Kindle
$1.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$26.99
Paperback
$16.39
Kindle Price: $1.99

Save $13.00 (87%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $15.04

Save: $7.55 (50%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Barbara Hambly
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Iron Princess Kindle Edition

by Barbara Hambly (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 280 ratings
See all formats and editions
A young woman rises from the streets to battle a sinister evil in this magical fantasy adventure by the bestselling author of the Darwath series.

Something is amiss with the world’s magic. Spells don’t work the way they used to—when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands.

They need a hero.

At the same time, ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic. And Clea Stylachos, granddaughter of a great sage of the Twilight people, has reason to fear that the Crystal Mages, instead of seeking to defeat these insanely destructive monsters, are attempting to weaponize them in their quest for power.

Clea’s only hope to save her people is a wizard who retains his power, one who will not betray her, either to the great merchant houses or to the all-entangling web of the Crystal Mages. But that wizard—Ithrazel the Cursed, destroyer of a city and magically imprisoned to suffer undying, unremitting torment—wants nothing to do with saving the world, helping a hero, or unraveling the terrible secret at the heart of the Crystal Mages’ plans.

From the slums and tunnels of the slave-city of Morne, to the watery wilderness of the Twilight lands, to the halls of her father’s palace and the spell-soaked mysteries of the Crystal Mages’ House of Glass, Clea works to untwist the deadly riddles of magic and monsters—to free her mother’s disenfranchised people from slavery under her father’s conquering forces. To save her mageborn brother from the Crystal Mages’ power; to control a sorcerer legendary for his deed of evil; to keep her own small band of friends one step ahead of her father’s troops and the Crystal Order’s spells.

She is the Iron Princess, and she knows she must prevail or die.

But at what cost to herself?

“Rich and complex, The Iron Princess is an absolute treat for fantasy fans. With thrilling characters and lush, nuanced world-building, this one will burn a hole through the nightstand and leave readers with wild dreams of family secrets, dynastic intrigue, and unexpected heroes who are so much more than they appear.” —Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker

Praise for New York Times–bestseller Barbara Hambly

“A fabulously talented writer.” —Charlaine Harris, bestselling author

“I think what is really special about [Hambly’s] books . . . is a richness of setting combined with a cast of characters that you’d love to actually know.” —SFSite

“Elegant, intelligent, and entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review on Dragonshadow
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    369 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  5. Publication date
    February 28, 2023
  6. File size
    5016 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara Hambly is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, as well as historical novels set in the nineteenth century. After receiving a master's degree in medieval history, she published The Time of the Dark, the first novel in the Darwath saga, in 1982, establishing herself as an author of serious speculative fiction. Since then she has created several series, including the Windrose Chronicles, Sun-Cross, and Sun Wolf and Starhawk, in addition to writing for the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. Besides fantasy, Hambly has won acclaim for the James Asher vampire series, which won the Locus Award for best horror novel in 1989, and the Benjamin January mystery series, featuring a brilliant African-American surgeon in antebellum New Orleans. She lives in Los Angeles.

Julia Anthony is a professional and experienced British voice-over artist and narrator who is based in the Midlands, UK. She has previously worked with clients all around the world on a variety of projects, including audiobooks, commercials, corporate explainers, eLearning, and virtual reality games.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B4G1J44L
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (February 28, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5016 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 369 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 280 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Barbara Hambly

Barbara Hambly

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

"Barbara Hambly (b. 1951) is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, as well as historical novels set in the nineteenth century. After receiving a master’s degree in medieval history, she published The Time of the Dark, the first novel in the Darwath saga, in 1982, establishing herself as an author of serious speculative fiction. Since then she has created several series, including the Windrose Chronicles, Sun-Cross, and Sun Wolf and Starhawk, in addition to writing for the Star Wars and Star Trek universes.

Besides fantasy, Hambly has won acclaim for the James Asher vampire series, which won the Locus Award for best horror novel in 1989, and the Benjamin January mystery series, featuring a brilliant African-American surgeon in antebellum New Orleans. She lives in Los Angeles."

