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Provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date:
Oct. 5th, 2010

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Rating:

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

PJVs QUICKIE POV: Hot damn! My jaw is still on the floor after reading this one. Excuse me while I pick it up and get my thoughts in order. I can only compare the world building in the IRON SEAS series to the greats, Tolkien, {yes him} Rowling, {her too} and King. It was phenomenal, smart, heart-stopping and rotund. The novel tracked from one end of this fictional world to another and had me imagining Krakens, Air Ships, giant coal burning ships and a world where even the humans are machines. I'm smitten with Brook's Iron-Clad world and I can't wait to go back.

REVIEW: The world of The Iron Duke is dirty, and broken. England has just recently unshackled itself from the iron-fisted rule of the feared Horde. A man emerged as their savior and has been dubbed The Iron Duke. A bastard pirate, he freed the people from  slavery by an evil, repressive host and has since been given a title and capitalized on his new found freedom.

The Lady Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth is surprised when she is summoned to the land of the Duke's to investigate a murder. Men like the Duke don't allow the police upon their land, they hide their bodies better. Upon first meeting the Duke he is as she expected, cold, arrogant and stern but as the investigation gets more and more perplexing and the body is identified she is spending more time with the Duke. His attention is not what she expected. 

The murder investigation is leading them farther and farther from London, the conspiracy deeper and deeper...and Mina is finding that the Duke's overtures are harder to resist. 

The plot is thick. The world is one of the most intelligently crafted pieces I've had the honor of experiencing. The characters are beautiful and well-formed, their emotional depth touching and entertaining.  I must go and experience more of Brook's work, because one book is just not enough.


RECOMMENDATIONS: Steampunk fans should beg, borrow and steal for this baby. Well, maybe not steal - I'll lend you mine if you ask nicely. Wonderful introduction to the Steampunk genre.