Rating: 
Summary: Like watching a train wreck in slow motion
Review: "Lord of the Rings" is one of the most beloved novels in literary history. It also, unfortunately, resulted in huge numbers of shameless imitators. Of all these, no fantasy is as horribly imitative as Dennis McKiernan's "Iron Tower" trilogy. Literally everything in this book is derived somehow from Tolkien's work, and it's so painfully written that reading it is a chore.In the peaceful land of the Boskydells, the tiny Warrows are readying themselves for war against the evil Dark Mage Modru and his hordes of Rucks, Hloks, Ghuls and Ogrus. Tuck Underbank and his teammates arrive at the citadel of Challerain Keep to help the High King, only to be driven out. Only a small band of Elves, Dwarves, Men and Warrows hold the key to defeating Modru and saving the world from eternal darkness. The "Iron Tower" trilogy is very painful to read: McKiernan copies so much from Tolkien that an experienced fan can pick out the elements as they appear. What's more, it's horribly written. The old quest story has been done to death, and so has the band-of-several-races saves the world. In fact, Tolkien's work is one of the few in which it actually DOES work; McKiernan can't manage it, and therefore features that sort of plot in just about every book he writes. And while McKiernan may say (as he does in the foreword) that he's just homaging Tolkien, I found otherwise. A homage is a nod to someone in an otherwise original book; McKiernan just copies everything. In here you'll find shallower duplicates of Galadriel (dull Elf seer Rael), Frodo (Tuck), Sting (Bane), Legolas (Gildor), Aragorn (Galen), Brega (Gimli), the abandoned Dwarf city of Moria (Kraggen-Cor) complete with its own versions of the Watcher and the Balrog (the kraken and utterly unscary Ghath), hobbits (Warrows), mithril (silveron), Theoden (Aurion), the Rohirrim (Vanadurim) and the Shire (Boskydells). Many secondary elements like the sunken island of Atala, Gyphon and Modru are also derived from Tolkien's extended works. Even a few names (Gildor and Laurelin) are directly lifted. Painful? You bet. McKiernan's writing is even worse. His dialogue is absolutely absurd, full of weird platitudes and bad invented languages. (It doesn't count as an ancient language if you misspell the words!) The Warrows switch accents constantly, sometimes in mid-conversation. Cockney, pirate, formal English, old English, early twentieth-century English, and some that were just weird. After this, I never want to hear "Lor," "Yar," "Ar," or anything else like that. He describes boring travel in intricate detail, so we get pages of the characters just riding from point A to point B. (And note to McKiernan: did we need a detailed description of how Tuck's mom embroiders? Who cares what noise the needle makes?) But battle scenes are plodding and bloodless, and the characters don't stay in any peaceful place for very long. McKiernan's attempts at fleshing out this story achieve nothing. He has about sixty names for every species, building, forest, mountain... you get the idea. (I could not care less what Elves call Dwarf mountains, okay?) There is also a boring series of appendices, timelines, songs, translation keys. But just having a lot of different words for the same things doesn't make Mithgar even slightly interesting. Character development and conflict is nonexistant. The characters don't have any motivations except "we're good, we have to save the world" or "we're evil, we have to destroy it." When they fight, they make up in about a page; they have a tendency to start laughing helplessly like escaped mental patients. And when all else fails, McKiernan falls back on preaching about gender equality and a kidnapped princess. (Does anyone see a contradiction here?) The climax is straight out of a bad horror movie and is the silliest thing I've ever read. The characters are even more annoying: Tuck Underbank (nothing like "Underhill," right?) cries incessently and can't make a single decision for himself. Galen is, simply put, boring and pompous. Gildor is the token Elf, also very boring; Brega seems like he might be interesting, but he quickly loses his gruffness and becomes boring too. Danner is a psycho-hobbit who spends the whole book getting offended; Vidron is the most three-dimensional character in the book, but his constant coddling of the annoying Warrows takes away from the idea that this guy is a great general. But the female characters are outright offensive. Merrilee is a whiny twerp who bursts into tears after a battle (why? Because she's a girl) and needs Danner to tell a crowd that she's the equal of a guy. And Laurelin is a sugar-sweet, innocent, golden-haired paragon of virtue who spends the book crying. The feeling coming out of "Iron Tower" was that McKiernan wanted to rewrite "Lord of the Rings" as HE thought it should have been written (come on, Frodo does NOT need a girlfriend). But his attempt is a dismal failure.
