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Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities...tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons. I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss. By day, her tattoos are her armor. By night, they unwind from her body to take on forms of their own. Demons of the flesh, turned into flesh. This is the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has ever known. The only way to live--and the very way she'll die. For one day, her demons will abandon her for her daughter to ensure their own survival--leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies. But such is the way of Earth's last protector--the only one standing between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment--and one man--changes everything.… (more)
User reviews
I wish I could offer more details on the plot. A better synopsis, but I spent most of the time I was working through this book back-tracking trying to figure out what I had missed. Were there lines I needed to be reading between perhaps? Liu is a great author, she has a wonderful imagination, but there was something missing in this story. I later found out part of that may have been because the story actually begins in an anthology. Some readers may like this but I found it to be a stumbling block. Why should I be forced to go out and buy an anthology so I could get the first chapters of this new series?
I tried to like it. I was very interested in the demons and how they came to be passed to Maxine and her maternal bloodline before her. Unfortunately very little was explained to help this part of the story along and while there were secondary characters I wanted to know more about and see more of I ended up finding Maxine herself to be a bit too two-dimensional for my tastes as a reader.
If you're a hard-core urban fantasy fan or demon slayers are a favorite heroine type for you this series might turn out to be right up your alley. For me, the results are still out there... I'll be waiting a while before bothering with any further installments.
I didn't NEED to finish this book because I knew the ending like the whole book would be ephemeral.
I didn't WANT to finish this book the way I often want to find out what happens in other reads.
I CHOSE to finish the book to say that I did.
I find it very curious that it is Book 1 of a series. Nothing compels me to sign up for another round.
The supernatural twist is that Maxine has a motley crew of allies: little demons that accompany her like a ragtag army at night, but adhere to her skin during the day as tattoos and render her physically invulnerable. It's a pretty cool idea, and the dynamic between Maxine and her demon protectors is engaging.
There's a lot of good stuff going on with THE IRON HUNT - the problem is that Marjorie M. Liu's writing is somewhat overwrought. This is a sample of what I mean:
"Shadows shifted, stretching like mouths across the room, spreading and rising from the floor and walls in churning waves. Like oil running up walls, or the abyss of Oturu's cloak, full of pressed faces and twisted bodies. A breathing, aching darkness; a tsunami of soul cages; demons hurled and writhing. The apartment grew dark and closed, as suffocating as the Wasteland, and it was the wall of demons who made it so; entombing, consuming us."
It's beautiful, it's intense, it's vivid, and it's also constant. Every paragraph is stuffed to the gills with dramatic metaphors and dramatic imagery and dramatic tension. If she used this kind of language more infrequently, waiting for the right moment to pull out all the stops and wow us, I'd be a lot more impressed. Instead, I felt the writing actually interfered with my ability to follow the story and engage with the characters.
By the same token, I think that Liu made a mistake with THE IRON HUNT by turning the "mysterious" dial up to 11. Almost every character in the novel, other than Maxine, at some point taunts her with knowledge they cannot, or will not, share. Her little army of demons have made promises to keep quiet; her enemies have no interest in telling her what she doesn't know; while her more provisional allies seem to keep secrets just for the hell of it. A lot of the time the mystery is much bigger than the secret, which is easy to guess and fairly obvious; this has an unfortunate Wizard of Oz effect. In general, I feel like a little bit less mystery would have allowed for a lot more plot.
I'm on the fence about this book in the end. On the one hand, I really enjoy the premise and the characters. It's a smart book, and Liu is capable of really incredible writing. That's enough to make me curious about the series to come. On the other hand, if I get more of this overwrought language and atmosphere drenched in mysterious mystery this series will sink to the bottom of my list real fast.
There are things here that Marjorie lays out for you to foresee in the story, but there are so many unpredictable happenings, and appearances as well. You get pieces of the plot to puzzle together as the story goes and it keeps you wanting more. I didn't want to put the book down. Another great book where I tried to make stopping points but just could NOT find one, I had to keep reading to find out what happens and what creature am I going to meet next.
I do have to mention the '80s references ~ on the radio and tv reruns. The references are in no way over done. I enjoyed the subtlety of them, since I too am an '80s lover.
One of my favorite characters in the book were the tattoos. I loved the WHOLE idea with/of them. The way they live, protecting Maxine both day and night in different ways. The way they help guide Maxine even when they are sleeping. This is an amazing creation that I look forward to reading more of.
