The Iron Tower

Iron Tower Trilogy #1-3

by Dennis L. McKiernan

An omnibus anthology containing the first three novels set in the magical world of Mithgar features The Dark Tide, Shadows of Doom, and The Darkest Day, accompanied by an all-new introduction to the series by the author. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Literature

648 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 30, 1986

About the author

McKiernan was born in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri and received a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1958 and an M.S. in the same field from Duke University in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T, initially at Western Electric but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.

In 1977, while riding his motorcycle, McKiernan was hit by a car which had crossed the center-line, and was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast, for many months. During his recuperation, he boldly began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.

McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales draw from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.

McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

(Biography taken from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Milton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite feeling I felt while reading this book was that it really felt like every nook and cranny in Mithgar held a history. Wherever the story was taking place, you could feel the history of the place. Every ruin, every forest, every fortress, every town and even every house held a sense of life to it. I had lots of fun discovering that the world of Mithgar is old and it has a history. It's both amazing and brutal! I'm really excited for more!

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread of a book I read so long ago.

It’s funny thinking back to why I originally picked it up. It was actually a friend of mine saying if you loved LOTR you’ll love this.

And I did.

Yes there are similarities but for those who enjoy pure escapism in the classic fantasy world it hits the spot. :)

A great palette cleanser.

[Scott Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read some widely mixed reviews of this series. What strikes me is that many of the bad reviews read more like rants than anything else. I suspect these reviewers are so angry that the books exist, they feel the need to spew. For some time now in our society- from my viewpoint, starting with rock journalism- insults and putdowns have been accepted as intelligent discussion. Now with the internet cutting out the editorial process, we can add profanity to the list. Work done, book reviewed.

So I read the series for myself. I made up my own mind. And in my own mind: It's not as good as The Lord Of The Rings, not by a long shot...but it's not as bad as some people think.

Had I written the series, I might have though twice about the word 'Dimmendark.' And I groaned a bit each time the characters referred to another Darkday, as they rode across the 'Scape. Here's something not every fantasy fan seems to know: In addition to being an authority on language, J.R.R. Tolkien was quite careful in how he used it. All of his characters do not speak in the same manner. Quick note: Hobbits do not use the high speech. Rankin Bass seemed not to realize this, wherever original dialogue was added to their animated Return Of The King. Again: Hobbits do not use the high speech.

But I fear that our understanding of high fantasy has become more informed over the years by Dungeons and Dragons and the entire role playing mindset than by study of the sources to which Tolkien turned. And I think it helps to think of The Iron Tower Trilogy in a vein similar to fantasy role playing. We take the tropes, mix them around, and tell our own story, whether or not we have the background to understand what we're doing.

No, The Iron Tower Trilogy is not a carbon copy of Lord Of The Rings. That accusation suggests that McKiernan copied the plot point by point. Instead, he took many of the plot points, mixed them with many of his own, changed the sequence of events, and told the same kind of story his way. And no, it does not, as some reviewers have suggested, make The Sword Of Shannara look like an oasis of originality by comparison. Not at all. Shannara was just as derivative, and, in some ways, more so. Saying that is just another example of the kind of review-by-putdown approach I mentioned before.

Differences?
Many characters from LOTR have no equivalent here: Gandalf, Gollum, Samwise, Boromir, Faramir to name a few. The closest thing to Merry and Pippin are Hob and Tarpy- but they're killed off early on.

We also have characters whose like do not appear in LOTR. Danner, Patrel and Merrilee are three examples.

Tuck has no specific mission to match Frodo's. He's along on this quest because he and his friends have trained for it. He has no ring or other object to safeguard and then destroy.

Frodo failed in his mission and had his bacon saved unintentionally by Gollum. Tuck succeeds in his mission. Yes, he goes blind, but he does succeed.

Modru is closer in many ways to Saruman than to Sauron. Many people have questioned Tolkien's choice in not showing his Big Bad, by keeping Sauron an off stage villain. Modru's B-movie cheesiness starts to make Tolkien's seem like the wiser decision.

The closest part of the series to LOTR is the crossing of the Drimmen-Deeve- equivalent to Moria. But in place of the truly frightening Balrog- a beast made more of fire than of solid matter, we have the Gargon- a big reptile. It's essentially a rubber suit monster from a Japanese horror film. And after being built up as an evil so terrifying that it's scared away generations of Dwarves and strikes fear at the very mention of its name- it's dispatched pretty 1-2-3. Four of our heroes: a man, a dwarf, an elf and a warrow poke it a few times and push it into a flaming bridge. Wow, he sure was made of some tough stuff, huh?

But I did enjoy the series in spite of its flaws- and its audacity. I'm now reading the sequel, The Silver Call, and here's what surprises me: the sequel was actually written first, but so far it's written better. Could it be he had to rush out The Iron Tower Trilogy to meet Doubleday's demand for a lead-in? I don't know, but the book written second has more of the awkwardness of an untrained writer than the one written first.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

If you have a hankering for old fashioned, straight-forward, Tolkien-inspired High Fantasy adventure - rich world-building, dire straits, overwhelming odds, high stakes, the occasional poem/song, half-sized hobbits (sort of) warrows, graceful elves, stubborn dwarves, cantankerous warriors, doomed sieges, spunky damsels in distress, and courageous princes on uncertain quests (including through the Moria Drimmen-Deeve); all while battling the armies and vile creatures (the walking corpse ghuls, ogres ogrus, hloks, goblins rucks, wargs vulgs) of the current Dark Lord's iron-masked, wizard lieutenant - then you may enjoy this fast-paced, entertaining romp through Mithgar while on a mission to save the world from a returning Satan Morgoth Evil and the never ending Dark. I probably would have enjoyed this more as a teenager, but it was still fun to read.