Rating:
Summary: Unoriginal and full of cliches
Review: ... I hated this book, and here's why: Professor Tolkien was truly an expert at languages and world-building. His words leap off the pages and into our hearts because everything about his Middle-Earth seems utterly real, true, and historical. McKiernan is simply a ..., and not a very good one. There is very little attempt to give Mithgar a history or a backstory. The world and its characters are plunged into war almost immediately. With almost no glimpses of the good in the land, we don't know what makes Mithgar worth saving. The characters themselves also have very little history. I wondered, for example, how Laurelin and Galen met, and why Laurelin was staying with his family instead of her own, but no explanation is ever given. There is a lack of interesting, complex characters like Tolkien's Gollum, Gandalf, or Eowyn. The languages he has his characters use are a complete ... of Tolkien, particularly the Dwarf language. However, the way the characters speak (especially the Warrows) is inconsistent. One minute they sound like Spaniards, the next like pirates, and the next like some insane British/American redneck crossbreed. It nearly drove me nuts. McKiernan needs to leave invented languages to the experts. (It took Tolkien more than twelve years to write LoTR, and the languages were something he worked on his entire life.) I was confused by the way McKiernan described the weapons used by the Warrrows. He says they use bows, and then goes on to tell how they fletched or loaded an arrow, a quarrel, or a bolt. Well, which was it? I'm not an expert, but it's my understanding that arrows are used with bows, and quarrels or bolts with crossbows, but the Warrows freely switched between all three. I was forced to skim a great deal of the book because of endless pages that began something like "On the first day..." and told how many miles the host had ridden and where they camped for the night. Then "On the second day..." there is more of the same. And the third and the fourth and fifth. Boring! Now, I know that it's supposed to be OK for men to cry, but this book goes beyond silly with the amount of tears. The hero Tuck cries on practically every other page, and at one point I was actually giggling out loud because I could not believe that Tuck was sobbing again already. And finally, this book contains the ultimate in cliches: a kidnapped princess. Oh please! We've already seen this storyline 1000 times. Where's the originality?
Rating:
Summary: If you have any respect for JRR Tolkien ...
Review: ... please do not buy these books. The Iron Tower series is a shameless (underscore shameless) copy of the Lord of the Rings. In and of itself this is not a complete crime - after all Lord of the Rings was derived from Norse Mythology. However, these books are so poorly written that they are almost a parody. When Terry Brooks wrote the Stones of Shanarra, he was critized for copying Lord of the Rings. However, the Shanarra books were at least well written and made some attempt to interject original elements. Dennis McKiernan has only changed (some) of the names.
Rating: 
Summary: fantasymind
Review: A great trilogy! Yes it uses Tolkien to an extreme in some cases - but why not use one of the greatest Fantasy books of all time. It is action packed from the first book to the last. If you want a bunch of chapters devoted to developing a character - you won't get it here. If you can't develop these for yourself you should stick to biographies! I've read hundreds of Fantasy and Sci-Fi books and this is one of the best series I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: Tolkien one more time . . . or
Review: Before you pick up Tolkien and read it for the tenth time, give this series a chance! If the Iron Tower was a stand alone novel it would certainly lack enough depth to warrant a second glance. But it is not a stand alone novel. McKiernan has developed a depth and richness to Mithgar that goes beyond the bounds of being just a Tolkien rip-off. I can see how anyone who comes to this book comparing it to Tolkien would be disappointed, but why not read it for the enjoyment of fantasy. I have every book about Mithgar that McKiernan has written, and I have been greatly engrossed in the world he has developed. In some ways, Mithgar is what I wish Middle Earth could have been. If only Tolkien had been around long enough to complete some of the other tales of history . . . McKiernan has developed Mithgar and his writing has grown over time (like Tolkien's did). I wouldn't judge the LOTR by the Hobbit, anymore than I would judge all the tales of Mithgar by the IRON TOWER.
