The story had an inventive premise and I appreciated that it was based off an Indian myth. My interest was really high when I started but as I got further into this book I realized this book just wasn't for me. At first I thought maybe I might have liked this story more had I been younger but I kept getting everyone confused and had to repetitively use the character glossary because the characters were numerous and just not memorable enough for me. It seems hard to imagine these issues being res...

Rating: 5 'There is another truth behind the truth...' Great read for a break between two epic fantasy series :) Short spoiler-free review It was a really good book recommended to me by my friend who knows how much I adore myths. The Iron Ring focuses on Hindi myths and tradition. Written for the middle grade it was still enjoyable for an adult. I wasn't bored at all.I really liked life wisdom hidden in passages of this book. Story and worldbuilding were also well created. I found myself

It's almost a companion to The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen, as it is a quest of a young king of a small kingdom, with humor and interesting companions and much adventure and learnings, but it takes place in a sort of India, instead of a sort of China.Thank goodness for the list of names and the glossary.I appreciate the introduction, in which Alexander both expresses a valuable sentiment and excuses himself from any errors of Indian tradition: "While the story evokes the atmosphere, themes,...

This was a beautiful, beautiful story. Seeing Alexander recognize the beauty in Asian mythology and culture was so refreshing and liberating. He did so by honoring and yet examining the ideology in such a respectful and gentle way, and yet his storytelling did not suffer for it. The internal struggles of these characters were honest and moving. The chiasmic structure was seamless and brought excellent closure.This is a novel I'd love to teach to my middle school students someday, which is a true...

This was the book I never knew I needed. I loved it. Lloyd Alexander has a unique style. He moves his narrative pretty fast, keeping scenes short and to the point instead of drawing them out. I've heard someone else call it a fairytale style and might be a good way to describe it. It's probably great for young readers with shorter attention spans. If I had read it a few years ago, however, I might have had trouble connecting. I still wouldn't say his writing style is my favorite.BUT THIS STORY!!...

This novel is based on the traditions and legends of India. The tale begins when Tamar, the young King of Sundari, is challenged by Jaya, a powerful ruler, to a friendly game of Aksha. In this gambling game, they wager life for life and Tamar loses. Jaya places an iron ring upon the young King's finger before vanishing.Tamar's courtiers try to convince him that he was having a dream, but the iron ring upon his finger troubles the young man. He sets out on a journey to the Kingdom of Mahapura, th...

I love Lloyd Alexander anyway, so this opinion is biased. This book is highly entertaining and filled with page-turning excitement. I know the book is good when I am feeling the emotions that the characters are experiencing. My stomache was in knots all throughout this book. I love how he pays so much attention to the characters working out right and wrong for themselves. It really shows the process we all go through when trying to make righteous decisions that affect our lives. As this is a boo...

Lloyd Alexander has a way with words, a pleasure to read, and a delightful way of developing colorful characters. That is the case, as usual, with the Iron Ring. Although I did find it a bit difficult to follow at first, it became easier to track as it went along. Reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book in some respects, with some thought-provoking philosophical lessons along the way. Not as much fun as the Chronicles of Prydain, and not as breezy as some of Alexander's other children's boo...

I rarely remember how I got my books, especially those I have owned for a long time, but The Iron Ring is an exception. I had just finished completing the summer reading program with Barnes & Noble, and came in to get my free book. Unfortunately, the list of titles I could choose from was very slim, but the lady in charge of the young adult section told me to go ahead and choose any trade paperback I liked off the shelves. I grabbed this volume, and we had a lovely discussion about Lloyd Alexand...

The first two thirds of The Iron Ring kept reminding me of a lower-caliber version of The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen(also by Lloyd Alexander). The quality of the writing was certainly there(this is Lloyd Alexander, after all), but the story and characters all felt a bit too toned down to reach the level of Alexander's best. Luckily I was interested enough to keep reading, because the last third of the book was far better. There was much more action and suspense, and the characters finally

Years ago, during a children's lit course, I read that Prydain Chronicles. I found them fantastic. So looking in the library the other day I saw this one and decided to pick it up. It follows Tamar, a young king in long-ago India. The story follows Tamar as he begins a quest to maintain his honor, or his "dharma". Alexander is interested in Indian folk-tales and is influenced by them in his story. Tamar meets a number of people and animals who join him on his way. The story is quite archetypal (...

This is a very accessible, fast-paced and enjoyable fable about a young man and his journey toward wisdom. Along the way he's helped by the usual cast of characters in myths of this sort: His true love, a mischievous sidekick, a beloved teacher, and others whose roles are to illustrate the best and worst qualities in human nature.Alexander's prose is lucid and unpretentious and perfect for the tween crowd. If you're a parent with a talent for voices, the varied dramatis personae easily lend them...

Didn't super care for it.The main character, Tamar, is one of those impulsive 'you looked at me wrong we must fight to the death!' characters, and I just wasn't feeling it.Well, I was feeling frustrated as he single-handedly halted the plot over, and over, and over.The ending was almost cool in its' reveal, but something was lacking.I think it's the sort of book younger middle schoolers would enjoy, however.

My review/memoir of my first reading of this book is posted at http://bookgargoyle.blogspot.com/2011....

I seriously don't like this book. It just gets me bored when I read it. Not recommended for young readers.

