Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I'm not really sure about this one yet. I really enjoyed it, but also felt like it wasn't that outstanding to me. Thinking back on everything that happened, there just aren't moments coming to mind that were memorable to me. I mean the last few chapters were enticing, but I'm still not really sure how I feel about the ending and all. I will definitely continue, because I am curious to see what will happen next. But I think with me being stricter with my ratings that means I should be giving this a three star, so that's what I did.
Just because there seem to be an influx of reviews from people that sat around complaining about Cassandra Clare, I'm going to state this at the beginning: I read Harry Potter growing up. I've read this book now as an adult. I've read other magical school stories before and after Harry Potter. This one is just another magical school story. It's really not that similar to Harry Potter at all, aside from the ages of the characters at the start of the first book and the fact that they attend a magical school. Actually, it reminded me more of Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender more often than it did Harry Potter, but even then they were just casual observations. This book did not seem to me to be a rip-off.
Now, I have to say I rather enjoyed it. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, sure, but it was a good story and it sets up the series well at the end because you want to see the choices the characters make. Provided, that is, that you liked the characters.
Personally, I found Callum to be a little bit of a dick for the better part of the book. I get he's a frustrated kid with a disability, but he was pretty much awful to most people for most of the book. The kid is a train wreck of bad decisions in book one. Granted, he is supposed to be 12 years old. At that age, can any of us really claim to have made perfect life choices? No. And armed with magic and magical problems? It's a lot for a preteen to handle. That being said, I forgot for the better part of the book that the main characters are meant to be 12. Here I was picturing them as 15 year olds and I had to stop and reevaluate.
(Of the main trio, my favorite was definitely Aaron.)
The plot is definitely interesting. The twist at the end kind of felt like it came out of the blue, but I think it was meant to. You get little tiny hints, but you can't make a guess at it really until you learn more about chaos magic, which comes later in the book. I just finished reading it myself and I have a few questions, but Callum doesn't know the answer so neither do you as the reader since everything is filtered through Callum's perspective.
All in all, I enjoyed it and I'll be keeping my copy of the book. I'll probably look into the second book when I knock out a few more books on my to-read list. But, if this is something you're considering reading, I'd say go for it. Don't go in expecting Harry Potter and you should be fine.
Now, I have to say I rather enjoyed it. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, sure, but it was a good story and it sets up the series well at the end because you want to see the choices the characters make. Provided, that is, that you liked the characters.
Personally, I found Callum to be a little bit of a dick for the better part of the book. I get he's a frustrated kid with a disability, but he was pretty much awful to most people for most of the book. The kid is a train wreck of bad decisions in book one. Granted, he is supposed to be 12 years old. At that age, can any of us really claim to have made perfect life choices? No. And armed with magic and magical problems? It's a lot for a preteen to handle. That being said, I forgot for the better part of the book that the main characters are meant to be 12. Here I was picturing them as 15 year olds and I had to stop and reevaluate.
(Of the main trio, my favorite was definitely Aaron.)
The plot is definitely interesting. The twist at the end kind of felt like it came out of the blue, but I think it was meant to. You get little tiny hints, but you can't make a guess at it really until you learn more about chaos magic, which comes later in the book. I just finished reading it myself and I have a few questions, but Callum doesn't know the answer so neither do you as the reader since everything is filtered through Callum's perspective.
All in all, I enjoyed it and I'll be keeping my copy of the book. I'll probably look into the second book when I knock out a few more books on my to-read list. But, if this is something you're considering reading, I'd say go for it. Don't go in expecting Harry Potter and you should be fine.
Originally 4.5 stars
Changed to 3 stars
Not a very original concept.
Harry Potter parody.
Too similar concepts.
Blog Review: http://livthebooknerd.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-iron-trial-by-cassandra-clare-holly.html
Hey, guys!
I picked this up from my local library after I watched a BookTube video where a BookTuber hauled it. I've really loved Holly Black's Spiderwick Chronicles and I've loved Cassandra Clare's writing style, though I've not read all of her books, so I've been looking forward to picking up The Iron Trial.
The Iron Trial is about Callum Hunt. Call (yes "Call"). Call knows he's going to have to compete in the Iron Trial, and everyone wants to pass the Iron Trial..all except Call. All his life his father has warned him about the Magisterium. The Magisterium holds dark ties to his past and will explain his future, but the biggest test is still to come.