[Shari Mulluane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those series that I consider a "fun" read. After reading so many dark tales lately with deep issues, unique magic systems and blurred lines between good and evil, I was in the mood for some traditional fantasy where the "bad" people are pure evil and the "good" people were shining examples of honor, loyalty, and high moral standards. This series fit the bill. I really loved reading a tale where I knew exactly who was what and knew that good must triumph and evil will be defeated. Another thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was that this series is written in a "storytelling" type style. As I read it, I could easily imagine myself sitting around a fire listening as a talented storyteller or bard related this tale to a group of wide-eyed kids and equally wide-eyed adults. Might not cut it against today's gritty, personal and darkly emotional stories but to me it was a delight. In addition, the ending is both poignant and sweet, wrapping up what can only be described as a classic fantasy tale.

Full Review Here:
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards

[Don Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Iron Tower trilogy is continually derided by many Lord of the Rings partisans due to being very similar to that trilogy (deliberately, since it was conceived as a sequel). Such readers are making a mistake, because despite the similarity, there are enough differences to appreciate.

Many characters are directly analogous to Lord of the Rings characters, but some are not, and a few of the analogous characters in The Iron Tower are slightly more developed.

But the biggest difference by far is stylistic. The mood and tone of The Iron Tower, and Dennis McKiernan's writing style, are completely different from Tolkien's for Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings' Middle-earth is a fairly clean, bright and antiseptic environment, and the trilogy's depiction of violence is never very graphic. The darkness lies in the characters: Frodo's angst; corruption among the wizards; frustration and disagreement among the human leaders as their armies prepare to fight the enemy.

The Iron Tower is a perfect mirror image of this, treating its setting and characters the opposite way. The environment (Mithgar) is less pastoral and more Gothic than Middle-Earth: darker (including literally, since the villain has placed it in perpetual darkness) and more dangerous. The monsters are nastier, more detailed (some of them are disgusting!), more diverse, and more personable (e.g., they speak more than the monsters in Lord of the Rings). In particular, the main villain of the Iron Tower has a personality and heavy dialogue; whereas Sauron, the villain of Lord of the Rings, is an unseen villain who never personally appears. More people get wounded or killed, with a caravan of civilians being slaughtered and an Elf being tortured to death (with a graphic depiction)
But The Iron Tower's characters are more cheerful, collegiate, and overtly heroic. In a word, McKiernan's approach toward his entire story is Romantic, while Tolkien's is more realistic in most respects.

Although I preferred The Iron Tower (having discovered it much earlier), I liked both stories, and I'm sorry anyone else doesn't.





06/04/2017
Notes comparing the trilogies.

Warrows vs. Hobbits. Warrows are McKiernan's version of Hobbits. In both trilogies, the protagonist is one of them.
Physical similarities. Both Warrows and Hobbits may be the same height--I don't recall--but both are much shorter than humans.
Physical differences. The Warrows have “jewel-like” eyes that can see for very long distances and also see in the supernatural darkness created by the villains of The Iron Tower. As far as I recall, Hobbits don't have this feature.
Characterization
Age. The main Hobbit characters—Bilbo, Frodo and Sam—are neither very young nor particularly old (although Bilbo has aged considerably by the time of The Fellowship of the Ring). Three of the four main Warrow heroes are in their late teens. Essentially, they're kids while all the Hobbits are mature adults.
Social habits. The Hobbits are said to live quiet lives and may be not particularly sociable. Both Bilbo and Frodo live alone. They somewhat resemble gnomes to me in lifestyle. The Warrows live in similar or identical dwellings, but resemble humans more than Hobbits socially. Life in the Warrows' town is explored fairly extensively in three locales—the protagonist's archery school, the local tavern (where many Warrows discuss a problem that portends the conflict of the story), and the protagonist's house where he lives with his parents.
Numbers. As far as I remember, the only Hobbits who receive substantial characterization (if others appear at all) are Bilbo, Frodo and Sam. McKiernan uses a much larger number of Warrow characters, and in the first book, most of them form an ensemble cast. There are four main characters, two or three more who travel with them in a group in the first book but die early on, and dozens of townspeople. (The Warrow towns become part of the plot later, unlike the Shire of the Hobbits, which serves only as the place the Hobbit protagonists leave and return to.)

Tuck vs. Frodo.
Contrasting characteristics. Tuck is a boy coming of age, while Frodo appears to be mature (though not old). The only similarity they share besides being the star of their story is feeling troubled during their journey. But the angst is more intense for Frodo, because the ring begins to corrupt him and because self-doubt torments him. Tuck does not have an all-important object that he has to carry somewhere. His unhappiness arises almost entirely from his family and close friends dying in the war, and he is more reflective than miserable; he keeps a journal and occasionally philosophizes with other characters (as, unlike Frodo, he is almost always in a group, sometimes a large group).
Mission. While Frodo’s mission is to go to Mount Doom and destroy the ring there while an army of his allies runs interference by battling Sauron’s forces, Tuck does not have a parallel quest. Tuck’s mission is simpler: he is a soldier. Initially, he and his friends join a Warrow militia intending only to protect its homeland from a sudden threat. They eventually get drawn into a worldwide war between the the peaceful peoples of Mithgar (humans, Warrows, Elves, Dwarves) and Modru’s forces. Tuck and other Warrows serve the Mithgar army as w."arriors (all are skilled archers) and scouts (only they can see far in the supernatural darkness).
Personal relationships. Frodo’s only personal relationship (other than Bilbo, his uncle) is with his friend Sam. Tuck is close friends with several other Warrows, makes friends with other characters as they battle Modru, and marries his girlfriend after the war.

