• Iron and Magic

  • Iron Covenant, Book 1
  • By: Ilona Andrews
  • Narrated by: Steve West
  • Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3,691 ratings)

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Iron and Magic  By  cover art

Iron and Magic

By: Ilona Andrews
Narrated by: Steve West
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Publisher's summary

No day is ordinary in a world where technology and magic compete for supremacy.... But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d'Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself - and Hugh d'Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base; Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says, "It is better to marry than to burn".

Hugh and Elara may do both.

©2018 Ilona Andrews, Inc. (P)2018 Ilona Andrews, Inc.

What listeners say about Iron and Magic

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Is it just me or did he just give Andrea an accent?

There’s a lot of issues with the voice actor with me. One of the main issues was that he says Hughs last name many different ways, and never correctly. The main characters own last name..... Secondly, he mispronounced a lot of other names throughout. Another issue, early in the book there was little difference between the two POV and was hard to follow. It wasn’t till pretty far into the book he figured out just how he wanted to voice Elara. I had to keep going back a few times to catch the switch.

The story is absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait for the next in this series, as well as the next Kate Daniels. I just wish they’re was some consistency with pronunciations through the two series audiobooks.

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85 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hugh recreating his life

While theoretically a stand alone, this book is best enjoyed if you’ve read the Kate Daniels series. There’s just too many references.
Andrews does a great job of balancing the evil and good in d’Ambray; both the Iron Dog and the son looking for approval. Elara didn’t come across as evil or bad as I expected. I didn’t think I’d want to read a book about the very bad d’Ambray, but Andrews made this story work.
I enjoyed the love-hate relationship between Hugh and Elara and how they balance it and each other. I’m definitely interested in what the next book will bring. Andrews’ books never disappoint.
West has a great voice for Hugh and this story arc. Just wish he hadn’t given Andrea the foreign accent.
Recommend!

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51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

New story, new narrator

I like how an April Fools summary turned into, possibly, a 3 book series. The story is great. I do miss Renee Raudman doing the narration because I'm already used to her voice and pronouncement of words/names. So yes, I (and other listeners) are spoiled. Steve does a pretty good job (for a guy). Most of his female voices sound the same, yet they are not the high pitched voice some guys do. His male voices vary some. HOWEVER, not all US people have deep south accents. It seems like every male on Elara's side has the same southern accent. No northern, no central, no Texan (Andrea, who sounds just plain, ugh), just southern. It seems like most of the women voices have a generic US accent, which is fine. And if he's going to go with the southern accent, he needs to do away with the european way of pronouncement of certain words. I saw him is not I sar him... need I say more. This would be understandable if it were only Hugh who is from across the pond. All in all, he does a pretty good job and I'll still get the next story if he's reading it. He's a better reader than Jeffrey Kafer who reads Magic Stars who trails off after every sentence.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Despite my expectations: I LOVED it!

Of all the characters from the world of Kate and Curran (Kate Daniels series), I did not expect a new storyline offshoot featuring Hugh D’Ambray.
But I loved it. Nice smooth, rollout of new characters and interesting relationships. To get over my Kate Daniels’ inspired distaste for Hugh, it didn’t hurt to have interesting Iron Dog team and such an attractive, strong masculine voice, courtesy of the narrator. But the best was the unfolding relationship with Elara.
It might be a prerequisite to know the Kate Daniels story first. However, what we saw and hated of Hugh there comes with him to be examined and understood in this story. There is a is depth to his struggles and growth now.
I am excited for more of the Hugh/Elara relationship game. It has been and could be so delicious. Also, love the new cast of support characters that Ilona Andrews always does such a fine job of giving their readers. Nice to add some new elements beyond shapeshifters and undead.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Steve West, my voice boyfriend

I adore Steve West. He is a spectacular narrator. I have often searched audiobooks just for him because I miss listening to him. Couldn't have been a better pick for Iron and Magic! A fun book too, of course. Ilona Andrews never disappoints!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

FANTASTIC!! Steve West was a great listen!

