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Liked It “Surreal and impressive.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Not sure what the author was trying to accomplish or say with this book, except possibly "everything about life sucks and there's no way you'll ever change that." I could never wrap my head around the mix of real-life cultural references, fantasy, faerie, vulgar language and explicit sex scenes....” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Surreal and impressive.”
Purplejavatroll wrote this review Thursday, September 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick.
Strider wrote this review Saturday, August 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Michael Swanwick has certainly carved a niche for himself in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. Swanwick, who himself is a fan of what some in the publishing field have come to refer to as cyber punk (think William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and China Meilville), has a distinct flare for the weird and bazaar and this is book has widely been seen as a one of his greatest works. This may, in part, have been influenced by the fact that Michael had a picture of the sex pistols above his word processor when he was writing this. I can neither confirm nor deny this, nor can I comment on what the hell, if anything Michael happened to be smoking at the time. However he came to be influenced, the resulting story is high quality good shit.
Having read some of his earlier works such as Stations of the Tide, Bones of the Earth and Jack Faust and his short stories, it’s clear that there is a good reason that The Iron’s Dragon’s Daughter made the New York Times most notable book of the year list. For those of you who enjoy the pure escapism that fantasy and space opera can often provide, this book may not be for you but for readers that don’t mind putting a bit of effort in getting past convoluted concepts and complex narratives, this book is well worth the read. My only suggestion is that if you’re a slow reader, it’s important to really dedicate some hard core reading hours to finish the book asap, otherwise some of the reoccurring themes and characters that pop up in the book may be lost on you.
The importance of symbolism is both explicit and implicit in the plot of The Iron Dragon’s Daughter as the reader follows the exploits of Jane, a human changeling who was taken from her home and forced to work in a steam dragon factory. Comparisons of what it would have been like to work 16 hours a day in England’s cotton factories at the height of the industrial revolution come to mind. This is a harsh, laborious and cruel existence to place children in and as often results from living in such environments, cruelness breeds cruelness and Jane is forced to survive in the only way she knows how. Luck, if you could call it that, eventually comes Jane’s way when she forms a relationship with a decommissioned Steam Dragon that has a very different idea of the destiny that was planned for him. It’s after this initial transition in plot that you really need to keep a pace of the constant change of events, characters and environments that Jane finds herself in.
Jane is a complex character and her early experience of trying to survive by any means necessary influence many of the decisions that she makes. This often leads to emotional and physical consequences that cause her a considerable amount of emotional and sometimes physical pain. Jane’s complex character design is one of Michael’s greatest achievements within this story. She is like many of us, a flawed individual who doesn’t always act honourably and whilst you may not approve of the relationships and decisions that she makes, the resulting consequences of her actions inevitably left me concerned for her welfare.
The story’s complex plot is both the books strength and its weakness. What I like about Michael is that he is not one to patronise his readers and like David Lynch, he trusts that his audience can figure out the story for themselves. Mind you, reading some of the reviews and analysis on Michael’s website is a useful addendum to the book. The analysis certainly clarified and even explained some of the stories plot and meaning for me. This is probably going to be an annoying point for many readers who don’t feel they should have to phone a friend in order to understand the full picture of the story but for me it was an enjoyable addition to the experience and it was interesting to see how much of the plot I had figured out. Michael has just released Dragon’s of Babel which I’m currently half way through reading and is, so far, much more accessible to read than the Iron Dragon’s Daughter. Personally, this is not my favourite. Bones of the Earth is far more accessible and Stations of the Tide is probably my favourite novel. His short stories however, are pure gold. Having said this, if you’re interested in a more complex read than the average genre novel, I’d highly recommend it.
”“Not sure what the author was trying to accomplish or say with this book, except possibly "everything about life sucks and there's no way you'll ever change that." I could never wrap my head around the mix of real-life cultural references, fantasy, faerie, vulgar language and explicit sex scenes. Definitely NOT what I'm looking for in an escapist novel and I cannot recommend this book to anyone.”
Mark R wrote this review Saturday, February 23 2008. ( reply | view 2 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Bizarre. In a weird way, a little shocking, for those who are more prudish. But quite possibly the most influencial book of my life. It likely won't be for you, but what a wonderfully weird story.”
Lori M wrote this review Wednesday, January 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Couldn't finish this one. Just was to boring.”
Kat D wrote this review Saturday, December 22 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I suspect this is very much a love it or hate it book. Its got an unlikable, amoral protagonist, and is probably one of the most grimly nihilistic books I've ever read. However, its fantastically well written and rewards rereading. Recommended, but I can understand why people will give up on it.”
Brian M wrote this review Tuesday, November 20 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The author called this "hard Dickensian fantasy". It is all of those.”
LaloFox wrote this review Tuesday, August 7 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“Did not like this book. Didnt even make it half way.”
dusty_writings wrote this review Friday, October 13 2006. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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