u/Direct-Artist-9390

G’day Lionhearts,

This series quickly became my wife’s favourite, to the point where seemingly every night she was hosting a different group of ladies from the neighbourhood at our house, talking about these colourful little books. She was so invested that it was all she would talk about. I was shunned to the bedroom and barely got to speak to my wife for a solid month. 😂

So, I dived in head first and read all 8 books, journaling my thoughts at the end of each one in an effort to earn an invite to her evening meetings.

If you’ve ever wondered what your husband would think if you could convince him to read Emma M. Lion, I’ve made the video for you.

I’ve got some very strong opinions on the love interest sweepstakes, plenty of theories, and a few disagreements with my wife along the way.

I’d love to know where you all think I got it completely wrong.

G’day fantasy readers, I recently picked up Ironbound by Andrew Givler when I saw about 10 posts all claiming that ‘if you like Red Rising and Will of the Many, then read Ironbound’. I powered through book 1 and have similarly devoured book 2, Cold Wind.

 

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Having finished both books, is the comparison appropriate? (RR, WOTM)

The Ironbound series is set in a roman-inspired world (✅, ✅), is written in first person / present tense (✅, ✅), follows an orphaned YA (❌, ✅ ) who is essentially undercover in society with secrets upon secrets (✅, ✅). The protagonist has unique abilities (✅, ❌) and is on a vengeance tour (✅, ✅).

 

Straight away you can see why the comparison exists. Comparisons aside, I flew through these books which means I am absolutely a fan and will be reading book 3, Bloody Sands, the day it is released (~Nov 26).

 

Whilst it is great fun, there are some comparative weaknesses. The Red Rising series remains an overall superior product in that you won’t fall in love with as many side characters, and I doubt you will have as many pithy one-liners highlighted.

 

The magic system is a strength of this book

In Andrew Givler’s own words, this story is an epic fantasy told with a progression fantasy magic system. A material known as Cor, rains from like manna from heaven and once absorbed into your body, you can form an attunement, a symbiotic relationship with another material and call on it as an extension of yourself. There are defined levels (copper, silver, gold) within the system and Castor (our protagonist) is focused on levelling up his skill so he can enact his revenge.

 

For example, those attuned to Iron can instruct an iron sword they are holding to sharpen during a fight, or an iron shield to resist an opponent’s attack. As you advance to silver, an Ironbound electis can sense iron moving around them, allowing them to anticipate an opponent’s moves. And at gold… well… I don’t know. I guess that is for book 3 and beyond.

 

In addition to the easy-to-follow strict levels there are concepts such as congruencies and authority trees and I strongly sense we have issues relating to an unreliable narrator as there are contradictions and breadcrumbs all over the place. I have a bunch of questions about congruencies explored these on my youtube channel in a 53 minute Cold Wind reading companion. If you’ve read Cold Wind and have questions, let me know and I can drop the link in the comments.

 

Book 1 is fun, but book 2 expands the world and raises the stakes just as Golden Son did for Red Rising. Givler introduces rivalling houses, political intrigue, and the deceased gods come screaming back to centre stage.

 

Cold Wind finishes in a nice place. Trust is built but so many secrets remain and we are inching towards the moment where Castor will get to unveil his full capacity in a public and devastating way.

 

Andrew has already finished Bloody Sands and its due for release in November this year. It is nice to know we won’t be left waiting indefinitely for the next instalment.

Lo Howlers, I have finally weighed into who is the best fighter/razormaster in the Red Rising universe.

I have loved all the back-and-forth in prior chats and likely enjoy this topic far more than I should. I like it so much, I made a 38 minute video on YouTube. Check it out and rage against my list - I think there is likely two characters and their position that will piss a few people off.