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The Iron Flower The Black Witch Chronicles Laurie Forest Books

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The Iron Flower The Black Witch Chronicles Laurie Forest Books

4.5 Stars

It's pretty darn hard to write this review without massive spoilers. But try, I shall.

The Iron Flower picks up Elloren Gardner's story right where The Black Witch left off. Elloren remains at the University in Verpax, still sheltering Marina, a rescued Selkie, and rooming with her friends, Diana, a Lupine, and Wynter, and Ariel, who are Icarals. She still resists being wandfasted to Lukas Grey. And she is still drawn to the mysterious Yvan Guriel, who she's beginning to think is hiding more than she previously realized. Her affinity lines continue to strengthen and her feel for power moves beyond just earth and fire. While her friend Amaz friend, Andras, and Ariel try to heal the rescued military dragon Naga, and Elloren ponders how to help her friend Tierney escape Council-mandated wandfasting and iron-testing, the unthinkable happens. Overnight, Marcus Vogel becomes High Mage on the Gardnerian Council and events are set into motion that will change Erthia forever. If you thought the sexism, racism, and hatred were bad before, you haven't seen anything yet. Pogroms, genocide, and other atrocities begin to occur, all with the horrifying support of Elloren, Rafe and Trystan's despicable Aunt Vyvian. Most importantly, the Shadow Wand appears at last. Its bearer comes as no surprise.

Against this backdrop of terror, with Mage Council Rulings one after another, each viler than the last, the Gardnerian Mage Council is poised to pass Vyvian's edict that would result in the execution of all Selkies. Meanwhile, Elloren is shocked to find that Marina is learning to speak the Common Tongue and has quite a lot to say. Elloren also finds out that her childhood friend Gareth has Selkie heritage, and that even in a university town like Verpax there is a terrible sex-trafficking trade in Selkies. Someone needs to help the Selkies but that would mean returning them to the ocean with their skins. Marina needs the help of Elloren and her friends to rescue the captive Selkies but how on Erthia is the task to be accomplished? It's going to require far more power than this group of student dissidents has at their disposal.

To try to find aid, Elloren is willing to risk leaving Verpacia in order to seek assistance for the Selkies in neighboring realms who are harboring other threatened groups like the Urisks, Fae, Kelts, and Smaragdalfen. While in Amaz she encounters her friend Sage, the Light Mage who gave her the White Wand, and who broke her wandfasting vows. Sage is hard at work trying to break the wandfasting spell that keeps her in constant pain, dulled to bearable levels by Amazian rune magic. (A point I can already see is going to be vitally important to Gardnerian women's future. I can think of more than a few wandfastings that need to be broken ASAP.) Elloren ponders yet again what role she can play in opposing Vogel. As the action ramps up, she finds herself having to make the hard choice to appear more Gardnerian in order to best help her friends. That path is fraught with danger since she looks so much like her infamous grandmother, the Black Witch, but appears to have none of the actual power of Carnissa Gardner to safeguard herself. Elloren is equal to the task as she begins to fight for everything she believes in. There are sorrows and losses in this book, but they only strengthen Elloren's resolve.

While I enjoyed this second book, I did feel that some of the plot points were less smoothly handled. There were plenty of further daring adventures with the varied band of friends. (Elloren's journeys, especially to Amaz, were fascinating. Forest's world building is just terrific. Even her choice of names provides delight.) There was also genuine horror. But I was less enamored of the love interest dynamic in this book and thought that if Elloren and her paramour said just one more time that they couldn't, shouldn't be together I was going to pass out from all the eye-rolling I was doing. We all knew how this was going to go and a good hundred plus pages of "we shouldn't, oops! we can't, oops!" was getting mighty old by the end. Also, the two big reveals of the book come in such short order, in the last twenty pages of the book, and at least one of them just felt unrealistic, since if Elloren saw him so unguarded, anyone could have? The other, well... if you haven't been expecting that since the beginning of the first book, you haven't been paying attention. I guess I was just expecting something with a bit more gravitas and I'm still wondering how it never happened before (because spoilers).

