In my recent reading roundup I mentioned that I felt The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black is a poor man’s Harry Potter. I stand by that opinion. It is almost impossible to read The Iron Trial without comparing it to Rowling’s masterpiece.
Let us review; a young infant born towards the end of a magical war is the sole survivor of a massacre which leaves him motherless and with a physical mark of the attack. There may or may not be some shenanigans involving souls. This massacre is the prelude to a decade of truce. Eleven or twelve years later, the young boy starts to attend magic school where he becomes best friends with a boy and girl, and makes an enemy of another rich and arrogant student. He is taught by a kindly if eccentric Master and they have lots of adventures. The one with the power to defeat the enemy has been revealed to the wizarding world. There is a confrontation at the end, and it seems the enemy may not be as dormant as he seemed. Heck, the story even closes with the protagonist in the infirmary having a heart to heart with said eccentric professor and being showered with goodies by his grateful classmates.
Does that sound familiar? It could apply to both Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and The Iron Trial. The parallels are too obvious not be deliberate. What is interesting though are the differences. First of all, the protagonist in the Iron Trial, Callum Hunt, is aware of magic before his entry into the school and, unlike Harry, has to be dragged there kicking and screaming. This means that we lose the sense of wonder and excitement that Harry feels on his discovery of the wizarding world which is a significant part of the charm of Philosopher’s Stone.
Secondly, the two protagonists are very, very different. Harry Potter is decency and courage personified (a true Gryffindor). One of his first acts on entering school is to defend a fellow student from bullying. He is direct and open hearted. He typifies the theme of the series which is about doing what is right as opposed to doing what is easy. Callum, on the other hand, is a little more complex. He is less open and trusting and far less inclined to act. He seems to consider the consequences before acting and frequently has to be prodded into doing so. On the other hand, he is less impetuous than Harry and is more likely to look at the bigger picture. He is also much more capable of focusing on the task at hand without being distracted.
These changes obviously impact on the way the protagonists relate to their friends and mentors. Callum is less of a leader in his trio than Harry is in his. There is a significant power shift in his relationship with Master Rufus compared to Harry’s with Dumbledore. Dumbledore is the archetype of the wise old mentor and Harry is often left frustrated that he has not been given the answers he was seeking. In comparison, Callum is the one in possession of information which he must choose to share with his mentor, or not as the case may be.
What I liked
Complex protagonist. I found Callum as a protagonist interesting. I appreciated that, unlike Harry, he doesn’t just see things as black or white, there are shades of grey involved. The same is true of other characters, too. I enjoyed the way this impacted their relationships. It was interesting to see what Ron Weasley might have become in different circumstances though the Aaron character.
Pacing. I thought Clare and Black kept the story moving along briskly and kept me reading.
Chapter art. Each chapter is headed by an image encapsulating what is going on in the chapter. These were gorgeous.
What I didn’t like
Harry Potter comparison. This book is no Harry Potter. It’s missing Rowling’s warmth, humour and imagination.
Despite suffering in comparison to Harry Potter, I did actually enjoy this book. I was interested in Callum’s story and will probably continue to follow it in future books.
I gave The Iron Trial four stars out of five.
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