This one keeps up the quality level of the first two. Introduces some more antagonists and we find out about some history of the magical world and more about our heroes' back stories, and we also see some interesting uses of magic. I found for me it started a bit slow, but then ramped up the stakes and the action so that it was hard to put down for the last third or so. Lots of place still to go from here, too and I am looking forward to the next one.

Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book in the UF is truly circling back to pick up the cliffhangers of the first. This is pretty great. But more importantly, we're getting a lot more details and character building. Action, magic, and mystery is great, but any story is ultimately going to hang on how much we like the characters.

At least for me, I'm solid there. It's like I'm getting a good dose of vitamin C with the pulp of this orange juice of a book. At least for the synesthesia part of the review, I kinda feel like I'm fighting off a cold, which is strange for how much our MC keeps bursting into flame, or walking around like a soot-mobile. So thank goodness for the juice, even if it doesn't mix too well with the carbon sheen.

I'm still having a lot of fun. I really like the snark.

I have been waiting for this series to take things to the next level, trusting that Jim's lessons will be leveraged in James' story and finally, this is the book that does it. A fast paced story combining heist elements with mystery and heavy thematic work, James really smashes it out of the park with this one. Unknown history comes into the light, family is incorporated as a theme in multiple ways, and most importantly, we get an acknowledgement of just how much things have changed for poor Grimsby, a mark of respect that he lives up to splendidly in this outing. Buy oh boy, the mystery and the questions that are raised in this one . . . it's been a long time since I binged a Butcher book all night long, is all I'll say about it. A great instalment, and I already can't wait to see where this goes next.
NB: YouTube video review goes live on 9th Feb, 2025.

A solid 4.5/5 for me. Butcher the Younger's writing style and skills continue to improve and are the strongest thus far for book 3. At first I thought far too much was happening without resolution, but this book's plot and follow through finally catch reader's up with occurrences that have taken place in previous books. Plenty of good stuff to follow!

Entertaining and engaging - a recommended purchase for collections where fantasy and the Butchers' work is popular.

James Butcher has done it again. Urban fantasy at its peak. If you loved the previous installments in the series, this won't disappoint!