Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale (Modern Faerie Tale) [Paperback]

Holly Black (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 1, 2008 | Series: Modern Faerie Tale

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Finding your place in the world is no picnic at the best of times, but pixie changeling Kaye finds it tougher than most. And no wonder: her boyfriend has been crowned king of the Unseelie Court and her best friend suffers from a faery's curse. In this follow-up to Black's previous two books about the urban fey, Kaye and her gay friend Corny (from Tithe, 2003) meet brothers Luis and Dave (from Valiant, 2005), and the teens are caught in the middle of a clash between the rival faery courts. As characters struggle to shape their identities, quintessential coming-of-age themes are as skillfully interwoven as in the earlier adventures, as are seductive contradictions: faeries who cannot lie nonetheless find ways to connive and betray, loyalty and love are wielded as weapons, and ethereal beauty often masks cruelty of the ugliest sort. The chilling game of wits culminates in a satisfying conclusion to this dark, edgy fantasy, a must-purchase for Black's many devoted fans. Rutan, Lynn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, The Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (with Ted Naifeh), the Curse Workers series, and her new ghostly middle grade novel, Doll Bones. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award. She currently lives in New England with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret door. Visit her at BlackHolly.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Reprint edition (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689868219
• ISBN-13: 978-0689868214
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi! I'm Holly Black, and I write contemporary fantasy of all different sorts. Some of my titles include TITHE, VALIANT (winner of the Andre Norton Award), IRONSIDE, the Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), the graphic novel series The Good Neighbors (with Ted Naifeh), and the new mobster fantasy series The Curse Workers, which includes WHITE CAT and the forthcoming RED GLOVE. I have also co-edited three anthologies, GEEKTASTIC, ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS and WELCOME TO BORDERTOWN. I live in western Massachusetts with my husband, artist Theo Black, and several odd cats in a house with a secret library.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too April 15, 2007

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

I have been looking forward to this book ever since I finished Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, and Holly Black most definitely does not disappoint. IRONSIDE picks up soon after the events in Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale and Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie, and takes the reader on another breathless journey into the amazing and deadly world of Faerie.

Things have been uneasy ever since Roiben assumed the throne of the Unseelie Court, and with the threat of war in the air and Roiben's coronation drawing near, everyone is on edge. Changeling Kaye Fierch knows that she loves Roiben, but she feels increasingly unwelcome and out of place in the Unseelie Court. So the night of the coronation, determined to prove herself to Roiben and the rest of the court, she makes a formal declaration and pledges herself to him as his consort. However, faerie custom demands that a quest be undertaken before anyone can sit as the Lord's consort, and Roiben grants Kaye an impossible task: to find a fairy who can tell an untruth. Now she is forbidden from seeing or speaking to him until she completes something she knows cannot be done.

Kaye doesn't know where to go, because she has been feeling uncomfortable at home as well, knowing that she stole a human child's life. In a moment of desperation, she tells her mother the truth: that she is a changeling that was switched with Ellen's real daughter, the real Kaye, and she vows to retrieve her from the Seelie Court and return her to Ellen. She feels that this, at least, is something she can do, even if there's no way she can complete Roiben's quest.

But with all the tension between the courts there is nowhere safe, and in venturing into the Seelie Court to find her human counterpart, Kaye puts herself within reach of Lady Silarial. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she's willing to do anything, including using Kaye, to get it. Once again Kaye finds herself in the middle of Faerie politics, but this time Roiben's not there to save her, and she may not have a way out.

In my personal experience it is rare that a sequel ever lives up to the first book, but IRONSIDE does just that. Full of court rivalry, deception and betrayal, sword fights and murder, faerie curses, new romances, and even characters from Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie, IRONSIDE is another wonderful foray into the dark, gritty world of Faerie and will not leave readers disappointed. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you pound your pillow in frustration and clap your hands in delight. My one and only complaint is that this is the last book set in this amazing world.

Reviewed by: Andie Z.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enticing and delectable read for all ages! January 23, 2008

By CreepyT VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I was sucked into this trilogy upon recommendation by several friends. I must admit, I was at first quite skeptical as to whether or not a teen faerie tale would appeal to me, but I decided to give the first book (Tithe) a shot anyway. After reading Tithe, I was hooked on the delectable world Black had created, and wanted to read further.

Valiant, in some ways, was very disappointing to me at first. For the end of Tithe left some loose ends dangling precariously. I wanted to know, as many readers did I'm sure, what happened to Kaye and Roiben after that tale ended. Rather than picking up where Tithe left off, Valiant begins another story set in the same time and the same world. While mentioning some of the characters from the previous book, Valiant really is in many ways a stand-alone novel. Though Valiant doesn't really satisfy in terms of picking up Kaye and Roiben's story, it is quite an excellent read in and of itself. The lack of continuity between the books left me a tad skeptical to read the third. Nonetheless, the tales were both so downright intriguing that I had to read the third.

With Ironside, Black does a wonderful job of telling another wonderful tale, bringing in several characters from both books, and tying up some loose ends. Kaye and Roiben are back and the tension between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts has grown. Kaye, being the punk changeling that she is (I mean that in a good way) has gotten herself into quite a mess that she's working on sorting out. Luis is working on keeping him and his brother safe in ironside after the events that took place in Valiant. The Seelie queen's true colors are shining through upon Roiben's coronation, in which he formally claimed the Unseelie throne. Overall Black's writing seems to have developed quite a bit between all three novels, and it really shows in this final book. The plot is, for lack of a better word, much tighter and very well-developed.

On the whole, it's difficult to not fall in love with the world and characters Black has created in her "Modern Tales of Faerie," and it's hard to not find something or someone in these tales to relate to, no matter your age. I highly recommend the entire trilogy to any fans of fantasy literature, or anyone looking for a light-hearted romp through a fun and mystical adventure world. I'd love to see the characters come back in yet another tale in the future!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good .. but somthing was missing for me. June 10, 2007

By Melissa Henstra VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I liked this book, I did but honestly I thought I would like it more. not that I didn't enjoy it, hard not to like Holly's work really. It's just that I felt it didn' carry quite the same weight as the other two. It's possible that because I liked Valiant so much that going back to Kaye's story interesting as it was, was like backsliding a little. Another reviewer pointed out that perhaps the reason Ironside is a slight let down is because we don't find out why Kaye was switched in the first place. I thought of that while I was reading, but I came to the conclusion some where along the way that there was no real reason that Kaye was switched, at least in the Kaye is secretly someone uber special, who's destiny will alter Faerie forever kind of way. I think it had more to do with the fact that Chibi-Kaye (I love that) was exotic looking and as such would have atracted the notice of the Fey, like an unusual piece of art, they wanted to collect her. Of course that doesn't reall account for why The Brite Queen wanted her looked after, but the books don't say that that is an unusual thing, or maybe I missed it. After all such a big thing is made of Pixies being low born it just doesn't make sense the the Seelie Gentry would single Kaye out. another thing is, I would have liked to know Kaye's true name, though I can see why Kaye herself woudn't want to know it.

But mostly the thing I found odd was that Ironside seems to be an ending. If this is the end why write Valiant at all, yes there are cameos on all sides through the three books but it's still off. Unless Valiant's purpose was to introduce Luis and Dave, but if it was why have Val as the center of the story instead of Luis and Dave themselves. I don't know, Guess I'm hoping there will be more books. it would suck to have all these questions go unanswered. And because these are some seriously good reading.