Rating:
Summary: Tolkien one more time . . . or
Review: Before you pick up Tolkien and read it for the tenth time, give this series a chance! If the Iron Tower was a stand alone novel it would certainly lack enough depth to warrant a second glance. But it is not a stand alone novel. McKiernan has developed a depth and richness to Mithgar that goes beyond the bounds of being just a Tolkien rip-off. I can see how anyone who comes to this book comparing it to Tolkien would be disappointed, but why not read it for the enjoyment of fantasy. I have every book about Mithgar that McKiernan has written, and I have been greatly engrossed in the world he has developed. In some ways, Mithgar is what I wish Middle Earth could have been. If only Tolkien had been around long enough to complete some of the other tales of history . . . McKiernan has developed Mithgar and his writing has grown over time (like Tolkien's did). I wouldn't judge the LOTR by the Hobbit, anymore than I would judge all the tales of Mithgar by the IRON TOWER.
Rating:
Summary: warrows rule!
Review: Dennis L. McKiernan's Iron Tower gives fantasy readers what they enjoy, fast paced action with brave little heroes. Although it is an obvious off shoot of Tolkien it keeps you entertained. The main characters are well thought out and the story line keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next. The story introduces the little people called Warrows. They are excellent bowmen and fierce and brave fighters. This new race of little people is still treated like a childlike race but quickly earns respect that the kenders of Dragonlance never do and they prove themselves more than simple folks like hobbits and halflings. Give this book a try!
Rating:
Summary: Total garbage
Review: Do yourself a favor and Don't read this book. The entire story is just a rehash of most of the key events from Tolkien's books. Although the author does confess up front that he "borrowed" a great deal; what he actually did was blatent plagierism. I'm surprised that the Tolkien Estate hasn't sued. Asside from the unoriginal material; the book is very to hard read. The transitions from character to character are litterally nonexistant. The characters themselves are extremely shallow and weak. None of the conflics have any substance. They are only suggested at but never brought to view. Let's face it this book should not have been written. It's worse than a Forgotten Realm novela. My advice to the author....find other work.
Rating:
Summary: Total garbage
Review: Do yourself a favor and Don't read this book. The entire story is just a rehash of most of the key events from Tolkien's books. Although the author does confess up front that he "borrowed" a great deal; what he actually did was blatent plagierism. I'm surprised that the Tolkien Estate hasn't sued. Asside from the unoriginal material; the book is very to hard read. The transitions from character to character are litterally nonexistant. The characters themselves are extremely shallow and weak. None of the conflics have any substance. They are only suggested at but never brought to view. Let's face it this book should not have been written. It's worse than a Forgotten Realm novela. My advice to the author....find other work.
Rating: 
Summary: Immature Writing
Review: First of all, the blatant copying of Tolkien is evident. The dwarvan cave episode is almost exactly the same, but just because it is a blatant copy does not mean that it is bad. But... That is just it, these books are very boring. There is simply too much action as well as [dull] character build up. It is not a good idea to describe a character as "a great hero who...." and list his deeds as a method to intorduce him/her. It is a book for children (small children, I read Tolkien in middle school and loved it!). I never feel any affinity for the characters and find what they say to be wordy, elaborate, and predictable. I didn't even finish the last 10 pages of the book. I grew disinterested to early. I have heard high school English teachers having similar opinions. It is a sad attempt by Mr McKiernan. It must be remebered that the father of fantasy (Tolkien) was an accomplished professor of Anglo-Saxon mythology and really knew what he was doing. In Tolkien there is a great Spiritual and moral struggle underlying every event. McKiernon lacks this. His books are obvious, there is no deep allusion or even a certain unpredictability to his story. Read the book yourself so you can see it, but I have provided ample warning.
| 