Wizards. Unlike in LR, wizards have no substantial role in IT. The only wizard who appears at all is Modru, and only occasionally does he actually use magic. His plot actually involves constant use of magic and invocation of the supernatural, but these are circumstantial at most times.

Antagonists. The antagonist of LR is the shadowy villain Sauron, who never actually appears. IT has two antagonists.
Modru. The primary villain is a four thousand-year-old wizard who wears a “hideous iron mask” at all times and is one-dimensionally evil. Like Sauron, he apparently wants to rule the world, but his means are completely different. He willingly serves Gyphon.
Gyphon. Evidently Satan, he has been “exiled beyond the spheres” by Adon (God). Modru’s goal is to bring Gyphon back using magic and certain material assistance Gyphon provided before his exile. Afterward, Gyphon will make Modru ruler of Mithgar. Gyphon appears only briefly at the climax of IT and only a hint of his nature and personality are shown.

Other characters. IT uses a larger cast of characters than LR, of which Warrows are only the most prominent part.

Galen. The older prince in Mithgar’s royal family, and leader of a small group that crosses Mithgar in the second book to join th its surviving army. Obviously analogous to Aragorn, but younger; initially a prince; and already king by the end of the second book.
Igon. The younger prince is gallant but more impulsive and emotional than Galen. He may somewhat resemble one of the princes in Lord of the Rings--I forget his name--who appears at the end of The Two Towers or the beginning of Return of the King.
Laurelin: Laurelin is princess in Mithgar’s royal family and betrothed to Galen. Not a warrior woman but a damsel-in-distress character, she has no analog in LR.
Aurion: king of Mithgar during the first book. He leads the first battle against Modru's army at his castle, and dies in an unsuccessful attempt to escape when the enemy defeats his army and destroys the castle. Between his positioning in the trilogy and his dying, he has no obvious analog in LR.
Rael: a female Elf, consort of Talarin, ruler of the Elves. She is one of the more obvious LR analogs, being very similar to LR's Galadriel but possibly older.
Gildor: an Elf, son of Talarin and Rael. He is obviously a copy of Legolas, serving exactly the same role; but he is characterized with somewhat more depth.
Vanidor: Gildor's twin brother, who attempts to rescue Laurelin from Modru and serves an important plot purpose as the person to learn Modru's ultimate plan and warn the others. He has no analog in LR, Legolas having no known brother.
Vidron: King Aurion's general. He survives the battle that destroys Challerain Keep and kills Aurion, and reappears at the end of the second book. He is a certain stereotype of an old warrior; he can be either gruff or good-humored. As far as I recall, he has no obvious LR analog.
Patrel: a Warrow, leader of the militia Tuck and his friends join to protect their homeland. No LR analog.
Danner: a Warrow, one of Tuck's childhood friends. He is temperamental, aggressive, and pugnacious. No LR analog.

Monsters. This is one area where IT largely differs from LR, especially in the monsters comprising the villain's army. McKiernan's monsters are generally more Gothic than Tolkien's; they tend to speak more; and they behave more like human thugs. Tolkien's monsters are more animalistic.

Monsters in IT
Ghuls. Intelligent corpse-like creatures, they are the commanders and most dangerous warriors of Modru's army. No analog in LR.
Rucks. Identified with goblins, they are the most numerous creature in Modru's army. They are not very powerful or skilled but function to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers. They are undoubtedly the counterpart of Tolkien's orcs; but unlike orcs, they display human intelligence and working-class speech consistent with their position.
Hloks. The least described of the five monster races in Modru's army, they are said to be the size of humans and may generally resemble them. They supervise Rucks, driving them forward with cat-o-nine-tails. One is later seen battling a Dwarf alone with a scimitar. No LR analog.
Ogrus. Brutish and unintelligent creatures indicated to be giant trolls. Extremely strong and powerful and nearly invulnerable, but very rare--only a few appear among Modru's forces.
Vulgs: Wolflike animals with a poisonous bite.

Monsters in LR, by comparison
Nazgul. There is no monster in IT physically resembling the Nazgul, but the Vulgs serve almost exactly the same role.
Balrog/Gargon. In the second book of IT, a group travels through Drimmen-Deeve, a long underground passage exactly analogous to Moria in LR: built by Dwarves but now controlled by Modru, and inhabited by the Gargon--a counterpart to the Balrog but a completely different creature. The Gargon is a vaguely described humanoid but animalistic creature; I had the impression it resembles a Ghul. It can blast opponents with overwhelming fear, rendering them helpless. (Drimmen-Deeve is empty because the Gargon's fear-casting forced the Dwarves out.) Rather than someone sacrificing itself to defeat it as Gandalf with the Balrog, IT's heroes kill the Gargon in a group attack, and barely escape.
Kraken. Before the heroes enter Drimmen-Deeve, they find the gate blocked by a Kraken, the giant sea monster of real-world myth, and must get past it. There is no similar monster in LR.
Giant spider. The giant spider that captures Frodo has no analog in IT, neither a similar monster nor a similar role.

