‘Foolish?’ Wydrin shot him a dark look. ‘Foolish would be chucking yourself into a lake full of mage magic, surely? Or getting cold-cocked by a bird-headed god.’
◈ Wydrin has no bounds when it comes to sarcasm and snarky comments. Reckless, absolutely brave, and willing to do anything to save people she loves, but never giving up, makes her outstanding heroine.
Wydrin heard the hope in her voice, the irrational hope that the dead could somehow be returned to them, and felt a sliver of pain in her own heart. No, she thought bitterly, it doesn’t work that way. We must live for the living.
And now, she bonded with a dysfunctional wolf shaped werken, who moves from time to time without a rider. And because of that, no one wants it. But, Wydrin, being who she is, decides to bond with him as a part of her payment.
‘Then consider it my payment for this job.’ She smiled at him and laid a hand on his arm. ‘I have some sympathy for broken outsiders, and I want to ride a werken. It seems a shame to leave him here, chained up in the dark.’
And when you think about the quote above, she does have sympathy for broken people - mainly, Seb, who was broken when she met him, and Frith, who was mysterious and exotic to her, despite being severely crippled and scarred. Not to mention that now, Wyd finds Frith: "‘Infuriating. Exasperating. Fascinating. Half the time I want to stab him, and half the time I want to eat things off his body. He’s a mess. I’m not sure I’ve got the patience to wait for him to stop tying himself in knots over everything."
◈ Sebastian had to deal with his daughters - how to make them be closer to humans, when they learned everything from their mother? Stuck with 48 of them, he has to make them realize that they can coexist with people. But, their attacks are still a sore subject for most of the world and it's a harder task then he realized. Now, however, Seb needs someone to be with - considering his other 2 lovers had unfortunate ends. Not that his taste in men is anything better than Wydrin's. He just tended to love people who were either killed for being with him, or betrayed him under the influence of a god.
‘It has been a long time for me, and in the past I have failed to protect those I loved. I won’t fail that way again.’
Other than that, he is much changed than before, but still deeply cares about Frith and Wyd, and sees what they don't. Because they are dancing around each other and not doing anything about it.
‘We’ll have to see about that.’ He looked up at her, examining the way she sat on the edge of the chair, the way she fiddled with the ties on her leather belt. ‘Did you two . . .? Are you two . . .?’
‘Did we what? Wrestle bears? Go tree climbing?’
Did I mention that I love the relationship between Seb and Wyd?
‘Oho,’ she said. ‘Well, he’s certainly striking to look at. And he seems to know what to do with that spear of his.’
Sebastian choked back laughter. ‘This ice may be thick, Wydrin, but I still think I could cut a copper cat-sized hole in it just for you.’
Wydrin passed back the flask. ‘Just you bloody try it, Carverson.’
And also:
Sebastian peered at her closely. ‘You’re not looking too bright yourself.’
She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘I’m absolutely fine, although I am suffering from a severe case of the curiosities.’
‘Oh, really?’ Sebastian adjusted the hood on his cloak, fiddling with the badge that held it in place. ‘Because I’ve just come down with a sudden dose of none of your business.’
◈ Others:
✦ Ephemeral hasn't changed. She is still curious, loyal and so unlike her sister that she is just amazing. I love how she accepts concepts given to her and how she never stops asking questions and wants to see everything there is. And her and her brood sisters need to accept that there is more to world than them being predators and everyone else their pray. They follow instructions of their "Father", but sometimes have hard time dealing with his decisions.
✦ Nuava, Tamlyn's apprentice, and her brother Bors, who is fond of werkens, are also related to Tamlyn, their aunt. Their parents are dead and she is the only family they have left. Bors is relaxed, curious, open-minded and welcoming, as well as cheerful, while Nuava is quiet, and is genuinely happy that she was chosen instead of her brother for this job. She, like her aunt, don't believe in the fairy tales that werken are alive. Tamlyn, however, would do anything for her cause, for herself, and for the power. She is defiant, stern, and very serious.
✦ Prince Dallen, first and only son of King Aristees of the Frozen Steps, of the Narhl is quite amusing, open-minded and curious. He is fascinated with people, things, sceneries from "outer world" and his curiosity wins most of the time. But sometimes duty comes first. And sometimes, (in most cases) lives of other people are worth to him more. He cares for his people and is quite bonded with them, and hides more than it looks like. {This might be my favorite scene with him though:
‘At least I got you to call me Dallen. And it only took me falling over like a newly born calf.’
smiled back. ‘I could never resist a prince in distress. Uh, that’s to say—’
You can probably imagine what happened next. I could have seen that coming million pages ago. And that kissing scene @_@. As for my final opinion of him, I loved him and I understand him: }
✦ Gwiddion, Frith's loyal griffin, a gift from O'rin, their ally and god, is a most welcome companion. Not to mention just adorable. O'rin himself, the god of lies, prefers to stay at his Rookery, visited Frith few times, to ask about his griffin, and probably, to keep an eye on Frith.
✦ And finally, Joah and his partner:
► OVERALL:
Fantastic indeed. A great ride of emotions, and also, a very big book - double the normal sized book and next one is even larger. What a ride!
Also, another bonus! We have 2 glbt couples (lesbians and gays) and lot's of sexual tension between the other two main characters. But nothing overdone or explicit.
Bless you Eon, for recommending this series to me! I'm enjoying it so damn much and now I understand how much epic it is!
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:
⚠ Standalone: Has a beginning and the end, so partly stand alone as it heavily focuses on the prequel. Can't be read out of order. Part of a series.
⚠ Point of View: Third POV, multiply characters.
⚠ Cliffhanger: No.
⚠ Triggers:
⚠ Love triangle: No. Yohohoho.
⚠ Angst: Yes. (Give poor Frith a break, please. Also Seb.)
⚠ Supernatural: Yes. Gods, mages, freaking zombies but not zombies but you get the idea, creepy sea creatures, wyverns, gargoyles but not gargoyles, griffins, ravens, raven gods, dragon ladies, sexy princes with ice type of magic which is not a magic but he makes me want to add him to this list, awesome ghost ladies. Creepy mage and even creepier demon, giant scorpions, etc.
⚠ Explicit content: No. Except steamy kissing scenes :P
⚠ Ending type:
⚠ Recommended: Yes.
►REVIEW(S) RELATED TO THIS BOOK:
◈ Sorrow's Isle (The Copper Promise #0.5)
◈ The Copper Promise (The Copper Promise, #1)
◈ The Iron Ghost (The Copper Promise, #2)
◈ The Silver Tide (The Copper Promise #3)
April 21, 2015
When I think of Jen Williams and her writing a few words spring to mind... adventurous... fun... and balanced. The Iron Ghost, the sequel to the very successful The Copper Promise, is all of these and so much more.
The Iron Ghost picks up on the adventures of protagonists Lord Frith, Sebastian, and Wydrin as they find themselves in high demand following the events of The Copper Promise. When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow it looks like an easy way to make money. But things are never easy, and an infamous mage appears alongside enemies old and new to threaten the heroes in ways they could never imagine.
I loved many things about The Iron Ghost. Like The Copper Promise, it is a very fresh and modern take on the classic fantasy adventure that we all know and love. Firth, Sebastian, and Wydrin are as rich and vivid as I remember them, and the cast of new characters (Joah Demonsworn especially) have added a real depth to the adventure. The story is propelled along at a cracking pace, with action aplenty and magical and bestial mayhem on every page. Williams has also managed to weave a sense of purpose and meaning into this book, and you find yourself immersed not only in the action that leaps out from the pages but also in the thoughts and motivations of the characters. I especially loved gaining an insight into the mind of Joah Demonsworn, and his slip into madness was depicted brilliantly by the narrative. The world building again is filled with detail and depth, and Williams has taken her writing to another level by incorporating a sense of grit and realism that wasn't as present in The Copper Promise. I adored reading this book as my eyes lit up at the many mage battles, demon infused children, dragons and walking stone statues! The Iron Ghost has literally taken all that is good about Dungeons and Dragons and added an enthralling sense of character and fun to it that has brought the genre of quest fantasy into the 21st century. I finished this book in one sitting, and the ripping and fun filled banter between the characters kept me glued from start to finish.
