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The Iron Princess
by Barbara Hambly
Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy, $34,99, 360pp
Published: February 28, 2023

A young woman rises from the streets to battle a sinister evil in this magical fantasy adventure by the bestselling author of the Darwath series.

Something is amiss with the world's magic. Spells don't work the way they used to--when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands.

They need a hero.

At the same time, ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic. And Clea Stylachos, granddaughter of a great sage of the Twilight people, has reason to fear that the Crystal Mages, instead of seeking to defeat these insanely destructive monsters, are attempting to weaponize them in their quest for power.

Clea's only hope to save her people is a wizard who retains his power, one who will not betray her, either to the great merchant houses or to the all-entangling web of the Crystal Mages. But that wizard--Ithrazel the Cursed, destroyer of a city and magically imprisoned to suffer undying, unremitting torment--wants nothing to do with saving the world, helping a hero, or unraveling the terrible secret at the heart of the Crystal Mages' plans.

From the slums and tunnels of the slave-city of Morne, to the watery wilderness of the Twilight lands, to the halls of her father's palace and the spell-soaked mysteries of the Crystal Mages' House of Glass, Clea works to untwist the deadly riddles of magic and monsters--to free her mother's disenfranchised people from slavery under her father's conquering forces. To save her mageborn brother from the Crystal Mages' power; to control a sorcerer legendary for his deed of evil; to keep her own small band of friends one step ahead of her father's troops and the Crystal Order's spells.

She is the Iron Princess, and she knows she must prevail or die.

But at what cost to herself?

Clea’s world is changing. The magic is changing, spells go wrong for all the world’s mages except those of the Crystal Mages whose magic depends on adamine.  Worse, mysterious beasts have risen and are destroying towns. She needs a mage whose magic is untainted by the problems of her world so she travels to an alternate world to retrieve a wizard who has been imprisoned there for 75 years, Ithrazel the Cursed. Aided by a local shepherd, Hamo, she manages to free Ithrazel and they return to their own world, Hamo following them uninvited. While Ithrazel wants nothing to do with saving the world, Clea is forming an alliance of workers, thieves and others to overcome both the monsters and those, like her father, whose power and wealth is based on adamine and the slavery used to mine it.

This is a rich world with interesting characters. Clea is both a princess as well a thief, assassin and accomplished swordswoman due to her father declaring her illegitimate at age eight and sending her to prison. Ithrazel deals with the guilt of his past actions that saw him sent to that alternate would and Hamo is in love with Clea, enough to leave his world behind to follow her but is it really love or the result of a love spell cast on to him to ensure he would help Clea free Ithrazel. We have magic, and reluctant heroes, political intrigue, and a plot that keeps the reader eagerly turning the page to see what happens next. While the story has a satisfying ending, I would be interested in what comes next for all these characters. Recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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