Other creatures and characters in LR with substantial differences from IT or no analog in LR.

Tom Bombadil. A neutral character who does not participate in the war and has little bearing on the plot. There is nobody resembling Bombadil in IT; and as far as I recall, IT contains no neutrals at all; every character and race directly or indirectly supports either Mithgar or Modru.
Ents. IT contains no race or character remotely resembling the Ents.
Dwarves. Both trilogies feature Dwarves, but McKiernan's Dwarves are more overtly warlike than Tolkien's, and receive much less depiction and detail. In fact there is probably only one Dwarf character in IT, certainly only one with substantial characterization.

Thornwall. The Warrows' land is protected by a large, thick barrier of thorns impenetrable by most means. The Warrows do not know about the larger war outside, and initially form a militia only to patrol the Thornwall in response to Vulgs being spotted in or near it. I remember no similar structure or plot point in LR.


Religion

Religion is much more overtly involved in IT than in LR. Characters explicitly acknowledge God and seek his guidance, using the Hebrew name Adon. At least once, a character prays to Adon. But the simple fact is overshadowed by the conflict of IT being part of a war between Adon and Gyphon (Satan). The backstory is a "War of the Ban" millennia ago in which Gyphon apparently tried to take over creation. It ended with Adon exiling Gyphon beyond the Spheres and forbidding the creatures that served Modru from appearing in daylight; they would die, hence "Adon's Ban." Modru, using assistance which Gyphon provided before being exiled, has created a worldwide supernatural darkness which allows his army of banned monsters to travel freely without being destroyed by the sun.
The other way religion factors more heavily into IT concerns the Elves. Elves are not immortal, but are explicitly said to be "of Adonar"; this is never explained fully, but Elves apparently can communicate with Adon more easily and directly than other races, and can even travel between Adonar (heaven) and Mithga
Geography. I don't much remember whether Lord of the Rings identified any region of Middle-Earth with any geographical area of the real world; but if you read IT closely enough, you can see small hints--some quite explicit--of certain places or cultures in Mithgar probably representing places in the real world.
Mithgar/Germany. McKiernan explicitly states in a foreward or note that the human language used in Mithgar "resembles Old High German." McKiernan was obviously following Tolkien's lead in making the language Germanic.
Wellen/Wales. There is a place named Wellen, not depicted, where Vidron states he went for reinforcements after he escaped Mithgar's defeat in the first battle. The Wellen army is shown flying a flag that conspicuously resembles the real-world flag of Wales. At least one location (not necessarily in Wellen) has a Welsh-sounding name.
Valon/Jord. The Harlingar, Vidron's people, live in Valon; but their ancestral home is said to be Jord, a country of tundra and steppes that sounds like Scandinavia.
Jugo. Depicted only briefly at the climax of the third book, Jugo is some country far away whose people worship Gyphon, and war against the King's forces in support of Modru. I won't say what real-world people they might represent; but between their physical description, their "jemadars" (look up the word), and their prophecy claiming Gyphon will appear as their god, it's obvious who McKiernan based them on.

Authors' writing styles and literary styles. McKiernan's and Tolkien's styles differ in two ways.
Rhetorical and grammatical. IT constantly uses ornate, flowery language throughout, and is also prone to using obscure words. (An example is "jongleurs [entertainers, probably jugglers] strolled" in the context of a brief description of life in the city of Challerain on the eve of an assault from Modru's army. He also uses a combination of courtly speech and casually medieval language, and a romanticized medieval diction. LR's rhetoric and grammar are contemporary for its time, and fairly unadorned. The language overall sounds almost Hemingway-esque in comparison with IT.
Narrator. IT uses a completely omniscient third-person narrator who can comment on characters' unspoken thoughts and feelings. LR uses a third-person limited narrator who rarely if ever editorializes. Tolkien prefers to display his characters' thoughts or feelings through dialogue, when he does.
Comic relief. IT contains a few obviously lighthearted scenes and some blatant comic relief, which I did not find in LR.
Romance. Two fervent romantic couplings between separated characters are constant in IT: Tuck and his Warrow girlfriend Merrilee; Galen and his fiance Laurelin.
Literary style and overall effect. Tolkien and McKiernan attempted to create an epic. But IT uses, in addition to its ornate language, a pronounced Romantic style that contrasts interestingly with its grim depiction of combat, suffering and death (far more extensive and explicit than LR) and its Gothic villains and monsters. This Romanticism makes it hard to consider the trilogy "dark" overall, and makes it feel more like a medieval book of chivalry than a classical epic. In other words, it's dark in content but light in style. LR is exactly the opposite. Its style is stark and simplistic enough to feel serious and possibly grim, but the actual events comprising the plot are less dark and less bloody.

[Bjørnar Tuftin · Rating 1 out of 5]

How this book gets so high a rating amazes me. McKiernan has put tracing paper over Lord of the Rings and made a copy. Nearly everything can be recognized as a pale shadow of Tolkiens races and story and just as you think McKiernan is done with the copying and is setting off on his own you're back at the mines of Moria or the burning of the Shire.

[Ralph Pulner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for people who like fantasy world building, quests, destiny, impossible odds, hardships, and staring at maps. Literal pages of man, elves, dwarves and Warrow talking about directions and alternate directions. Somehow it works. McKiernan writes beautifully, interspersed with his created language for the races. There are also poems and songs, like every great fantasy novel should have.
In the end, the thing that irked me was everyone was just so damn...civil. So pleasant, so kind to each other. So heroic. This may just be a character flaw of myself, but I relate more to flawed characters. Give me a dumb S.O.B. who occasionally does the right thing over Mr. and Mrs. perfect any day.

