Ironbrand

Iron Angel #1

by John Morressy

First book in this heroic fantasy series. Other novels include: Graymantle (1981); Kingsbane (1982) and The Time of the Annihilator (1985).

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Epic, Novels

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1980

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been 15 or 20 years since I last read this. Wonderful! I read it when it first came out in the early 80s, too. I guess this is the third time, so it wasn't new, but enough details had faded that I discovered a lot all over again. It's a fairly typical fantasy, but just the thing as I was feeling tired from stretching my brain around a lot of new nonfiction & pretty peeved at some new fiction that drew a 200 page story into twice that.

Basically, 3 brothers are destined to fight a great evil. They have adventures along the way & their lives aren't easy, but nothing too gritty. No gore or sex, love at first sight that is destined & works out well. IOW, very typical fantasy fare, exactly the kind of thing I generally turn down reading now, but Morressy is a solid author & he puts some interesting twists into this. There's also an air of the fable about it at various times. It kept me hooked all the way, even now. Mind you, I've been reading this sort of book for 50 years now, so that's high praise.

This goes with Graymantle, Kingsbane, & The Time of the Annihilator. That's their published order. Chronologically, Graymantle definitely comes before this book which stars Ambescand who is mentioned as a legend in this book. The brothers are his descendants. I'm not sure where the other two come in the chronology yet. I have a vague recollection that the last one isn't easily placed & that's good since it adds to the mystery surrounding the big baddy & the cycle of fables these books represent.

Morressy is one of those authors that seems to have faded into obscurity. It's a shame. He's written some really good, solid books. Under A Calculating Star is a really good SF book. Again, no gore or sex, but some interesting twists on fairly common theme.

[William Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long time, when I was much younger--and infinitely more easily impressed--I happened upon this book, almost by mistake really. I found it in a drug store and bought it as an afterthought. At the time, I was, I believe, fifteen or sixteen, somewhere thereabouts.

I was floored.

This was one of the finest fantasy adventures I had ever read. At the time I had it right up there with Tolkien. I loved it, just loved it. Then I lent it to a friend ('cause that's what you do when you find a book you love), and he lost it. Gone. I looked for it in bookstore after bookstore, never finding it again.

Cut to about thirty years later and someone invents the internet (some dude who wanted to be president and save the planet, I think) and I realized I could find the book again and relive the same joy I felt when I was a teenager. Happy times.

So I reread the book when it arrived in the mail (it really was a matter of about five seconds on Amazon to find it again). So, did it hold up to the test of time?

Yes. Yes it did. I enjoyed it all over again. Although there was a silliness to it that I never noticed when I was younger, and it wasn't up there with Tolkien anymore, but it sure was a fun ride once more.

This is the tale of three brothers and three magic swords. Epic adventure, epic fun. And riddles and prophesies, did I mention the awesome prophesies? So often fantasy prophesies are just there to lay the groundwork for the hero to come along and save everyone. In Ironbrand, the prophesy is confusing and impossible and oh so much fun when you see how it really unfolds.

Read this book. Trust me.

You're welcome.

[Jael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre to bad writing, fun enough story. Overall…meh, but I still finished it.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story follows three brothers: Colberane, Ordred and Staver who seek to reclaim the kingdom stolen from their ancestors. They are the three brothers spoken of in an ancient prophecy and upon the death of their father, they begin the quest. The other books in this series include GreyMantle and King's Bane. I wanted to give more stars for a decent plot but couldn't. The book simply jumps around too much and ignores any serious development of the main characters, until the very end. The book should have been longer to do justice to the interesting world he has created. Not sure if I really want to get the follow-on books in the trilogy. But I found them in a used bookstore in RI and will give it a go.

[Nicca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LIKED THIS READ

Although, the dark magic I didn't care for. I loved the bond between the brothers. Each of them had their own personality, strength, and weaknesses. It dragged a little in places, but I eagerly finished it.

[WayBackWhen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of telling rather than showing. For 300+ pages not much feels like it happens. The characters aren't great and neither is the villain. It's written alright, I liked the prose, but the structure of the book is wonky as some scenes and events within are aften glossed over; long stretches of time are done in paragraphs. I dunno, it's alright but I didn't love it overall.

[Kaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was elite fantasy. It was straightforward and had your magic and monsters, enchanted weapons and heroes. I had a great time reading this and thought the characters were extremely well developed. He spanned a massive portion of time very succinctly. I’d recommend this if you want a solid fantasy page turner.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found one heck of a hidden gem here, folks. Expect a review soon.

[Larry Denninger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Run of the mill hero's journey fantasy tale of 3 brothers prophesied to defeat The Great Evil In The Land. Some deus ex machina here and there, but for the most part, a fast fun read.