Jen Williams has an amazing gift for storytelling, and The Iron Ghost highlights this. It is amazing to think that she is still a relatively new writer on the scene, with only two books under her belt. All in all The Iron Ghost is a vibrant and inventive fantasy filled with addictive characters and action. The Dungeons and Dragons for a new generation, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a remote interest in speculative fiction.
4 out of 5 stars.
smashdragons.blogspot.com.au
A review copy was provided.
The Iron Ghost picks up on the adventures of protagonists Lord Frith, Sebastian, and Wydrin as they find themselves in high demand following the events of The Copper Promise. When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow it looks like an easy way to make money. But things are never easy, and an infamous mage appears alongside enemies old and new to threaten the heroes in ways they could never imagine.
I loved many things about The Iron Ghost. Like The Copper Promise, it is a very fresh and modern take on the classic fantasy adventure that we all know and love. Firth, Sebastian, and Wydrin are as rich and vivid as I remember them, and the cast of new characters (Joah Demonsworn especially) have added a real depth to the adventure. The story is propelled along at a cracking pace, with action aplenty and magical and bestial mayhem on every page. Williams has also managed to weave a sense of purpose and meaning into this book, and you find yourself immersed not only in the action that leaps out from the pages but also in the thoughts and motivations of the characters. I especially loved gaining an insight into the mind of Joah Demonsworn, and his slip into madness was depicted brilliantly by the narrative. The world building again is filled with detail and depth, and Williams has taken her writing to another level by incorporating a sense of grit and realism that wasn't as present in The Copper Promise. I adored reading this book as my eyes lit up at the many mage battles, demon infused children, dragons and walking stone statues! The Iron Ghost has literally taken all that is good about Dungeons and Dragons and added an enthralling sense of character and fun to it that has brought the genre of quest fantasy into the 21st century. I finished this book in one sitting, and the ripping and fun filled banter between the characters kept me glued from start to finish.
Jen Williams has an amazing gift for storytelling, and The Iron Ghost highlights this. It is amazing to think that she is still a relatively new writer on the scene, with only two books under her belt. All in all The Iron Ghost is a vibrant and inventive fantasy filled with addictive characters and action. The Dungeons and Dragons for a new generation, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a remote interest in speculative fiction.
4 out of 5 stars.
smashdragons.blogspot.com.au
A review copy was provided.
April 26, 2016
What a follow-up to the Copper Promise! This second installment is utterly riveting and I’m very happy I’ve given the whole series a try after the conclusion of the first book, which felt a bit too much like standard fantasy Quest fare even if I had fun reading it.
The characters are, uncompromisingly, one of the best features of this trilogy. They are very intriguing and full of promise so what particularly worked for me in The Iron Ghost is that, along with nonstop action, the characters live up to their potential and more: some whom I've come to like are back, new ones join the party and the stakes are raised, building the plot toward a larger picture.
The author isn’t shy about her characters either, dealing out hilarious and blood-curdling scenes alike and aplenty. The pace is relentless and quest by quest, battle after battle, the plot unwinds and knots again, a bit unconvincingly at times, but I was helplessly hooked.
If you are big on world-building and narrative scope this, of course, is not the book for you; but if you want to savor a sword and sorcery (with a touch of epic) story with a fresh, straightforward approach and little off-colour morality, look no further.
Wydrin had faced down a dragon, not to mention half the tavern owners in Crosshaven. She could take care of herself.
The characters are, uncompromisingly, one of the best features of this trilogy. They are very intriguing and full of promise so what particularly worked for me in The Iron Ghost is that, along with nonstop action, the characters live up to their potential and more: some whom I've come to like are back, new ones join the party and the stakes are raised, building the plot toward a larger picture.
The author isn’t shy about her characters either, dealing out hilarious and blood-curdling scenes alike and aplenty. The pace is relentless and quest by quest, battle after battle, the plot unwinds and knots again, a bit unconvincingly at times, but I was helplessly hooked.
If you are big on world-building and narrative scope this, of course, is not the book for you; but if you want to savor a sword and sorcery (with a touch of epic) story with a fresh, straightforward approach and little off-colour morality, look no further.
Wydrin had faced down a dragon, not to mention half the tavern owners in Crosshaven. She could take care of herself.
November 2, 2020
Even though I did like the first book, this is clearly a huge improvement mainly because this one is a full on novel that was written as such and not four novellas put together into one book like the first one was. This made the pacing way better and the overall story more enjoyable to follow. I also loved all the added lore about this world that we get to see in this book. The werkens and the Narhls were extremely interesting and made the book feel different from The Copper Promise while still continuing some of the plot points from the first book. I also liked the villain way better. Don't get me wrong, I love dragons but Y'Ruen always felt like an almost distant menace until the last battle and she didn't have a lot of interactions with the main cast. In this one, we get to learn more about the main villain and actually spend time with him which made him both more threatening and more interesting. I really hope those are improvements that I will find again in the third book that I will be picking up right away.
March 30, 2020
3 Stars
In some ways better than the first book, in some ways not quite as enjoyable.
Our three main characters have become famous adventurers and their services are now in high demand. They take what looks to be an easy job in the northern city of Skaldshollow. Once there, they get pulled into a conflict between warring cities and the awakening of an ancient evil.
Like I said, in some ways I enjoyed this book better than the first book of the series. It flowed better as a single story instead of a collection of novellas. We also got to see more of the world, including some interesting stone creatures and an ice dwelling people, though I’ll confess that I still didn’t have a great grasp of the broader world. And Wydrin was still a fantastic character, easily the best of the bunch.
There were also some negatives in this one for me. The best part of the first book was that it was simply fun. This entry in the series was far less fun. The story was grimmer, the characters became dour, and the sense of classic fantasy fun was significantly reduced for me. That was a big drawback for me as the fun, almost whimsical tone of the first book was what I enjoyed most. Sebastian and Frith, characters that I didn’t love in the first book, became even more unlikable here.
I debated whether or not to read the third book of the series. Usually if I’ll read past the first book it’s just about a guarantee I’ll keep reading and finish the series. This time though I wasn’t so sure I wanted to keep reading. The decision was ultimately made for me as the final book of the series isn’t currently available in the US.
In some ways better than the first book, in some ways not quite as enjoyable.
Our three main characters have become famous adventurers and their services are now in high demand. They take what looks to be an easy job in the northern city of Skaldshollow. Once there, they get pulled into a conflict between warring cities and the awakening of an ancient evil.
Like I said, in some ways I enjoyed this book better than the first book of the series. It flowed better as a single story instead of a collection of novellas. We also got to see more of the world, including some interesting stone creatures and an ice dwelling people, though I’ll confess that I still didn’t have a great grasp of the broader world. And Wydrin was still a fantastic character, easily the best of the bunch.
There were also some negatives in this one for me. The best part of the first book was that it was simply fun. This entry in the series was far less fun. The story was grimmer, the characters became dour, and the sense of classic fantasy fun was significantly reduced for me. That was a big drawback for me as the fun, almost whimsical tone of the first book was what I enjoyed most. Sebastian and Frith, characters that I didn’t love in the first book, became even more unlikable here.
I debated whether or not to read the third book of the series. Usually if I’ll read past the first book it’s just about a guarantee I’ll keep reading and finish the series. This time though I wasn’t so sure I wanted to keep reading. The decision was ultimately made for me as the final book of the series isn’t currently available in the US.
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February 4, 2017
[Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for my copy.]
