Title: The Iron Golem
Author: Christian page
Genre: sci-fi, children
Pages: 280
Series: Monster Squad
Publisher: New Generation publishing
Rating: 3.5 stars
Dark forces are converging on the sleepy town of Autumn’s Hallow. Monsters in the woods, mad scientists on the loose and sinister minions lurk. Four young friends must band together to uncover a secret plot that threatens them, the town they live in and the people they love. It’s up to Blaine Davis, Daschle Gaunt, Shelley Merry and Drake Harker, heirs to fantastic powers to stop an evil that threatens to consume the world. Can the Monster Squad thwart the evil Victor von Frankenstein in time? Find out in Book 1 of an exciting new series!
Honestly, upon first appearances the cover of this book isn't particularly enticing, well, not for a teenage girl anyhow... But I was not to be perturbed!
And I'm glad as heck I wasn't!
At first I found it quite hard to get into as although there was action, it just didn't seem like my kind of book. However, once I got deeper into the story, it seemed to pick up pace and I found I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
I began to really like the characters, they were all different but each had admirable qualities, which I think is vital when writing a book addressed to a younger age group. Every character added to the plot in their own way, some more than others and this gave it a good balance between roles. I thought even the 'baddies' were reminiscent of melodrama, but this made it accessible to young readers and also made them seem somehow even more evil through a little cheesiness.
I thought the plot was fantastic and was my favourite aspect of the book. The plot jumps between 2 different time periods but not in a confusing way at all. They are always separated by a chapter so you know where you are and there is no confusion. The links made between the times was subtle yet poignant enough for the reader to pick up on. It started with a bang, which I think younger readers would find compelling (admittedly I didn't particularly) and accelerated, especially in the final half.
One thing that I would fault the book on would be the writing. I thought the style of writing was sound and suited for its audience: it was easy to read but not so easy that children would be bored, however, the constant spelling of 'through' as 'thru' threw me somewhat. (Reading back I can see the confusion that sentence may have caused but hopefully you understood me.) I have never seen or heard of 'thru' replacing 'through' in every context and so either a mistake was made or I'm lacking in education in this area of grammar, however it did make me wonder...
I think overall it was the perfect read for around 9-12 year olds (especially boys) but not so perfect for myself. But if you love action and a bit of sci-fi.... This is next on your tbr list!!
Happy Reading,
Hebe X
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