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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780441016068
ISBN number: 0441016065
Label: Ace
Manufacturer: Ace
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: June 24, 2008
Publishing house: Ace
Sale Popularity Level: 5285
Studio: Ace
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Product Description:
First in a stunning new urban fantasy series from an author who NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE. (BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW)
Demon hunter Maxine Kiss wears her armour as tattoos, which unwind from her body to take on forms of their own at night. They stand between her and her enemies, just as Maxine stands between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one momentand one man changes everything.
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Rated by buyers 
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"When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw."
That's the very first sentence of Marjorie M. Liu's The Iron Hunt, and it's just about perfect as opening lines go. It's the primary reason I bought the book. Not only does it draw the reader in, eager to find out how and why this happened, but I'm also pretty darn sure it's an Angela Carter reference. I love Angela Carter.
It would be misleading to suggest, though, that Marjorie M. Liu sounds like Angela Carter throughout The Iron Hunt. Liu has a different style, one all her own. I loved it. Liu's style is unusual and won't be to everyone's taste. However, I found it visceral and poetic at the same time, and especially good when describing violence and magical visions. A couple of examples:
"I tried to hold her to me, but she slipped away, and zombies took her place. So many. Shoulders broad as mountains. Packed tight. Breath hot. Stinking with sweat and winter wool. I could not see faces for shadows, but the zombie in the suit leaned close. Crooked his finger like a hook."
"Waking dreams. Walking dreams. Swift dreams, grey and white like old scratchy movies tinted and blurred with age. I dreamed in sparks and moments, and saw women in moonlight, pale as snow, hair as grey as a raven's wing--steel in their hands, always, sword bound, hair bound, in sunlight, tattoo bound--and I flew with them, I ran, and their bodies merged into one, a woman large as thunder, with eyes like the starry night, and wolves at her back."
Another aspect of The Iron Hunt that worked well for me was the mythos. Liu blends the myths of many cultures into her story, mixing Sumerian, Asian, Celtic, and Greek in a way that never feels forced or awkward; instead it gives the reader the sense that all of these cosmologies are valuable but incomplete shards of one vast long-forgotten whole.
Liu's Seattle is painted in--I'd say vivid color, but this is Seattle, so it might be more accurate to say rainy grays. There is a real sense of place in The Iron Hunt.
A gripe, and this may be a case where the cover-blurb writer sold the novel writer short: there is no romantic subplot. The blurb gives the impression that this is a major focus of the story when, in fact, the heroine and the love interest are already involved and their relationship is written more as background than as plot. I gather that this romantic subplot was actually resolved in a previous short story by Liu.
I highly recommend The Iron Hunt to anyone who likes urban fantasy, tough female characters, and unique prose. I will definitely be looking up more of Liu's work while I await further installments in the HUNTER KISS series.
Kelly
www.fantasyliterature.net
Rated by buyers 
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I bought this book in the airport, the cover art grabbed my attention. I've always been a sucker for strong kick butt type characters. Especially females ones! Although, having now only read the reviews below, I agree with the majority of them who found the book confusing. I felt as if I was missing something the whole time, as if I started the book in the middle. Hunter Kiss is an interesting heroine and I love the idea that her tattoos are demons that are devilish and adorable. New ideas, love it. But... My issue with the main character is it seemed she doubted herself and her abilities too much. She also seemed confused herself most of the time. Neither she or us, the reader, got many answers. Over all though, a good read. I will read the subsequent one as I enjoy series reading. Enojy this book, just don't expect to get it all in one read or until the subsequent book...
Rated by buyers -
Wow, just what the doctor ordered! A book of a strong heroine who kicks evils [...] minus the sloppy sex scenes of Laurell Hamilton's work! It has a love interest but stays on the story of this extraordinary woman, not the bedroom. If you want that, get "Blood Noir" from LH. I agree, it took two chapters to understand who all the players were, but after that I was hooked!Maxine is covered in tattoos during the day which gives her demon strength, but at night the tattoos come to life and the story really takes off. A great read and I can hardly wait for the subsequent one.
Rated by buyers -
Ms. Liu is a very good writer, but I think in this case it was biting off a little more than she could chew, given her schedule. There are a lot of good elements here that just don't quite gel, or seem rushed. This is her very first endeavor at writing a series revolving around a single character, rather than a sequence of characters as in her other books. I really think if she had a whole year to work on this book versus the six months or whatever, it could have been something tremendous.
Rated by buyers 
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I just finished reading this book and it was totally unexpected in the plot and story. I'd been expecting something along the lines of her Dirk and Steele stories, but Max Kiss and the Iron Hunt are definitely not it.
The book starts alright then gets a little confusing and weird as you go along, when demons, Wardens and what nots get thrown into her path. One thing you begin to see as the plot progresses, that Max and her bloodline are not run of the mill.
There are hints of possible romances with three males but only Grant seems to hold much influence with Max even though it is not as evident or intense enough to indicate soulmate quality love.
You can tell the story is not stand alone,that this very first book is just the beginning of a much more complicated story. I hope more is developed on who each character is in her subsequent book, because this left me with a feeling of an unfinished story.
It's interesting, a little intense and not for those looking for a simple plot and a quick story. Expect more to come.
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