The Iron Trial is the first book in a fantasy series called “The Magisterium Series” written by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. The book is said to be aimed at children between 9 and 12, but I would say it will suit young teenagers more.
The Iron Trial is about 12 year old Call and his two friends Tamara and Aaron who are all apprenticed to the same master in an underground school of magic called the Magisterium. In the Magisterium young mages are taught to control elemental magic and fight against the chaos-ridden. It is a classical plot where good has to stand up against evil, but the evil in this book is the chaos, the blankness, the nothingness, and sometimes good and evil are all mixed up and can be hard to tell apart, and that is when the line between chaos and order becomes blurry.
I can’t not say how much this book reminded me of the Harry Potter series, there is a lot of similar twists to the plot, and sometimes I felt as though I was reading about Ron, Harry and Hermione, but I mean that in a good way. Who wouldn’t want to be compared to the great J.K Rowling!? But this book however, is much more action-driven, and leaves out the little details and the characteristics that make the Harry Potter books so special. Still, I loved the book as a pure thrilling and entertaining read that will definitely catch the attention of young fantasy-loving readers. It is also one of those books you can thoroughly enjoy as an adult too.
The only thing I will say is that I did not feel that the characters were 12 years old, the way they talked and behaved was more like teenagers in my opinion. And some of the magical explanations will definitely go over the heads of 9 year olds.
Having said that, I devoured this book, and did not put it down until it was finished. And I will definitely continue reading the other books in the series.
