The Iron Duke

By: Meljean Brook

Narrated by: Faye Adele

Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

First in an all-new series where seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

©2010 Meljean Brook (P)2011 Penguin

Great for Some but Not for Everyone

This is a complicated review to write as many aspects of the book are terrific, but one major issue detracts from the overall book. Thus, my review will be based on who this book is for, and who should stay away.

Who this book is for: If you're a fan of historical romance with some drama and action, this is a good book for you. Fans of the Steampunk genre won't be disappointed either as the creativity and detail of this made-up world are fantastic. The backstories supplement nicely for the major characters, and minor characters reinforce both the story and protagonists while adding a little more intrigue. The story and most plot devices weave together well, and it is unlikely you'll be bored or incurious. If I were to rate on these factors, I would do the following: Story: 5 stars; Creativity: 5 stars; Characters: 4 stars; Writing: 4 stars. Also, I have no complaints of the narrator, who did a fine job with the book and characters, and I give her 4 stars.

Who should stay away: It's not an uncommon trope of the romance genre to have aggressive, domineering male protagonists; and this book is no different. This is likely a way to exploit common fantasies of a confident, dominant alpha-male, and many times, this works. This is also exactly where this book gets complicated because it is my guess that the author intended to utilize this characterization of the male protagonist rather than try and pass off sexual assault as romance. I don't at all recommend this book for people or survivors of sexual assault who are easily triggered by or strongly opposed to anything associated with this topic. At the very least, this book will grate on your nerves, and, at most, well, it could cause some strong undesirable reactions. There is nothing wrong with wanting nothing to do with this subject, and I suggest these types of people go find something less controversial for their audiobook needs.

Somewhat spoilery stuff about a rapey scene in this book: The male lead, Rhys, boldly pursues the female lead, Mina, immediately after their initial encounter, and she does not reciprocate or encourage his behavior. It's not like most male leads ask their female counterparts for their permission to woo or even kiss them in romance novels, but this isn't exactly that. The book seemed to go out of its way to show that, at least initially, it was all about Rhys asserting himself for his own needs without much regard to Mina's. At a later point in the book, Rhys aggressively comes on to Mina and engages in a nonconsensual sexual act. Mina repeatedly says, "no" and "please," and she even yanks out Rhys's hair in protest. It is not until the encounter ends that Rhys realizes he utterly completely misread the situation, "no" didn't mean "yes," and Mina's protestations weren't encouragement. It is only then that it registers that he has just attacked Mina, very similarly to how the Horde used people, and Rhys feels remorse. Despite Rhys realizing his mistake and feeling repentant, this does not change what the situation was for Mina, which was undoubtedly assault. This situation caused me to rate the Audible Overall ranking lower because there isn't much enjoyment to be had from this scene, which deserves a -5.

First steampunk book for me

This is the first steampunk book I've listened to. I like this one so much that I'm going to listen to others by this author. The story is well paced, and the characters are anything but predictable. The narrator is excellent. She is so good that sometimes I felt like I was watching a movie - she really makes the story come alive. Now onto the next one!

a fascinating and dangerous world

I really enjoy the world that Brook sensei built. The characters of this book live in a fascinating and dangerous world. I mean there are nano bugs, zombies, air ships, lord and ladies, king, pirates and balls! What is NOT to like.

I also loved Mina, the tortured but strong and stubborn heroine. If I am not mistaken, she has Asian blood and thus ostracized by society. Heroine with Asian blood in that period is rare and I liked that. Rhys is also a memorable character but I was sort of put off by his serious lack of social understanding. From his past I can understand the reason why, but for a smart character I thought he had a real blind spot. My favorite character of all is the always drunk Scarsedale! He was a wonderful addition as well as members of the police, Yasmeen and Mina's wonderful family. The story itself revolving around the murder and mystery and eventually the conspiracy was also great.