Lord Frith, Wydrin and Sebastian, after their dragon-slayer escapades in The Copper Promise are now known as The Blackfeather Three and are roaming the land, sorting out people's other-worldly problems and loving all the attention and coin they're receiving as a result. However, an age-old mage is re-awakened and it seems Lord Frith is not the only mage with an ego problem any longer...
This is the second book in The Copper Promise series, but it can actually be read as a stand-alone in retrospect. The Copper Promise had a plot ending and whilst this one contains the same characters, world and general overview, it's less of a trilogy and more of a follow-on. Having said that, there are references to The Copper Promise that are unexplained, so having the background knowledge would be useful.
I have to say I am deeply disappointed with this novel. I thought The Copper Promise was promising, 'scuse the pun and, whilst it had it's flaws, I thought Jen Williams was an author to watch out for. However, I don't think she learnt anything from her first novel and any criticism (positive and negative) she may have been giving was certainly not taken on board.
The Copper Promise started out life as four short novellas and that was evident in the book, as it was split in to four segments with no attempt at meshing them. The Iron Ghost did not start out life as four novellas, but it was still written like it: four sections that were completely unnecessary: there was no point in having four parts at all. Whilst I understand the author may like the idea, if you're having a book split in to parts there needs to be a reason for it, either time-elapse or a different perspective in narration. Neither of these were present and the four-part partition was just an annoyance and stopped the flow of the piece.
The characters were much in the same without any kind of difference from The Copper Promise. Whilst consistency is grand, some kind of character-growth would have been nice, and not just a proclamation of love. There was little to fault the characters except for this, but sometimes secondary characters felt a little flat and just there to be there, especially the resurgence of the Brood Army. It's obvious that they will play an integral part in the third novel, but here, especially with the choppy way these flashbacks were written and inserted at completely random places made the whole piece feel staggered. The chapters as a whole were far too short and often left me feeling like every single one was going to end in a terrible cliff-hanger that would be resolved five chapters hence.
As in The Copper Promise, there was no map so, although world-building is primarily done through the text, fantasy novels rely very heavily on their worlds so a map in fantasy novels is pretty much expected. I thought the world-building in the text was much better done in this novel than in The Copper Promise, but occasionally it fell short. I did enjoy the varying lands and people in The Iron Ghost and this was explored to good effect, much better than in the first novel.
The writing style was the same as in The Copper Promise and was still pretty amateurish. There were the same trills of "suddenly several things happened at once" or "all of a sudden" and "then something funny happened" (paraphrasing but fairly accurate) which is terrible story-telling. There was also far too much dialogue: the whole story was carried via the dialogue. Whilst at times it was real and amusing, very rarely did a paragraph go by that did not contain dialogue. I know dialogue is important, but it needs to be used sparingly and with good effect. Most of the time it was gibberish, and when the plot is carried by the dialogue, you can often miss important information if the dialogue skips from serious plot points to inane drivel that you wish would end.
My rating of this book is very harsh, but that's just because I was sincerely disappointed in the author for not really learning anything from her first novel experience. The story itself, whilst slightly recycled from the first of the series and every fantasy novel out there, was more of a 4 / 5 because it was a good fantasy journey, but altogether the elements produced something which felt amateur at best. I will be reading the rest of the series (I assume it will be a trilogy) but I will certainly lower my expectations for it.
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Lord Frith, Wydrin and Sebastian, after their dragon-slayer escapades in The Copper Promise are now known as The Blackfeather Three and are roaming the land, sorting out people's other-worldly problems and loving all the attention and coin they're receiving as a result. However, an age-old mage is re-awakened and it seems Lord Frith is not the only mage with an ego problem any longer...
This is the second book in The Copper Promise series, but it can actually be read as a stand-alone in retrospect. The Copper Promise had a plot ending and whilst this one contains the same characters, world and general overview, it's less of a trilogy and more of a follow-on. Having said that, there are references to The Copper Promise that are unexplained, so having the background knowledge would be useful.
I have to say I am deeply disappointed with this novel. I thought The Copper Promise was promising, 'scuse the pun and, whilst it had it's flaws, I thought Jen Williams was an author to watch out for. However, I don't think she learnt anything from her first novel and any criticism (positive and negative) she may have been giving was certainly not taken on board.
The Copper Promise started out life as four short novellas and that was evident in the book, as it was split in to four segments with no attempt at meshing them. The Iron Ghost did not start out life as four novellas, but it was still written like it: four sections that were completely unnecessary: there was no point in having four parts at all. Whilst I understand the author may like the idea, if you're having a book split in to parts there needs to be a reason for it, either time-elapse or a different perspective in narration. Neither of these were present and the four-part partition was just an annoyance and stopped the flow of the piece.
The characters were much in the same without any kind of difference from The Copper Promise. Whilst consistency is grand, some kind of character-growth would have been nice, and not just a proclamation of love. There was little to fault the characters except for this, but sometimes secondary characters felt a little flat and just there to be there, especially the resurgence of the Brood Army. It's obvious that they will play an integral part in the third novel, but here, especially with the choppy way these flashbacks were written and inserted at completely random places made the whole piece feel staggered. The chapters as a whole were far too short and often left me feeling like every single one was going to end in a terrible cliff-hanger that would be resolved five chapters hence.
As in The Copper Promise, there was no map so, although world-building is primarily done through the text, fantasy novels rely very heavily on their worlds so a map in fantasy novels is pretty much expected. I thought the world-building in the text was much better done in this novel than in The Copper Promise, but occasionally it fell short. I did enjoy the varying lands and people in The Iron Ghost and this was explored to good effect, much better than in the first novel.
The writing style was the same as in The Copper Promise and was still pretty amateurish. There were the same trills of "suddenly several things happened at once" or "all of a sudden" and "then something funny happened" (paraphrasing but fairly accurate) which is terrible story-telling. There was also far too much dialogue: the whole story was carried via the dialogue. Whilst at times it was real and amusing, very rarely did a paragraph go by that did not contain dialogue. I know dialogue is important, but it needs to be used sparingly and with good effect. Most of the time it was gibberish, and when the plot is carried by the dialogue, you can often miss important information if the dialogue skips from serious plot points to inane drivel that you wish would end.
My rating of this book is very harsh, but that's just because I was sincerely disappointed in the author for not really learning anything from her first novel experience. The story itself, whilst slightly recycled from the first of the series and every fantasy novel out there, was more of a 4 / 5 because it was a good fantasy journey, but altogether the elements produced something which felt amateur at best. I will be reading the rest of the series (I assume it will be a trilogy) but I will certainly lower my expectations for it.
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July 9, 2017
4.5 stars!
Review to come...
I haven't forgot about this review. It's mostly written up but there are a couple of names I don't know how to spell. Fantasy character name... urgh! I write my reviews at work (broken laptop) and the book is at home. Combine this with a bad memory and... well you get the idea.
Review to come...
I haven't forgot about this review. It's mostly written up but there are a couple of names I don't know how to spell. Fantasy character name... urgh! I write my reviews at work (broken laptop) and the book is at home. Combine this with a bad memory and... well you get the idea.
November 26, 2020
Bloody amazing read. Jen Williams has fast become one of my favourite authors!
I'm on mobile so shan't be writing a full review, but let's just say it has so much more of what made The Copper Promise brilliant, and I am IMMEDIATELY starting the third book in the trilogy: The Silver Tide
Read this if you love great characters, epic magic, demons, gods, and dragons!!!
I'm on mobile so shan't be writing a full review, but let's just say it has so much more of what made The Copper Promise brilliant, and I am IMMEDIATELY starting the third book in the trilogy: The Silver Tide
Read this if you love great characters, epic magic, demons, gods, and dragons!!!
