The further adventures of Wydrin, Seb, and Frith take them to the cold north, where they meet enemies new and old. It's an okay read, not nearly as good as the Winnowing Flame trilogy, and perhaps it's not fair for me to compare them. Some of the same themes and character types are repeated here and it's clear they were the 'practice run' for the later series which is amazing. So this is still good, but not great. ( )

The Copper Cat trilogy # 2
The Iron Ghost is an entertaining mixture of dragon's daughters, demons, mages, and evil, and not forgetting the action-packed adventure either.
Story-wise, it takes place after events in The Copper Promise so I really would recommend reading that book first. I probably should have reread the first book, I forgot plenty of details, although as I read I was reminded and I think most of it came back to me. Some of it, of course, couldn't be forgotten, like Ephemeral and her sisters. I enjoyed them in book 1 and they are given much more to do here, looking forward to seeing where they end up.
Personally, I would like a little bit more character introspection, more thoughts from their point of views. This is much more action and deeds based. There are hints of what lurks below, and you can extrapolate so maybe I'm being fussy, because this is very much a fantasy adventure sort of a book. It never slows down at all, and keeps you turning the page constantly.
The chapters themselves are short, only a few pages. This is great because it means you can safely read a little before work sure that you'll have a place to stop soon. But it is also terrible, because it means you keep saying "just one more chapter, its only short" and then being late clocking back in after lunch... maybe that's just me?
Williams has some great ideas, the werkens are a fascinating idea, and she has her own take on the creation of zombies that I liked. It did remind me of the Forged ones from Robin Hobb, more in the way they were created than in the way they acted though.
All in all it is a really fun, read, albeit one full of darkness and death. But in a fun way, honest. And I would have no problem recommending this for any fantasy fans. I'll certainly be reading the next (final?) book in the series. ( )

Jen Williams takes sword and sorcery and brings it up to date, in many ways. Above all this is a fun read as we follow the exploits and antics of the Black Feather Three against quite a varied cast of villains, some old and some new. Jen's swashbuckling is very satisfying. ( )

In the second instalment of Jen Williams’s sword-and-sorcery extravaganza, we rejoin our three heroes, now calling themselves the Black Feather Three: Wydrin, the titular Copper Cat of Crosshaven; the disgraced knight Sir Sebastian; and the aristocratic mage Aaron Frith. Their new job has brought them out to the mountainous wilds of Skaldshollow, where they finds themselves cast into the middle of an age-old rivalry between the Skalds and their neighbours, the Narhl. All they have to do is retrieve the Heart-Stone, a precious artefact crucial to the Skalds, but sacred to the Narhl, who have stolen it. It should have been easy. And yet, before they know what’s happened, our three adventurers find themselves caught up in another terrifying tale of ancient magic, demons, blood, ruined cities and the living dead...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/07/21/the-iron-ghost-jen-williams/ ( )

Wow!
I mean, I liked Copper Promise, but I *really liked* this one. It was so amazing, so great, you can see Jen's growth in writing, in plotting, in character development, in character relationships, in addressing 'big subjects'...

I can't wait for the next one - but the great thing is, it's a trilogy where you're not on tenterhooks to know what happens next, each book is perfectly contained. ( )