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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
First in The Age of Steam urban fantasy/steampunk series for young adults set in the Old West.
My Take
This is fascinating! Monk has created an Old West steampunk-style with all the usual suspects: an evil railway man, jealous biddies, a biracial couple, a put-upon young girl, the lone wolf (pun intended!), and the irascible miners. The twist is other-worldly with an exciting tease at the end…I hate that I have to wait until 2012 for Tin Swift, 2!
LeFel's machinations, kidnappings, and all-around evil plans will make you gasp, cry out, and wonder if he has one of those Snidely Whiplash mustaches.
The tension builds and builds as you read faster and faster to find out if Jeb makes it home, if Rose escapes her mother, does Hunt manage all his desires, will LeFel's prisoners escape before he can sacrifice them. There are some chuckles along the way as well as tears and Dead Iron does end on a happy note. Not the exact ending I had hoped for but…
The Story
The bogeyman takes four-year-old Elbert from his bed one night and Cedar Hunt takes up the chase with unforeseen results: a resurrection, a new love, and hope for his curse. But that hunt for the missing child quickly becomes entangled with the Madder brothers and Mae Lindson's hunt for her husband's murderer even as her husband manages to survive and begin his dangerous trek home to her.
The Characters
Cedar Hunt is, literally, a lone wolf standing up for the rights of others, helping an unwelcoming community as he attempts to come to terms with his own losses.
Jeb and Mae Lindson are deeply in love even as they have a hard row to hoe — Jeb is black and a talented deviser while Mae is white as well as a white witch whose magic tends to the dark side.
The Madder brothers — Alun, Bryn, and Cadoc — are miners up in the hills above Hallelujah. Not the most sociable of men, we soon discover there is a great deal more below the surface.
Rose Small is the adopted foundling of the owners of the general store. A sweet, young thing, Rose is fascinated with creating from the bits and pieces of metal she finds on her nighttime meanderings.
Elde and the Strange are the evil interlopers with Shard LeFel as the premier evil who is evilly helped by Mr. Shunt. Neither is of this world and I suspect that LeFel is stringing Shunt along just like he does everyone else.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a very gunslinger feel with that touch of steampunk that makes you look twice. Rising up from a subtle base of gears, rings, and washers, Cedar Hunt is tall, dark, and dashing in his wool/leather jacket strewn with straps and bandoliers staring something down at the point of his steam-powered gun.
As for the title, Dead Iron, I'm guessing that it could relate to Jeb's struggles to return home to his anxious wife or it's the glim that powers LeFel's matics.
My Take
This is fascinating! Monk has created an Old West steampunk-style with all the usual suspects: an evil railway man, jealous biddies, a biracial couple, a put-upon young girl, the lone wolf (pun intended!), and the irascible miners. The twist is other-worldly with an exciting tease at the end…I hate that I have to wait until 2012 for Tin Swift, 2!
LeFel's machinations, kidnappings, and all-around evil plans will make you gasp, cry out, and wonder if he has one of those Snidely Whiplash mustaches.
The tension builds and builds as you read faster and faster to find out if Jeb makes it home, if Rose escapes her mother, does Hunt manage all his desires, will LeFel's prisoners escape before he can sacrifice them. There are some chuckles along the way as well as tears and Dead Iron does end on a happy note. Not the exact ending I had hoped for but…
The Story
The bogeyman takes four-year-old Elbert from his bed one night and Cedar Hunt takes up the chase with unforeseen results: a resurrection, a new love, and hope for his curse. But that hunt for the missing child quickly becomes entangled with the Madder brothers and Mae Lindson's hunt for her husband's murderer even as her husband manages to survive and begin his dangerous trek home to her.
The Characters
Cedar Hunt is, literally, a lone wolf standing up for the rights of others, helping an unwelcoming community as he attempts to come to terms with his own losses.
Jeb and Mae Lindson are deeply in love even as they have a hard row to hoe — Jeb is black and a talented deviser while Mae is white as well as a white witch whose magic tends to the dark side.
