The Iron King

     First in the Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

Quite basically, this is a story about a young high school girl, Megan Chase, who lives an uneventful life with her mother, step-father, and brother on a pig farm.  She's ignored in school and at home, and the only highlight in her life is her best friend Robbie, whose antics and humor keep her life bearable...until the day her brother is kidnapped by a Faery king from Nevernever (nothing like NeverLand) and the "changeling" (an evil look-alike) attacks her and her mother.  Why read this book?!?  Well, frankly, that what I said.  As I read the reviews, several articles criticized this story for being too much like all the other "faery" stories, such as Never Ending Story, Midsummer Night's Dream, Alice In Wonderland, and Labyrinth.  And, truth be told, it has borrowed many elements from these stories, Robbie turns out to be Robyn Goodfellow, "Puck", from A Midsummer's Night Dream.  The four year old brother is being held captive by a rogue Faery king much like in Labyrinth.  And there is a cait sith (disappearing cat) with much the same attitude as the Cheshire in Wonderland...minus the smile.  My love for fantasy, however, overruled these criticisms and I began my journey, albeit far too casually, into the world of Faery and Megan Chase.  And, what a trip!!  As Megan and Puck passed through the portal in her brother's closet and entered the Wyldwood of Nevernever, we find a brutal world of evil and aggression inhabited by nasty queens, kings, and princes, as well as a battalion of "fey"...ogres, trolls, nixies, satyrs, goblins, dragons and the like.  No place is safe for Megan who finds, much to her chagrin, that she is in actuality half human/half faery, an offspring of the King Oberon of the Summer Court, a small detail her mother neglected to mention.   

The story is captivating as Megan and Puck encounter numerous trials and challenges throughout their quest.  They travel back and forth from Faery to the human world through various portals and eventually meet up with a drop-dead-gorgeous prince of winter named Ash.  This occurrence does not thrill Puck who has secretly been in love with Megan for many years and also has vowed to kills Ash, his once best friend.  I love a good "faery"-tale, adventure, thriller, romance, comedy....and this story had all of these elements.  For a wonderful synopsis of these stories, view the following trailer.

As I traveled with Megan, Puck and Ash,  I was mesmerized and constantly looking forward to finding out what would happen next.  The author, Julie Kawaga, has performed a miracle using "old" material in weaving a dynamic entertaining quadrilogy.  As I finished the first book, I discovered that Kawaga had written two e-novellas that connected the second book (The Iron Princess) to the third, (The Iron Queen) and this to the fourth (The Iron Knight).  The interesting feature of these quick reads is that they are only available in ebook format and provide a deeper dimension into the storyline that you would not have otherwise. 

I think what I enjoyed the most about The Iron Fey series  is the twist on the traditional fairy mythology involving technology and its affect on the fantasy world...you have to read to see what I mean!  The triangle between Megan, Ash, and Puck also added a romantic element that kept me enthralled, being the hopeless romantic that I am.  I found the books wonderfully captivating and will definitely purchase the trilogy for my middle daughter who is a fantasy lover as well. 

Julie Kawaga grew up in Hawaii but now lives in Kentucky.   She began writing at an early age and gave up a career as a dog trainer to write full time after her first book published.  You can learn more about her and her books on her website, http://www.juliekawaga.com/.  But, after a quick look there, I would definitely head to her blog http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/.  It is chuck full of interesting things like her newest book, The Immortal Rules, a story of Allison Sekemoto, katana-weilding vampire.

      Julie Kawaga, the Iron Fey Series