Dead Iron (Age of Steam Series #1)

Where the west was devised and conquered

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Nomad, Cedar Hunt has a secret, a cursed secret, but so does half of the sleepy town of Hallelujah. With the promise of the new rail pounding through the town, comes the dark underbelly of trouble. Trouble by the name of Shard Lefel.

When a boy goes missing in the sleepy town, Cedar takes it upon himself to find him. Cedar soon will discover that strange things are afoot and it's up to him to sort them out.




What I liked:
Devon Monk is a master of the written language. Poetic paragraphs describe instantly the message she wants portrayed. This is something we in the written world salivate over. We want to describe a scene in one word. An instantaneous connection. I have personally flagged a few lines that stick out vividly in my mind. Lines that I may steal one day...


For example, in the very first paragraph you get an excellent since of the main characters... character. Cedar is fearless and determined. Nothing will get in his way. This in turn, sets up the entire story line.

Hit after hit of suspense sucks you right into the first chapter and spits you tumbling out at the end. Cedar has secrets you want to know. What power overcomes him and makes him a killing machine? What is his curse?


Cedar harnesses his curse as a weapon to help him hunt down the missing boy, with the help of a little steampunk weaponry and gadgetry. As this is my first steampunk novel to read, I believe I chose a good starting point. I have watched steampunk movies, but never read a novel from the genera. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with steampunk, think Wild Wild West or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.) Monk doesn't over describe or under-describe the steampunk aspects of the novel. I will admit, it was a little hard at first, but I slipped right into the genre soon after the first paragraph and found myself envisioning little spider-like machines helping me type up this review.


There is also a wide range of emotions from desire to hatred to sadness. Monk doesn't just tell you how to feel, you feel it with the characters. I felt Cedar's desire to move to kill to live. I even found myself feeling bad for some of the unlucky mattics that weren't among the chosen to seek and kill. Yes, I did secretly want Shared Lafel to "Release the hounds" ... all of them. They seemed so sad, shackled to a wall, unable to kill with their friends.


What I didn't like:
At times, there was too much describing. I understand the need to describe a fictitious world like steampunk, but there were times when I just wanted Monk to hint at the objects instead of describing each bolt and nut. Hint at the surroundings.


And the last and final thing that I would change is the ending. I won't spoil it for you but I felt like it could have ended on page 321. Though every reader cry's for more, "More, tell me more... what does he do in 5, 10... 15 years? Will he marry, have children, grow a garden in a quiet town on the opposite side of the country..." The fun about getting to the end of the book (at least for me) is daydreaming about how it ends after the writing has finished. How the main character lives his/her life after this event has occurred. It gives us, the reader, a chance to feel like we are writing part of the story too

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The old west during the age of steam...

The old west during the age of steam. In this world people capable of creating both useful and decorative objects from gears, cogs, and wire are known as Devisers. In the east they are civilized and display their devices as the intricate works of art they are. In the west the rail is slowly creeping its way across the country, and the frontiersmen work and wait for the wonders of the east to arrive with the trains. This is a tale of true love and true evil. Of curses, murder, grief, and vengeance. Of greed, heroism, chaos, and hope. You will easily recognize many of the elements in Ms. Monk's story. The Rail Man, forging his way across the landscape, hurrying toward his ultimate goal, allowing no one to stand in his way. The Gunman, cursed to live alone and trying desperately to atone for his sins. The Beautiful Widow, thirsty for revenge following the death of her love. Devon has taken these iconic elements and re-imagined them into a wonderful steampunk saga filled with magic and curses, good and evil, horror and hope. If you like sweeping epic tales of struggle and triumph mixed with magic, mayhem, zombies, witches, and werewolves, you will definitely enjoy Devon Monk's highly imaginative "Dead Iron."

Interesting

Hard to get into compared to her other works but an interesting story.

Great read!

Good story with interesting characters. Clearly first of a series.

Hard to get into

It can't decide if it wants to be syfy or fantasy. I read the first chapter....and am having a hard time connecting with the story. I have yet to decide whether or not i want to read more. I love devon monk though and will probably trundle through the story out of loyalty.

a super old western fantasy as the good, the bad and the dead collide in Oregon

The residents of previously dying Hallelujah, Oregon are euphoric that railroad tycoon Shard Lefel is bringing his train to the town. However, Shard wonders how many residents would shower accolades on him if they knew he is a nonhuman Strange.

The townsfolk are unsure why though they allude to his eyes, but most feel uneasy when near hunter Cedar Hunt. Perhaps the only residents who feel okay around Hunt are the mining lunatic Madder brothers, who have a penchant for finding silver even when intoxicated, which is most of the time. While Hunt is overwhelmed with guilt over his brother's death, Rose the foundling was raised like an indentured servant senses Hunt and the siblings are different than the rest of the town, but she is unsure how. When Hunt learns his sibling is alive, he wants to find him as he sees a chance for redemption; to do so he must locate the Holder possessed by a Strange exiled to Earth.

The first Age of Steam is in a town in which the human locals are ignorant to what walks amongst them. The Monk realm avoids the steampunk trap of too much scientific babble to create the world; instead the author makes the world feel real even with the dead reanimated, magical thingamajig nightmares, witches, the cursed, and the dead. They provide a stirring time for sub-genre fans in Hallelujah.

Harriet Klausner

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