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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Set sail upon the Iron Seas - Brook's new steampunk series is a winner, October 5, 2010
This review is from: The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas) (Paperback)
Adventure, mystery, pirates in the air and on the sea, zombies, wonderful characters and weird steampunk technology, there is so much going on in the Iron Duke that there is no way a simple plot summary could possibly do this book justice.
The Iron Seas world that Brook's has created is fascinating - an alternate Victorian/Regency society which is still struggling to recover from years of enslavement by Mongol invaders. A familiar-yet-not world in which some of the conventional values of the time are still in force but with just enough of a twist added by what the people have survived under their oppressors - and still endure due to the technology that shaped their lives - to create a truly unique framework for a story which is 'smart' and so much more than a romance.
I really loved interactions between the leads: dangerous larger than life former pirate and national hero Rhys Trahaern and Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth, the brave and intelligent woman whom Rhys is determined to possess. However, the relationship between the pair in the Iron Duke isn't as romantic as some of Brook's other romances. And several of their sexual encounters aren't as much about romance as they are about character discovery or moving the relationship between the Mina and Rhys in a new direction - and one in particular goes to an uncomfortable place while doing it - so there wasn't quite as much steamy payoff for my inner romance reader.
In addition to the leads several of the supporting characters are standouts. I am hoping to see a great deal more of swashbuckling airship captain Lady Corsair, the savvy Lord Scarsdale, and adventurer Achimedes Fox in future books.
Steampunk is a bit of a widening of horizons for me from the more contemporary settings and paranormal elements of my normal urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but I actually ended up quite enamored with Brook's Iron Seas series starter - so that much that I read it twice back-to-back (gasp - I rarely reread). Iron Duke is definitely going on my very small keeper shelf and I'll be anxiously waiting for the next one, Steel Heart.
If you are looking for more of Brook's Iron Seas, or just want to take a dip into Brook's fascinating steampunk world before trying Iron Duke, you may want to check out the prequel "Here There Be Monsters" in the Burning Up (Berkley Sensation) anthology - it is also quite good and works well as a standalone.
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85 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The "good" rape, December 27, 2010
This review is from: The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas) (Paperback)
Even more than this novel, the overwhelmingly positive reactions to it bothered me. After some time I realized, that if I wanted my concerns voiced, I would have to write a review myself. So here it is.
THE IRON DUKE is the start to a steampunk romance series by Meljean Brook, who is better known for her paranormal Guardian series. It's my first book by this author and probably my last. If I could split the steampunk from the romance, I'd give the former 4.5 stars and the latter zero. The novel is an odd mixture of originality and romance clichés, subtle socio political nuances and romantic sledgehammer tactics. The character of the hero and his "good" rape of the heroine were deeply problematic in my eyes.
The "good" rape is a cliché often found in old school romances, where the heroine is not raped by a villain, but by her hero. The consent of the heroine is substituted by the (unconscious) consent of the reader, who knows that there is going to be a Happy End between rapist and victim eventually. The rape is used as a turning point in the story. Starting with this event everything that stands between a romantic and/or sexual relationship between hero and heroine is moved aside. The heroine gets over the trauma quickly and is allowed to live out her sexuality. In a way this ultimate loss of power empowers her. Since the power to say "no" was taken away from her, she might as well say yes and enjoy it. The victim also gains power over her rapist, who has to repent his act of sexual violence in order to become an ideal lover and/or husband and thus fulfill the HEA recquirement. On top of it the hero always has some (not) good excuses. Intoxication (substance abuse or some magical quirk), misinformation (she wasn't an adulteress, she was a virgin!) and an horrible childhood are the most popular ones. After all the heroine and the reader have to forgive him his rape and grovelling alone doesn't do it.
Rhys Trahaearn is the Iron Duke, a pirate turned war hero. Socially untouchable and though a mutation physically superior he is he archetype of the dark, tormented alpha hero. Already on page 36 he confesses "his urgent need to possess" Mina. "Take", "possess", have" and "mine" are his favourite words.
