The Iron Trial - Cassandra Clare, Holly Black

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

 

The Iron Trial is the first book in the new Magisterium series.

 

Callum Hunt has always been warned by his father for the Magisterium. Still he goes to audition for them, together with a bunch of muggles - ehm, excuse me, people unaware of magic - who believe they are going to ballet school or something similar. Callum alone will be trying to fail getting into the Magisterium. And even though he's done a splendid job in failing his test, he's still rewarded a place at this prestigious school of magic to train to become a mage. But what are the teachers not telling him?

 

It's hard not to compare this book to others, like Harry Potter, and indeed, especially in the beginning it's quite similar. The mysterious school and it's weird teachers, imminent danger and a general threat in the person of the Enemy of Death (who disappeared when Callum was a baby). Add to this the tragic death of a parent in a battle with aforementioned enemy and no evidence for any classes that do not involve magic like English or Maths...

 

However, these kind of books are usually something I really enjoy. The Iron Trial is no exception. But it's more than that. In itself it was a very enjoyable read. My attention was immediately grabbed from the prologue and I wanted to find out what it meant. Near the end there are some twists that are rarely seen in books today, so I liked the change and always appreciate things that are different from what I always read. The ending left me with questions I really want to know the answers to. A very interesting first book in a new YA fantasy school series I'll definitely want to read the second book of.