"The Iron Codex" eBook was published in 2019 and was written by David Mack (http://davidmack.pro). Mr. Mack has published nearly 40 novels. This is the second novel in his "Dark Arts" series. 

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set the contemporary time frame, but in a slightly alternate world, one with magic. The primary character is Russian Anja Kernova who has been hunting former Nazis in South America.

There are three other principal characters: The American Cade Martin who works for British MI6, but who is now under suspicion because he has been disappearing;  The German Briet Segfrunsdóttir who now serves as the master magician of the Pentagon’s top-secret magickal warfare program; and the Spanish Father Luis Roderigo Pérez of the Monte Paterno Monastery who has been studying White Magic for the Catholic Church. 

World War II has been over nearly a decade. Kernova is using her abilities to hunt Nazis. She comes into possession of the Iron Codex that contains many magical secrets. That causes her to be the target of pursuit by agents of the Vatican, Russia, and others. Complicating the situation is the effort by a cabal led by Dragan Dalca to open the way for demons. 

Kernova calls on Martin for help. Both Segfrunsdottir and Pérez are drawn into the fray on the side of Kernova. There are many competing groups all wanting to control the Iron Codex for different agendas. 

I enjoyed the 12 hours I spent reading this 375-page alternate history fantasy. I found this novel a little hard to read without having read the first novel in the series, but it wasn't too bad. I thought that the plot was interesting, mixing magic and spies. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

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The Iron Codex is a mile-a-minute action adventure fantasy, featuring motorcycle chases, the demons of hell, and buckets of intrigue. There’s a lot of reference to the first book in the series, specifically regarding the pasts of the lead characters and their relation to the war. Mack does a great job of giving us their backstories, treating the book as though it’s a standalone novel. If you want a full history of the magic in this wild universe, you can definitely start with the first book.

I was most impressed by the usage of magic in relation to the war. Mack calls on a cast of sorcerers and demons, creating an Indiana Jones-type experience. Alternating between action sequences and deep magic that feels evil keeps The Iron Codex racing ahead toward world-changing events and epic battles. The war is never over in this version of the world and magic is the only way to keep the balance of good versus evil. It’s quite ironic that doing good requires demons summoned from hell.

The writing is top notch, featuring historical figures and places alongside some alternate history. Mack weaves these together to create a version of the world that seems very real. This alternate history sets you on a rollercoaster of moods, toeing the line between thrilling, terrifying, action-packed, and humorous. This is a world where magic isn’t new and those wielding it know exactly what they’re doing, for the most part. This second novel in the Dark Arts series explores the Iron Codex, a book that could change everything. I don’t want to reveal too much — The Iron Codex is definitely an adventure that needs to be experienced.

I didn't read the first instalment in this series so I didn't know what to expect.
At the beginning some elements made me think of Katherine Kurtz Lammas Night but when the plot started to unravel I couldn't help appreciating the originality and how enthralling it was.
It was a great read, fascinating and engaging.
I liked the world building and I liked the mix of history and fiction.
The book is well written and the characters are well developed. I liked the heroine even if there're a lot of similarities.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series and will surely read the previous installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Tor Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Reserving judgement on this, as this isn't normally my type or style of read, but the world building intrigued me to keep me going, and I'll be looking for the next in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

I had a difficult time finishing this novel. It is good, and well written. However, the beginning moved too slow for me to become emotionally invested in it. The last half of the novel more than made up for the beginning sluggishness. Mack wrote some very exciting scenes and the magic system that he created is great. It is different than most urban fantasy/fantasy out there. I recommend this book as it is well written and fun. It is a great dip in history and fantasy. Just know that the beginning is a little slow and sluggish, but it will pay off in spades by the end.

I did not really love this book, which is EXTREMELY rare for a Tor book. Wizards, nazis, corrupt government, globe travelling against a deadline, trying to save the world, set in the 1950s. The writing was more brusque then I wanted, and the female super agents were pretty carbon copy.

Darker than I usually prefer, but done well enough that I still enjoyed it. The characters have some depth beyond "I suffer because of my bad decisions, and also the world sucks!" (though both of those things are true), and the mashup of 1950s spy thriller and ceremonial magic(k) works well.

None of the characters are unambiguously noble, but they do (ultimately) persevere to pursue an unselfish goal at personal cost against powerful opposition, despite being embedded in corrupt systems. I like that kind of story.

At the beginning, the five different viewpoints of seemingly unconnected characters in different parts of the world started to seem a bit much, but I kept going on the assumption that they would eventually connect up, which they did.

I did find the two female characters, and for that matter the two MI6 agents, a bit hard to tell apart for a while.

On the whole, though, this book offers plenty of excitement, lots of wizards, and high stakes, and when I'm in the mood for that kind of book, I like to find one as good as this.

I received a pre-publication copy from Netgalley for purposes of review.