As Iron Falls (The Wings of War Book 4) Kindle Edition

...Both literally and figuratively.*As Iron Falls* is the fourth installment in the *Wings of War* series by Bryce O'Connor. It represents a turning point in the overall story, since the events that take place amidst the pages of the novel are no longer bound only to the immediate concerns and ordeals of Raz i'Syul Arro, the series main protagonist. In AIF, the narrative arc finally becomes solidly defined, and this shifts the focus of the action and the plot in a different direction.The story in AIF starts in a familiar setup: Raz - and this time also, Syrah - are on the run, and they spend the first third of the novel searching to escape far away from the reach of mercenaries and hired assassins that are sent after them by their enemies. However, Raz, tired of running, wants to do things differently for a change; and he is given the chance sooner than he expects. Using hooks set in previous books, the majority of the plot of AIF unfolds in Perce, an exotic land situated beyond the Cienbal Desert to the south. There, majestic city-states operate thanks to rampant slavery, the one crime the Monster of Karth will never forgive. Yet, among the slaves the legends about the Dragon of the North circulate constantly, and merely a spark - a symbol - is needed to incite a full-scale rebellion by the oppressed masses. Raz becomes that symbol, making the conscious decision to end slavery on a grander and more permanent scale, and from there things descent in a typical O'Connor fashion - with lots of blood, steel, death, and drama.The land of Perce is described in less detail than the backdrops of the previous books. Whereas the Cienbal and the Arocklen, and even the Saragrias in the previous installments were painted in meticulous, vivid images, here the vast savannas seem almost empty, like their presence was included as an afterthought. We are given a standard menagerie of "exotic" animals: elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, etc., but in most cases they are presented with just the words I did use now - ie. without any colorful descriptions. It gives the backdrop of the novel a stock atmosphere, which is a stark contrast to the care and effort that was put in this area earlier in the series. The city-state of Karesh Syl, where events take place during the last third of the book, is only marginally better in that regard, and while it offers some interesting sights, it mostly seems like an uninspired Arabian Nights-esque carbon copy of some imaginary place.Again, what makes the book great in the end, are the characters. Raz and Syrah work great as a team, and as emotional support to each other. Their interpersonal dynamic is caring and snappy at the same time, and Syrah obviously cements her place as a second main protagonist. This has a noticeable effect on Raz' psyche, and he acts very differently than in previous books, applying far more reason and less primal emotion in his actions, mostly at Syrah's prompt. It is a deliberate change, a planned character growth that has been hinted at for a long time, which nevertheless is still endearing to be witnessed when it happens on the page. Despite that, the monster is still very much present in Raz, and he is still capable of unleashing it when a situation provokes him; yet he gradually learns to exhibit restraint and keep his cool. By contrast, Syrah, who has been mainly a wide-eyed idealist, makes a major revision of her worldview during the story, becoming more accepting of the cruelties of the world and the events that transpire around her. Also, she takes a major blow toward the end, one that shows she is yet to descent further into darkness, but whether that will make her less of the person she is - or not - is left for the next books in the series to explore.The antagonists are again the now-familiar fare of semi-faceless, uncaring overlords and their trained killers. While they are fleshed out as any of the secondary characters - that means quite well - their motivation is still lacking; they are cruel and evil merely because they are uncaring and blind to the world around them. It is a sort of semi-realistic attitude that is believed to be espoused very frequently in our own real world, and this "casual" brutality of the antagonists was one of the main draws of the first book in the series. However, after seeing this type of villains again, and again, and now yet again, it starts to become somewhat trite; it just lacks the punch it had the first time around.Lastly, there were some parts of the novel I was unhappy with. Some of the scenes felt a bit forced, and the pacing of the plot was shifted too suddenly toward the last third. The climatic battle at the end was full of logical holes, and its setup felt dumb, like it was some idea that hadn't been developed enough, or it had been merely the first thing that the author had thought of when crafting the scene. Generally the whole book has a lingering feel of being rushed; this is a problem I had pointed out in *Winter's King*, and it seems my suggestions had fallen on deaf ears. The rushed writing is again present, which is a shame, as it subtracts from the overall experience of an otherwise really cool dark fantasy.CONCLUSION*As Iron Falls* is not without its set of troubles; the book could've clearly used a more rigorous editing, or a longer production time. For this reason I'm giving it 3,5 stars - I always value quality over quantity.However, despite the problems, the story is still enjoyable, and the narrative quick and gripping. Raz i'Syul Arro continues to be one of my favorite fictional characters, and I'm waiting the conclusion of the series with bated breath. *The Wings of War* is an excellent dark fantasy that poses some pointed questions on the nature of freedom and personal choice, and magnifies them with heavy drama. *As Iron Falls* is a worthy continuation, bringing the series one step closer to its final, and hopefully epic, conclusion.