The Madder brothers — Alun, Bryn, and Cadoc — are miners up in the hills above Hallelujah. Not the most sociable of men, we soon discover there is a great deal more below the surface.
Rose Small is the adopted foundling of the owners of the general store. A sweet, young thing, Rose is fascinated with creating from the bits and pieces of metal she finds on her nighttime meanderings.
Elde and the Strange are the evil interlopers with Shard LeFel as the premier evil who is evilly helped by Mr. Shunt. Neither is of this world and I suspect that LeFel is stringing Shunt along just like he does everyone else.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a very gunslinger feel with that touch of steampunk that makes you look twice. Rising up from a subtle base of gears, rings, and washers, Cedar Hunt is tall, dark, and dashing in his wool/leather jacket strewn with straps and bandoliers staring something down at the point of his steam-powered gun.
As for the title, Dead Iron, I'm guessing that it could relate to Jeb's struggles to return home to his anxious wife or it's the glim that powers LeFel's matics.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
This has been on my To-Be-Read List for a long time, and it did not disappoint. In fact, I gained more than I anticipated with it. I wasn't expecting such a unique supernatural element to it, especially when it came to Cedar's story. The world building is stellar and highly unique to the steampunk genre. As usual, the characters are spectacular. I honestly can't pick a favourite. Cedar, Mae, Rose, and the Madder brothers are fantastic and I could read about their adventures all day every day. The villains were positively wicked and it was tense reading about what they planned to do to the poor main characters. Monk's writing is absolutely beautiful in its construction––terrific dialogue, fabulous flow, and invigorating descriptions. While at first I thought big secrets were being revealed too early, every element lead up to a kick-ass finale and an epilogue that begs for more books. I had such a good time reading this book, it has all the elements that I love in a steampunk story: Unique magic relating to metal and gears, instantly loveable characters and hate-able villains, hardcore action, and awesome world-building. Definitely something to check out if you like steampunk, westerns, and one hell of a fun story!
samrushingbooks's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a good seven or eight chapters before I really started to be drawn in to the story, but after that reading was much easier and more enjoyable. The viewpoint shifted from Cedar, to Mae, to Jeb, to Rose, to Shard LeFel, to Mr. Shunt. I think my favorite characters are the Madder brothers, Rose, and Cedar. There doesn't really seem to be any real indication of possible romance in this book, but maybe in the second or third book there will be something. I don't know; I could see a few different options for later. I probably won't get around to reading Cold Copper for a little while, but eventually I'll finish the trilogy.
rvmama's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first Devon Monk book and I really liked it! Interesting world, characters and plot. Really looking forward to the next book.
nuttkayc's review against another edition
3.0
I like steampunk, but I think this was too much of the wild west flavoured steampunk. It's okay. But I'm not tempted to read any further.
adowling's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first steam punk book and I loved it. Normally the third person books that jump from the pov of characters drives me insane but Devon Monk did not disappointment in least, well written. I loved the main character Cedar and his curse by the gods. Mae is an interesting character as well in the way in which she works magic. The Madder brothers are a mystery that I can't wait to read more about. Bring on the Age of Steam Ms Monk!
vikingwolf's review against another edition
I bought this book on the basis of having enjoyed another series by Devon Monk, even though this whole steampunk thing doesn't greatly appeal to me. Well I wish I had listened to my instincts as I really couldn't find anything in this book that I liked. The characters were dull and cold and not that interesting. The plot did not grab me. I just wasn't really interested in continuing with it so it was abandoned.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
My thoughts:
Steampunk Western, could it be more fun, I think not ;) What other can I say than that steampunk fits really well there.
In this America we meet Cedar Hunt, he is cursed to become a wolf during the moon and then he hunts the Strange. Most folks do not believe in the Strange, but they are out there causing mischief. They are those things you only have nightmares about and then try to forget, and they follow the railway across the land. Cedar is a very conflicted man who hates his curse and he does not spend a lot of time around other people. But then I always did like mysterious brooding men.
