Scan barcode
cherry_24's review
adventurous
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
It’s been quite a while since I read an entertaining historical fiction and I'm glad to find Ironfire by David Ball while looking for a book set in Malta. Most of the time the story in this book can be quite gruesome and cruel towards its main protagonists but faithful to the time event the story took place. Ironfire is a historical fiction based on the Great Siege of Malta (1565) and some of the settings spanned many locations, from the barren landscape of Malta to the buzzing of galley makers and merchantmen in the city of Algiers, from the lush forest of France and to the pinnacle of all the cities, Istanbul.
The story is incredibly long as we followed the lives of two child peasants, a sister and a brother, from their childhood until their adult lives, culminating in the invasion of Malta by the Ottoman forces where the siblings were reunited once again. Maria Borg and Nicolo Borg had two different trajectories laid out for them. While Nico was taken captive from Malta by an Ottoman corsair, Maria was stuck in Malta and led quite a hardened life though she was stubborn enough not to give up. There were other characters that complemented the two main protagonists and their storylines were also fleshed out fully by the author. Perhaps, that’s why the narrative in this book is long. Half of the book was spent on showing the life of each character. Half of it was for the siege of Malta.
A bit of a mixed bag for me towards the ending of Ironfire as I felt it was not a satisfying nor sufficient ending after all those hardships faced by the protagonists. What of that vicious baroness Angela Buqa who devised such a plot that led Maria Borg and Christien de Vries to the underground dungeon just because she was jealous that the two were fond of each other?
The lukewarm ending, however, did not take the fact that this book is really entertaining. In terms of narrating the life of the characters in this book, David Ball is a talented story-maker and fate-weaver.
The story is incredibly long as we followed the lives of two child peasants, a sister and a brother, from their childhood until their adult lives, culminating in the invasion of Malta by the Ottoman forces where the siblings were reunited once again. Maria Borg and Nicolo Borg had two different trajectories laid out for them. While Nico was taken captive from Malta by an Ottoman corsair, Maria was stuck in Malta and led quite a hardened life though she was stubborn enough not to give up. There were other characters that complemented the two main protagonists and their storylines were also fleshed out fully by the author. Perhaps, that’s why the narrative in this book is long. Half of the book was spent on showing the life of each character. Half of it was for the siege of Malta.
A bit of a mixed bag for me towards the ending of Ironfire as I felt it was not a satisfying nor sufficient ending after all those hardships faced by the protagonists. What of that vicious baroness Angela Buqa who devised such a plot that led Maria Borg and Christien de Vries to the underground dungeon just because she was jealous that the two were fond of each other?
The lukewarm ending, however, did not take the fact that this book is really entertaining. In terms of narrating the life of the characters in this book, David Ball is a talented story-maker and fate-weaver.
kzizz's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vomaleki's review
adventurous
medium-paced
4.25
Only thing I did not like was the portrayal of Algiers. It had too much of an Orientalism vibe and fell into stereotypes. Other regions and cultures got a better representation. Overall a really enjoyable historical fiction.
More...