On page 64 Mina analyses the danger she finds herself in: "So this is how it would be? When pirates took over a ship, they usually gave the crew a choice between keeping their positions under a new captain, abandonment, or death. What choice would he give to her? She accepted his offer, or he ruined her family? Or would he simply rape her here? What could Trahaearn do to her family that he Horde hadn't already done? Nothing. And her family had always fought back, always, survived. The only danger he posed was to Mina's person and her career - but no matter the damage he caused, she would survive that, too."
If Mina wants to save her brother and support her impoverished family with her earnings as an inspector, she has to deal with Rhys and his constant attempts to get her into his bed. Rhys knows Mina is in a tight spot and makes sure she can't get away from him. He also knows there is a strong sexual attraction between them and doesn't concern himself with Minas misgivings. What she wants isn't important to him until after the rape and even then he doesn't quite get the ramifications of what a sexual relationship would mean for Mina (public ostracism and humiliation, loss of livelihood, danger to her health and life).
Still, over time Rhys gets to Mina. She's not immune to the sexual attraction, his war hero status or his alpha charm. But she always says no.
On page 227 Rhys rapes Mina. The way the rape is narrated, the method and the fluid consent show me, that Meljean Brook must have thought long and hard to make the rape as inoffensive as possible for the reader: Mina and Rhys are drunk - always a popular excuse. Then Mina consents to a making out session, which leads over to other sexual acts that she doesn't consent to. Drunk as he is, Rhys doesn't recognize her refusal (pushing him away, janking his hair, crying, saying no ...). His method of rape is cunnilingus and he does it until she orgasms, but doesn't get off himself. Since we are in Rhys' head for this scene, we don't experience the terror Mina must have felt, because even as she climaxes Mina doesn't want to have sex.
This "good" rape (oh, how I hate this term) is a turning point in Minas and Rhys relationship. Rhys repents and grants Mina power over himself. She stops being something to be conquered (after all he already managed that in a way) and her goals and desires become more important to him. He also "grants" her distance - he won't pursue her anymore unless she comes to him first. He gives her back the power of refusal that he has taken away by force. Rhys' repentance makes him human - changes the way he views Mina and the world.
Mina cries into her handkerchief for a few hours, but then she consents to a sexual relationship with the Iron Duke. Since the power to say "no" was taken away from her, she might as well say yes and enjoy it.
I can't begin to tell you how horrified I am by the character of the hero, the "good" rape and its execution. I simply lack the words.
To all of you who think Rhys is sexy, I'd like to give you a little mental experiment.
Consider his character and everything he does and then think about whether you'd like your mother/daughter/sister/friend to be in Mina's shoes. If the answer is a horrified "no", as it was with me, then maybe Rhys isn't as sexy after all.
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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal High Seas Steampunk Adventure Must Read Romance! (A+ Grade), October 5, 2010
This review is from: The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas) (Paperback)
This review of The Iron Duke won't do enough of justice. The entire time I read, my jaw was dropped in amazement. The Iron Duke has wowed me in some many ways. Meljean Brook is an author I'm loyal to, through and through. It's a great feeling to have started with an author since the beginning of their writing career and watch them evolve and continue to astound with every single book they've written. The Iron Duke is mind-blowing in such a way that it may just turn the romance genre on its ear, including the Steampunk genre that still has many readers scratching their heads in confusion because they just can't understand it.
The plot of The Iron Duke is one of the most complex I've read in a long time. The last author who made my head spin in such a way was Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. Bishop's books have such intricate world-building, where it's nearly impossible to explain it all. The same applies here with The Iron Duke. What I can tell you is that the world Meljean has created is a very scary and uncomfortable place, and one I wouldn't want to live in. For the past two-hundred years, the Horde has ruled most of Europe, very much like a terrorist organization that sends fear into the hearts of many, including England. The Horde has far reaching hands, but those who were lucky enough to escape parts of Europe, mainly England, to America, are now slowly returning back to the land they left behind. The reason the British fell to the Horde was that the Horde hid things called nanogents, invisible bugs, into tea and sugar where they traded it very cheaply. Then the Horde the activated the bugs. This gave them control over the British. Can you just imagine, with a touch of a button, where someone has the power to make your body do whatever it wants? Or suppress your emotions where you don't have the freedom to feel the way you want to? The Horde is able to do all this and so much more. And then one man rose up and went on a suicide mission to end the Horde's slavery. Nine years ago, the Iron Duke, known as Rhys Tarhaearn, former pirate captain and recently titled Duke of Anglesey flew his ship into the Horde's controlling tower, ending the Horde's reign over England and becoming their national hero.
Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth knows the Iron Duke's reputation very well. Mina's parents are poor even with their Lord and Lady title, and their daughter is ridiculed and spit upon because Mina was conceived during a state function the Horde held where all the peers of the realm were required to attend. The Horde planned a Frenzy, forcing the guest to engage in sexual acts with anyone and anybody. Mina was the outcome and has Horde blood running through her veins. But an important fact to bear in mind is that Mina loves her parents and visa-versa. They protect and care for one another deeply.
Mina finds purpose in her job as an inspector, even though her latest investigation leads her straight to the Iron Duke's doorsteps. A body has been dropped from an airship, and is some sort of warning against the duke. The Duke wants to handle matters himself, and away from the police, including "handling" Mina in his own special way. Mina refuses to succumb to the Iron Duke's regard toward her, but has no choice but to let him join her on the investigation because what he wants, he gets.
Someone is building an invention, a weapon the Horde would use, if they could to take over England again. Mina has a personal stake in the case when her younger brother, who's training aboard Rhys's former air ship, which is used by the British Navy, has been hijacked and the crew held for ransom. Now Mina has to rescue her brother and try to save England at the same time.
Mina won't be alone on this mission. Rhys will come with her, using not only his brains and former skill as a pirate, but along with a few trusted friends such as the Lady Yasmeen Corsair, the captain of her own airship, and Rhys's close friend Scarsdale, a drunk who is afraid of heights, but has a man's back during a fight. Mina has so much to lose because Rhys has targeted her for his own. He has laid claim to Mina, and the price he's asking is too high for her to accept. Rhys is not one to take no for an answer, and soon he's cutting away at Mina's resolve where she wants to give into the desires the Iron Duke is offering regardless of the consequences.
Everyone so often I'll have a call to action telling people to buy a book and drop any other book they're reading at the moment. Here I am again with that call for The Iron Duke. There are not enough adjectives to describe what a wonderful experience I had while reading The Iron Duke. This is one book that makes me want to applaud because it's so damn good. Meljean brings forth the steam, and I'm not just talking about the steam from the airships and machines within these pages. The things that come out of Rhys's mouth in regards to what he wants to do to Mina, and then does to her, had me blushing. Hello? Me, your pervy KB blushing over a love scene? That takes immense skill from an author to be able to make me have such a reaction. The amount of times Rhys gives pleasure to Mina, and the way it's describe in graphic detail, will make you melt into a pile of goo. This is one relationship that's incredibly passionate and straight up sex on a stick. Something very important to keep in mind is that Mina is no pushover when it comes to Rhys. Poor Rhys never stood a chance with Mina. She is his salvation, and soon his reason for breathing.
There's a combination of swashbuckling fights that brings to mind the 1935 movie, Captain Blood, ravenous, crazed zombies, and enough science fiction and fantasy to make you agog because Meljean makes it work so well together when it shouldn't.
While reading The Iron Duke, I couldn't stop thinking about the 1984 movie, The Terminator. There are many subtle instances of that movie within the story, mainly because of what the Horde made people become. The Iron Duke can be taken somewhat in the literal sense when it comes to Rhys, but make no mistake; he's not a mindless machine, but very much a man who feels. If James Cameron ever got his hands on The Iron Duke, that movie would be a blockbuster of epic proportions.
If you don't read The Iron Duke, you're making a big mistake. The Iron Duke may be one of the most influential books published this year that If I could, would roll around with it to soak up its excellence.
Katiebabs
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