Only complaint I have is that for me there were a bit too much sex scene with TMI. I admit they were hot and steamy but not for reading(listening) on the train... LOL

Amazing detail and story!

I was very impressed with this story! I was a little hesitant to get it but am very glad I did. This story had everything, action, science fiction, history, and romance. The author was able to make the details believable and I loved to imagine the world she created. Definitely worth the credit!

Great Adventure!

After reading the short story of “Here there be Monsters”, which is a prequel to this book, I was ready to consume all the steam punk that has been written in this series. I had never read steam punk before and didn’t have a clue what it means. So after looking it up it means in short using sci-fi technology, history, fantasy and combining them in a story. The story is a little confusing the first hour, but it prevailed and made a wonderfully fun adventure.

Great Book, And a Gem of the Genre

I loved listening to this book. I love the narration, as it seemed to be effortlessly read with attention paid to all the correct accents, easily identifiable voice details, as well as excellent attention to the diction and speaking styles of each different character. The author and narrator were certainly at the top of their game for this one. If all steam punk was this well written and read, I could become a devoted fan of the genre.

STEAMPUNK Fans will not be disappointed!

I have been waiting for this book to come out as an audio production for a while now. I had read 3 or 4 different raving reviews, from various book review sites I follow.
The reviews were right, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, and the author did a wonderful job making the world they live in seem real.

The narrator was perfect for this book, and I was pleased to see that she is narrating the next book in this series also.

FYI: There are some pretty steamy love scenes, I found that they were well placed in the storyline, but I would not recommend to younger readers.

Oh My.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it, but would be very careful to read my friend's taste first. You would be better referring to your friend the is really into romance and supernatural plots.

What other book might you compare The Iron Duke to and why?

It's similar to Gail Carriger's Heartless in that there is steampunk, adventure, romance, and a general fight to overcome expectations as a female detective in the England of 100 years ago. Heartless, though, is a better read, I think.

Have you listened to any of Faye Adele’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to her before.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, blushed, and made weird faces. It was a ton of fun to read.

Any additional comments?

I only recently started getting into romance novels, and this book throws you into the deep end pretty quickly. It plays off a lot of the tropes you see in supernatural-romances, but doesn't overplay them. The world building and history feel really unique and adds depth to the characters and plot overall. It was a great read!

A perfect balance of passion and plots

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story plot with an intriguing twist on the Victorian era as well as a dark and passionate romance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Iron Duke?

That is the interesting thing about this book. Each moment is a wonderful build on other moments so it would be hard for me to isolate just one or two as a favorite.

What about Faye Adele’s performance did you like?

She is definitely a voice actor and not just a narrator. I felt as though her voice led me through the author's world and not just recited it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hmmm. Even in a world turned upside down by greed, prejudice and the need for power, love, acceptance and redemption can be found.

Any additional comments?

This book is great if you like a good mature romance with just the right dash of mystery and intrigue. I found the characters to be quite entertaining and the descriptions of the places and people to be just the right amount to lure me into the author's world without making me feel as though I needed to fast forward past anther long description of someone's attire or the color of the sky.The romance builds at what I considered to be a good upward pace. I found Rhys' dark and controlling behavior to be alluring. Mina's character is a wonderful blend of strength and intelligence with a touch of innocence.The rest of the cast of characters were also good and added the right amount of humor, anger, mystery and wisdom. Definitely an entertaining read.

WOW concept!!!!

I have never read(listened) a(to a) book like this. The concept is great, the story was a little predictable however and the narration was 'ok'. I did find I was rewinding and listening to things again as I felt I may have missed something. Other than that, again..the concept...Parallel universe HELLOOOOO, I did go on to listen to the other two books and I don't regret using the credit!
I also downloaded the kindle short stories.

Brilliant story; narrator just decent

This is one of my favourite novels by the queen of stream punk. The narrator is good but gets a bit shouty when reading the high emotion / high adventure parts. Overall a good listen and I’ll get the next one with this narrator.