Iron Wolves Book Review

The Iron Wolves

Book 1 of The Rage of Kings

Andy Remic

ANGRY ROBOT Ltd

Pub Date: Dec 31 2013

2/5 Stars

 

         The Iron Wolves is a paint by numbers fantasy with too many sad tropes and some really questionable content.  First of all, and most disdainful in my opinion was the author’s constant use of foul language.  I’m fine with some foul language but he seemed to use the F-word as a dialog filler.  Also, the book borders on misogynistic in many places, I’m not sure the author crossed the line but he comes very close.  The book reads more like a 90s New York Street Gang novel written by a sixteen year old boy than a fantasy book

        Second, the ending…  I won’t spoil it for you, but the Deus Ex Machina nature of it was a serious let down.  The author had obviously painted himself into a corner and said, screw it…  I can usually handle somewhat of a Deus Ex Machina ending but it was like two kids were playing and one is going to be beat the other and the kid getting the dirty end of it says,

“Oh yeah, and I have super powers!”

The other kids says, “You never said you had them before.”

“The kid says, oh well… I just remembered.”

   I wish I was joking, I really do…

       I mentioned paint by numbers yes, here we go:

        Step 1: gather your ragtag group of anti-heroes

        Step 2: make them unlikable and have a dark past brought on by terrible person circumstances.

        Step 3: make even the King of the land be so corrupt that he doesn’t side with the heroes

        Step 4: create an unbeatable foe for them to fight.

        Step 5: At the last minute have one of them(the most likable hero) pull victory from disaster.

      But more than anything, for the first book in a series; Iron Wolves has a TERRIBLE final act/epilogue.  It was too sudden and based on some of the crazy stuff that just happened 20 pages before it.  The whole thing just drops on its illogical butt right out of suspension of disbelief. 

       I did enjoy much of my time with Iron Wolves.  In fact, if not for the very boring nature of it and some of the distracting profanity the book isn’t too bad.  I just wish the author had focused his attention on more, original, pursuits rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.  There are far better authors that have come before that have done this kind of fantasy far better.  But even THEY don’t write it anymore…