The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1), Julie Kagawa
379 pages
ARC from NetGalley - release date October 23, 2012
urban fantasy
Started 9/2/12
Finished 9/4/12
4 STARS
How I have missed the Nevernever. Everyone who knows me knows that The Iron Fey is one of my all-time favorite series. I've read everything that Julie Kagawa has written (that I know about, anyway). So, when I saw that NetGalley had an advance e-copy of The Lost Prince from Kagawa's new Iron Fey spin-off series available, I did my happy book jig, and clicked the "yes, please" button.
Kagawa's new series follows Meghan's younger brother Ethan. Ethan is no longer a five-year-old boy. Thirteen years have passed, and Ethan is now an 18-year-old cynical, cranky loner who likes to wear his shirts inside out and carry salt around in his backpack. Needless to say, his social life is non-existent as is any semblance of a normal relationship with anyone. His traumatic time in the Nevernever has scarred him - he sees faery creatures all the time, and they know he can see them. They've damn near ruined his life, and his sister has been MIA since she became the Iron Queen and got married. Ethan, bitter and pissed-off, vows to never ever engage anything from the Nevernever again.
That is, until a new breed of creature starts stalking him and he and the school reporter are forced to escape to the Nevernever. Now, Ethan is forced to face his sister and her family for the first time in 13 years, as well as all his fears that he's worked so hard to tramp down. And, the real question in, can he find it in himself to align with the faeries against a new threat?
Although I missed Meghan and, especially, Ash, I was very glad that The Lost Prince kept its focus on Ethan. Meghan's and Ash's story has been told. And it was an entertaining one. But, this is about Ethan's journey and those new characters that he comes in contact with. The extra nice part is that some of our old favorites do still play a prominent role, which succeeds in tying the two series together.
Ethan is a really complex character. You have to feel for the guy - he's had a hard time of things since Meghan left him. And, we know why she did it. But, only Kagawa could make me feel anger and irritation toward a character that I love so much. I feel so badly for Ethan - that he's had to endure so much because of the choices Meghan made.
Kenzie was a welcome edition. She is spunky and accepting and soft and daring. I can't wait to see how Kagawa will get her out of the seemingly impossible situation that she's in.
My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that I never felt entirely connected to Keirran. He seems to dwarf the other big personalities in the book - even those who only appear for a short while like Puck and Ash. He seems superficial and not fully developed. Perhaps this was done on purpose. The next book in the series is called The Traitor Son, so one can only imagine that it's referring to him. Maybe Keirran will go 3D for us in the next book and really show readers what he's all about.
All-in-all, this was a really exciting start to Kagawa's Iron Fey spin-off series. I can't wait to add it to the rest of my collection!
No comments:
Post a Comment