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tani's review
2.0
The world itself was interesting, but then a vast majority of the book was based on establishing how awful things are and how both the good and bad things come back around, over and over again. I guess the ending was meant to give me hope, but by that point, I'd stopped caring about Jane because her life was just too miserable for me to want to care, if that makes sense. Not impressed.
thedaynamarie's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a fever dream. I have so many questions for Swanwick, and much like Jane, I don’t think I’ll ever get satisfactory answers. I loved the world building (confusing as it was) and the dedication to pushing the narrative forward even when there was little closure from the previous portion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and War
meggypeg's review
1.0
This was the first adult scifi book I ever read. I snuck it home from the Eugene, OR public library when I was 12...since I wouldn't have been allowed to read it. I remember finding it strange, and confusing, and crude...although I didn't understand the crudity fully, I knew it was bad.
I think I always attributed that opinion to the fact that I was too young to read the book at the time. I had since looked it up online and noticed that it won all sorts of awards.
So, almost 20 years later, I got it through interlibrary loan.
Nope...it is still just as confusing and unclear as it ever was. And now that I understand the crudity, it is WAY more troublesome. Especially because most of it is in no way necessary to furthering the plot. It serves no purpose in the literary arc.
I don't really recommend this book to anyone. If you want dragon books, or post apocalyptic fairy novels, or disturbingly dark scifi...I can make you any number of better recommendations. [b:The Snow Queen|139986|The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1)|Joan D. Vinge|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388298425s/139986.jpg|522872] for example.
I think I always attributed that opinion to the fact that I was too young to read the book at the time. I had since looked it up online and noticed that it won all sorts of awards.
So, almost 20 years later, I got it through interlibrary loan.
Nope...it is still just as confusing and unclear as it ever was. And now that I understand the crudity, it is WAY more troublesome. Especially because most of it is in no way necessary to furthering the plot. It serves no purpose in the literary arc.
I don't really recommend this book to anyone. If you want dragon books, or post apocalyptic fairy novels, or disturbingly dark scifi...I can make you any number of better recommendations. [b:The Snow Queen|139986|The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1)|Joan D. Vinge|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388298425s/139986.jpg|522872] for example.
katzeball's review against another edition
2.0
Da fuq did I just read?
I picked this up because I saw it on China Mieville's list of sci-fi/fantasy that socialists should read, and only finished it because my Kindle kept telling me I had less than an hour left.
This book was like a gritty reboot of The Silmarillion. There was no internal logic to the narrative, instead using fantasy as a device for introducing and discarding characters and plot threads at will. I realize the author is trying to make a point about the randomness and futility of life, but this book was so tedious and unenjoyable in doing so.
I'm giving it two stars because the author certainly got his Nihilism across. Reading this book was indeed a pointless six hours of my life.
I picked this up because I saw it on China Mieville's list of sci-fi/fantasy that socialists should read, and only finished it because my Kindle kept telling me I had less than an hour left.
This book was like a gritty reboot of The Silmarillion. There was no internal logic to the narrative, instead using fantasy as a device for introducing and discarding characters and plot threads at will. I realize the author is trying to make a point about the randomness and futility of life, but this book was so tedious and unenjoyable in doing so.
I'm giving it two stars because the author certainly got his Nihilism across. Reading this book was indeed a pointless six hours of my life.
vroomfondel's review
3.0
I'm sure that there's a good story here. Unfortunately, my memory of this book is filtered through the hormone-addled teenage brain that I was using when I read it.
What I remember about The Iron Dragon's Daughter is sex. Lots of sex. I remember magic that's powered by sex and magic that's meant to affect sex. I have a vague recollection of a techno-magical society that may have been a dystopia needing to be overthrown. I'm not sure how accurate that is, though - it's hidden behind a beast with two backs.
Now that I'm well out of that bizarre mental haze, I may need to revisit this book. This time I should be able to enjoy the story the way it's meant to be enjoyed.
Unless it triggers a relapse...
What I remember about The Iron Dragon's Daughter is sex. Lots of sex. I remember magic that's powered by sex and magic that's meant to affect sex. I have a vague recollection of a techno-magical society that may have been a dystopia needing to be overthrown. I'm not sure how accurate that is, though - it's hidden behind a beast with two backs.
Now that I'm well out of that bizarre mental haze, I may need to revisit this book. This time I should be able to enjoy the story the way it's meant to be enjoyed.
Unless it triggers a relapse...
lyraloo's review
4.0
Really really liked this book, but found it difficult to read. Got a weird local smack in the face at the end so there's that.
jetamors's review
3.0
The first half of this book is excellent, but I felt that it became unfocused and confused in the second half.
pamelajp's review
1.0
this is trash. sex n drugs n aliens in a book doesn't bother me..but this was just disgusting... to me...started ok but midway I was skimming alot just to see what happens to the iron dragon....which is such a small part of story.
yaroslav_nazarenko's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
cornsyrup's review
2.5
I don't... know... what I feel about this book.
It was very well written and I definitely wanted to pick it up and keep going, but I think all the different sections being essentially self-contained stories gave me an end result less than the sum of its parts. I liked the first two sections the most: the factory was creative and interesting and I really felt for the children, then the high school section (a really weird jarring tone shift) felt the most interesting seeing Jane slowly become a new and independent person as she grew up in this new area. But the later sections didn't do as much for me. Other people have complained about how Jane was a horrible person and less interesting as a result, but I like books about horrible people I just didn't feel like the stories in the later sections were quite as fun. Puck was a non-entity in the third section and I wish Jane had spent more time with Sirin (instead her story was mostly taken up with Monkey and Ratsnickle in a plot that ended off-screen like a limp little cough). Then the final section felt rushed and weird, and this was my least favourite version of Rooster/Puck, I don't even remember his name he was so boring and nothing-burger and we didn't have enough time to really get to know him before everything wrapped up. Then a sudden shift to... the real world? And by then I just wasn't feeling it.
So... a mixed bag of things. I think I'd be up for trying more from the author, but this particular book wasn't really for me.
It was very well written and I definitely wanted to pick it up and keep going, but I think all the different sections being essentially self-contained stories gave me an end result less than the sum of its parts. I liked the first two sections the most: the factory was creative and interesting and I really felt for the children, then the high school section (a really weird jarring tone shift) felt the most interesting seeing Jane slowly become a new and independent person as she grew up in this new area. But the later sections didn't do as much for me. Other people have complained about how Jane was a horrible person and less interesting as a result, but I like books about horrible people I just didn't feel like the stories in the later sections were quite as fun. Puck was a non-entity in the third section and I wish Jane had spent more time with Sirin (instead her story was mostly taken up with Monkey and Ratsnickle in a plot that ended off-screen like a limp little cough). Then the final section felt rushed and weird, and this was my least favourite version of Rooster/Puck, I don't even remember his name he was so boring and nothing-burger and we didn't have enough time to really get to know him before everything wrapped up. Then a sudden shift to... the real world? And by then I just wasn't feeling it.
So... a mixed bag of things. I think I'd be up for trying more from the author, but this particular book wasn't really for me.