Good story, BUT ...I was one of the unlucky persons to pre-order As Iron Falls, so I got an unedited mess, which surprising on so many levels. First, of course, is that an author would allow a final draft to get anywhere near the Amazon platform. The second is the nature of so many of the mistakes, which suggests a somewhat deranged writing process. Many of the typos imply that the text was dictated, because of the homonyms that replaced the intended words (thows instead of throes, plated instead of plaited, passed instead of past, sales instead of sails, thing instead of think, etc.). And then there were the blocks of text labeled “PLACEHOLDER TEXT.”I enjoyed the story, though the gaping suspension-of-disbelief plot hole of a cold-blooded entity plowing through hip-deep snow sticks in my craw.But Mr. O’Connor needs to hire a local sixth-grade English teacher to copy-edit his work. Objective vs. nominative pronouns (“the group attacked he and Syrah” is incorrect); subjunctive case (“if we was to attack now” is incorrect); confusion of “to lie” and “to lay” verb forms (“he decided to lay down for a while” is incorrect); treating “comprise” and “compose” as if they were alternate forms of the same verb; etc.And while she is at it, the teacher could take a whack at paring back Mr. O’Connor’s clumsier attempts at flowery prose, which often reads like a student trying to stretch a paper to fill a 500-word target. Examples:“Life is not a spectrum that can be measured and weighed.” No spectrum can be measured or weighed, but never mind that.“... the hill they were traversing felt like an amphitheater of earth and stone and grass.” Traversing instead of crossing. And no hill could ever seem to be a bowl. Nor does one need to FEEL a hill to judge its nature. Nor does an author need to describe a bit of nature by listing its contents.“... the weight bearing down upon her shoulders ...” “Bearing down upon” is one of those medieval-sounding phrases of which sword and sorcery authors are fond. It can easily be replaced with “on” for the reader’s benefit.“... Raz knew any five men in the world who could link hands around their bases.” Is that because Raz doesn’t personally know any men with long arms? Or is personal knowledge of such men immaterial to the idea that these were BIG trees?“... only taking his eyes when it came to guiding the horse ...” The phrase “it came to” is unnecessary and distracting.“... the edge of the tree line ...” The term “tree line” certainly implies the idea of edge.“... grabbing hold of his arm ...” The term “hold of” might be acceptable in dialogue, but is unnecessary in exposition.“... setting over the horizon in a painting of colors ...” Makes a reader wonder when a sunset might be described as a painting without colors."... seemed to recall ..." Describing a character's thoughts, the term "seem" should never appear." ... it wasn't more than five minutes later ..." In other words "within five minutes."And my favorite medieval, sword and sorcery phrase in the entire book: "Fortunately, the Percian seemed to understand where his head was at."So you get the idea. This is a sloppy, ill-educated writer who spins a fine yarn.

First thing first, it's good series, well worth a read, especially if you can get your hands on boxset for 99p bargain, books at this rate have been as good or better than many I bought at full price. Probably because these are old series or old books in current series which have sold wellRaz is a memorable character, though the monster may struggle against the best of fantasies anti heroes from Malazan or even one step down like The First Law series, Karsa, and host of Malazans could give lessons to the beast in fighting, cruelty and nastyness in general,, even Glotka from first law series is a anti hero who tortures people and for some reason, dispute his wicked behaviour one is cheering as some get their due will dread as some good guy ends up in his grip but Raz never gets that nasty.There are a few very annoying issue, there are many small or pages of info taken from various sources providing historic info, I stopped reading them, they spoilet what came later with a bit of thinking and seriously intrupted the flow of the story but some out there probably fiind them fascinating as they get more information about the world.A few other authors have this habit and this one took to extreme. It's seems like a current trend to say what will happen, before it happens. This is very bad story telling as it takes the surprise factor in lots of scenes, why not show the blow and it's damage in couple of sentences instead of discrining what the punch which is going to fall will ? SpoilerFinally the priestess and Raz have been a couple for a while but because we have never been shown a mixed breed human lizard, a lecture of "How, or possibilities" would have been very much appreciated.Raz is a cold blodded-ish animal but he should be in his prime matting period, do lizards mate at certain time and the love with the priestess is mostly spiritual? What about the winged factor, what does it mean? Raz is important but why is the lizard queen watching him from afar after sending him away? Most characters fail to ask important questions nor others ask them about important information.Raz doesn't have a home, slavers have driven him away, but he has conquered various places like the citadel and the mountain men even the city he wipped out slavers leadership but he never things to stay and claim his prize. A city or nation under him would be a great asset against the slavers in his war against the slavers. He doesn't care about money but he should have lots of it especially as he needs food, weapons, shelter etc Evey where he goes but it is hardly ever mentioned and he never takes any from those he defeated, though there are a few instances but Raz seems very naive about women and money. Sure he's not the first nor will he be last to suffer those!

Yet again, Bryce O'Connor has given us a masterpiece of writing. Well-rounded, real-seeming characters you can really care about, plot twists galore, magic, battles, devious schemes, life, death, and visions...Can't wait for the next one.Oh, & can this be the next big budget film or Game of Thrones type TV series, please?Just buy this book series & be enthralled in Raz's world.

I have been following this series and really enjoyed reading them. If you are looking for something a bit different then this is the one. The fights and friendship that the series pulls you into are very well written. Again I now have to wait for the next book after staying up all night 🌙 reading this one. Loved it and can't wait for the next one

My review is a little biased as I have read the previous 3 books and I'm not starting to feel a connection to the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and couldn't help but smirk and chuckle as I read the lighter sides and couldn't out it down during the final climatic chapter.

Rarely do I read a book twice in such a short period, but as the next book is out wanted to savour the story all over again characters, plot before the finale . One of the best reads for a very long time.