November 26, 2019
The Iron Ghost, book 2 in the Copper Cat trilogy by Jen Williams is, well, how can I put it nicely—alright, I guess. I don’t know. I’m a bit lost here. And maybe a little pissed, too. Thing is, I’m super conflicted about this book right now. I totally loved book 1 The Copper Promise, but this sequel seems to me a bit too, for want of a better word, one-sided. Like Williams tried her damnedest to cram in as much action as she could, forgetting in the process to put any effort in, well, everything else. And while the worldbuilding is kind of minimal and the dialogue kind of long-winded, nowhere is it more obvious than in the characterization. Or lack thereof. Indeed, not only are we (happily) reunited with the protagonists (and antagonists) of book 1, but Williams pulls no punches introducing dozens upon dozens of new ones without EVER delving into any of them. And so we are left with a (very) long book full of fighting and magicking, but nothing much else. Which after several hundred pages started to bother me, and after a few more downright irritated the crap out of me. It felt like being in a relationship where the sex is great but the conversation boring, verging on nonexistent. Countless times I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs, “OK, I get it! You guys know how to fight. You guys know your way around magic. You guys can kick some serious ass. BUT WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!? Can you at least tell me that? Can we just sit down and talk awhile over tea? No? No?! NO!?!” So yeah, I’m confused. Big time confused! In the end, I know that I’m going to read book 3 (after all, I already bought it!), but if The Silver Tide (which looks even bigger a book than The Iron Ghost!) turns out to be an all-action-and-nothing-else extravaganza (like this one is), I may end up feeling beyond frustrated. Or downright betrayed. Or both.
December 28, 2016
*Source* NetGalley/Publisher
*Genre* Fantasy, Magic
*Rating* 4
*My Thoughts*
The Iron Ghost, by author Jen Williams, is the second installment in The Copper Cat series. The series features three primary characters; Wydrin Threefellows aka the Copper Cat of Crosshaven, Sebastian Carverson, & Lord Aaron Firth. Following the adventures of The Copper Promise, the three have become the go to trio to call on whenever something strange and magical raises its ugly head. The three have even started calling themselves "Black Feather Three."
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* Fantasy, Magic
*Rating* 4
*My Thoughts*
The Iron Ghost, by author Jen Williams, is the second installment in The Copper Cat series. The series features three primary characters; Wydrin Threefellows aka the Copper Cat of Crosshaven, Sebastian Carverson, & Lord Aaron Firth. Following the adventures of The Copper Promise, the three have become the go to trio to call on whenever something strange and magical raises its ugly head. The three have even started calling themselves "Black Feather Three."
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
February 25, 2015
This book is the second volume in the Copper Promise series; this review may contain mild series spoilers.
You know those books you read when everything else you’ve had to do is really stressful or tedious, and the world and characters between the covers of those books just instantly take you away and let you forget about all the crap for a while? You open it up and everything’s magic, and even though you’ll eventually have to close it again, life is a bit sparklier afterward because you read it. For me, this is the draw of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files – life and the world might getting you down, but here are the kind of people who poke it with sticks and give you a wink, and it really does help.
Now, two books into The Copper Promise series (a trilogy, if I’m not mistaken), I am all but certain I can add Jen Williams to that list. In my review of her first book I praised her writing for bringing good old-fashioned fun back to epic adventure fantasy, without bringing any of the tired old sexist baggage with it. Wydrin of Crosshaven is our strong female lead, and she embodies this in all of the best ways, thoroughly befitting a modern fantasy tale that just happens to have an epic, secondary-world setting. She’s the reason I laugh out loud when I’m reading these books, and I love her utterly for it.
Then there are her fellow adventurers. Aaron Frith and Sebastian Carverson are each the night to Wydrin’s reckless, saucy-minded day, but rather than any of them being outshone or shunted off to one side of the plot, the overall strength of all of Williams’ characters is that they can work well together and on their own. They carry the plot from point A to point B, but with each of them having a chance to tell their own stories and face their own troubles, that plot is wonderfully enriched along the way.
Another notion that Williams seems to have a firm grasp of is how to balance the fun with drama, because good grief, there is so much of it here. Under the snickering, eyebrow-waggling surface, this is not a lightweight kind of story, and the problems that each of these adventurers face, either together or apart, are not the kind you simply check off on a list when you’re done. Frith, in particular, goes through the emotional wringer this time around (as if all the torture that opened the first book wasn’t bad enough) – and without spoiling any of the plot, I have to say that the reasons he does so this time have melted my fangirlish little heart like it’s made of sugar and got left out in the rain. Put that together with the personal journeys undertaken here by Wydrin and Sebastian as well, and I am one hooked little drama-chewing bunny.
Then there are her bad guys. We get a new villainous face as well as a familiar one here, and I don’t want to say too much because of spoilers, but holy handbaskets, Batman. SO MUCH HANDBASKET. Joah Demonsworn is one terrifyingly cold bastard. And yet… He’s not entirely incapable of evoking sympathy, which is honestly making me wonder if there’s anything Jen Williams can’t do right here…
Flag-waving villains aside, and because she is apparently all about the balance, there are new faces in this book that had me scowling with the disapproving “damn it, humanity!” thoughts between the laughs and the dramatic gasps, and some returning characters who earn my applause on account of how interestingly un-villainous they’ve turned out to be. Again, I won’t get spoilery, but there is some real food for thought here regarding those dividing lines, and with good use of point-of-view switches, it’s all handled admirably.
This is how it’s done, quite frankly. If I was ever to find myself undertaking an epic quest, I’d want it to be one like this. (Though I do hope I’d know better than to attempt to drink Wydrin under a table.)
I have to sum up now, lest I simply ramble on forever about how fricking awesome this book is. I almost don’t want this trilogy to come to an end, and yet I cannot wait for part three. So, it’s very much like I said at the start – I have found a new source of comfort reading, and it is fabulous!
You know those books you read when everything else you’ve had to do is really stressful or tedious, and the world and characters between the covers of those books just instantly take you away and let you forget about all the crap for a while? You open it up and everything’s magic, and even though you’ll eventually have to close it again, life is a bit sparklier afterward because you read it. For me, this is the draw of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files – life and the world might getting you down, but here are the kind of people who poke it with sticks and give you a wink, and it really does help.
Now, two books into The Copper Promise series (a trilogy, if I’m not mistaken), I am all but certain I can add Jen Williams to that list. In my review of her first book I praised her writing for bringing good old-fashioned fun back to epic adventure fantasy, without bringing any of the tired old sexist baggage with it. Wydrin of Crosshaven is our strong female lead, and she embodies this in all of the best ways, thoroughly befitting a modern fantasy tale that just happens to have an epic, secondary-world setting. She’s the reason I laugh out loud when I’m reading these books, and I love her utterly for it.
Then there are her fellow adventurers. Aaron Frith and Sebastian Carverson are each the night to Wydrin’s reckless, saucy-minded day, but rather than any of them being outshone or shunted off to one side of the plot, the overall strength of all of Williams’ characters is that they can work well together and on their own. They carry the plot from point A to point B, but with each of them having a chance to tell their own stories and face their own troubles, that plot is wonderfully enriched along the way.
Another notion that Williams seems to have a firm grasp of is how to balance the fun with drama, because good grief, there is so much of it here. Under the snickering, eyebrow-waggling surface, this is not a lightweight kind of story, and the problems that each of these adventurers face, either together or apart, are not the kind you simply check off on a list when you’re done. Frith, in particular, goes through the emotional wringer this time around (as if all the torture that opened the first book wasn’t bad enough) – and without spoiling any of the plot, I have to say that the reasons he does so this time have melted my fangirlish little heart like it’s made of sugar and got left out in the rain. Put that together with the personal journeys undertaken here by Wydrin and Sebastian as well, and I am one hooked little drama-chewing bunny.