This book was, by far everything I knew it would be and more. I could not stop reading! Tears, tears, I have tears. I always knew Hugh was a great character. Every time he came into a scene it was the greatest anticipation and excitement. Through-out the Kate Daniels series, when Hugh was there it ended up being my favorite moments to read, besides Kate and Curran's interactions. I can't wait to see what comes next.

I have the Kindle version, but with work and life getting in the way, I could not devote myself and when the audio was released I jumped on it. Now when, new narrator, to me Steve West started this, I was floored how how well he did. Yes there was some minor things adjusted like how to pronounce Hugh's name and such. It was easy to get over. What completely stopped me in my tracks was characters who are well known, in this world, having a strong accent that does not belong to them. I will not hold it against him, nor will I about the lack of pausing for chapters and switching character. That is the editors job. I would recommend anyone getting into narration do the homework if you are picking up a series that is well established. Hell, even narrators that have done 8 books of a series, make crazy mistakes, and no one else seems to care. Other then that Steve West did a fantastic job and was the characters. Can not wait to listen to things from him in the future.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazingly written

The story is a book branching out from the Kate Daniels series. As usual Ilona and Gordon have written a fast paced, and engrossing story. The characters are complex and their world well thought out.
the only issue I had is with Steve West, his voice was good and the characters were consistent, that being said I really wish someone else had read it.
Maybe I'm too emotionally invested in the books, or I have been spoiled by Rene Rodman's flawless performance of the previous books. It feels like he just winged it. He didn't do ANY research into these characters. He pronounced names wrong and gave characters weird accents. I tried very hard to give him the benefit of the doubt, because its Hugh's story, not Kate's story. however when he gave Andrea a Italian accent I was a bit insulted. She's been a part of the series since book 2. She is from Texas, how would she acquire an Italian accent? Or Raphael for that matter, being a native of Atlanta Georgia.
A brief listen to other books, or even if he bothered at all the simply peruse the books he would have known this about the characters he was trying to perform as.
Tl;Dr
the book was awesome and adds another piece of the amazing world of Kate Daniels, however the narrator didn't do any research at all and failed to contribute in any real way to the book.
hopefully Steve wont be reading for these books in the future; at the very least learn where the characters are from before deciding on an accent.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Looking forward to the next installment

I really enjoyed this book. I trusted that the Ilona Andrews team would somehow redeem Hugh and they did. The genius is that they left the core Hugh intact. He's still a badass but has regained qualities that Roland suppressed ( to make Hugh a more useful tool to him ) such as honor and a conscious. And Elara is a perfect match for him. Lots of likeable new characters and a few make an appearance from the Kate Daniels series.
The narrater, Steve West, was very good overall with only one minor flaw. After all the years reading and listening to the Kate Daniels books narrated very well by Renee Raudman, my brain had trouble processing the different accents and speech patterns of the characters from that series, Andrea and Ascanio being the most jarring. And the pronunciation of Hugh last name was so different but again overall the narration was very good and I will continue to both read and listen to this series. Really looking forward to the next installment.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb Narration by Steve West

I was uneasy about buying this book due to the uncomplimentary reviews of the narration. However, I like Ilona Andrews as an author and took the plunge. I found Mr. West's narration exemplary. I felt the discrepancies from Ms. Raudman;s pronunciation barely noticeable as they were inundated by Mr. West's superb narrative style. Please do not sacrifice a great listening experience by not buying this book.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Slow burn of a book that is worth it in the payoff

They really took their time developing the relationship of Hugh and Elara, but understandably so. Sure, you may get a little, 'oh come on! Get together already.' But when you respect the amount of character growth Hugh needs to get there, it makes total sense that it takes a long long time. Overall, I really liked the story and the development of Hugh from professional killer to what he becomes. And by the end you really appreciate and enjoy the results.

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6 people found this helpful