Ironskin by Tina Connolly

So Ironskin by Tina Connolly was a nice quick read. It was already on my to read list, but I bumped it to the top with its Nebula Award nomination. I enjoyed it, and it has a very interesting take on the fey (but at the same time, a very dumb one, more on this later).

The story is set in an alternate magical England where humans coexist alongside dwarves and fey. The three races keep pretty much to themselves with dwarves (rather classically) being craftsmen and delvers under mountains and the fey being magical bodiless spirit lights who live in the forests. There was trade between the races, but things changed and the dwarves retreated and the fey went to war with the humans. Humans scarred by fey weapons became cursed and only by covering the curses with iron could the curses be contained. The war is over, but the ironskin remain.

Jane Eliot (the main character) is an ironskin with a fey curse on her face. She wears a half-mask strapped on whenever she's around others and because of it she finds it difficult to keep a job. When she sees an advertisement for a governess position for a child born during the war with special needs she assumes that the child is ironskin as well so she jumps at the opportunity. What she finds at the estate in the moors is a whole lot stranger, with the father of the little girl being a mysterious artist who is somehow taking the unattractive women of high society and giving them fey-like beauty.

I haven't read Jane Eyre which I understand this book is heavily based on, so I really have to judge it on its merits. Jane is a brilliant character; strong through the loss of her brother and parents and also from bearing her curse, but deeply sensitive as well. The little girl Dorie and her father Edward as well as the staff of the house are well-drawn characters. 

I have two big problems though. Firstly, I don't buy the relationship between Jane and Edward. Edward appreciates a governess who doesn't run screaming from his daughter, but that's about it for reasons these two would be attracted to each, particularly given that Edward is barely present in the house. Secondly, while the fey are fascinating and a very clever take on a fantasy cliche, as well as having legitimate reasons to be opposed to the humans, the author pretty much ruins the execution by having them as basically mustache-twirling villains by the end of it.

Regarding its nomination for the Nebula, I don't think it's going to get up. It's an enjoyable book with minor issues, but I don't believe it's at the level of some of the other nominees. However, I think it's also been nominated in the wrong category as it's fairly clearly a Young Adult novel and belongs in the already crowded Andre Norton award nominee list.

Finally, I was going to post a picture of the sequel, but I won't, because there's a great big spoiler for this book on the front cover, so I suggest you try and avoid that one until you've read this.

Currently Reading: Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis

In Other News: I finished Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy which I probably won't review here. It's a direct continuation of the previous story and any plot outline I could give would spoil the hell out of the first book. In short, as good as the first, but wrapped up a bit too neatly. The series could end here but there's room for a sequel.