Books: The Iron Thorn

Caitlin Kittredge makes her YA debut with her novel The Iron Thorn, first in the Iron Codex series. With ten novels already under her belt (from the Black London, Nocturne City and Icarus Project series), Ms. Kittredge has a strong standing in urban fantasy. In The Iron Thorn, fifteen year old heroine Aofie Grayson faces hereditary madness, ostracism, and enemies from both this world and elsewhere in an Age of Reason taken to a far — and repressive — extreme.

Aofie is a ward of the city of Lovecraft, Massachusets, a city run by Reason enforced by jackbooted Proctors. The time period is the mid to late 1950s by the calendar, but the steampunk technology and societal norms give the setting a late Victorian feel. The mixing of the two enhances the influence of the Cthulhu Mythos on the novel, even when the characters start dealing with the “Fair Folk” aka the Fey.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised when the Fey became present in this book. I was expecting this to be something of a primer to Lovecraft’s work, and it still serves as such. The Fair Folk as antagonists (Tremaine in particular) doesn’t diminish the effectiveness of the work. The mantle of otherworldly influence need not be the sole property of the Great Old Ones.

Aofie faces impending madness come her sixteenth birthday, a hereditary condition brought by a necrovirus that has already claimed her mother Nerissa and her missing brother Conrad. I liked this facet of the heroine’s characterization, as it combines the stigmas of familial issues with mental illness. Lovecraft’s parents — his father at least — was a victim of syphillis, which can be a congenital condition. On top of that, psychological care for women in the 1950s was often brutal.

However, I thought this aspect fell short when Aofie discovered that magic did exist. I didn’t get a strong enough reaction from the character. What I was expecting was uncertainty, panic, disbelief, self doubt (thanks to the doom of the necrovirus), and the struggle of having to come to terms with the reality of the situation. I would think that as an engineering student, she would try to rationalize or codify her newfound ability somehow. Instead she accepts it with little struggle and continues.

It feels as if there’s two novels in here that got crammed together. The first half of the story features Aofie fleeing Lovecraft for Arkham in an effort to find her brother at the family estate. Then her Weird awakens and the novel could have continued with that internal struggle I mentioned leading up to a climax wherein she establishes her power over Grayson Manor. Instead we move to the second half of the story following Aofie’s efforts to break a curse over the two Queens of the Fey at Tremaine’s behest, leading to another climax that sets the stage for a second book. This wouldn’t be so bad if there were a proper denouement for a reader to catch their breath, but the pace doesn’t back off, and the manner of the ending had a “to be continued” feel to it.

Along the way another primary character takes a turn that comes straight out of nowhere. It’s another reason why I think this could have been two books — the moment lacks precedent. Essentially this character befriended Aofie and Conrad and lied to both of them for years. As with her issue with magic, the betrayal of Aofie’s trust and her reconciliation come and go too quickly.

The question on my mind is does this negative outweigh the positives? The answer is no. Aofie, Calvin and Dean are solid characters. While I predicted that there’d be conflicting relationships between the three of them, it still worked and allowed them all to develop. Aofie is not a passive character by any stretch of the imagination. The world is against her for reasons that are no fault of her own, but instead of angsting over and bemoaning her fate she tries to learn and do something about it. It’s what makes her a sympathetic character and through her the reader develops a similar connection with Dean and Cal. That’s solid writing right there.

From a fantastic standpoint, I also appreciated how Aofie’s Weird — her ability to use magic — manifested. It may appear cliche that as an engineer her magic allows her to connect with and utilize aether fueled machines, but I would disagree. It gives her a unique mode of power and as she discovers more about her nature it raises some questions. These aren’t the kind of “fridge logic” questions that cause a story to break, but instead the kind that encourages the reader to move on to the next book and see just how things pan out. That’s what good writing is supposed to do.

Despite the stumbles, I enjoyed reading The Iron Thorn. The mix of steampunk and Cthulhu Mythos make a unique setting for a teen reader that can act as a gateway for stories like Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker or even Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu. It’s a fast paced adventure with a worthy heroine in a world that’s set to screw with her (as any good setting should), making for a compelling read. Buy it and help warp some kid’s mind.

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