Then there are her bad guys. We get a new villainous face as well as a familiar one here, and I don’t want to say too much because of spoilers, but holy handbaskets, Batman. SO MUCH HANDBASKET. Joah Demonsworn is one terrifyingly cold bastard. And yet… He’s not entirely incapable of evoking sympathy, which is honestly making me wonder if there’s anything Jen Williams can’t do right here…
Flag-waving villains aside, and because she is apparently all about the balance, there are new faces in this book that had me scowling with the disapproving “damn it, humanity!” thoughts between the laughs and the dramatic gasps, and some returning characters who earn my applause on account of how interestingly un-villainous they’ve turned out to be. Again, I won’t get spoilery, but there is some real food for thought here regarding those dividing lines, and with good use of point-of-view switches, it’s all handled admirably.
This is how it’s done, quite frankly. If I was ever to find myself undertaking an epic quest, I’d want it to be one like this. (Though I do hope I’d know better than to attempt to drink Wydrin under a table.)
I have to sum up now, lest I simply ramble on forever about how fricking awesome this book is. I almost don’t want this trilogy to come to an end, and yet I cannot wait for part three. So, it’s very much like I said at the start – I have found a new source of comfort reading, and it is fabulous!
July 20, 2016
4.5 Stars
The Iron Ghost (Copper Cat #2) by Jen Williams is a fantastic followup to a really good first book. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in The Copper Cat trilogy and was looking forward to reading the next one and I found it to be even better.
This is a traditional fantasy series with a very strong female lead named the Copper Cat. The Iron Ghost is a magic centered story about the Black Feather Three and a madman. There are some awesome magical fights and spells. There are sword fights, thievery, debauchery, and kick ass action sequences. Williams makes this one work by making her characters feel real and likable. Humor is used throughout to both color up the dialogue, and also to keep things feeling alive.
I loved the epic feel to this adventure. It reminded of of a favorite series of mine, The Noreela series by Tim Lebbon. It also has the feel and style of a Kameron Hurley novel. Of course, the whole way that the Gods are treated is reminiscent of the amazing series The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.
The story is straight forward but the plot has some twists and turns. The Gods and the magic make Copper Promise sparkle. The characters are awesome. Frith, Wydrin, and my favorite Sebastien only get better the second time around. The addition of the Brood Sisters adds a sinister side to our heroes. The Copper Cat steals the show as one tough lady. In book one Sebastian and his whole backstory was the heart and soul of the story and it is Frith that moves The Iron Ghost.
The writing is very good. It is clear, detailed, and overall, well written. The pacing is a strong point. The addition of humor and wit are an added bonus...
A couple of snippets:
... A theme that runs through out.
"‘Love is the forge that transforms us into who we are,’".
....
"‘You are willing to die for love, but not to live for it. What are you afraid of?’ Wydrin felt her cheeks grow warm, and hated herself for it. ‘Oh, you know. The usual. Love is complicated. Love cuts you open and leaves you exposed. Choosing to be vulnerable goes against my nature.’ ‘So better to be reckless? Better to throw away the chance?’ Xinian reached over and squeezed her arm. ‘If you learn nothing else from this ancient ghost, learn that love makes you strong, not weak. It is your glory and your armour.’"
The magic in this book is amazing.
The pacing is breathtakingly fast.
The Black Feather Three are now favorite friends of mine.
The moving mountains are worth your read by themselves.
I really enjoyed the ride and will move on to the next book in the series. I can easily recommend this book to fans of the genre. I am now a devoted Jen Williams fan, she is really a great voice in the genre.
The Iron Ghost (Copper Cat #2) by Jen Williams is a fantastic followup to a really good first book. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in The Copper Cat trilogy and was looking forward to reading the next one and I found it to be even better.
This is a traditional fantasy series with a very strong female lead named the Copper Cat. The Iron Ghost is a magic centered story about the Black Feather Three and a madman. There are some awesome magical fights and spells. There are sword fights, thievery, debauchery, and kick ass action sequences. Williams makes this one work by making her characters feel real and likable. Humor is used throughout to both color up the dialogue, and also to keep things feeling alive.
I loved the epic feel to this adventure. It reminded of of a favorite series of mine, The Noreela series by Tim Lebbon. It also has the feel and style of a Kameron Hurley novel. Of course, the whole way that the Gods are treated is reminiscent of the amazing series The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.
The story is straight forward but the plot has some twists and turns. The Gods and the magic make Copper Promise sparkle. The characters are awesome. Frith, Wydrin, and my favorite Sebastien only get better the second time around. The addition of the Brood Sisters adds a sinister side to our heroes. The Copper Cat steals the show as one tough lady. In book one Sebastian and his whole backstory was the heart and soul of the story and it is Frith that moves The Iron Ghost.
The writing is very good. It is clear, detailed, and overall, well written. The pacing is a strong point. The addition of humor and wit are an added bonus...
A couple of snippets:
... A theme that runs through out.
"‘Love is the forge that transforms us into who we are,’".
....
"‘You are willing to die for love, but not to live for it. What are you afraid of?’ Wydrin felt her cheeks grow warm, and hated herself for it. ‘Oh, you know. The usual. Love is complicated. Love cuts you open and leaves you exposed. Choosing to be vulnerable goes against my nature.’ ‘So better to be reckless? Better to throw away the chance?’ Xinian reached over and squeezed her arm. ‘If you learn nothing else from this ancient ghost, learn that love makes you strong, not weak. It is your glory and your armour.’"
The magic in this book is amazing.
The pacing is breathtakingly fast.
The Black Feather Three are now favorite friends of mine.
The moving mountains are worth your read by themselves.
I really enjoyed the ride and will move on to the next book in the series. I can easily recommend this book to fans of the genre. I am now a devoted Jen Williams fan, she is really a great voice in the genre.
April 26, 2019
Un second tome qui se tient mieux que le précédent, le rendant plus intéressant.
Nos trois comparses, Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian et Lord Aaron Frith sont maintenant assez connus. Ils acceptent un boulot assez simple dans une ville éloignée : retrouver un objet volé. Mais en fait se retrouvent très vite embarqués dans une histoire impliquant démons, dieux, et surtout un nouveau mage que personne n'avait vu venir ...
L'univers fait toujours penser à donjon & dragon, on a le même genre de mythologie et je trouve intéressant de retrouver ce genre de background très riche et foisonnant qui devient rare dans la fantasy actuelle. Il y a énormément de détails sur le passé du monde, plein de ruines d'anciennes civilisations, un nombre incroyable de peuples et races différents (mais sans tomber sur l'elfe ou le nain).
C'est définitivement nostalgique mais j'apprécie beaucoup.
Au final en comparaison avec ce tome, le premier était limite une mise en bouche, un tome qui raconte comment les trois personnages finissent par travailler ensemble. C'était plus un rassemblement de trois histoires individuelles sur leur background et leur problèmes qu'une intrigue globale. Ça manquait un peu de liant en gros.
Ce tome ci n'avait plus du tout ce problème. Certes on a quelques flashback sur Sebastian mais qui sont bien fait et ne coupent pas trop le récit.
Je suis consciente que ça ne plaira surement pas à tout le monde, car maintenant ce genre d'univers plait moins. C'est vrai que ça peut paraître un peu daté ou faire penser à une campagne de d&d (devenu trop courant) aux rolistes.
Mais pour ma part j'ai passé un bon moment. Ça n'est pas le livre du siècle mais je ne me suis pas ennuyé et j'ai été prise par l'intrigue et les personnages.
16/20
Nos trois comparses, Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian et Lord Aaron Frith sont maintenant assez connus. Ils acceptent un boulot assez simple dans une ville éloignée : retrouver un objet volé. Mais en fait se retrouvent très vite embarqués dans une histoire impliquant démons, dieux, et surtout un nouveau mage que personne n'avait vu venir ...
L'univers fait toujours penser à donjon & dragon, on a le même genre de mythologie et je trouve intéressant de retrouver ce genre de background très riche et foisonnant qui devient rare dans la fantasy actuelle. Il y a énormément de détails sur le passé du monde, plein de ruines d'anciennes civilisations, un nombre incroyable de peuples et races différents (mais sans tomber sur l'elfe ou le nain).