The only thing with this story was I felt, in the first fifty pages or so, I had missed some information. Maybe I missed a story that preceded this book or maybe this is information that is left open to be discussed in future books. Either way it did not hinder the book in any way and keeps a little mystery in the book and future installments for me.
In the end, I loved this books' plot and the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone loving paranormal books.
The Iron Hunt while not the strongest read shows promise as an intro to a great story. I intend to continue reading the series as it was a page turner there at the end. This was the first book I've read by Liu and I was impressed at her original approach to the plot in The Iron Hunt. A tattooed woman by day, nearly invincible, carrying on her shoulders the responsibilities of generations surrounded by her demon friends at night as they peel themselves from her body and become their own little entities. About to take on the threat of an eternity as the veil falls. There is mystery here just waiting to be unraveled. I'm hoping the next installment doesn't take quite so long to take off running.
"Demon hunter Maxine Kiss wears her armor as tattoos, which unwind from her body to take on forms of their own at night. They stand between her and her enemies, just as Maxine stands between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in
My Thoughts:
The Iron Hunt was an interesting beginning to this urban fantasy series and different from a lot of the other books that are out there. Maxine is the only person fighting against the demons that are starting to break out from the prison that they have been trapped in for years. And her help comes from the tattoos on her body...tattoos that are actual demons that come off of her at nighttime. This made such an interesting premise for the story that I was hooked from the beginning. Maxine was a very different main character: at times she was very strong and seemed capable of handling anything, and at others she was filled with self doubt and seemed weak. It made her seem very realistic as all of these changes in personality are coming at a time when everything she knows is being turned upside down. The rules that she was taught as a child seem to be changing and it seems as if her dead mother didn't tell her everything that she would need to know. All of the questions and suspense made for a really good read. But. My only problem was that you could really tell that this was the beginning of the series. It seemed like there was a lot of setup for what was to come and not enough development within this book. And I wanted more answers for Maxine and just didn't get them. So it looks like I really need to pick up the next book and fast ;)
All in all, a good beginning to this urban fantasy series and another author that I will be following closely. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the storyline develops in the next book!
Maxine has her posse incl.
The build up was good but the ending felt rushed, a far too quick resolution and lots of issues left hanging. Clearly the set up for a series, but the evil demon of this book just went 'poof' and was gone...
Very interesting story, really enjoyed the characters. Too much happened in this story, I was easily confused by the twists and turns. I wanted more explanation to a lot of the things that happened. I got that part of the problem Maxine was having was due to all the secrets being kept, but there just seemed to be too much kept as secret even from the reader. I believe this is going to be a series, I hope that there is more time spent in explanation and less in keeping the secrets so secret. Even after reading the short story (in ‘Wild Thing’ anthology which acts as a prequel), I still struggled to understand some of it, but it is such a creative idea with some great characters.
I imagine I will eventually try the next book in the series to see if Liu has worked out the kinks, but I won't be waiting out in front of the bookstore for it.
Going against family tradition, Maxine has put down some roots with Grant Cooperon, who has a few special gifts of his own, in Seattle, Washington at the Coop, a homeless shelter owned by Grant. Grant is also a former priest. Maxine has some trepidations about about living with Grant but she loves him and can't keep herself from not staying with him. In Maxine's own words:
"Grant Cooperon, my magic bullet. And it was going to kill me one day."
Maxine senses that the veil, a prison created ten thousands years ago to imprison the most dangerous of demons, has opened and something evil has slipped through the cracks to earth's realm. Maxine has to find out what slipped through, before it finds her.
I love the way Marjorie M. Liu writes, her words are like poetry, the way they flow off the page. It was a treat to read The Iron Hunt coupled with Ms. Liu's writing style and an introduction into world of demons that is a rare one with many dimensions to explore. I enjoyed the closeness and companionship that Maxine shares with her boys. The romance in this story is very subtle, the love shared between Grant and Maxine is unquestionable from the very the start. Which I think is refreshing to see the protagonist in a solid relationship throughout the story. Maxine Kiss is a strong, warrior through and through but she is also kind, she has a softer side.
This is a read that requires your full attention because there is so much going on every page. At times the story can be dark and bleak. The Iron Hunt is an engrossing, solid story with action throughout it's pages. The end ties up the major plot point of this story but leaves a lot questions needing answers. Most of those questions are answered in Darkness Calls.