Many things are still unresolved, not least of which is what Jules and Lucretia aren't telling Elloren about the fate of her parents. They clearly know something that Elloren and her brothers don't. And I have a few other questions, especially about that famous prophecy. Don't you ever wonder why the prophecy doesn't say anything about the White Wand and the Shadow Wand? I do. I want to read original prophecy and know more about who prophesied it. Because if history is written by the victors, it seems like prophecies are subject to the same kind of bias.

The Black Witch Chronicles continues to be a series that encourages young people to learn as much as they can about everything and everyone they can and to fight for what is right, while being pragmatic enough to know when they'll need help doing so.

"The Wand knows you have her power in your blood. It chose you anyway." - Sage Gaffney

I received an Uncorrected Proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.


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The Iron Flower The Black Witch Chronicles Laurie Forest Books Reviews

The Black Witch was a compelling read; The Iron Flower is even better. Author Laurie Forrest weaves a magic tale with her intense, well-paced narrative. A prophecy declares that a new Black Witch will defeat an evil winged Icarel demon to deliver Gardneria. Elloren Gardner, granddaughter of the first Black Witch might be a logical successor, but her nemesis, Fallon Bane, wants to become the next Black Witch, and has the power to make it so. Elloren is now at University, along with her brothers and a handsome soldier, Lukas Grey, who wishes to court her. Because Elloren resists being “fasted” so young, her ultra-conservative aunt punishes her by making her work in the kitchens and live among the campus outcasts. Little does she realize that Elloren’s exposure to the unjust treatment of these misfits will inspire her to reject her Gardnerian upbringing to fight for the Rebellion. The cast of supporting characters we met in the first book become integral to the plot, as characters are forced to decide what is good and what is bad, who is good and who is bad, and which side of history they will choose to be allied with when worldwide war breaks out, as the majority of Gardnerian people fall under the spell of a xenophobic zealot. Elloren and her new friends defy her powerful aunt, who supports the new regime, and find themselves in a desperate race to save classmates, professors, roommates, and friends from the ethnic cleansing that threatens the peace of the world. This novel comes alive, and readers are entranced by powerful attractions and simmering intrigues and prejudices that interfere with the course of true love, and at the same time we are outraged and hurt by the cruelties and casualties of the battle for political supremacy. Characters are complex, diverse, and nuanced. The story is left hanging, and I am certain many readers will pounce upon the next installment as soon as it is published!
The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest is the ambitious second installment in the Black Witch Chronicles.

Words. Guys. Really. Laurie Forest is an incredible storyteller. Her masterful use of language to describe both physical setting and the personalities of the characters of the story cannot be overstated. Watching the scenes she describes come to life inside my head -- this is real magic. Every building, every landscape, every emotion -- it feels like you're really there. A part of the story. And isn't that what we really want when we sit down to read fiction? A completely immersive experience into another world?

In this second book, Forest builds upon the foundation of characters set out in book one (and the two prequal books - Wandfasted and Light Mage, which I also highly recommend). We delve deeper into the lives of Elloren Gardener and her University companions and watch their reactions as the world they know starts to spin out of control around them.

We also meet several new characters, who reveal even more complex lairs to the world of Earthia and the many races living there. The meticulous detail Forest includes as she unfurls this fascinating fantasy world is impressive. Each character's story adds a different color to the intricately woven tapestry that is this epic tale.

Characters and events are starting to connect, as the reader begins to understand that there is so much more to the story than what's on the surface. It's clear that this all building to something much bigger, and the excitement and anticipation are both delicious and torturous.

The world Forest creates is both breathtakingly magical and heartbreakingly cruel. This book will take you on an emotional ride. But it is so, so worth it. Bring on book three!
4.5 Stars

It's pretty darn hard to write this review without massive spoilers. But try, I shall.

