The Iron Thane

The MacDuff Saga #1

by Jason Henderson

Amid the chaos following the destruction of Scotland's usurper king, the Prince of the Dark Elves decides that the time is ripe to begin his assault on humanity. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

I've been writing for a long time-- comics, games (like Destiny 2), books-- there's always *something.* But lately I've gotten into modern-day YA novels with the Alex Van Helsing series and now middle grade with the new Young Captain Nemo series.

Reviews

[James Ronholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how knowing Macbeth would affect enjoyment of this book. Personally I only vaguely know Macbeth but recognized the names at least of many of this books characters as they take part in a nation sized conflict whose time setting makes it a sequel to Shakespeare's story, and I quite enjoyed it.

[Sean Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a fantasy take on the aftermath of 'MacBeth'. It follows some of the trials and exploits of MacDuff, the Iron Thane with a spattering of legendary figures such as 'the Three Sisters', the thoroughly wicked Erl-king, and this author's skewed version of the Sidhe.
It wasn't a bad story overall; however, much more could have been done with the subject matter. Somewhat vainly, I know I could have written a better and more depth story with fleshed out characters than was offered have.

[J'aime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this while looking for books based on Norse mythology (the sequel is called "The Spawn of Loki"). I was delighted to find that it was a continuation/reimagining of my favorite Shakespeare play, Macbeth. Macbeth was slain by the man of no woman born, Macduff, the Thane of Fife. But his story did not end there. Another mad King now threatens Scotland, and Macduff must convince his people to ally themselves with Elves, witches and Fae folk to secure victory once again.

The author does an excellent job of capturing the flavor and tone of Shakespeare without actually using Elizabethan English. Since Macbeth has a supernatural element, and Scotland is rich in folklore, the Erl-King story flows naturally from the end of the play. Macduff’s characterization is spot on and it’s easy to imagine that the Weird Sisters would appear to him. The plot is fairly straightforward – gather an army to counter the Erl-King’s army of dark elves. Within that simple plot, there is solid character development for Macduff, and also the witches. I enjoyed their interactions, and the descriptions of the environment. There is a tiny bit of Norse mythology hinted at when Macduff visits a Viking stronghold for aid, but the story remains firmly rooted in Scotland.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the sequel. Macduff is a great character to build a series around, and I expect the stories can become more complex now that his character has been established. Highly recommended to fans of Macbeth, or folklore based fantasy.