IRON or The War After

Today I will be reviewing a book called Iron or The War After by S.M Vidaurri. It takes place in a world that is always winter - cold and snowing. It's about a group of anthropomorphic animals who were in a gang war with each other. Some of them still feel hostile towards each other. One rabbit named Harden steals important papers from his old enemy, a tiger named Calvin. A lot of betrayal  happens involving Harden and his children, Patricia and James, who end up getting put in an orphanage by Calvin and his followers. Important things happen within the first chapter, so it would be hard to tell you what happens without spoiling it for you.

The art in this book is very beautiful and surreal. The use of colors is like something you would see on the cover of the New Yorker. The heads of the animals look really cool. All of them look really tough and rough. Whenever a character is about to get into a fight, you see a side view of their gritted teeth. It looks amazing. This book should get an award for its drawings.

I like the scene where Harden's children's nanny is selling Harden out to Calvin. When she hesitates to tell him where Harden and his children are, Calvin pulls a gun. I like this scene because it shows how much is at stake. One little mess up could be the difference between life and death. One piece of false information could have you dead in a ditch. I would also like to mention the beautiful lighting in this scene. It looks like the scene from the beginning of The Godfather, with the blinds pulled down and the smoke from Calvin's cigar filling the room. It really gives you that mafia feel. 

 This book is perfectly appropriate for anyone who doesn't mind fist fight violence and can handle a complex plot. It has memorable characters, especially the tiger named Calvin. I think that it's really underrated and deserves to be much more well known. 

In all, I think Iron or The War After is really well done. I would give it 4 3/5 iron ingots out of 5.