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I admit I didn't make it all the way through this one. Some books copy the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy's overall tone or characters. This one actually copies specific plot details. The imitation was so painfully obvious I felt insulted. Terrible.

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. I guess.

I read these in third or fourth grade, and while I haven't read them since, this series was fundamental in my early reading. It was big, epic, and relatively accessible for a precocious kid. The Iron Tower's impact on my reading cannot be overstated. For one thing, I hadn't read Tolkien yet. I remember sitting in the balcony at church -- during the service -- reading one of these, having just gotten it as a Christmas gift that morning (this would likely make that year 1988, and me 11). Also, McKiernan was, at that time, living in Ohio. Westerville, to be exact, the quiet peaceful village where I would later attend college, first kiss and later propose to my wife, and, today, where I raise my family. The Iron Tower was the first time I'd ever heard of a place I have come to know intimately.

None of which speaks to its literary merit. Saying that McKiernan is indebted to Tolkien is practically hyperbole. And while there are moments where I was actually interested -- the completely ripped off trek under the mountain, the final battle, and, surprisingly, the denouement after that battle -- these books are excruciatingly boring. No characters are developed beyond being named and showing up over and over. Most of the narrative is just [character name] going [cardinal direction] to/through/past [made up place name]. It's not only redundant -- the lack of description makes it faceless and difficult to imagine. If you love books in which onomatopoeia -- Doom! Thwak! -- are substituted for description, I've got your five star book right here.

Why did I keep reading this? I guess there was enough narrative pull to keep me involved; frankly, I think the second and third books are an improvement over the first, but that's not saying much. Mainly, I guess, I read it for nostalgia and for feeling some connection to a very different version of me.

And there's some kind of symmetry to it I can't quite describe. I finished this on my last day at my first full time library job, getting ready to move on to a much better position. The reader in me sees a connection between these long-ago cherished books, and the person I continue to become. I think of that moment in church -- in the balcony, nearby others but absorbed in my own sort of world -- frequently, a visual moment in time that has come to mean far more to me than these books ever could.

I'll never read these again.

I'll probably read The Silver Call though.

[Zachary Littrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many critical flaws that keep The Iron Tower from being a good fantasy book -- its pacing is out of whack, the dialogue and characterizations are flaccid (the defining features of a major character really shouldn't be that they wear a particular color armor and play an instrument), and plot details and world-building are handled with as much subtlety as a bull in the fragile china closet. And these flaws are independent of how blatantly McKiernan lifts elements of superior pieces of fantasy literature, namely Lord of the Rings, with some name changes and small tweaks -- the central character is a short, home-loving, humble but courageous fellow thrust from his safe home into the company of Men, Dwarves, and Elves and is most definitely not a Hobbit, because they're called Warrows here.

That being said, it is a half-decently fun read. McKiernan has a knack for beautifully describing action and moments of tension. By far the scenes that resonated the most to me were the vicious fights, stealthy operations into enemy bases, and even an effective horror scene where the band of heroes travel through an abandoned Dwarf city that is most definitely not Moria, all the while being stalked by an ancient monster. If the book was just some hack-n-slash, sword and sorcery fun, I would not have been disappointed at all; it's a real shame then that McKiernan separates these scenes with anemic humor and redundant dialogue that made my eyes roll so far back into my head that I am now permanently blind.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Not likely, except those who love consuming fantasy and will overlook its flaws for the sake of action. If you do read this, make sure it is the Omnibus edition. I cannot imagine reading this as three separate books, as none of the three books are particularly great on their own. Together, however, they form a largely cohesive and satisfying, albeit familiar, fantasy story for when you want just a straightforward good vs evil, goblin-cleaving, little-guy-turned-hero tale that doesn't demand too much from the reader except for their eyes.

[Joshua Reitano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is The Iron Tower Trilogy in one volume. I read this first as a boy. And later when I discovered the Lord of the Rings I thought, "Hmmm....maybe Tolkein stole some ideas from Dennis McKiernan." Of course, the opposite is true. The Iron Tower is roughly patterned after LOTR, with different characters, a different land, but the rough sketch of the inciting incident and the characters' quest to make things right clearly parallels Tolkein.

McKiernan acknowledges this, but it still hasn't kept him from getting crushed in internet reviews for plagiarism (or at least a lack of originality). But his books still sell copies. And to be honest, I thought this was a decent book. It kept my attention as a boy and now 20 years later. I actually think there are aspects of McKiernan's Warrows that are more interesting than Tolkein's Hobbits.

If you're in to fantasy fiction, it's worth a read.

[Khari · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up.

I made it to page 25. I slogged through 25 pages of blatant copying of J.R.R. Tolkien. I crawled through 25 pages of horribly mismatched diction and tortured characters. Struggled against a tide of transparent foreshadowing and utter predictability.

In short, this book is absolutely horrible and I am shocked that ROC published it. It's so bad it gives the publisher a bad name. Approach with caution.

[LordSlaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a 3-1/2 star rating.

