The Iron Crown Audiobook By L.L. MacRae cover art

The Iron Crown

Dragon Spirits, Book 1

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The Iron Crown

By: L.L. MacRae
Narrated by: RJ Bayley
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About this listen

Fenn’s first and only memory is finding himself in the middle of a forest, face to face with a dragon spirit mocking him, all knowledge gone apart from his own name.

Lost and confused, his only hope for answers is Calidra—a woman living on the edge of the world with her partner. Forced to return home when her father dies, Calidra has put off facing her estranged mother for seven years, and she begrudgingly helps Fenn, forging papers for him so he can avoid the Queen’s Inquisitors.

But her mother is the least of her worries when they discover an ancient enemy is rising again. It should be impossible with the Iron Crown in power—and Fenn is terrified he might unwittingly be playing a part in the war’s resurgence.

Surrounded by vengeful spirits and powerful magic, Fenn’s desperate attempt to find his way home might well alter the fate of Tassar, and every power in it.

A new high-fantasy series bursts into life with the Dragon Spirits who reign supreme in the magic-drenched world of Tassar.

©2021 L.L. MacRae (P)2022 L.L. MacRae
Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Dragons Mythology
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L.L. MacRae’s The Iron Crown is one of those books that just immediately clicks. It almost makes it difficult to write a coherent review because of that, from the beginning I was so swept up by this book, that it’s hard to think of where to start. I had been meaning to read this for a while, then realized that the audiobook was available, and narrated by RJ Bayley no less.

I couldn’t have been more than a few paragraphs in when I realized, this book was exactly what I was looking for! First, we meet Fenn, lost in a swamp, with no memories other than his name. Honestly, this isn’t necessarily a set-up that would usually draw me in, the protagonist with no memory. And I think that only goes to highlight MacRae’s impeccable storytelling… because it did! Even just those few moments of Fenn with no memories lost in a bog.

Then we meet Hassen.

Now, I don’t like to go too into the details of the stories I review. While I’m not too concerned with spoilers myself, I know others are, and to varying degrees. Some may want even the smallest of details to be left to be discovered, and I’d prefer to respect that. Especially because this book is such an adventure, every unexpected detail is a joy.

So I’ll just say, that meeting with Hassen was the moment I knew this book would be a top ten for me. And it only continued to get better.

Throughout, the story unfolds through several POVs. The characters are all well-realized and feel like real people. As you’re reading, you’re rooting for them, hoping for them, cursing their names, gritting your teeth and clenching your fists at… well, you’ll know who.

The pace is engaging, the prose is excellent, the story itself is amazing… the world…

Every now and then, I’ll see the question posed: “if you could live in any fantasy world…” y’all know the question. Well this is mine. Despite some of the awful events going on… the mysterious return of the Myr, the strange amnesiacs, the ever looming possibility of war… MacRae has crafted an immersive world that seems so vivid, beautiful, and straight up interesting.

Which brings me to the next thing. The Dragon Spirits! I’ve been babbling this long, and barely even brought up the Dragon Spirits. And the descriptions of those Dragon Spirits! I want artwork of them. They’re amazing. MacRae paints such a picture of them with her prose that… well, these are my favorite dragons. They just are. You just have to read it.

Now, before I wrap up this review, as I said in the beginning, I listened to the audiobook. It’s narrated by RJ Bayley, and I don’t think it’s any secret that I think he’s the best in the business. Bayley takes these already amazing stories, and the characters within them, and just breathes an auditory life into them.

So if you’re looking for epic/high fantasy of the best degree, if you’re looking for an intriguing world and engaging characters, if you’re looking for a fantasy adventure, that has elements that lean toward the dark side at times, humor at others, and downright heart wrenching at still more … you’ll laugh, you’ll tear up, you’ll get angry, you’ll only want more!

The Iron Crown is firing on all cylinders. I can’t recommend this book enough. While listening to this audiobook at work, I even almost missed the end of my shift I got so wrapped up in it.

There is no doubt I will be making it a point to read/listen to everything in this series. I’ve already started listening to the sequel The Shadow Gate. And the third book, The Broken Sword is up for pre-order!

An Amazing Epic Fantasy Adventure!

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I felt like I took a journey with the author‘s friends. The Combination of characters and old ones from the novella worked well.

Awesome

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The Iron Crown lives up to the hype. It reminds me of the epic fantasy novels that I grew up with. The magic is intriguing and creates a world that is fascinating to discover as the pages rapidly turn. It is engaging, exciting, and many other things. It also has a unique take on dragons that makes it a lot of fun to read and to figure out how it all works out in the grand scheme of things. The characters are beautifully flawed, with each having a weakness to either overcome or succumb to.

The strength of this novel are the wonderful characters that the reader has the pleasure to meet throughout the course of the novel. They all are well thought out and hold their own as individuals, each with strengths and flaws. There were a couple of times I wondered about the timing of how characters ended up in certain areas but this does not effect the story at all.

It is a fun and interesting novel of adventure, mystery, and family. It will pull on the heart strings while taking your breath away with the awesomeness of adventure that awaits within its pages. The novel sets up what promises to be a great and interesting new adventure series in a wonderful fantasy world filled with dragons and griffins. Do yourself a favor and pick up The Iron Crown for your next read!

I listened to the audio of this novel, which is fantastically done! Highly recommend the experience as R.J. Bayley once again does a fantastic job of making the story come to life.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!

A Great Epic Fantasy

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A high fantasy series with a fun, unique twist on dragons that I couldn’t get enough of.

Plot: 5/5
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The Iron Crown is an epic, multi-POV story that follows a cast of individuals as they discover that an ancient enemy is not quite so locked up as once believed. Meanwhile, one of the main characters also struggles with the loss of his memory and how he might bring it back.

The plot is well paced and filled with several surprises and intriguing moments. The stories combine and mix well as the characters each battle with their own personal battles while seeing rise to a much larger battle. I am very excited for book two and to see what the crew will face in the future!

Characters: 5/5
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There is a large cast of characters and each are wonderfully molded within the story. You are introduced to their personal battles, which helps to provide deep and emotionally interesting characters and arcs.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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The world felt reach and plentiful, I was excited to keep diving in and learning more and more about the different creatures, dragon spirits, magic items, and so on.

Writing: 5/5
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I always find writing to be harder to judge when listening to it as an audiobook, but I was always highly interested in the story and was not often lost or confused, so I feel confident when I say the writing was excellent. It was very easy to fall into the world and become captured by it entirely.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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I had such a good time with this book, and was ready to return to it each time. I am excited to return once more to the world of the Dragon Spirits with book #2, The Shadow Gate!


OVERALL: 5/5 Dragons


Narration: 5/5
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RJ Bayley narrated the audiobook for Iron Crown and his narration is fantastic. The voices are well done and rich, and helped to keep me interested throughout.

A high fantasy series with a fun, unique twist on

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I stuck it out until the end and boy do I regret it. Impulsive characters of below average intelligence and executive function with the most basic of motivations (survival, violent temper, emptiness caused by cold mothers) make for an unsatisfying story.

Juvenile and under-developed

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