The Iron Thorn, The Iron Codex Book One: Audiobook

Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Narrator: Katie MacNichol

Title: The Iron Thorn, The Iron Codex Book One

Publication: February 14, 2012

Publisher: Ember

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Steampunk

Length: 13 hours
Pages: 512

Audience: 17 and up

Rating: 4 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from Goodreads): In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
     Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

My thoughts:
Umm...well...where to begin? I picked this book up and was interested by the cover and synopsis. So here is a quick run down of my reactions to the book. I was excited, I was a little nervous and thought it was weird, then I loved it, then I hated it and wanted it to be over, and then I was angry because it got pretty good at the end and left me hanging. The final book to the trilogy just came out so I can finish the trilogy...maybe. I'm just not sure I want to. This book makes you think you are reading a harmless young adult, dystopian, fantasy, steampunk novel...but in reality it drops you into a world of creatures orginially created by the master of horror,sci-fi, and fantasy himself, H.P. Lovecraft. If you love H.P. Lovecraft then I suggest you read it. Ms. Kittredge made many, many references to him and his works. I think she throws everything into the novel except Cthulhu (he may appear in the later novels). I know I put this in a horror genre. I wasn't really scared, but some of the descriptions were so gross and the monsters so scary that I would define it as more of a light-horror (if there is such a thing! Ha!)
The characters in the book are the only things that seem real in this crazy weird story. Aoife (pronounced like Ee-fa) is our main leading lady. She is strong willed, a bit naive, a bit gullible, but she won't let her disadvantages get in her way. Her disadvantages include being a girl and possibility of going mad on her 16th birthday. Like I said though, she is a tough character and I can respect her for that. Her best friend Cal, I wish he would have been killed off because he was so whiny and scared through most of the book. It really grated on my nerves. Dean was the sexy bad heretic who helps Aoife and Cal find their way. I really liked him because he looked like the big bad wolf, but inside he was a soft marshmallow. One character I just loved who was not a main character was the maid, Betina. I have no idea why I loved her because she could be annoying at times, but her accent was awesome, and she was a bit loveable with all the craziness around.
The audio was performed by Katie MacNichol. She was really great to listen to. She did different accents to a believable Scottish to a manly Cajun accent. She was really great and I enjoyed her audio. When she played Aoife she really acted the part. If Aoife was out of breath, angry, or crying Ms. MacNichol acted it out as she read. She kept me entertained even though the story seemed to drone on and on in parts. The audio was superb, the story was entertaining enough that I stuck with it. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.