Blood and Iron

by Elizabeth Bear

$14.00, Roc Fantasy, 432 pp

The world of Faery is in political turmoil and being threatened by an organized group of mortal mages. Our main protagonist, Elaine – also known as Seeker – is a powerful woman controlled by the Faery Queen. She is sent to the mortal world to find the newest Merlin. She is not the only one looking for the Merlin. One of the mortal mages is also sent as is a representative from a rival Faery court. But Seeker is the one the Merlin falls in love with. However, Elaine must still convince the Merlin that their cause is just. The coming battle between mortal and fey is sure to cost thousands, if not more, of lives. Elaine’s truest love is a werewolf, Keith, who is destined to be the next Dragon Prince, which means his fate – inescapable – is to kill…lots. And her son was taken from her and raised by the Queen to be the royal heir…a truly heinous fate. Elaine must convince the Merlin to back their fight, save her son from himself and survive an arranged marriage. And she’ll need to find a way to reawaken King Arthur if she wants to save Keith.

This is a very complex plot with many threads coming together at the end. Usually a satisfying book if handled competently. Ms. Bear is a very competent writer. But I still found myself plodding through this book. I never thought of it when I wasn’t reading. It didn’t capture my imagination nor much of my interest. So why didn’t it work? The two things I need most out of a reading experience is good plot and good characterizations. The plot was very complex and, at times, a bit confusing. In fact, I was nearly halfway through before the main plot was revealed. The reader should not have to work very hard at keeping the plot lines straight. The characterizations were weak. It was as if Ms. Bear were deliberately holding her characters at arms-length. Even when we were inside Elaine’s head, it was handled rather coldly. And we never got inside anyone else’s head. They were very one-dimensional. Not highly recommended. - Catherine Book