Dennis L McKiernan's The Iron Tower trilogy contains The Dark Tide, Shadows of Doom, and The Darkest Day. As I finished each book, I composed a short review of it, as follows:

The Dark Tide, the first book in Dennis L McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy is a diverting and entertaining novel. It is filled with standard fantasy elements---a long-dormant evil power in the north awakens to threaten and overwhelm the good and free peoples in the south---and is somewhat derivative of Tolkien---small humanoids called Warrows in place of hobbits, one of whom is named Tuckerby Underbank, an obvious play on Frodo Baggins' famous alias of Underhill---but is still a fun read for all that. McKiernan makes an effort to differentiate his Warrows from Tolkien's hobbits and the kender of the Dragonlance novels (both of which he references in the "Foreword Anew" of the 2000 Roc omnibus edition of the trilogy, The Iron Tower, so at least he acknowledges his debts ) and does so successfully, in my opinion. The Warrows are much more aggressive than hobbits and are keen-eyed archers. Indeed, despite its similarities to Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Tide is in many ways its own entity. The narrative moves along at a brisker pace and the battle scenes are much more visceral and gory. The writing itself is generally well crafted, although it is occasionally clunky in its efforts to sound 'fantasy-ish' and some of the exposition of the languages, culture, and history of the realm of Mithgar occur rather un-organically amid the dialogue of some of the characters. The Dark Tide is a solid and entertaining, if somewhat standard, fantasy novel. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading the next two works in the trilogy (Shadows of Doom and The Darkest Day).
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Shadows of Doom is the second book in Dennis L McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy. Much of what I said in my review of The Dark Tide, the first book of the trilogy, is true for book two as well. I probably like Shadows of Doom a little bit more than the first book, because there is some fascinating cosmology and mythology divulged here, hinting at the "bones beneath the soup." McKiernan really did a good job of building and populating a fantasy world, and these first two books really have been enjoyable. But they are frustrating at the same time because large sections are profoundly derivative of Tolkien's famed Lord of the Rings trilogy, coming perilously close to the borderline between pastiche and rip-off. For example, in Shadows of Doom, our intrepid heroes find themselves in great peril in an underground Dwarven realm. It is a gripping and well-described section of the adventure, but it is also aggravating because it is so obviously derivative of Tolkien's Moria scene. The shadow of Tolkien looms large over the first two books in The Iron Tower trilogy (as I'm sure it will over the third as well) and this fact does not heighten my enjoyment of the books, but rather diminishes it because of McKiernan's lack of originality in these passages. It's not the use of standard fantasy elements that I object to (evil in the North, magic weapons that will fulfill a destiny, diminutive halfling-like people who turn out to be great heroes, and so on); I've read and enjoyed tons of that sort of fare. It's in those sections where McKiernan does not recombine these elements to make them his own that my disappointment lies. In those passages of the book wherein McKiernan does his own inventing or recombining, he shows that he is a quite capable and good world-builder and fantasy writer. Perhaps in the future, if I read some of McKiernan's non-Iron Tower books, I will find that the shadow of Tolkien has receded from them and I will enjoy them even more.
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Thus, with The Darkest Day, does Dennis L McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy conclude. This third and final volume is, I think, the best of the trilogy. I enjoyed the previous two books but that enjoyment was somewhat overshadowed and diminished by long passages that were very derivative of scenes in JRR Tolkien's famed Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Darkest Day contains very little that I could recognize as being directly derived from Tolkien. This made the final Iron Tower book the most original of the three, the most distinctly McKiernan's own. The final confrontation in The Darkest Day is particularly good, our hero meeting a fate unlike that of any other protagonist with whom I am familiar. The final battle is vigorously described and in ways is much more personal than I was expecting; it was very gripping and thrilling. There are appendices at the end of The Darkest Day, as there are at the end of Tolkien's The Return of the King, and in them McKiernan shares this tidbit: that some scholars place the location of the Evil One's dread Iron Tower in the vicinity of Leningrad, other scholars place it near Warsaw. I enjoyed this detail that the land of Mithgar is indeed our own world ages ago. My final verdict then is that The Iron Tower trilogy is engaging, entertaining, and enjoyable. It is marred by the fact that in some long sections it is too derivative of Tolkien, but the world-building and the story itself are very good examples of the heroic high-fantasy genre. Based on this trilogy, I would read more of McKiernan's books, some of which rest upon my overflowing shelves. We'll see if I eventually get around to them.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story goes Dennis L. Mckiernan was in a car accident and while recovering wrote a sequel to the Lord of the Rings (something you should not do, but I forgive him, because I've come to love him). When he tried to get it published there was interest but more so in the 'prequel' story, so he set out to write his own version. One of the things I like about this over LoTR is that the characters feel more engaged in the story, have a bit more impetus on events. This story and the next cemented him as my favorite author.

[Brian Lakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A True Classic Fantasy Epic

I read this book on a recommendation from a friend. Being a fan of LOR and hearing that this had similarities, I was excited to dive in. I found that yes while there are similarities, like the return of an ancient evil; fantasy races; huge battles, and an epic journey. The story of The Iron Tower stands on its own without feeling anything like LOR. I truly enjoyed it and by the end of third book I was sad to say goodbye to an awesome cast of characters that I had grown to love. I recommend this to anyone searching for an epic fantasy tale with a flavor similar/dissimilar to LOR. It's a story unique to itself.

[BQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Tolkien clone that was mostly entertaining. Seemed longer than it was, but I did take my time reading this omnibus trilogy while reading other books too. I have not yet read any of this author’s other many books, but my guess is that they become less like Tolkien and more their own thing. Recommended to any fantasy fan that has the patience for long books that are slow at times. I certainly got my money’s worth of entertainment out of this trilogy.

