Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:
Synopsis for The Iron Wyrm Affair (from Goodreads):
Emma Bannon, forensic sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn’t help much that they barely tolerate each other, or that Bannon’s Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen.
In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs.
The game is afoot…
Series: Bannon and Clare
Author: Lilith Saintcrow
# of Books: 3 (The Iron Wyrm Affair, The Red Plague Affair, The Ripper Affair)
There is a novella #1.5 called The Damnation Affair
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Historical, Mystery
Heat Rating: Unsure
Point of View: Third Person, Alternating (?)
Publication Dates: August 2012 – August 2014
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook
Disclaimer: I stopped reading The Iron Wyrm Affair at 13% (Start of Chapter 6). Find out why below…
Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:
I’m not sure this one crossed my radar but I’ve had it earmarked to read for YEARS–ever since I bought my Kobo. I put off buying the first novel simply because I was cheap but when I saw that my library had it this past year, I thought it was the perfect pick for my 5 Year 5 Book Challenge.
I was looking forward to a fun and intriguing setting–a magical, almost steampunk based London–and a mystery homage to Sherlock Holmes. Let the games begin!
What I Liked:
I didn’t get that far into the novel to really find something I liked.
What I Didn’t Like:
–What the hell is a Mentath and Why do They Have to Register?–
The world building leaves something to be desired, unfortunately. I detest stories that assume I know everything already instead of telling me and this one didn’t give me the impression that I was going to learn anytime soon.
I have no idea what a mentath (what one of the leads) is or why they have to be registered. If it was mentioned in the first 2 chapters, I completely missed it both times I reread them. The only thing that made sense was the role of the Shield–and that was the only thing I learned.
–What is Even Happening?–
Unfortunately, I had a really hard time following what was happening here. Other reviews mention the difficulty reading it but I found everything flowed nicely–it just didn’t tell you anything important. You know when your eyes follow the words but nothing absorbed? That’s what was happening to me as I read it.
I even started over a second time in the middle of the day to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It didn’t help at all.
Will I Finish It?
Nope. I read some reviews on Goodreads when trying to decide to continue or not and I am satisfied that I stopped myself from getting invested.
Series Rating: DNF
If you have the patience for world-building and character development and like creative takes on history, this might be worth your time!
Read if You Like: alternate Londons, urban fantasies
Avoid if You: like worldbuilding
- The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooks (The Iron Seas Series #1)
