“Maxine Kiss comes from a long line of Hunters. The women in her family are charged with fighting demons who escape the prison veil. Her mother fought the demons, and her mother before her, and so on. It is a family right to carry on the tradition and when a young woman comes of age, her mother will pass on the boys to her.
The boys are 5 demons (Zee, Raw, Aaz, Dek & Mal) who by day live on Maxine’s skin as tattoos and serve as her armor. At night they peel from her skin to take the form of their demon selves and serve as her body guards. The boys have lived with Maxine’s family for centuries and have served as their protectors ensuring there will always be a hunter.
Long ago the veil was constructed to keep the demons imprisoned but now the veil is falling. Strange beings are coming through the cracks in the veil and Maxine is the only one who can stop them. There is more than just demons escaping the veil and quickly Maxine realizes she is fighting something much more dangerous than a few zombie demons. In fact, it is going to get much worse.
Maxine does have friends, despite her loner façade. It is necessary to keep her skin covered up and keep to herself if she is going to keep the boys hidden. Grant, Maxine’s boyfriend, knows all about the boys and has a few talents of his own. He can see aura’s and play music in such a way as to influence ones mood. He also runs a homeless shelter, and takes in all kinds, including demons. Maxine meets some other characters like Jack (the Meddling man, Old Wolf) and Sarai (the Unicorn) who are more than they appear. Byron, a homeless kid she is trying to protect, Oturu a demon who has marked her and seems to be on her side, and Tracker who Oturu has assigned to protect Maxine. Who can she trust and who is her enemy? The lines are easily blurred when you are fighting to save the world.
I liked this book a lot. Ms. Liu has written a very interesting tale that stretches the imagination. It is smart and original, mixing together demons and fae mythology. Combine that with a labyrinth and other supernatural creatures, who live in other dimensions outside the veil, and you have quite a story. Sometimes it is difficult to determine who is good and who is evil in this world Ms. Liu has created, but I suspect a lot of these characters fall in the gray area. Neither good nor evil, just trying to survive.
So many urban fantasy book covers show us a girl with one or more tattoos, but Maxine is the queen of tattooed cover girls. Her whole body is covered in them save her face, and her tattoos actually serve a purpose.
I decided to listen to the audio version so that I could get to the sequel a little quicker, and I am glad that I did. I love the way Marguerite Gavin narrates. She has a way of making the story come to life and I always know when I listen to a story read by her, I will be entertained. There was a part in this book where Maxine is trapped in darkness. Unfathomable, endless darkness. And Marguerite made me feel like I was right there with her.
I am looking forward to reading the sequel Darkness Calls. After listening to The Iron Hunt, I have lots of questions and I need answers. I can’t wait to see where Maxine’s adventures take her.”
Christel wrote this review Monday, August 10 2009.
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