The Iron Flower picks up Elloren Gardner's story right where The Black Witch left off. Elloren remains at the University in Verpax, still sheltering Marina, a rescued Selkie, and rooming with her friends, Diana, a Lupine, and Wynter, and Ariel, who are Icarals. She still resists being wandfasted to Lukas Grey. And she is still drawn to the mysterious Yvan Guriel, who she's beginning to think is hiding more than she previously realized. Her affinity lines continue to strengthen and her feel for power moves beyond just earth and fire. While her friend Amaz friend, Andras, and Ariel try to heal the rescued military dragon Naga, and Elloren ponders how to help her friend Tierney escape Council-mandated wandfasting and iron-testing, the unthinkable happens. Overnight, Marcus Vogel becomes High Mage on the Gardnerian Council and events are set into motion that will change Erthia forever. If you thought the sexism, racism, and hatred were bad before, you haven't seen anything yet. Pogroms, genocide, and other atrocities begin to occur, all with the horrifying support of Elloren, Rafe and Trystan's despicable Aunt Vyvian. Most importantly, the Shadow Wand appears at last. Its bearer comes as no surprise.

Against this backdrop of terror, with Mage Council Rulings one after another, each viler than the last, the Gardnerian Mage Council is poised to pass Vyvian's edict that would result in the execution of all Selkies. Meanwhile, Elloren is shocked to find that Marina is learning to speak the Common Tongue and has quite a lot to say. Elloren also finds out that her childhood friend Gareth has Selkie heritage, and that even in a university town like Verpax there is a terrible sex-trafficking trade in Selkies. Someone needs to help the Selkies but that would mean returning them to the ocean with their skins. Marina needs the help of Elloren and her friends to rescue the captive Selkies but how on Erthia is the task to be accomplished? It's going to require far more power than this group of student dissidents has at their disposal.

To try to find aid, Elloren is willing to risk leaving Verpacia in order to seek assistance for the Selkies in neighboring realms who are harboring other threatened groups like the Urisks, Fae, Kelts, and Smaragdalfen. While in Amaz she encounters her friend Sage, the Light Mage who gave her the White Wand, and who broke her wandfasting vows. Sage is hard at work trying to break the wandfasting spell that keeps her in constant pain, dulled to bearable levels by Amazian rune magic. (A point I can already see is going to be vitally important to Gardnerian women's future. I can think of more than a few wandfastings that need to be broken ASAP.) Elloren ponders yet again what role she can play in opposing Vogel. As the action ramps up, she finds herself having to make the hard choice to appear more Gardnerian in order to best help her friends. That path is fraught with danger since she looks so much like her infamous grandmother, the Black Witch, but appears to have none of the actual power of Carnissa Gardner to safeguard herself. Elloren is equal to the task as she begins to fight for everything she believes in. There are sorrows and losses in this book, but they only strengthen Elloren's resolve.

While I enjoyed this second book, I did feel that some of the plot points were less smoothly handled. There were plenty of further daring adventures with the varied band of friends. (Elloren's journeys, especially to Amaz, were fascinating. Forest's world building is just terrific. Even her choice of names provides delight.) There was also genuine horror. But I was less enamored of the love interest dynamic in this book and thought that if Elloren and her paramour said just one more time that they couldn't, shouldn't be together I was going to pass out from all the eye-rolling I was doing. We all knew how this was going to go and a good hundred plus pages of "we shouldn't, oops! we can't, oops!" was getting mighty old by the end. Also, the two big reveals of the book come in such short order, in the last twenty pages of the book, and at least one of them just felt unrealistic, since if Elloren saw him so unguarded, anyone could have? The other, well... if you haven't been expecting that since the beginning of the first book, you haven't been paying attention. I guess I was just expecting something with a bit more gravitas and I'm still wondering how it never happened before (because spoilers).

Many things are still unresolved, not least of which is what Jules and Lucretia aren't telling Elloren about the fate of her parents. They clearly know something that Elloren and her brothers don't. And I have a few other questions, especially about that famous prophecy. Don't you ever wonder why the prophecy doesn't say anything about the White Wand and the Shadow Wand? I do. I want to read original prophecy and know more about who prophesied it. Because if history is written by the victors, it seems like prophecies are subject to the same kind of bias.

The Black Witch Chronicles continues to be a series that encourages young people to learn as much as they can about everything and everyone they can and to fight for what is right, while being pragmatic enough to know when they'll need help doing so.

"The Wand knows you have her power in your blood. It chose you anyway." - Sage Gaffney

I received an Uncorrected Proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.