This book was really easy to read and by the end, I wanted to read the sequels. This book and the whole concept reminded me of a mix of the Harry Potter books and the whole Avatar the Last Airbender TV series and comic series.
(Pictures)
It took place underground, but it was a magic school where young children developed their powers which were really cool. Also, their powers weren't powered from wands or potions or other magical items like in Harry Potter but were powers that helped them connect to the elements (water, earth, fire, air, chaos, and soul). For example, Call worked on one thing for weeks at a time until his master said that his group was ready for the next thing. I really liked the teachers. Well, at least Call's teacher worked on the control until they got it. I also loved the food, the lichen, it sounded really cool and I really want to try it haha. Also, Call, Tamara, and Aaron kind of remind me of Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Harry Potter, just by their personalities and such. Cassie Clare and Holly Black really know how to build a cool new world! It was so cool to discover the Magisterium! The underground tunnels and rooms were fun to discover with Call.
What I Didn't Like: ~Callum being called Call. It should be "Cal"!!!!!
~Call's dad -- man he grated on my nerves!
~Jasper -- UGH!!!
If you Love __#_ You Will Love The Iron Trial!:
Harry Potter (7) by J.K. Rowling
The Last Airbender (Volumes 1-8) by Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzo
Peter & the Starcatchers series (5) by Dave Berry & Ridley Pearson
Enjoy guys!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~
Changed to 3 stars
Not a very original concept.
Harry Potter parody.
Too similar concepts.
Blog Review: http://livthebooknerd.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-iron-trial-by-cassandra-clare-holly.html
Hey, guys!
I picked this up from my local library after I watched a BookTube video where a BookTuber hauled it. I've really loved Holly Black's Spiderwick Chronicles and I've loved Cassandra Clare's writing style, though I've not read all of her books, so I've been looking forward to picking up The Iron Trial.
The Iron Trial is about Callum Hunt. Call (yes "Call"). Call knows he's going to have to compete in the Iron Trial, and everyone wants to pass the Iron Trial..all except Call. All his life his father has warned him about the Magisterium. The Magisterium holds dark ties to his past and will explain his future, but the biggest test is still to come.
This book was really easy to read and by the end, I wanted to read the sequels. This book and the whole concept reminded me of a mix of the Harry Potter books and the whole Avatar the Last Airbender TV series and comic series.
(Pictures)
It took place underground, but it was a magic school where young children developed their powers which were really cool. Also, their powers weren't powered from wands or potions or other magical items like in Harry Potter but were powers that helped them connect to the elements (water, earth, fire, air, chaos, and soul). For example, Call worked on one thing for weeks at a time until his master said that his group was ready for the next thing. I really liked the teachers. Well, at least Call's teacher worked on the control until they got it. I also loved the food, the lichen, it sounded really cool and I really want to try it haha. Also, Call, Tamara, and Aaron kind of remind me of Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Harry Potter, just by their personalities and such. Cassie Clare and Holly Black really know how to build a cool new world! It was so cool to discover the Magisterium! The underground tunnels and rooms were fun to discover with Call.
What I Didn't Like: ~Callum being called Call. It should be "Cal"!!!!!
~Call's dad -- man he grated on my nerves!
~Jasper -- UGH!!!
If you Love __#_ You Will Love The Iron Trial!:
Harry Potter (7) by J.K. Rowling
The Last Airbender (Volumes 1-8) by Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzo
Peter & the Starcatchers series (5) by Dave Berry & Ridley Pearson
Enjoy guys!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~
This was technically a re-read because I read the book when it first came out. I didn't do the audiobook, I read the physical book. But I forgot everything that happened so I thought why not re-listen. We're in quarantine and I have time. I'm really getting sold on audiobooks now. I recently did the audiobook for Map of Days and that was a really delightful experience for me. First of all, the world building in this was really nice. I enjoyed it. Was it the most amazing world building? No. But was it good enough to be believable? Yes. I'm not expecting the most complex world building because this is a middle grade book and world building can complicate things, which takes focus away from developing a good story and characters. Jasper is a character that is growing on me. He's easy to write off, but there's a story there and he's gonna be important. I know it. Call, Tamara, and Aaron are a little bland in my opinion. They're the core characters, but there's nothing that really making me attached to them and they don't really stand out to me. I mean Aaron has a backstory that can be compelling. Call is not the most exciting main character, but I enjoy the idea of someone who goes against the norm. Tamara is the grounding force of the story and frankly the boys would be lost without her clear expertises. This story is approachable for all age groups in my opinion and I think that this is a fun read for people looking for a quick and easy read.