C'est définitivement nostalgique mais j'apprécie beaucoup.
Au final en comparaison avec ce tome, le premier était limite une mise en bouche, un tome qui raconte comment les trois personnages finissent par travailler ensemble. C'était plus un rassemblement de trois histoires individuelles sur leur background et leur problèmes qu'une intrigue globale. Ça manquait un peu de liant en gros.
Ce tome ci n'avait plus du tout ce problème. Certes on a quelques flashback sur Sebastian mais qui sont bien fait et ne coupent pas trop le récit.
Je suis consciente que ça ne plaira surement pas à tout le monde, car maintenant ce genre d'univers plait moins. C'est vrai que ça peut paraître un peu daté ou faire penser à une campagne de d&d (devenu trop courant) aux rolistes.
Mais pour ma part j'ai passé un bon moment. Ça n'est pas le livre du siècle mais je ne me suis pas ennuyé et j'ai été prise par l'intrigue et les personnages.
16/20
August 25, 2016
Really good, with surprising twists along the way. If the first book was pretty straightforward, this one has many careful layers and foreshadowing built in.
Wydrin, Sebastian and Frith got a lot more depth here. If in the first book Sebastian was the one who took the brunt of the hard and moral decisions, here this is more evenly spread between them, although Frith has the lead on this one.
Also, there are many more secondary characters, and they also always have at very least their fifteen lines of fame, a lot growing in importance and doing memorable deeds as the story progresses. Unfortunately, Ephemeral, my favorite character since the first book, wasn't one of them and she didn't appear much either. But the other new characters made up for it. The villains are pretty good too.
Another change from the previous book is the tone and atmosphere. The first had a more adventurous feeling, and here, while having heart touching moments between some characters, also have a very grim tone in others.
There are lots of deaths, injuries and sacrifices, as there are two nations at war, a demon, a mad mage and an assassin on the loose, and the heroes also don't shy away from giving the enemy the sharp ends.
In the first book probably there were many more deaths than in here, as Y'ruen wiped out entire cities and orders, but this was told through reports, something that felt too distant and impersonal. Here the characters are always at the center of events, raging and mourning their losses, now all characters we got to know, even if briefly, and the deaths always happens in front of at least one character, shown to us, a much more powerful and welcome change.
This is balanced by Sebastian's doubts and feelings towards his daughters and someone special, Frith remains insufferable and since they tend to be serious, Wydrin's humor really shines.
I also liked that events of the first book are used to remind us of those events. They don't appear just in the beginning as some failed attempt to disguise a summary of the previous book like I've seen some trying to do, but appear throughout the story in small dosages. This is good for those who remember them and for those who don't it will bring the memory back.
Two things that I found strange, though:
Great read, and there are hints of even greater things to come in the next volume.
Wydrin, Sebastian and Frith got a lot more depth here. If in the first book Sebastian was the one who took the brunt of the hard and moral decisions, here this is more evenly spread between them, although Frith has the lead on this one.
Also, there are many more secondary characters, and they also always have at very least their fifteen lines of fame, a lot growing in importance and doing memorable deeds as the story progresses. Unfortunately, Ephemeral, my favorite character since the first book, wasn't one of them and she didn't appear much either. But the other new characters made up for it. The villains are pretty good too.
Another change from the previous book is the tone and atmosphere. The first had a more adventurous feeling, and here, while having heart touching moments between some characters, also have a very grim tone in others.
There are lots of deaths, injuries and sacrifices, as there are two nations at war, a demon, a mad mage and an assassin on the loose, and the heroes also don't shy away from giving the enemy the sharp ends.
In the first book probably there were many more deaths than in here, as Y'ruen wiped out entire cities and orders, but this was told through reports, something that felt too distant and impersonal. Here the characters are always at the center of events, raging and mourning their losses, now all characters we got to know, even if briefly, and the deaths always happens in front of at least one character, shown to us, a much more powerful and welcome change.
This is balanced by Sebastian's doubts and feelings towards his daughters and someone special, Frith remains insufferable and since they tend to be serious, Wydrin's humor really shines.
I also liked that events of the first book are used to remind us of those events. They don't appear just in the beginning as some failed attempt to disguise a summary of the previous book like I've seen some trying to do, but appear throughout the story in small dosages. This is good for those who remember them and for those who don't it will bring the memory back.
Two things that I found strange, though:
Great read, and there are hints of even greater things to come in the next volume.
March 23, 2017
This series is such a great high fantasy series. I loved returning to Sir Sebastian, Wydrin and Lord Frith. They are so much fun with a great chemistry between them all not to mention that each character has a real depth to them (though I'd love to find out more about Wydrin's past). The Iron Ghost brought us into different lands than The Copper Promise. The first book was very much set in a part of the world that was highly populated and a warmer, more forestry environment and climate.. The Iron Ghost was definitely colder. Snow and ice and more mountains with hidden spirits inside of them. I thought the exploration and world building was excellent and I loved finding out more about the Skalds and the Narhls (I found the Narhls particularly interesting - they were like white walkers but like, not the walking undead and mostly nice ).
I took away a star because it just dragged a little bit for me in the middle though by the end I was completely hooked. And I can't wait to see what the Black Feathered Three get up to next! I'm predicting the jungle of Onwai as it was mentioned on three different occasions during The Iron Ghost and my interest is peaked! I definitely recommend this series for fantasy lovers looking for a new adventure!
I took away a star because it just dragged a little bit for me in the middle though by the end I was completely hooked. And I can't wait to see what the Black Feathered Three get up to next! I'm predicting the jungle of Onwai as it was mentioned on three different occasions during The Iron Ghost and my interest is peaked! I definitely recommend this series for fantasy lovers looking for a new adventure!
October 9, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, I was disappointed in this one, but it could have just been me. I liked the first book in the Copper Cat series- it had been stitched together from shorter stories but it worked well as a novel. For whatever reason, I could not get into this one, though. It felt like there was a lot of jumping around. First we're with Wydrin and the gang in current time, trying to decide if they want to take a job in the icy north. Then we're back in time with Sir Sebastian and his dragon women- why? Next we're with an assassin who's killing off a certain bloodline. Then off to the north again, where there are hostile magical people, a mountain with ore that can make metal golems which attach to specific riders with glowing pebbles that burn their way into you, and a job for our heroes to do. There was just a lot of jumping around in time and space, and I couldn't settle any more than the story could. This felt more disjointed than the first book, which wasn't even originally intended to be a book! There are definitely cool ideas- see above for metal golems and humanoid females who are literally the children of a dragon- but they didn't come together for me. Maybe another time I could enjoy this book more- that time may or may not come.
Honestly, I was disappointed in this one, but it could have just been me. I liked the first book in the Copper Cat series- it had been stitched together from shorter stories but it worked well as a novel. For whatever reason, I could not get into this one, though. It felt like there was a lot of jumping around. First we're with Wydrin and the gang in current time, trying to decide if they want to take a job in the icy north. Then we're back in time with Sir Sebastian and his dragon women- why? Next we're with an assassin who's killing off a certain bloodline. Then off to the north again, where there are hostile magical people, a mountain with ore that can make metal golems which attach to specific riders with glowing pebbles that burn their way into you, and a job for our heroes to do. There was just a lot of jumping around in time and space, and I couldn't settle any more than the story could. This felt more disjointed than the first book, which wasn't even originally intended to be a book! There are definitely cool ideas- see above for metal golems and humanoid females who are literally the children of a dragon- but they didn't come together for me. Maybe another time I could enjoy this book more- that time may or may not come.
April 28, 2015
The Review: http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.c....
"Beware the dawning of a new mage...
Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services.
When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin - retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking..."