[Michael McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading the whole trilogy as one book. A heavy tome in hand is a wonderful thing.

[Lisa Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a blatant rip-off of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, I still enjoyed this trilogy. It had enough differences to make it interesting and I like the characters. Quick read.

[Kirryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of people think this series is poor due to being a Tolkien copy with the serial numbers filed off, but...I don't think that's quite it. I mean...in a lot of ways, ALL of modern fantasy is basically that. What weakens The Iron Tower as a whole is that it's quite obvious that Dennis McKiernan certainly has the talent to make that work, but he...didn't, for some reason. And yes, I know this is the prequel to the original novel he wrote, which was an outright continuation to The Lord of the Rings (which never gained the blessing of the Tolkien estate, which probably surprises exactly nobody who knows the first thing about Tolkien these days, but back in the late 70s I imagine things were still up in the air to the layman) -- but I don't think that's an excuse. Not because McKiernan can't write, or build a world, or characterise -- but rather because he can. There are definite flashes of brilliance and originality in this series, but they're nowhere near as fleshed out as they absolutely could have been.

I can't fault anyone, really, for using Tolkien's towering mythos as a base to build your own world from -- and Professor Tolkien himself would be the first to tell you that his own subcreation was built on top of already existing mythology and folklore from the primary world. So I'm more than okay with that. Not building upon that with your own ideas is what disappoints me in fantasy. McKiernan CAN build; it's very obvious with his antagonist, to a lesser extent shown in his Warrows, but it's there for sure. It just wasn't utilised, which is where it becomes disappointing.

Also, his patchy attempts to sound "Tolkienesque" made me cringe. The fact that the characters changed from speaking formally and informally at the drop of a hat was head-whirling as well as wince-inducing. The general voice of this series was anything but consistent, because despite what McKiernan insisted in his introduction, and that this was in fact his second series of novels in the Mithgar mythos written (though the first published), he was obviously still clinging pretty hard to the Tolkienian safety blanket.

...and yet, all the same, I actually enjoyed reading (well, listening -- this was an audiobook indulgence while I recovered from the Spicy Cough 19, initially) this series quite a bit. This could have been due to the narrator bringing further colour and warmth to the story (Cameron Beierle ftw!), but I get the feeling I'd enjoy picking up the actual book, too. There's something comforting about it. Maybe that's because the world is a little bit familiar, maybe because the characters were generally likeable, maybe because I was so incredibly amused by how Tuckerby Underbank was basically movie!Frodo Baggins...twenty years before the movies even started filming. I have no idea how McKiernan did that, but it still makes me giggle to think about it.

There are definitely worse ways to while away the hours than reading (or listening to) this trilogy.

[Shaitarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may write a more in-depth review in the future, but this will do for now:

In 1977, Dennis McKiernan broke several bones in a bad traffic accident. While laid up in bed, he read The Lord of the Rings and was inspired to write himself. His stories were at first intended as 'sequels' to LotR, but when his publisher was unable to secure permission from the Tolkien estate, they suggested he create his own fantasy world and set his stories in that land, and so Mithgar was born.

This background might be enough to explain that the story has a strong Tolkien-esque feel, and several similarities: there are four races (humans, elves, dwarves and a small folk called Warrows), and the main character is one of these small folk. Some of the characters and scenes are similar to LotR (the scene when they enter the Drimmen-deeve in particular is almost an identikit copy of the entrance into Moria). That said, there are a number of differences: the Warrows are trained as warriors, and the main character, Tuck, and his friends are sent to join the King's army to serve as archers and scouts. Most of the characters feel different from Tolkien's, and I never got them confused.

Anyway, main plot: four thousand years ago, the evil Modru was forced to flee after his defeat in the last great war. But now he is sending his dark forces out across the land, and the call goes out for all the forces of good to rise up against this new threat. So nothing new there, but this storyline has been used many times by many authors.

So if you like old-fashioned epic/high fantasy stories with save the world stakes storylines, then this could be a book you'd enjoy. I thought this one was okay rather than amazing, but I do intend to read some of the authors other works to see if I like them more than this one.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't write reviews. I was raised every one has an opinion and should keep it to themselves. That being said, I have to state two things...for those of you who are trying to decide to read this or not.

The first is, notice how all the negative reviews only have one true complaint. "This book ripped off LOTR and Tolkien." News flash, he basically invented high fantasy. For the majority of its existence all written works rip off sometthing from him. Also, The shannara chronicles are 10x the LOTR clone that this trilogy could ever be. I would say that The Iron Tower is no more a LOTR clone than say Game of Thrones. So while, like most high fantasy; this book does have some elements of Tolkien's works, (by the way this was done on purpose and the author literally states that he dedicated these books to LOTR.) when viewed unbiased they are one of the best pieces of high fantasy with characters you will love and care for.

Secondly, the world of mithgar is so vast and intricate that once these books give you a window, you will be able to view the entire world through the many other books that continue to contribute to the world building as a whole.

