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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An improvement on the previous books, yet still not satisfying, 15 Dec 2007
I enjoyed this more than I did the previous books in this trilogy (TITHE and VALIANT) and yet, still did not find it a satisfying read.
The good news is that there's more story to this. The impossible quest is interesting (albeit you can guess how it's going to play out pretty much the moment it's set) and you get more of a sense of the politics between the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. Luis and Dave make a reappearance from VALIANT, which I thought was well handled, especially because of the way it built on Luis's role as a fixer whilst further developing the relationship between the two brothers.
The best parts of the book though are those that focus on Corny. The character is a like a walking open wound - still grieving the death of his sister and recovering from his own experiences at the hands of the Unseelie Court, he's terrified by faeries and by his own vulnerability to them and that makes him determined to never give them power over him. In many ways, Corny is the most dynamic character in the book, he's the only one who is actively trying to take control of his own destiny and whilst he sometimes gets infected with Stupid Decision For Stupid Reasons Syndrome. When Corny brings a powerful curse down on himself at the hands of a faerie, it's a twisted blessing in disguise as it finally gives him the means to hit back at the faeries who would torment him and I think that Black does well to handle the exultation and despair that the curse brings him, even if I would question the means by which Corny and his friends try to deal with it as being slightly too contrived.
Unfortunately, the big problem remains Kaye. Just as in TITHE she is a reactive and passive character, always being tricked or manipulated by others so when you get to the scene where she finally stands up for herself, you really don't believe it. The scene where she confesses to her mother about her being a changeling should have been powerful and yet because you can guess how it's going to play out (not least because Kaye already knows how it's going to play out), it lacks the punch it needs. I also found that I just couldn't believe in the relationship between her and Roiben. Whilst I can see what she sees in him (in that whilst he remains underveloped and two-dimensional, he at least has a certain enigmatic quality), I couldn't see what he saw in her, which ruined the true love element that supposedly exists between them.
There are some powerful scenes in the book, notably the attack on the Unseelie Court, which I thought was well handled. I also continue to admire Black's skill in creating sensual and lyrical images - particularly where she describes the effect of the city on faerie folk. Unfortunately, the downside of this is to reinforce how superficial the story ultimately is and I was left wanting to see more expansion on themes and especially on the politics between the courts and the rivalries that drive it. Given the cruelty displayed by Silariel at almost every opportunity, why are her courtiers so loyal to her? Ethine would have been the perfect character to explore this, given that she's used as a pawn just as much as Roiben, and yet she remains unquestioning throughout, which I found frustrating.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 4 May 2007
I have been looking forward to this book ever since I finished TITHE, and Holly Black most definitely does not disappoint. IRONSIDE picks up soon after the events in TITHE and VALIANT, and takes the reader on another breathless journey into the amazing and deadly world of Faerie.
Things have been uneasy ever since Roiben assumed the throne of the Unseelie Court, and with the threat of war in the air and Roiben's coronation drawing near, everyone is on edge. Changeling Kaye Fierch knows that she loves Roiben, but she feels increasingly unwelcome and out of place in the Unseelie Court. So the night of the coronation, determined to prove herself to Roiben and the rest of the court, she makes a formal declaration and pledges herself to him as his consort. However, faerie custom demands that a quest be undertaken before anyone can sit as the Lord's consort, and Roiben grants Kaye an impossible task: to find a fairy who can tell an untruth. Now she is forbidden from seeing or speaking to him until she completes something she knows cannot be done.
Kaye doesn't know where to go, because she has been feeling uncomfortable at home as well, knowing that she stole a human child's life. In a moment of desperation, she tells her mother the truth: that she is a changeling that was switched with Ellen's real daughter, the real Kaye, and she vows to retrieve her from the Seelie Court and return her to Ellen. She feels that this, at least, is something she can do, even if there's no way she can complete Roiben's quest.
But with all the tension between the courts there is nowhere safe, and in venturing into the Seelie Court to find her human counterpart, Kaye puts herself within reach of Lady Silarial. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she's willing to do anything, including using Kaye, to get it. Once again Kaye finds herself in the middle of Faerie politics, but this time Roiben's not there to save her, and she may not have a way out.
In my personal experience it is rare that a sequel ever lives up to the first book, but IRONSIDE does just that. Full of court rivalry, deception and betrayal, sword fights and murder, faerie curses, new romances, and even characters from VALIANT, IRONSIDE is another wonderful foray into the dark, gritty world of Faerie and will not leave readers disappointed. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you pound your pillow in frustration and clap your hands in delight. My one and only complaint is that this is the last book set in this amazing world.
Reviewed by: Andie Z.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book, 5 May 2007
Ironside starts off a few months after the events of Tithe and Kaye has been feeling lost as she doesn't know where she belongs, so she drunkenly declares herself to Roiben, and he sends her on an impossible quest.
Meanwhile Queen Silarial is still trying to kill Roiben, so Kaye also has to prevent her, though they don't know what she's planning.
She is joined on her quest by Corny, and also someone from Valiant(I wont give away who) which I was pleased with because i had not really seen Valiant as a sequel but more of a companion book.
I have to agree with the previous reviewer that Ironside completely lives up to it's prequels. It is a great book that will not disappoint.
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