Cassandra Clare e Holly Black non potevano deludermi. Lo sapevo sin da quando avevo acquistato il libro. Bellissima storia, come ha scritto Cassandra nei ringraziamenti, i lettori nel leggere questo libro pensano che sia il protagonista l'eroe, il buono colui che deve salvare tutti, quando in realtà lui ha un passato nascosto, lui è il Nemico stesso. Ho trovato molti elementi simili a Harry Potter: la sala comune, l'infermeria, il Magisterium ( che vabbè ci può stare), la foresta e Magister Rufus che mi ha ricordato un sacco Silente. Per non parlare della scena finale in infermeria ( come in Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale), e i due amici Tamara e Aaron (femmina e maschio, come Ron ed Hermione). Lettura comunque molto scorrevole e che invoglia a continuare a leggere.
What with all the hate on this book about being a Harry Potter copy. Why is it okay to have a thousand stories about vampires, but the minute you put students in a school of magic, it's a HP ripoff? If I wanted to create a believable system of magic, I would surely want their to be a place or system where young magic users are trained to use magic responsibly. Trust me, I have kids and they would wreak all levels of mayhem if they had magic and no training. Yes, there are similarities to HP, and yet ... there are enough difference for this story to stand on it's on.
The characters are magic users called mages. Their magic is very elemental and controlled by will. There are no fancy magical incantations here. The kids go to a school of magic called the Magisterium, where they are trained in an apprenticeship system.
The main protagonist, Callum (Call) Hunt, is an outcast with a physical disability and an eccentric father. The small family is shadowed by the death of his mother in a magical war. He has been brought up to believe that magic and mages are bad. Confusion mounts as he enters the magic world and all his beliefs, about the world and himself, are challenged. He is at times sympathetic, but has a brash recklessness that can make him unlikeable. His character is cloaked in uncertainty. Will he ultimately be hero or villain?
This world is woven layers of secrets and lies, where answers only lead to more questions. In the end I really enjoyed it and am invested enough to want to know what happens next.
The characters are magic users called mages. Their magic is very elemental and controlled by will. There are no fancy magical incantations here. The kids go to a school of magic called the Magisterium, where they are trained in an apprenticeship system.
The main protagonist, Callum (Call) Hunt, is an outcast with a physical disability and an eccentric father. The small family is shadowed by the death of his mother in a magical war. He has been brought up to believe that magic and mages are bad. Confusion mounts as he enters the magic world and all his beliefs, about the world and himself, are challenged. He is at times sympathetic, but has a brash recklessness that can make him unlikeable. His character is cloaked in uncertainty. Will he ultimately be hero or villain?
This world is woven layers of secrets and lies, where answers only lead to more questions. In the end I really enjoyed it and am invested enough to want to know what happens next.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*3.75 stars
To begin with I found this book a bit slow and the younger age of the characters/the writing style got on my nerves but I was pretty addicted to reading this book in the last 100 pages or so!
I usually guess plot twists and where things are going and this book surprised me many times, especially at the end which was refreshing to say the least!
This was definitely a strong start to a series and I'll definitely pick up the second book in September!
I feel like it's good going into this book not knowing a whole lot so that there's no spoilers! It does have quite a few similarities to Harry Potter but I love HP so I didn't really see this as a negative for the book because it still had a very different feel to HP and a completely different magic system!
To begin with I found this book a bit slow and the younger age of the characters/the writing style got on my nerves but I was pretty addicted to reading this book in the last 100 pages or so!
I usually guess plot twists and where things are going and this book surprised me many times, especially at the end which was refreshing to say the least!
This was definitely a strong start to a series and I'll definitely pick up the second book in September!
I feel like it's good going into this book not knowing a whole lot so that there's no spoilers! It does have quite a few similarities to Harry Potter but I love HP so I didn't really see this as a negative for the book because it still had a very different feel to HP and a completely different magic system!