One of the debut books of 2014 that I really enjoyed was Jen Williams’ awesome The Copper Promise, so when I heard about the sequel The Iron Ghost, there was no way that I wasn’t going to read it, having been so impressed by the first book. It was good to see that the follow up was just as good, offering a suspenseful, action packed and fun sequel that fans of the first book should really enjoy.
Following the events of the first novel, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith now find themselves with plenty of suitors for their services, and are experiencing the perks of being in high demand, and then, they make the mistake of taking up an easy job in the distant city of Skaldshollow. Of course, this job isn’t as easy as it sounds on paper, and soon the characters are thrust back into a conflict where they’re beset from enemies on all sides, allowing for a very interesting second act, that’s well plotted an keeps up the pace of the first novel delivering another strong impression on the reader. Far too often, fantasy trilogies fail at the second hurdle, but I’m happy to say that The Iron Ghost is certainly not one of those.
The characters themselves continue to remain some of the best parts about this book. Sebastian and Aaron Frith are great fun, and it’s good to be reacquainted with them in the sequel. Joining them are the equally excellent additions of characters like the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, who makes a worthy antagonist for the two characters. They are given more depth here and pushed into new and exciting situations that helps keep the book feeling very entertaining indeed.
The pace of the book is excellent and there is never a dull moment. The story is well plotted with confidence and the detail to the world that we’re presented with really helps readers immerse in the story and you’ll be left wanting to read even more. The detail in some of the action sequences is fantastic to see and the focus on the characters, particularly Joah Demonsworn, allows for a very interesting read. The Iron Ghost has a bit of everything that you could want to a sequel of a book that was already a strong debut.
The Iron Ghost was easy to get through, and was something that you don’t have to put too much effort into reading as you’ll find that the pages quickly fly by. The writing is incredibly solid and the book once again keeps the feeling of old, good epic fantasy that remains very fun to read. Williams has solidified a place on my must-read list going forward with a very strong second act, and if you haven’t yet had the chance to read The Copper Promise trilogy, then you should certainly give the first novel a try, because there are a lot of things to love about them both, and I really wouldn’t be surprised to find the sequel on my best of list come the end of the year.
VERDICT: 9/10
"Beware the dawning of a new mage...
Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services.
When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin - retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking..."
One of the debut books of 2014 that I really enjoyed was Jen Williams’ awesome The Copper Promise, so when I heard about the sequel The Iron Ghost, there was no way that I wasn’t going to read it, having been so impressed by the first book. It was good to see that the follow up was just as good, offering a suspenseful, action packed and fun sequel that fans of the first book should really enjoy.
Following the events of the first novel, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith now find themselves with plenty of suitors for their services, and are experiencing the perks of being in high demand, and then, they make the mistake of taking up an easy job in the distant city of Skaldshollow. Of course, this job isn’t as easy as it sounds on paper, and soon the characters are thrust back into a conflict where they’re beset from enemies on all sides, allowing for a very interesting second act, that’s well plotted an keeps up the pace of the first novel delivering another strong impression on the reader. Far too often, fantasy trilogies fail at the second hurdle, but I’m happy to say that The Iron Ghost is certainly not one of those.
The characters themselves continue to remain some of the best parts about this book. Sebastian and Aaron Frith are great fun, and it’s good to be reacquainted with them in the sequel. Joining them are the equally excellent additions of characters like the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, who makes a worthy antagonist for the two characters. They are given more depth here and pushed into new and exciting situations that helps keep the book feeling very entertaining indeed.
The pace of the book is excellent and there is never a dull moment. The story is well plotted with confidence and the detail to the world that we’re presented with really helps readers immerse in the story and you’ll be left wanting to read even more. The detail in some of the action sequences is fantastic to see and the focus on the characters, particularly Joah Demonsworn, allows for a very interesting read. The Iron Ghost has a bit of everything that you could want to a sequel of a book that was already a strong debut.
The Iron Ghost was easy to get through, and was something that you don’t have to put too much effort into reading as you’ll find that the pages quickly fly by. The writing is incredibly solid and the book once again keeps the feeling of old, good epic fantasy that remains very fun to read. Williams has solidified a place on my must-read list going forward with a very strong second act, and if you haven’t yet had the chance to read The Copper Promise trilogy, then you should certainly give the first novel a try, because there are a lot of things to love about them both, and I really wouldn’t be surprised to find the sequel on my best of list come the end of the year.
VERDICT: 9/10
January 23, 2018
idk why y’all are sleeping on these man,, they’re SO fkn Good
full rtc but just know this is my new favouritest favourite series
full rtc but just know this is my new favouritest favourite series
December 18, 2014
Lets start with “Beware the dawning of a new mage”…ha! Brilliant tagline for a brilliant book full of adventure and blinking good characters.
I was a HUGE fan of The Copper Promise, the first outing for our protagonists, it was great fun and a bit like a swashbuckling old school pirate movie in its feel and The Iron Ghost is no different, if anything its even more adventurous as our gang come into their own.
I’m a bit of a funny one with fantasy – the biggest fantasy series out there, The Lord of the Rings, I have never managed to get along with either in book or film form. It just goes on a bit..and on…and, well you get the picture. What I love about Jen Williams and her writing is how she manages to blend effortlessly a beautiful old school feel to the whole thing and a thoroughly modern twist that brings it bang up to date. It flows beautifully, is never dull, doesnt ramble but manages to keep you right in the heart of it throughout. Lovely jubbly.
I’m madly in love with the characters, the setting, the world building – and just about everything you need for a great fantasy read is right here. The Promise of the first book has been solidified, no second book syndrome to be found and overall I HIGHLY recommend both this and “The Copper Promise” to anyone looking for a rollicking good tale and a whole lot of reading fun.
Happy Reading Folks!
I was a HUGE fan of The Copper Promise, the first outing for our protagonists, it was great fun and a bit like a swashbuckling old school pirate movie in its feel and The Iron Ghost is no different, if anything its even more adventurous as our gang come into their own.
I’m a bit of a funny one with fantasy – the biggest fantasy series out there, The Lord of the Rings, I have never managed to get along with either in book or film form. It just goes on a bit..and on…and, well you get the picture. What I love about Jen Williams and her writing is how she manages to blend effortlessly a beautiful old school feel to the whole thing and a thoroughly modern twist that brings it bang up to date. It flows beautifully, is never dull, doesnt ramble but manages to keep you right in the heart of it throughout. Lovely jubbly.
I’m madly in love with the characters, the setting, the world building – and just about everything you need for a great fantasy read is right here. The Promise of the first book has been solidified, no second book syndrome to be found and overall I HIGHLY recommend both this and “The Copper Promise” to anyone looking for a rollicking good tale and a whole lot of reading fun.
Happy Reading Folks!
January 15, 2017
I really enjoy Williams' first installment featuring the Copper Cat and her disreputable companions, and like its predecessor The Iron Ghost is filled with excellent characters who embark on fantastic, yet morally ambiguous adventures in which our heroes learn that they should yet again be asking more questions before agreeing to taking on a job.
The only complaint that I have with The Iron Ghost is that it didn't seem different enough from the first book. I would have liked to have seen more focus on the characters and how they have been changed by their adventures (both past and present). Instead, The Iron Ghost ended up reading more like filler segments that are building towards a bigger event. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but it did make for a less satisfying reading experience than the first book.
If you enjoyed The Copper Cat this second book will appeal, if only to see what the intrepid trio is up to. There is a lot of development in larger world of the book, which will presumably have an impact in the next book, but I will be reading to see how Cat, Aaron and Sebastian ultimately solve their lasting problems.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
The only complaint that I have with The Iron Ghost is that it didn't seem different enough from the first book. I would have liked to have seen more focus on the characters and how they have been changed by their adventures (both past and present). Instead, The Iron Ghost ended up reading more like filler segments that are building towards a bigger event. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but it did make for a less satisfying reading experience than the first book.
