Iron Bones is the fourth book of the Dragon Wars series by Craig Halloran, and it is the most action-packed of the bunch I have read so far. This fantasy series is well-written, fast-paced, and perfect for the specific audience Halloran endeavors to address. The entire series is geared toward attracting a non-reading group of gamers of junior high school age that have a bend toward high fantasy.
That is not to say that readers of all ages do not find these books fascinating. In fact, I myself am a middle-aged man that finds these novels thrilling. This story of two blood brothers, one a very strong human named Dyphestive and the other an elf with particular skill as a cutpurse named Grey Cloak, has a way of keeping the reader entertained. There are way too-many characters at this point, and way too-many factions endeavoring to enlist the services of the brothers but still interest as to where the plot is going has not waned.
Here, Grey Cloak has been conscripted to the Sky Riders after supposedly falling in battle. He has spent the better part of the last book discreetly trying to find Dyphestive with the help of Talon. He has found his brother, and he must now reject the Sky Riders in order to free him, because it is clear that Dyphestive has changed to do things that he would never have done before joining the Black Frost army. Grey Cloak fears that he may already be too late to fend the corrupting influence of Black Frost.
This is an excellent series with two very well-defined main characters that clearly have more adventure to share. The villains are ample; their allies are numerous with varying fantasy tropes either affirmed or repelled. Rich in story and deep in action.