Ironcrown Moon is the story of people chasing other people, who are in turn chasing other people, ad nauseum, across the countryside. Which is maybe a bit simplistic. I mean, there is more to it than that. There's a threat to the royal ruling family. There's a bad guy making a deal with a group humanity thought gone, or at least separate. There's the exploration of a trove of magical devices. There's themes of family and loyalty. If I try really hard, I can pull up details about these things. But if I think about the book as a whole, all I remember is people chasing people chasing people. I thought maybe this was, again, the problem of reading the second book without reading the first book. But looking over other reviews, it seems like many people who had read the first book had the same thoughts I did - overly wordy writing, unengaging characters, a healthy and often intriguing tangle of political maneuvers and complicated loyalties and debts. There's good things in here, definitely. The political cross-ups and the magic system are solid and interesting. A few of the characters are at least likeable, though I found only one or two in the entire cast I could connect to on any level. The book was also a quick read when I could get into it. But for me at least, it felt overwritten. Endless passages of people walking or riding, chasing others or being chased. A story that sucked all the tension out of many scenes by showing up what everyone's doing. There's one point where character A thinks character B might be a spy. Then we swap to character B's POV and see him being a spy and *realizing* character A suspects him. So he acts to keep himself valuable to the group. Then we swap back to Character A who takes this as confirmation and leaves the guy behind. There was no tension. Everything was just explained, like a plot laundry list. And almost everything works out the way characters hope it will. They want to use a spell for something? It'll work. They want to kill someone? In general the person will die. If something does go wrong, it tends to happen in a way that benefits the characters. More tension sapping.There's so much potential in this story. There's a lot of characters who are unlikeable because they're meant to be unlikeable, but they're also unfortunately one-dimensional in that. But I love the sort of books when you know you're supposed to be rooting for a character, but have a hard time because they're behaving in kind of a terrible manner. The magic was kind of interesting, if not to my taste.
I had no troubles devouring this second book in the series (sequel to Conqueror's Moon). Julian May provides a massive cast of believable characters, and enough plot twists to please even the George R.R. Martin fans (in about half the word count). I continue to enjoy the multi-sided nature of her story-telling; it's as if she has inhabited each character's skin so as to determine what that individual would do in a given situation. So, rather than being pawns of a larger narrative, the characters really come alive. I'm eager to read the next book in the series...
What do You think about Ironcrown Moon (2006)?
King Conrig wears the ironcrown not by being peaceful. He rules over the whole island but trouble starts when rumors start to reach him about his believed dead first wife. If his secret will be revealed by her, he might loose everything he has.At the same time a civil war is lurking and sorcery is involved in everything.The book came with me when I found it in a box for not even two euros. Shortly after starting to read it I discovered it was the second of a serie but this didn't create problems for the story. From a confusing story it went to a very interesting, fast reading story. I ahve really enjoyed it and was interested in reading te ramaining story. WOuld have given it four stars, until I read the last sentence: '... and then she told him her choice.' and done...... ????????At least write what the choice is she made and then start book three!
—Jeane