This was my first Lloyd Alexander book and it will not be the last. The combination of adventure, love, magic, and friendship is a great recipe for a fun page-turner, but add in the culture, mythology, and setting of India and you have the perfect story. Despite being somewhat predictable, Alexander's story of bravery, honor, and lessons learned teaches as much as it entertains. Honesty, reliability, loyalty, and wisdom are common themes throughout the book, as are consequences--both good and ba...

This was one of the books that taught me to love reading when I was young, so much of my enjoyment may be tainted with nostalgia. Reading it 20 years later, my biggest complaint is with the pacing. Much happens too fast, or is skimmed over. There is also a surprising amount of clumsy dialogue where it is not clear who is speaking or to whom. Those aside however, the story is if anything even more enjoyable for me now, as I understand so much more of it. I still adore Hashkat, and he will continu...

I was hooked with the first few chapters, then somewhere in the middle was getting very frustrated with all the side quests. I was like: “let’s get back to Tamar! Stop introducing new characters!!!” But then all the side characters came together for an awesome finale and I forgave the story.

NiceBook

"The Iron Ring," by Lloyd Alexander, is a self-contained story (as opposed to series) rooted in Indian mythology and folklore. As with "The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen" and The Prydain Chronicles, Alexander has done research into the mythology and folklore (in a time when that sort of research was harder to do), and the novel follows a very specific progression. It is, in a word, predictable... but not in a bad way. As readers of fairy tales, we know that when The Noble Hero frees a trapped...

While I certainly enjoyed The Iron Ring, it was not my favorite Lloyd Alexander book. While having a clearly Indian feel, this story still felt very eclectic with its numerous characters whose names start to blend into one, and who appear very suddenly, tag along for a little while, then disappear just as suddenly, though I will not complain about their not hanging around. Tamar already has too much of a retinue. I will always be of the opinion that too large of a traveling group ruins any good

Beautiful introduction to Indian philosophy for teenagers (but good read for all ages) in story form. Really brilliant. Great explanation of the Hindu ideas of dharma (duty), karma (outcome of deeds), ahimsa (non-violence) and compassion. For those who know the Mahabharata and the Ramayana the themes will be familiar and it is possible to see what parts of the stories of Krishna, Arjuna, Rama and Hanuman were used... they are all present without being mentioned. I've enjoyed each part of this st...

The first thing you need to know is that Lloyd Alexander is one of the greats of children's literature. His magnum opus is the Chronicles of Prydain, a pseudo-Welsh fantasy coming-if-age that can break your heart in all the right ways; I'm partial myself to the faux French Revolution of his Westmark trilogy, in particular the second book, The Kestrel, where war brutally, beautifully drives Theo into post-traumatic madness. Lloyd Alrxandet writes for kids, but his protagonist suffer, because of l...

I really, really enjoyed this book. It is unusual, in one way as a fantasy, because it takes place in Inida, though the setting adds beautifully to the story. It is both a fantasy and, I think, something of an allegory, with some elements of historical realism. The story follows the journey of a young king, Tamar, who binds himself to someone in a dice game (don't think to hardly of him, he was only being courteous) and sets out to obey the summons of his new master. Raised and fairly-well brain...

I am a huge fan of Lloyd Alexander. I love how he seemlessly pulls together threads of mythology and foreign cultures to create brillant, vibrant new stories and worlds. They feel rich and alive.It was great to see him give the same treatment to Middle Eastern mythology. However, I will admit that, while still enjoyable, it is my least favorite of Alexander's work that I have read. I definately think he did a great job at evoking the flavor of the culture and the texture of these type of stories...

This is not actually the first time I have tried to read this book, only the first time I have succeeded. The Iron Ring was a gift to me when I was about eleven years old. Between my unfamiliarity with the Indian-style fairy tales and my inability to understand how a dream could be real but still a dream, I had to put the book down to gather dust.Recently I had begun to think that I should revisit this novel that only my own understanding had prevented my reading. On this occasion I found a rich...

As King Tamar gambles away everything in a game of dice with the mysterious King Jaya; a iron ring appears on the young King of Sundari’s finger as a reminder that his riches, his kingdom, even his life are no longer his own. Tamar, accompanied by his wise and cheerful teacher, journeys to Jaya’s kingdom of Mahapura to make good on his debt. Along the way, he meets a variety of companions including, among others, a fast-talking monkey, a cowardly eagle, a journeyman with magical powers, and a yo...

The book itself was magically written, like mythology that'd been expanded upon. However, throughout the entire book from the time Tamar left on his journey to the point it was concluded, I hated his whiny little self. He was whiny the entire time and I'm sure he was supposed to learn some sort of lesson in the end, but I just didn't see it. He had tons of people around him all the time saying grow up, you're an idiot, dharma doesn't mean a darn thing and he's just like "no, I must defend me hon...

this book was freakin marvelous. when i picked it up off the shelf at the library i saw the cover and almost put it back. but i guess that i learned not to judge a book by its cover. i was 20 pages into the book and i was into it already. theres many characters and its a little hard to put them all in place so u might get confused at some point. but when u get the characters straitend out u really start to enjoy the book. it has a mixture of things in it: kings, sword, bows, battles,talking anim...

A very interesting story in which Tamar discovered many things about the world and greatly matured.When he started off, he was impulsive and only acted according to his warrior's dharma (code). As he travelled, he learned to value others' lives, respect the dead, think to solve problems rather than hack through them, etc.Very interesting group of traveling companions, and it was cool to see how every story tied together.I will admit, all the caste names and titles were a little complicated, and