The Iron Hunt has a prequel Hunter Kiss, a novella in the Wild Thing anthology. I did not read the prequel and feel it didn't hinder the story in any way.
Covered by tattoos that make her indestructible by day, and writhe free at sunset to shred teddy bears and wreck havoc, Kiss is a Hunter. The last Hunter. The
Now, after thousands of years, the veils are weakening and something... something dangerous has come through. Maxine, Zee and the boys have their work cut out for them, with whatever help a flute player, an old man, and an odd pair of demons might be willing, or able, to provide.
The opening is missing a lot of details, which makes the plot a bit hard to follow. Fortunately, a few chapters in things settle down and start to make more sense. The start's a bit rocky, but this has the makings of a good series.
The premise is pretty cleaver. Maxine Kiss is a demon
This book almost read like a sequel to a book that never existed. It starts out with a prologue--Maxine is a child with her mom, and they go into a zombie bar and...weird stuff happens. I was still trying to wrap my mind around zombies and demons and how everything in this world works when the story picked up with Maxine as an adult. There is no pause to explain who she is or what she actually does. We meet Grant, who seems to have an elaborate back story that isn't told (at least not right away). There are also the residents of the homeless shelter and of course the tatoos to be introduced. It's a lot all at once. I understand wanting to jump right into plot and not get too bogged down in world building, but as a reader I require at least fragments of explanation that I can reasonably peice together. Say, what are demons in this universe, and what are zombies? Where does Maxine come from and how exactly does she go about her calling? Who is Grant, why are they together, where do his powers come from? I feel like this story needed a prequel or an origin story to answer the question of who are these people and why should I care. The style reflects this lack of useful information. There are a lot of abrupt statements and sentence fragments.
Fantasy readers are used to dealing with questions that go unanswered for most of the book, and yes part of the fun is figuring it all out. But this has it's limits. I didn't finish this book because I didn't feel attached to the characters at all. I don't plan on continuing with the series.
The main strength of the novel is it's fast pace, as many questions are answered as not, and there are plenty of plotlines that seem to range from minor to major, although due to some of the twists these minor themes can become major at any time. In addition to this speed, which makes the reader hunger for more, is the characters. While in many other novels, the characters are deliberately left less developed to preserve mystery, here the author manages to make hers more rounded, while revealing almost nothing, this is particularly true of "the boys", which is rather impressive since only one can actually speak. Somehow what we know we don't know about them helps to shape their characters, and I would recommend Reading it for those characters alone.
However, no book is perfect, and this is no exception. The biggest problem I had was that her name, Maxine Kiss, is supposed to be secret. Yet there is no sense of secrecy applied to, even though it seems to be important. There a couple of other small moments like that, where the way Maxine acts or feels seems to defy the narrative, but they are less noticeable. Perhaps this is evidence of characters not behaving the way the author wants them to...
The other possible downside is that the novel didn't have a sense of ending, by which I mean that it feels like the first part of a larger book. The other parts of the trilogy, or at least the next one, would help give a much more solid major story arc to the first book, as we still don't really know the major goal of the protagonist, except try and stay alive as her world gets worse and worse, which is pretty standard anyway. But this can also be seen from a more positive point of view, by considering that it leaves a perfect place, even demand for the next novel, and instead of the traditional single strong sense of "what happens next", it provides a collection of weaker ones.
Is it worth reading? Definitely. It's an interesting concept to read, and the "boys" are excellent characters. Is it worth buying? Well. I can't answer that until I read the next book. It was a good read, but since it's plot depends so much on book two, I personally wouldn't want to buy it until I knew it was going to lead to a great story. If you can get it at a discount, go for it, or if you just want to read about demons that turn into tatoos (which you should, it's brilliant), then buy the book. I sincerely look forwards to reading the sequel.
Maxine is
If you like dark paranormals and urban fantasy, don't miss this new series.
And, ugh! I just read the little blurb associated with the book: it's much better than that! And while there is a romantic element, it is not the driving theme behind the book by any stretch of the imagination.
Fortunately, it got better, though I am left to wonder why the tone/language changed.
Bold choice in starting the series off sort of in media res for the heroine. She's grown up with her worldview, so
Still digesting things. It's not quite resonating with me, and I'm not rushing to download the next book (and not just because I have 6 more library ebooks waiting), but I think I will definitely be reading the next one.