Since I haven't read much steampunk and I saw The Iron Wyrm Affair at the used bookstore, I knew I needed to snatch it up. When I finished TIWA, I stared at the cover for a few minutes trying to decide how I felt. There were things I loved and others that irked the heck out of me. Rating it seemed almost impossible.So, I've decided to use a little math. Let's start with 3-stars and go from there:Plus 1/2 star: Steampunk element was well done. I like the mix of magic and technology. Plus 1/2 star: Some good world building and characterization. Victorian England elements worked within the story. The explanations of the different types of people - sorcerers (some prime or super special like Bannon), mentaths (extra smart geniuses like Clare) and shields (protectors like Mikal) - was fascinating. By the way, I would be a mentath if you care.Minus 1/2 star: Taking the convenient route when world building. It's not a problem that we recognize Victorian England but I don't think an author should take the easy way out and leave too much of the real world in place. There were scenes where it was a little too close to reality. Minus 1 star (and probably should be more): Characterization of women. How can you have a strong, smart female lead like Emma Bannon and still leave the reader feeling like you dislike women? Clare alludes to Bannon being too hard or straight-forward. Ok, I could accept that as part of his character. But, you made Emma question herself constantly saying that she wasn't feminine enough or was too outspoken. And, why, every time she said a curse word was it blanked out? Other, male characters, were allowed to curse freely. Don't get me started on the attitude Clare had about Bannon's intimate relationship. MYOB, buddy. Minus 1/2 star: This reduction is simply due to Clare's obsession with Bannon's child-like face and curly hair. It was creepy. Plus 1 star: When you can't wait to read the next installment, the book deserves an extra star.Overall, 3/5 stars. Now, can someone send me the next one? I really enjoyed this steampunk novel, but I should warn other readers that the blurb is misleading - it indicates that Bannon and Clare can barely stand one another, but that is not the case at all. In fact, they meet for the first time at the beginning of the novel and work fairly well together, despite approaching the mysteries of the plot in different ways. I can understand why some reviewers didn't like the novel. There is a lot going on and it's very densely packed, but I had a hard time putting it down and found the book very satisfying. I'll certainly be reading the next book in the series.
What do You think about The Iron Wyrm Affair (2012)?
Very hard for me to finish reading. Stilted language and a slow moving, often confusing plot.
—Lizpete21
it wasn't absolutely horrible, but I have no intention of reading any of the sequels ever.
—dpeters
