Book review
Written by Julie Kagawa
Harlequin Teen Paperback
Release date Out now

On the night before her 16th birthday, Meghan Chase’s little brother Ethan is kidnapped by faeries. Determined to get him back, she embarks on a perilous journey into the land of NeverNever to rescue him…

As 16-year-old Meghan ventures into faery-land to rescue her brother (echoes of Labyrinth) and meets a semi-invisible talking cat (echoes of Alice in Wonderland), The Iron King appears to be nothing more than an amalgamation of history’s favourite fairy tales. Aside from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (on which many of the characters, and some of the plot, is loosely based) other obvious inspirations include Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men, J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan and C.S Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.

It’s an impressive culmination of some of literature’s most memorable tales, but it’s also pretty off-putting – at least initially. It’s only once you clear the early stages of the book that you’re told that the world of the NeverNever is fuelled by human imagination, justifying (to some extent) its various references.

After the first 100 pages or so, Kagawa’s story begins to prove itself. Things livens up considerably once Meghan leaves the human high-school world and the NeverNever begins to slowly unravel. Hunted by the Winter Prince Ash and coveted by the feuding rulers Oberon and Titania, Meghan’s adventure is one of pressure and peril.

There’s something weird and wonderful around every corner in NeverNever (you can imagine Tim Burton making a great film out of this material), and Kagawa makes the most of it. A real sense of anticipation develops, keeping you guessing as to how everything will end.

What works most about The Iron King is that the danger facing Meghan feels so real. Kagawa never underplays it or dumbs things down in favour of a light magical adventure. You get a real sense of Meghan’s fear and horror, and the threat posed by the beautiful but fearsome faeries is palpable.

Meghan herself is likeable protagonist, while her sidekick Puck is an enthusiastic and engaging. There’s also the scene-stealing Grimalkin – the wonderfully impatient and patronising talking cat. However, Prince Ash is less convincing. Far from being mysterious and attractive, his detached attitude makes him come across as rather boring. Kagawa struggles to balance Ash’s flirtatiousness and his cold, removed demeanour, making him appear more moody and temperamental than an enigmatic puzzle.

As a consequence the central romance feels awkward and unfounded, an unnecessary addition that perhaps the author felt obliged to include for her carefully targeted readership. Alice Wybrew

VERDICT: 6/10
The Iron King is likely to astound younger readers, but older fantasy fans might be slightly underwhelmed.