At the end, we’re left with a character who’s embroiled further in the conflict, and further torn by the necessity of doing what’s right. The choice of point of view gives an impression of the emotional intensity we expect for a teenage girl character (and yes, it verges on melodrama sometimes), but the conflict she’s embroiled in is huge, and she won’t be able to solve all these problems herself. The impression I had at the end of The Iron Flower (other than “WOW”) was this is an intense, complex epic masquerading as a YA fantasy drama. And you’ll find all of that amid one of the most turbulent and troubling third acts I’ve read in a long time. You may have your suspicions, but you’ll be surprised. Other examples: what’s going to happen with Lukas Grey? What is the deal with Yvan? You’re going to find out.

Laurie Forest knows how to build suspense, specifically tension, and Elloren’s growth to power is just one of the ways she does it. The final third of The Iron Flower reveals just how unique Forest’s creation is, and how far she has come in introducing and maintaining tension. At least two of the races, the icarals and the Gardnerians, are her own creations, and they are the most crucial. The Iron Flower traces Elloren’s rise into her own power over the course of the Spring following the events of The Black Witch.Īs for conflict, this is again, on the surface, the same conflict brought up by so many Tolkien-derived fantasy books of the nineteen-seventies and eighties, but Forest puts a twist on everything by introducing new races and giving unique qualities to the ones we’ve already heard of. Thanks to Elloren’s hazy memories, we know she’s powerful, but she cannot access her power, leaving her at a disadvantage and feeling useless.

But dig beneath the surface and you’ll find a well-written story with a compelling character and a compelling conflict at its heart. There are so many reasons I wouldn’t like the Black Witch Chronicles: it’s YA it uses stereotypical fantasy races like elves, dragons, selkies, amazons and so on it’s overtly political, possibly even allegorical. This book is an incredibly complex epic fantasy with an original take on fantasy races. Everyone makes an escape plan, and Elloren plans to stay behind to help whoever she can. The action really heats up when the Gardnerian military cadets refuse to hide their prejudice, start riots, and attack members of the other races.

The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest