Iron and Magic

Iron Covenant, Book 1

De: Ilona Andrews

Narrado por: Steve West

No day is ordinary in a world where technology and magic compete for supremacy.... But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d'Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself - and Hugh d'Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base; Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says, "It is better to marry than to burn".

Hugh and Elara may do both.

©2018 Ilona Andrews, Inc. (P)2018 Ilona Andrews, Inc.

New story, new narrator

I like how an April Fools summary turned into, possibly, a 3 book series. The story is great. I do miss Renee Raudman doing the narration because I'm already used to her voice and pronouncement of words/names. So yes, I (and other listeners) are spoiled. Steve does a pretty good job (for a guy). Most of his female voices sound the same, yet they are not the high pitched voice some guys do. His male voices vary some. HOWEVER, not all US people have deep south accents. It seems like every male on Elara's side has the same southern accent. No northern, no central, no Texan (Andrea, who sounds just plain, ugh), just southern. It seems like most of the women voices have a generic US accent, which is fine. And if he's going to go with the southern accent, he needs to do away with the european way of pronouncement of certain words. I saw him is not I sar him... need I say more. This would be understandable if it were only Hugh who is from across the pond. All in all, he does a pretty good job and I'll still get the next story if he's reading it. He's a better reader than Jeffrey Kafer who reads Magic Stars who trails off after every sentence.

great

couldn't put it down. once again they've done a great
job. loved the narration. can't wait for the next one.

Good, but it is no Kate Daniels book.

This book was not as well liked as with Kate Daniels, Hidden Legacy or even the Sweep series. With that said I did still enjoyed it and will read more if Ilona Andrews writes more for this series, maybe it will grow on me. I’m glad Hugh is given a second chance I always like him even when he was doing evil things. Lots of new characters that were there almost for the numbers and I would like to get to know them better, but in this story, they weren’t quite as brought to life as I would have liked. Read Kate Daniels series first! The sex scene was not what I was hoping for either, too much violence to be sexy. I liked the narrator right from the start, although I’m not sure why Andrea had an Italian accent and some of the words were not pronounce the same as with the Kate Daniels series, so that was weird and why I only gave him 4 stars.

Good. Would have been better with Renee Raudman.

Occasionally, the narration is jarring. For example, it's well established in-universe that Andrea Nash has a Texas accent. She's caucasian, and occasionally likes to exaggerate a full-on southern belle drawl. When narrated by Steve West, however, she has a thick mexican accent. Presumably, Steve took this accent from her married name due to lack of familiarity with the character.

The problem I expected to have with the book was reforming Hugh's character. The authors did an admirable job here, and I had much less trouble accepting Hugh as a protagonist than I expected.

Very Mixed feelings about the Narrator

The writing team of Ilona Andrews has yet to disappoint me and this spin off from the Kate Daniels world absolutely met my expectations (which were very high). I wondered if they would be able to pull off the feat of making Hugh d’Ambray into a character I didn't loathe, and they managed that beautifully. A very well written and enjoyable story.

Now, as to Steve West, here is why I'm conflicted:
(Positives) I think a male narrator for this spin off, was entirely appropriate. I don't have a problem with his change in pronunciation (from the pronunciation used by Renee Raudman) of d’Ambray. (If you speak French, which I did more fluently many years ago, Raudman's pronunciation is probably wrong, but since she was speaking from the perspective of Kate and others, I have no problem with it.) I think Mr. West's instrument (his voice) is nice.
(Negatives) 1. I agree with another reviewer who noted that in the first couple of chapters Mr. West seems to stumble a bit in finding the characters voices. 2. Mr. West does not really provide any change in his narration when the POV (point of view) changes between the main characters. A listener really needs to pay attention to realize that the POV has changed. 3. His voices for the female characters were very similar. 4. Finally, the CARDINAL sin, Mr. West failed to explore the background of long established characters before he created their voices. When a narrator is coming into an established series, they must do some research, or at least talk with the authors. Mr. West did not. He gave Andrea and Raphael Italian accents. Andrea has been a part of the series since book two. She was raised in Texas and has been known to use a Texas accent to persuade men to cooperate with her. Raphael is a native of Atlanta Georgia. I can only guess that Mr. West assumed they were Italian based upon their last name of Medrano. (Medrano doesn't actually originate from Italy, the name comes from a municipality in La Rioja, Spain.) To quote the old saying, when you assume ....

If you love audiobooks and Ilona Andrews, this is a must buy, but you have been warned....

it was good

I liked how their narrator charged his voice so you can tell male from female characters.

Amazing storytelling and narration. Hugh & Elera

My reaction when I heard that Hugh d’Ambray would get his own book and perhaps series was "No Thanks."

This is the same dude who mercilessly hunted Kate Daniels and all those who allied with her. For what he has done to Curran, Clan Bouda, Kate etc, it will take more than one fantastically written book to get me there. Simply because past five fantastically written books preceding this one depicted him as Satan's right hand. It simply can't be undone in a book, or even a trilogy. But I will let Ilona Andrews give it a shot.

I had to fight not to get sucked into this audiobook. Steve West just nailed this character. I heard and felt a myriad of emotions in his voice. I really had to keep reminding myself that Hugh is getting his due and not to fall for the authors attempt at redeeming him. I was getting worn down so I tip my hat to the authors. It is so gripping, well paces, lyrical storytelling. This is UF at its finest. I will admit that I loved the book and I loved that Elara was giving Hugh all that he can handle. She still is no Kate, but I like her.

Maybe I am petty but I don't want Kate or Curran to have anything to do with Hugh. Not even to fight Roland. I want Kate to kick his ass. There is a lot of story left. I have to be honest, I am so curious as to how Ilona Andrews is going to pull this off. Can she get me to be Team Hugh?

Fantastic... a new series from Ilona Andrews...

Original review:
  Every time I read a book by Ilona and Gordon Andrews, I think that it's the best one yet... and I can't be wrong, can I ???
This book is the 1st in a trilogy spin-off from the Kate Daniels series, and although you can read it as a stand-alone it will have more impact if you read it  between (Kate #9) Magic Binds, and (Kate #10) Magic Triumphs...
This book started out as an April fools day joke, perpetrated by the authors to pull their fans legs, and it completely backfired on them, and turned into the real thing when we, (the fans) wouldn't leave 'em alone... and then libraries started requesting it!
Hugh d’Ambray has been a major antagonist throughout pretty much the entire Kate Daniels series, and suddenly he's the protagonist in Iron and Magic ... Ilona and Gordon really had their work cut out for them because they had to make us care for that man, a man we loved to hate! I'm happy to report that the Andrews' came through with flying colors ... I Abso-Damn-Lutely loved this book... WOW! There's tons of action and revealations, and even set-ups for things yet to come... all in one extremely satisfying read which includes a delightfully delicious ending!

Audio version review:
   I just finished "re-reading" this... by listening to Steve West's fantastic narration! Steve perfectly captured Hugh d'Ambry's arrogance and pomposity, as well as nailing every other character's personae, right square on the head! I LOVED this story, All Over Again!!!  Don't hesitate to get this audio version!!!

loved it. the narration was great. very engaging

wow. just wow. Ilona Andrews does it again! another brilliant and enjoyable novel. I was never interested in Hugh, but now I love him

Loved it. Hugh and Elarah's story worth the credit

Enjoyed the character development of Hugh and the narrator is EXCELLENT! Want more of these characters! This is the beginning of a new series which should be read before Magic Triumphs. Andrews has committed to 3 books in the series but I hope we get as many as the Daniel's series. There are so many story lines/plots to explore! For instance, who are Hugh's parents?!! Magic Triumphs ends with several questions related to Hugh. For those who complain about Steve West's pronunciation of Hugh's surname .... West is correct ask anyone who speaks french... Renee is great, love the narration of the Daniels series. However, this is Hugh's perspective and he's french. Soooo, it's appropriate the name is pronounced correctly.