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
280 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

S. Bannon
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating world
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
Clea’s world is changing. The magic is changing, spells go wrong for all the world’s mages except those of the Crystal Mages whose magic depends on adamine. Worse, mysterious beasts have risen and are destroying towns. She needs a mage whose magic is untainted by the problems of her world so she travels to an alternate world to retrieve a wizard who has been imprisoned there for 75 years. Ithrazel the Cursed . Aided by a local shepherd, Hamo, she manages to free Ithrazel and they return to their own world, Hamo following them uninvited. While Ithrazel wants nothing to do with saving the world Clea is forming an alliance of workers, thieves and others to overcome both the monsters and those, like her father, whose power and wealth is based on adamine and the slavery used to mine it.
This is a rich world with interesting characters. Clea is both a princess as well a thief, assasin and accomplished swordswoman due to her father declaring her illegitimate at age 8 and sending her to prison. Ithrazel deals with the guilt of his past actions that saw him sent to that alternate would and Hamo is in love with Clea, enough to leave his world behind to follow her but is it really love or the result of a love spell cast on to him to ensure he would help Clea free Ithrazel. We have magic, and reluctant heroes, political intrigue, and a plot that keeps the reader eagerly turning the page to see what happens next. While the story has a satisfying ending I would be interested in what comes next for all these characters. Recommended.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Whoosie
4.0 out of 5 stars good but not great
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Hamby has a likable and driven heroine, in an interesting world. However, this book isn’t her best. It is a fairly straightforward hero’s journey, with some well drawn companion characters.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joseph C Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I loved it and want more!
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
Barbara Hambly has once again proved that she's a master at world building and character development. I bought this book on a whim because I've read her books on vampires in the gaslight period of London. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I got sucked into this world and these characters so fast it made my head spin. I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. last night reading it Although she didn't end with a cliffhanger, it's clear that the story can continue, and I want it to (hint, hint Ms. Hambly!). The primary POV character, Clea, is strong but caring, and she faces up to the need to make decisions and does so, knowing she'll have to live with consequences that she might never be able to fix. I thought my growing-up years and love-hate relationship with my father were the worst ever until I learned about Clea's. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I think Clea takes that one step further. She's smart and sets out to learn how to survive and make friends in circumstances that would make most of us give up and pray to just get it over with and die. This won't hit you while you're reading; you'll be too involved in what's happening right then and flipping the page to find out what happens next. There are no slow spots, so hang onto your hat and get ready for a wild ride!
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Robert DeFrank
5.0 out of 5 stars A return to form
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Hambley's return to the secondary-world fantasy genre reads like a book found in a time capsule from the 1990s or early 2000s, full of classic adventure, action and the author's trademark complex characters and a bittersweet atmosphere that never loses sight of hope.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jayelldee
4.0 out of 5 stars lots of action and adventure
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
Not my favorite BH, but enjoyable, none the less. A trifle convoluted and confusing - a good editorial review might have helped clear up some of the confusion made by sudden changes in point of view, and in the (sadly) ever present editorial errors wrought by depending on an AI to catch improper grammatical usages (he instead of she) that a thinking person would recognize instantly.
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Iron Princess
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book was an enjoyable read, with well formed characters, and just my type of fantasy. I highly recommend it.
Helpful
 Report
Rotten Roger
3.0 out of 5 stars Slow. And needs to be shorter.
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
The characters spend a lot of time in their own heads dealing their own issues and pass. This is okay until I started to lose interest in the present story. And the environmental message falls flat too.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JS
5.0 out of 5 stars The Iron Princess
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
I am a Barbara Hambly fan. Her books are always extremely well done regardless of genre. Some of them are very intense and may require a lot of emotional investment. The Iron Princess cuts you a break. The action is non stop and engrossing. The plot line, characters and world are intriguing. One reviewer said the book included an "environmental message". Having read about Starhawk and Sun Wolf's problems with some cursed coinage I would disagree as to any "message". I enjoyed this book very much.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wild world building
Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
Wow! This plot goes in one direction, and then another and another again and again. Characters you are ambivalent to become cherished and others you want to kick in the teeth become even more wretched. A masterwork by an accomplished writer. Hoping there is more to this story and can't wait to visit this twisted world again.
Report
M T Vessel
4.0 out of 5 stars Wish we could get in the Uk and on Kindle
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
Another enjoyable fantasy adventure.
A few similar themes from previous books.
At one point I thought it could be a Time of the dark prequel... it isn't.
Interesting characters and good plot ideas. However they do ramble all over the place before putting the clues together. If you really like Barbara Hambly like me, you will like this one too.
Report
Vanessa
5.0 out of 5 stars Hambly keeps on delivering
Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
To drop into a Barbara Hambly book is to find yourself deep in another world, real as the one you sit reading in. This story or fable delivers people and places that you can see and touch and smell. Go on give yourself a brilliant read and step from your life into theirs
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report