The Iron Bells
by Jeanette Battista
The year is 64 A.D. -- though now A.D. stands for Anno Daemonii.Demons have crossed a gate into our world, taking the reins of power
from humanity. A new Inquisition has begun, determined to root out any
who stand against the new world order. The holy sites on earth have
been destroyed -- Jerasulem first, then the Vatican, then Mecca -- and
what resistance remains is ruthlessly crushed. Amaranth is a fighter
in the resistance cell based in London. Dham is a Ringer, one of the
few people left able to ring the remaining sets of blessed hand bells
that have power over demons. When Amaranth discovers that her best
friend has been possessed by a demon and is going to be used in the
Resistance's final, desperate mission, she asks Dham for his help in
saving her friend. With the Inquisition closing in and betrayal
threatening from inside the Resistance itself, Amaranth, Dham, and the
demon -- along with Catriona, a new, highly-skilled, highly-blonde
bell-ringer -- decide to head to Rome and the ruins of Vatican City,
hoping to find a way to stem the tide of demonic possessions and close
the gate.
*I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley*
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The worldbuilding reminded me of a cross between Garth Nix's Abhorsen series (ringing the bells to keep demons at bay/banish them) and Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart (the world is overtaken and the resistance lives in underground tunnels while the rest of society carries on).
It was pretty good. I can definitely see myself reading the next book in the series when it comes out. I had a few issues with the characters because there were times when I just wanted to throttle them for being so stupid. At least Amaranth knew she had made some mistakes, which made it a little better.
I'd recommend it to fans of young or new adult and people who love urban fantasy and strong heroines.
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