The book is about a missing child. A man who wants revenge and is willing to kill many for it. A mysterious device that has been turned dark. A witch looking for her husband. A young woman who is a bit strange. 3 brothers mining the mountains and dark things that go bump in the night. All these things and people are connected and form the story. And in the middle we have Cedar who just wants to lift his curse and mourn his brother. It turns into a great story but I shall not tell you all. Bit by bit things fall into place as we learn who the bad guy is and what he wants and why everyone is connected. It is like those matics they build in this world, piece by piece. It is a land of steam in the end. Steam and magic together even if most do not believe in the latter.
I like how she mixed all these things. Old magic, new technology pieced together and the Wild West. It just seems to come together so nicely and I do like my steampunk world with a bit of magic and beings from tales of old.
Conclusion:
A good start to this steampunk series. And it did make me wonder what is coming next. Now I can't go and spoil things for you so I will not say anything more. But I do wonder ;) I enjoyed it and I will be interested to see what she comes up with next for Cedar.
Rating:
Good
Steampunk Western, could it be more fun, I think not ;) What other can I say than that steampunk fits really well there.
In this America we meet Cedar Hunt, he is cursed to become a wolf during the moon and then he hunts the Strange. Most folks do not believe in the Strange, but they are out there causing mischief. They are those things you only have nightmares about and then try to forget, and they follow the railway across the land. Cedar is a very conflicted man who hates his curse and he does not spend a lot of time around other people. But then I always did like mysterious brooding men.
The book is about a missing child. A man who wants revenge and is willing to kill many for it. A mysterious device that has been turned dark. A witch looking for her husband. A young woman who is a bit strange. 3 brothers mining the mountains and dark things that go bump in the night. All these things and people are connected and form the story. And in the middle we have Cedar who just wants to lift his curse and mourn his brother. It turns into a great story but I shall not tell you all. Bit by bit things fall into place as we learn who the bad guy is and what he wants and why everyone is connected. It is like those matics they build in this world, piece by piece. It is a land of steam in the end. Steam and magic together even if most do not believe in the latter.
I like how she mixed all these things. Old magic, new technology pieced together and the Wild West. It just seems to come together so nicely and I do like my steampunk world with a bit of magic and beings from tales of old.
Conclusion:
A good start to this steampunk series. And it did make me wonder what is coming next. Now I can't go and spoil things for you so I will not say anything more. But I do wonder ;) I enjoyed it and I will be interested to see what she comes up with next for Cedar.
Rating:
Good
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I don't know who here as watched the TV shows 'Wild, Wild West' or 'Briscoe County, Jr' (starring my *boyfriend*, Bruce Campbell), but, for me, reading this book was like watching a supremely excellent episode of one of those shows. I now have my favorite style of steampunk and it is written by the highly fab Devon Monk (http://www.devonmonk.com/).
I know others prefer their steampunk set in Victorian times or other alternate history and I've read and highly dug them, but this is now my favorite.
There's the rustic of the Wild West with the saloons and general store, stables and blacksmith. And there's the mystery of the paranormal and the things that steam and iron make things go forward or go boom. It's a very hypnotic combo. I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series!
A big bowl of rough and tumble diamonds.....
I know others prefer their steampunk set in Victorian times or other alternate history and I've read and highly dug them, but this is now my favorite.
There's the rustic of the Wild West with the saloons and general store, stables and blacksmith. And there's the mystery of the paranormal and the things that steam and iron make things go forward or go boom. It's a very hypnotic combo. I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series!
A big bowl of rough and tumble diamonds.....
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
Steampunk can be hit or miss with me but this story was a definite hit. It blended elements of a good old-fashioned western with the marvels of steampunk gadgetry seamlessly. Throw in a supernatural element, a pinch of magic, a dash of a hope of a sweet romance, then top it off with interesting characters and I was hooked.