If you enjoyed The Copper Cat this second book will appeal, if only to see what the intrepid trio is up to. There is a lot of development in larger world of the book, which will presumably have an impact in the next book, but I will be reading to see how Cat, Aaron and Sebastian ultimately solve their lasting problems.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
February 24, 2015
Jen Williams's second novel, The Iron Ghost, is published this Thursday (26 February 2015) and I was lucky enough to get an advance review copy through NetGalley.
The Iron Ghost is a much stronger novel that The Copper Promise. The plot is more coherent, with a single narrative thread running through the book. Instead of a series of dungeon raids culminating in boss battles, our three adventurers are hired for a specific job. Only it transpires that they were hired on false pretences by an old adversary and have to deal with the consequences. This gives the novel a greater sense of pace and peril.
The characters have more depth than in the first novel too. For the first time we start to see them having to confront the consequences of their actions. There might not be much in the way of serious soul-searching, but there are difficult choices to be made and Sebastian and Frith both have to address the question of whether the ends justify the taking of otherwise unethical actions.
Like its predecessor, The Iron Ghost is a fun, fast-paced read. Only slicker and more polished. Great fun!
The Iron Ghost is a much stronger novel that The Copper Promise. The plot is more coherent, with a single narrative thread running through the book. Instead of a series of dungeon raids culminating in boss battles, our three adventurers are hired for a specific job. Only it transpires that they were hired on false pretences by an old adversary and have to deal with the consequences. This gives the novel a greater sense of pace and peril.
The characters have more depth than in the first novel too. For the first time we start to see them having to confront the consequences of their actions. There might not be much in the way of serious soul-searching, but there are difficult choices to be made and Sebastian and Frith both have to address the question of whether the ends justify the taking of otherwise unethical actions.
Like its predecessor, The Iron Ghost is a fun, fast-paced read. Only slicker and more polished. Great fun!
March 4, 2015
The Iron Ghost is to The Copper Promise what The Wrath of Khan is to The Motion Picture or The Empire Strikes Back to A New Hope. It is a sequel/follow-up/second part that equals and overtakes the original. Yet again Jen Williams has caught lightening and channeled the spirits of the pulp greats of the 1920s & 30s to create a gripping, funny and entertaining story that not only expands the world she has created but makes it a whole lot more kickass.
I remember reading an interview Ron E Howard did where he said when he writes Conan its as if the character is in the room with him and he is just putting down in words the stories he tells. Jen tells a story like that, ts as if your sat round the campfire all huddled together listing.
Great stuff cant wait for the final installment.
I remember reading an interview Ron E Howard did where he said when he writes Conan its as if the character is in the room with him and he is just putting down in words the stories he tells. Jen tells a story like that, ts as if your sat round the campfire all huddled together listing.
Great stuff cant wait for the final installment.
October 28, 2015
I loved the Copper Promise so i was looking forward to this,and it didn't disappoint. Jen Williams ups the action and suspense to massive levels,making it feel relentless,especially in the last half of the book. New places to visit in Ede,new characters (and old) and new beasties makes this a must read. And Joah Demonsworth...what a bastard.I love a good baddie and he certainly is.Power corrupts! All this makes for a brilliant read at a neck-breaking pace.Loved it.
January 29, 2018
You’ve been trudging through the slush and cold for days. You’re shaking with exhaustion, your extremities tingling in a sensation akin to burning.
Stumbling into base-camp, you’re grateful you made it before nightfall. The flames of the camp fire are a welcome sight after endless days of blinding snow, of mountains looming over you, of questioning your sanity.
A softly steaming tin mug is thrust into your hands and a familiar voice purrs,
“You don’t half travel far for a good story, do you?”
“You? How are you – No, that’s not why I’m – ”
“Sit down before you fall down. This time, I reckon you need a special kind of story. A story for your very soul. You treasure your soul, don’t you? What price would you pay for yours? Would you strike a bargain with a mage? A demon? Or would you entrust it to the very spirit of these mountains? Let me tell you of wyverns, mountains that move, cities sunk below waves, grief and loss and vengeance…”
That’s right, Wydrin, Sebestian and Frith are back and are on “one last job”.
I have a confession. I didn’t fall as deeply into this one, Jen Williams’ second book of her Copper Cat Trilogy, as I did The Copper Promise.
The first book was like a fever, but this was more like a slower burn.
It did take me a while to feel as invested as last time. I think my problem may have been that during the first part of the book, there were lots of little reminders of what happened in the last book (e.g. during dialogue), that I didn’t feel I necessarily needed (as I’d only just read the last book) and so slowed the flow of the narrative a little.
Another thing I struggled with at first was the jump in time; events in the second book do not continue immediately on from the first, and you are given hints of things you missed. The characters suddenly have a different chemistry because of these events, and I found it a little disorientating.
But the flow soon picked back up again as the action begins to kick in. And that’s something you can certainly commend Jen for; her books are rammed with plenty of action. The combat is exciting and you genuinely don’t know where Jen is going to take you next, or what the characters will be pitted against. Jen has a wonderful, broad, sometimes bizarre, imagination and the things she brings to life in her pages never cease to amaze. I’d be hard pressed to think of another instance where I’ve read a line like “follow that centipede”.
Don’t worry though, just like The Copper Promise, this isn’t a book which focuses all its attention on the action and so produces shallow characters. Jen balances the book beautifully; our heroes are truly put through their paces emotionally, with hangovers carried forward from the first book (big tick for continuity) and plenty of reflections upon their actions. Their drives and desires are explored but never become tiresome. We marvel in their strengths but their vulnerabilities are equally as important.
Stumbling into base-camp, you’re grateful you made it before nightfall. The flames of the camp fire are a welcome sight after endless days of blinding snow, of mountains looming over you, of questioning your sanity.
A softly steaming tin mug is thrust into your hands and a familiar voice purrs,
“You don’t half travel far for a good story, do you?”
“You? How are you – No, that’s not why I’m – ”
“Sit down before you fall down. This time, I reckon you need a special kind of story. A story for your very soul. You treasure your soul, don’t you? What price would you pay for yours? Would you strike a bargain with a mage? A demon? Or would you entrust it to the very spirit of these mountains? Let me tell you of wyverns, mountains that move, cities sunk below waves, grief and loss and vengeance…”
That’s right, Wydrin, Sebestian and Frith are back and are on “one last job”.
I have a confession. I didn’t fall as deeply into this one, Jen Williams’ second book of her Copper Cat Trilogy, as I did The Copper Promise.
The first book was like a fever, but this was more like a slower burn.
It did take me a while to feel as invested as last time. I think my problem may have been that during the first part of the book, there were lots of little reminders of what happened in the last book (e.g. during dialogue), that I didn’t feel I necessarily needed (as I’d only just read the last book) and so slowed the flow of the narrative a little.
Another thing I struggled with at first was the jump in time; events in the second book do not continue immediately on from the first, and you are given hints of things you missed. The characters suddenly have a different chemistry because of these events, and I found it a little disorientating.
But the flow soon picked back up again as the action begins to kick in. And that’s something you can certainly commend Jen for; her books are rammed with plenty of action. The combat is exciting and you genuinely don’t know where Jen is going to take you next, or what the characters will be pitted against. Jen has a wonderful, broad, sometimes bizarre, imagination and the things she brings to life in her pages never cease to amaze. I’d be hard pressed to think of another instance where I’ve read a line like “follow that centipede”.
Don’t worry though, just like The Copper Promise, this isn’t a book which focuses all its attention on the action and so produces shallow characters. Jen balances the book beautifully; our heroes are truly put through their paces emotionally, with hangovers carried forward from the first book (big tick for continuity) and plenty of reflections upon their actions. Their drives and desires are explored but never become tiresome. We marvel in their strengths but their vulnerabilities are equally as important.
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