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A review by siavahda
Cold Iron by Miles Cameron
5.0
While I still dislike Gollancz for their continuously poor copy-editing - especially with regards to Cameron's works I never find less than dozens of typos/formatting errors, and far too many instances of dialogue where character names are mixed up (one that stands out in Cold Iron is a priest telling someone off and then glaring at 'the priest', ie addressing and then glaring at himself, apparently).
But as usual, Cameron's story and writing is amazing, and it looks like Masters & Mages is going to be an extremely worthy successor to the Traitor Son Cycle. I couldn't put Cold Iron down and resented anything that pulled me away from its pages; it's intricate, clever, sneakily feminist, and the magic in this world is elegantly tied to the socio-economics of the same - something that is the driving force behind the overarching plot. I really loved that aspect of the story, and having a main character who comes from a minority group viewed as thugs and thieves by the rest of the world; the dissection of racist micro-aggressions, social class, and privilege (especially regarding wealth) is all so deft and subtle that you absorb the commentary without ever being lectured on it.
I'm deeply in love with all of the characters, and although the M&M world is clearly inspired by ours, it's vastly different enough to have some truly amazing worldbuilding that I'm dying to see more of. There's also so much going on; not so much that the book feels crowded or that anything is left half-baked for lack of development, but enough to make reading this an intense experience. I needed a quick nap after finishing it; not because I was bored, but because I felt like I'd gone adventuring myself, so wholly does the story pull you in.
In short, I need book 2 immediately!
But as usual, Cameron's story and writing is amazing, and it looks like Masters & Mages is going to be an extremely worthy successor to the Traitor Son Cycle. I couldn't put Cold Iron down and resented anything that pulled me away from its pages; it's intricate, clever, sneakily feminist, and the magic in this world is elegantly tied to the socio-economics of the same - something that is the driving force behind the overarching plot. I really loved that aspect of the story, and having a main character who comes from a minority group viewed as thugs and thieves by the rest of the world; the dissection of racist micro-aggressions, social class, and privilege (especially regarding wealth) is all so deft and subtle that you absorb the commentary without ever being lectured on it.
I'm deeply in love with all of the characters, and although the M&M world is clearly inspired by ours, it's vastly different enough to have some truly amazing worldbuilding that I'm dying to see more of. There's also so much going on; not so much that the book feels crowded or that anything is left half-baked for lack of development, but enough to make reading this an intense experience. I needed a quick nap after finishing it; not because I was bored, but because I felt like I'd gone adventuring myself, so wholly does the story pull you in.
In short, I need book 2 immediately!