I tried to not state too many opinions, because as said before; opinions are something best kept to yourself.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally read this trilogy when I was about 12, so thought I would give it another read 30+ years later. Enjoyable, if not a pretty standard high fantasy plot line. I had only three "major" complaints about the stories.
1. Everyone would not stop crying! Tears of joy, tears of despair, tears of sadness, tears of wonder, tears of pain, tears because she just realized she hadn't had a bath in weeks.....it seemed you couldn't go ten pages without someone crying!
2. Long journeys. We didn't need a break down of each day, especially if nothing happened. The first Darkday this happened. The second Darkday it rained. The third Darkday the terrain was rough.....the twelfth Darkday they came to a river and crossed it. I think DLM wanted to impress upon the reader the scope of Mithgar by doing so.
3. The calendar used is our calendar, so DLM uses current months' names and even parallels holidays. There are hints in the story and appendices that Mithgar is our world in very ancient times, so using a current calendar seemed odd. Maybe there was an explanation of why he did this. If so, I missed it or forgot.
Anyway, these gripes aside, not a bad read.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dusting off the books in your library can at times draw us to titles we’ve read, placed on the shelf, and then as time moves on we forget about them. Such is the case for "The Iron Tower" trilogy by Dennis L. McKiernan. I originally read these books as separate novels back shortly after the turn of this new century. I was intrigued by this adventurous story of small folks, called Warrows, as they teamed up with others to fight invading evil creatures from outside their domain. Needless to say, the first thing to strike me in the face was how closely parallel to Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" these book were. Early on reviews by other readers brought out the same thing. However, I pursued the story and continued on. The adventures of the Warrows and those accompanying the journey with them did become a true adventure. Hobbits were quickly forgotten as the pages continue to spill with the incredible journey. Now, nearly two decades after reading the adventures spun in The Iron Tower trilogy, I still find it a fascinating read. And to those who might venture into reading this wonderful fantasy, please have some tissues on hand, because there are times when emotions do run high.

[Brownleaf Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKiernan is among my top three favorite authors. His writing can be a bit campy at times, but it's just delightful to read. He creates a strong feeling of atmosphere, a world that is both ancient and timeless, where common folk can leave the comfort of their homes and, in a few days' travel, may wander into the wide wilderness with all its thorny woodlands and icy mountain peaks.

McKiernan consistently weaves themes of war, duty, friendship, and heroism into his tales. War is hell, duty requires sacrifice, friendship is worth more than any hoard of gold, and true heroes are ordinary people who do what is hard because it's the right thing to do. McKiernan's heroes suffer loss, disappointments, and lifelong scars. Reading McKiernan's writing gives one a sense of respect for veterans, elders, and everyday heroes.

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This trilogy is the story of a long conflict and the price people must pay to protect their world from evil.

The books are strongly inspired by Tolkien, but they are unique in their own right and well worth the read.

CC: blood and violence, magic, horror, torture, alcohol, mature themes (war and tragedy).

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the references to Tolkien were a bit too on the nose sometimes for me, those homages bothered me far less than the redundant conversations and overly detailed descriptions of impertinent "events" i.e. each day of travel and nightly camps for each different group of characters where nothing actually happens and the details don't serve the story. I think it'd be a fantastic book if the trio was edited down and released as one item to begin with. McKiernan shines as an author during battle scenes and during more personal interactions between characters. I also really enjoyed the ending after the war was over. Often, authors quickly and efficiently tidy things up (happily ever after and all that), but we get to see Tuck through to the end of his life and how everyone carried on afterwards. Overall, its a good story, but poor editing made it difficult to finish.

[Bonez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cant recommend this book for anyone out there.

Its probably the cheapest and most blatant LotR rip-off.

A dark lord looms, a group of adventures including some hobbits who arent called hobbits but are humanoid, children-sized, creatures that live in a area that is basicly the shire 1.5. They run around to save the world, on the way they stumble into a old dwarf fortress, that is moria but isnt called moria. It has a door that needs a password, a kraken in the water outside, its overrun by orcs. But its not moria.

I could go on and on and on. Just dont read it. Some of McKiernens work is worth reading and decent, but this clearly isnt and everyone who gives more than one star promotes copying imo.

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

If one had never read Lord of the Rings, one would probably enjoy these books. I read them long ago in my early teens, after a friend had read and recommended them. I was amazed by how much they absolutely ripped off LoTR. They are like a cliff's notes of Tolkien's trilogy almost. I was a fantasy aficionado, so was no stranger to some number of things being "borrowed" from LoTR, and that didn't phase me. However this series took it to a whole new level. After about halfway through the first book I was just sickened, and could not comprehend how they were even allowed to be in print. So, I finished the series to see if that ever changed and it might be redeemed. I did not find it so. I have not read them again.

[Gary Currier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was clearly another version of Tolkien's works. I can't understand what that has anything to do with whether the book is a good read or not? How many times has Dracula been done? Or Midway or a ton of books plays and movies. So with that out of the way it was a fast read, not much depth just straight forward the good guys ride out to meet evil on the battlefield. No character actually gets fully built, the closest was Tuck. The run out at the end dragged on and on with nothing really to say. The last of the book gave us a quick outcome of all the lives of the main character set. It felt cold for the most part and I lost my love for those that worked so hard to save the world. It is a nice tale for any rainy day. I wouldn't read it again but I enjoyed it.

[John Hassey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Welcome to the first DNF of 2023. I truly and sincerely wish I could have finished this book but wow--I couldn't. This isn't the first time I read this author's works. I read The Dragonstone and it was a rough one to get through. This book was far, far worse. The pacing alone was awful. McKiernan's style of writing is incredibly stale. I know going in that this was a LOTR fan fic but it was so horribly done. The battle taking place in the first book is a carbon copy of the battle of Helm's Deep only more poorly written. That's about all I can say in regards to this book and this author.