Wednesday 26 May 2010

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: The Iron Hunt - Majorie M Liu

BOOK BLURB:

During the day, Maxine's tattoos are her armour and she is invincible. At night they peel from her skin to take on forms of their own, leaving her human and vulnerable, and revealing themselves to be demons sleeping beneath her skin. But these demons are the best friends and bodyguards a woman could have. And Maxine needs bodyguards. She is the last in a line of women with power in their blood, trained to keep the world safe from malignant beings who would do us harm. But ten thousand years after its creation, the prison dimension that kept the worst of these from us is failing, and all the Wardens save Maxine are dead. She must bear the burden of her bloodline and join the last wild hunt against the enemy.


REVIEW:

Readers of Urban Fantasy will probably be steered pretty darn well by the glowing recommendation on the cover of this title as Marjorie creates a new concept in the world of the Urban Fantasy Heroine. Yes, she has a smart mouth, yes she kicks ass but it’s the way that her uniqueness are presented that make this quite a novel idea. For what makes this character pretty darn sweet is the tattoo’s that protect her during the day and the demons that peel off and aid in her protection at night. As the last surviving Warden from an ancient bloodline it means that we have a sense of history, a sense of belonging as well as creating a total sense of being alone in the world bar the gift that she (as well as the other bloodline) receives during the previous hosts death.

Beautifully written with concepts that meld a world to a new way of thinking backed up with a heroine who readers will come to love for her weaknesses as well as her strengths, its clear that Marjorie has done not only her homework but also written in a genre that she clearly loves. Its this that embellishes the story, taking it forward and above all else creating a character that will stand for a long time in the readers memory. Great fun from a new author and one that I can’t wait to see how her writing career develops.

No comments: