The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marjorie M. Liu (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 24, 2008

First in a stunning new urban fantasy series from an author who “NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE.” (BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW)

Demon hunter Maxine Kiss wears her armor as tattoos, which unwind from her body to take on forms of their own at night. They stand between her and her enemies, just as Maxine stands between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment—and one man— changes everything.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'First in a stunning new urban fantasy series from an author who never ceases to amaze' BOOKLIST, starred review 'High-speed action ... creative and well-written' DARQUE REVIEWS 'From the imagination of one of today's most talented authors comes a mesmerizing, darkly disturbing world on the brink of apocalypse' ROMANTIC TIMES 'High-speed action ... creative and well-written' DARQUE REVIEWS, 'From the imagination of one of today's most talented authors comes a mesmerizing, darkly disturbing world on the brink of apocalypse' ROMANTIC TIMES --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Marjorie M. Liu is an attorney who has lived and worked throughout Asia. She hails from both coasts, but currently resides in the Midwest, where she writes full-time. When not writing, she enjoys listening to music, painting, designing websites, and returning to old movie favorites, some of which involve light sabers, various applications of the Force, and small green men with pointy ears. She is also, occasionally, commandeered by poodles.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441016065
• ISBN-13: 978-0441016068
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marjorie M. Liu is an attorney who has lived and worked throughout Asia. She hails from both coasts, but currently resides in the Midwest, where she writes full-time.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A tantalizing read! June 26, 2008

By Detra Fitch VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

During the day Maxine Kiss is covered in black tattoos, even her nails. The only part of her body that is not covered in markings is from the top of her neck to her hairline. Maxine keeps all the markings covered - always. During the day those same tattoos are her armor. Nothing can harm her. She is invincible. At night the tattoos peel from her skin to take on forms of their own. No one would ever have imagined an army of demons living on one woman's skin. When "the boys" peel off of her skin, Maxine is human - vulnerable. But the demons are the best little bodyguards on earth.

Long ago a prison had been built out of air, a prison made of layers and rings and boundaries. The worst demons were sealed in the prison. Yet now, ten thousand years later, the prison is beginning to fail. However, even way back then, someone knew it would eventually happen. That someone created the Wardens, men and women with the speed and power to guard this world against a break in the prison veil. The Wardens were humans constructed to fight those demons that manage to slip through the veil. The Wardens are all dead now. The women in Maxine's family are the last.

Someday, just like her mother before her, Maxine will raise and train her daughter. Then "the boys" will abandon Maxine for her daughter - leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies. This, for Maxine, is normal. It is the way of Earth's last protector. It is life with no love, reveling in death. Enter the one man who just may change everything.

**** This story is nothing short of bizarre. I was well into the story before everything began to make sense. Zee, the only one of Maxine's demons which actually talks, loves to speak in riddles. As things begin to solidify and make some sense to me, the author throws me for a loop by introducing zombies and demons that Maxine tolerates, if not allowing herself to feel some affection towards.

If you are looking for a quick read then this is not the book for you. Author Marjorie M. Liu's story is multi-layered and will grab readers' interests quickly, never to let go. A tantalizing read! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good But Somewhat Confusing Read June 25, 2008

By loonigrrl VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

****SPOILERS****

I bought The Iron Hunt without realizing that there had been a prequel story in the Wild Thing Anthology. As I was reading it, I was often confused. It almost seemed like I had jumped into the second book of the series, and I kept checking the introductory pages to make sure this was the first one. When I couldn't find anything about another book, I just assumed the author wanted to start the story right in the middle of all the action. Unfortunately, some of this did hurt my enjoyment of the book, but not enough to stop. I'll be picking up the anthology next, and will most likely continue on with the series.

Maxine Kiss was born to become a Hunter, just like her mother, and her mother's mother, and so on. She is Earth's protector against the demons on Earth and the demon army waiting impatiently for the veil to fall. The story begins when a private investigator, whom she doesn't know, is found dead with her name on his body. Maxine begins searching for answers and finds several people along the way, all of whom may be or may become very important to her.

I very much enjoyed the world that Liu had created, particularly the characters and their relationships. All of Maxine's Demons were so . . . well, lovable and cute, even when they weren't supposed to be. Maxine's memories of her mom and grandmother brought me to tears and the other characters and their various and complicated relationships with Maxine kept me wanting to know more. The book also took a few surprising turns- I was amazed by all Maxine had to go through in a single book.

Most of my difficulties with this book stem from not having read the short story. I felt the loss of seeing the beginnings of Maxine's relationship with Grant, and never felt like I really got a feel on Grant beyond him being a pretty decent and powerful guy. Because I wasn't sure if the author was going to do anything with Grant, I didn't know what to think of a couple other men (and in my mind, potential love interests) who came into the picture.

The back cover states that hers is a life lacking in love until one man changes everything. This confused me too because when the story opens, she already has Grant and has a life with love. Therefore, it took me awhile to decide if Grant was the man described in the summary or if it was someone else. Because of this confusion, I kept worrying that Grant was going to get killed off or something similarly drastic.

Another frustrating aspect for me were all the hints, and questions and mystery surrounding Maxine and her real powers, and who she really is. In fact, ALL the other characters ALL seemed to know what's going on about everything, except Maxine. I wasn't sure if some of these questions were hinted at or answered in the short story, and again just felt like I was missing something. I also got fed up at everyone's refusal to answer a direct question. This happened A LOT.

Despite a somewhat frustrating and confusing read, I still managed to get sufficiently caught up in the action, characters and the story that I quickly sped through and finished The Iron Hunt. I would recommend this book, however, I would also suggest reading the short story first.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars the premise is great, the execution questionable July 6, 2008

By Madame X TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The premise of THE IRON HUNT is great - ten thousand years ago a horde of demons was contained in a prison, and Wardens were created to police the earth and capture any escapees. But the Wardens were limited in number, and over the years escaped demons have killed every Warden but one: Maxine Kiss. What's worse, the prison itself is failing and Maxine has no hope of preventing the global annihilation that looms closer and closer on the horizon.

The supernatural twist is that Maxine has a motley crew of allies: little demons that accompany her like a ragtag army at night, but adhere to her skin during the day as tattoos and render her physically invulnerable. It's a pretty cool idea, and the dynamic between Maxine and her demon protectors is engaging.

There's a lot of good stuff going on with THE IRON HUNT - the problem is that Marjorie M. Liu's writing is somewhat overwrought. This is a sample of what I mean:

"Shadows shifted, stretching like mouths across the room, spreading and rising from the floor and walls in churning waves. Like oil running up walls, or the abyss of Oturu's cloak, full of pressed faces and twisted bodies. A breathing, aching darkness; a tsunami of soul cages; demons hurled and writhing. The apartment grew dark and closed, as suffocating as the Wasteland, and it was the wall of demons who made it so; entombing, consuming us."

It's beautiful, it's intense, it's vivid, and it's also constant. Every paragraph is stuffed to the gills with dramatic metaphors and dramatic imagery and dramatic tension. If she used this kind of language more infrequently, waiting for the right moment to pull out all the stops and wow us, I'd be a lot more impressed. Instead, I felt the writing actually interfered with my ability to follow the story and engage with the characters.

By the same token, I think that Liu made a mistake with THE IRON HUNT by turning the "mysterious" dial up to 11. Almost every character in the novel, other than Maxine, at some point taunts her with knowledge they cannot, or will not, share. Her little army of demons have made promises to keep quiet; her enemies have no interest in telling her what she doesn't know; while her more provisional allies seem to keep secrets just for the hell of it. A lot of the time the mystery is much bigger than the secret, which is easy to guess and fairly obvious; this has an unfortunate Wizard of Oz effect. In general, I feel like a little bit less mystery would have allowed for a lot more plot.

I'm on the fence about this book in the end. On the one hand, I really enjoy the premise and the characters. It's a smart book, and Liu is capable of really incredible writing. That's enough to make me curious about the series to come. On the other hand, if I get more of this overwrought language and atmosphere drenched in mysterious mystery this series will sink to the bottom of my list real fast.