The Fantasy Review’s Spoiler-Free Review of The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae.
This book, more than most, reminds me of why I fell in love with adult fantasy. It just couldn’t kick the feeling that The Iron Crown had the heart and soul of those Trudi Canavan books I used to reread hundreds of times growing up.
That tone and atmosphere is a very personal preference; it made it feel like The Iron Crown was written for me, and only me. This book screams to be reread!
Okay, so the bits and bobs of the book you want to know about… The characters – they’re great! I think they could have been a little more different in voice to one another, but their actions speak volumes about their personalities, which I thought really made up for that.
The plot – an exciting fantasy story with a cool mystery and intriguing magic…with dragons! Not quite like the dragons from Eragon, but something fresh, something that didn’t feel like a copy-and-paste of Valdemar or Pern. It makes for an interesting magic system, and I enjoyed seeing how it affected hierarchy and political power too.
Overall, The Iron Crown is a fantastic fantasy book perfect for anyone who wants cool magic, a nice cast of characters, and an intriguing mystery!
