Rating: 
Summary: Ancient Times
Review: This fantasy book is set in a magical and delightful place. It is set in the past and the customs brought to the future by history. India's past is an indeed great one, and this book is good at recognizing it. Made by my personal favorite author, Lloyd Alexander (Newbery Medal winning for The High King), this book is the ideal book for exploring old etiquette of the fascinating ancient history in India while adding fantasy at an acceptable rate. This book is about a young king, Tamar, who faces a problem that he believes (according to his honor) he must do. No one saw this except for himself. Everyone thinks it's a dream, but the Iron Ring that was slipped onto his finger in the dream was still on his finger. So he started a journey across the dangerous land. Along the way, he finds companions, enemies, and strange occurrences. Mixing in words to enhance feeling, the book includes a glossary at the back of the book so you can learn ancient rules and amenities that these people had to face with. It has to do with the social caste (pronounced cast) that happens in India, and how a rule applies to everything. For example, for a fight between two cities, the leader must first meet in the center, threaten each other, move back slowly, and in a day, the armies slowly and respectfully fight. There are rules for everything back then, and almost no one every broke them or they would lose their honor. Overall, this book displays many morals and lessons that even now should be used. This book changed my views on many things, and interested me like many other books made by Lloyd Alexander into learning more about this fascinating culture.
Rating:
Summary: The Iron Ring is THE BEST!!!!!
Review: This is an amazing book! Tamar journeys to a far off land to find a king that he doesn't even know neccasarily exists. Everyone tells him he's being silly to follow something so uncertain, but Tamar goes. Is it a dream or no? Read to find out! Along the way he meets Mirri the gopi (cowherd), Hashkat the monkey king, Avi Kavi the former crier, Arvati the elephant and many other friends. He falls in love with Mirri but remembers that he has promised his life to Jaya. Pained by the possible truth that he may not marry Mirri, both because of his caste and because his life is no longer his own, Tamar sneaks away in the middle of the night. Clever Mirri percieves this, and, out of love for Tamar follows them, and helps save them several times. Tamar also helps a famous lion-eyed king save India by participating in a war to earn the crown back for the lion eyed king, from whom the throne was unjustly taken by a cousin. After being saved by a Naga Prince, whom he met early in the book, from a demon, Tamar reaches Jaya. Want to find out what happens next, after Tamar finds King Jaya? Mind trickery and confusion- but- is Jaya really the bad guy? Now you're not so sure! Read the book to find out, it will interest you and captivate you....Don't we reuse names like Maria, or Cindy, or Tiffany? We aren't stealing them. Besides, in the story, the characters lived in India. They would know the mythology. Perhaps Tamar admired a certain person from mythology and named his horse after her. After all, people have been known to name their cats Pooh, or Tigger. And there must be thousands of dogs named Pongo! Plus, who was the Roman god of death and the underworld? Pluto. What did Walt Disney name Mickey's pet dog? Pluto. So, you see my point.
Rating:
Summary: Ring Of Dreams
Review: The Iron Ring is an amazing book that makes your imagination fly! This book is about a young prince,Tamar, who is going on a journey. He has a dream at the beginning of the book but he is not certain if it is true or no. That's where the action all begins. He meets many characters on the way of his journey and learns many things. His rajaswama or teacher is intriged by many of the lessons Tamar faces as he goes on in his journey. Geruda an eagle with alot of attitude is one of his companions who is lacking self confidence to himself. This iron ring is bound around tamar's finger which confuses him about the dream. His real test is to see if he can get though this journey while still surviving. A man at the end of the book and the beginning, Through out the book, is disguised as many who tells the real truth at the end. I really enjoyed this book and really reccomend it. Hope you get reading soon !!!
Rating:
Summary: Check Out This Book
Review: The Iron Ring is an adventurous book. It is sort of like the medieval times because it has knights,kings,wars,and animals that talk. It is a real cool book to read. I'd say this book is for whoever likes adventures.
Rating: 
Summary: A highly unique story, that draws deeply on Indian mythology
Review: To say the least, this book is excellent, highly original, with fascinating characters. Though it's quite a long book, both times I've read it I've finished it in twenty-four hours or less. Lloyd Alexander has been one of my favorite authors for quite a while, so I was expecting quite a bit from this book, and I was not dissapointed. Combining the rich undertones of Indian mythology with usual fantasy flair, Lloyd Alexander really outdid himself here. In it, the young king Tamar sets out to find the mysterious King Jaya, to whom he inadvertantly pledged his life. Along the way, he gains a very colorful band of companions who include a bad tempered bird, a kind elephant, one of his old teachers, a mischevous monkey, plus a beautiful peasant girl Tamar falls instantly in love with. As they head on their journey it becomes apparant that it is largely a journey of self discovery as well, as each character has immense character development. One thing that annoyed me about this book was that it was not up to the authors usual standards of having plenty of strong female characters. (I will never forget Eilonwy, who made the intire Prydain chronicles for me) The only real main character who was even female was Mirri, and while she was clever and all, she wasn't that cool, and didn't even have a real part in the story except to be Tamar's love interest and sit and look pretty. I also felt that her relationship to Tamar was fairly groundless as well, especially at first. Sure, towards the end Tamar learns to love her for real reasons too, which is part of his development, but the intire basis of his feelings for her revolve around looks. Besides that though, this book was wonderful, and kept me rivited to it right to the end. (which isn't at all what you'd expect.) Also, this book is somewhat more gory than some of his other books, so I would recommend it more to the 12-15 age range than the 9-12 age range that most of Lloyd Alexander's books are written in. That's not to say that younger people wouldn't enjoy it also though, as long as they can handle the occational violence.
Rating:
Summary: The Iron Ring is a fun adventure!
Review: This was my favorite book of 1997 and I can't help but feel like it was cheated out of awards. Here, you have a great story about Tamar, a young king, who loses a dice game to a strange visitor. Because he has lost the game, he has one year to travel to the other man's kingdom, where he fears he will lose his own life. It is on this journey that all of his adventures take place. This book has adventure, magic, and believable characters, while also providing a fast-paced story which will keep you reading just to find out what will happen next. I didn't want to put this book down and read it in one afternoon. I'm sure that any fantasy reader (including fans of the Harry Potter series) would find that this is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: The Iron Ring
Review: The Iron Ring is all out my favorite book. I used to not like to read do to the fact that in school I am forced to read books that I have no interest in. But one day I picked up a book in the schools Library and read the back. I was immediately hooked so I took it home and started reading. My parents thought something was wrong with me but as Lloyd Alexander put it: "Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it." Now I love to read again and I am always waiting for more Alexander books to pick up. If you don't like to read I suggest you pick up this book and you will love it. Thank you Lloyd for inspiring me and making reading fun.
Rating:
Summary: Starr Reviews
Review: This book was a great fantasy book, and I enjoyed learning about the ways of other countries. Although there were some boring parts throughout the book, I got through it and was happy I did. A great read for Lloyd Alexander fans. Definately good all around with love, war, traveling, and talking animals! If you like this, try The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis***
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Story
Review: This is a story which I found to be excellent. The characters were well developed, the storyline interesting, and the setting of an ancient Indian landscape. The mystery of the book also keeps you interested throughout, and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great story.
Rating:
Summary: The Iron Ring: A Tale of Adventure
Review: This is a book that I liked very much for many reasons. The storyline was good, the characters well developed, and the setting enchanting. The book is excellent in its details and unexpected twists. It is a good book for all who like to read stories of kings and monsters and magic and adventure.
|
