Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Eoin Colfer - Iron Man: The Gauntlet (Marvel Fiction) - Book Review

Tony Stark is known throughout the world as many things: billionaire, inventor, Avenger. But mainly for being the Invincible Iron Man.

Just when Tony is about to add his pizzazz to an international eco-summit in Ireland, someone close to him forces him to question his role in making the world a more dangerous place with his high-tech weaponry. But Stark doesn't have much time to reflect before an old enemy presents him with an even greater challenge: the assassination of all the eco-ministers, and Iron Man himself. Just how invincible Iron Man is when he is stripped of everything remains to be seen in this breathless adventure by the best-selling author of Artemis Fowl.

Marvel comic favourites are becoming literally bigger, bolder and more exciting than ever! Marvel Press is proud to present five brand-new young adult and middle-grade novels coming in 2016!  The first issue is Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, which was created by the writer and editor Stan Lee. 

The character first appeared in a Tales of Suspense (issue 39) in March 1963. More recently Iron Man has appeared in many classic epic Marvel movies which has instilled a big passion in many people across the globe. If you have read the comics or watched the films then you will certainly love to read this new instalment as it ties in so brilliantly with both sets of fans. 

Eoin Colfer, a life long fan of the super hero, has set about the task of bringing the character to a new generation of fans, but he has given it the Eoin Colfer electric charm. The glossy cover will flash before your eyes as the action unfolds from the very first page. The story feels very original as it takes a well known character, but then takes it to new superhero ball park of Dublin, Ireland. The story is played out in the whimsical fantasy dream world of Eoin Colfer. 

When Iron Man sets out at the start of the story with his so called "Party Pack" Iron Man suit, Eoin has drunk his first cup of tea. When Iron Man is flying around saving the world Eoin puts pen to paper and thinks of being Iron Man. He dreams of being supercool, smart and funny but, ironically, Eoin is the man behind the power who moves this epic story into a brilliant fantasy adventure that any reluctant reader will love to hang around in. 

Iron Man's back history is quickly explored. We are given the basics for those uninformed before explosively leaping into action. Iron Man notices the sudden reappearance of a missing U.S. gunboat off the coast of an uninhabited Irish Island. He investigates with humour and charm despite having no backup and only a party-pack Iron Man suit loaded with fireworks, disco music and SOME AMAZING dance moves. A simple scout mission suddenly uncovers a sinister plot to destroy a vitally important World Eco-summit happening nearby. 

The fantastic story explores the mind and personality of Tony Stark; it shows his vulnerabilities and personal feelings which are loaded with his deadly smart aleck comments. I really liked this aspect of the story as you don't really get this in the Marvel Comics or the Films. I also love the Irish twist, humour and character that Eoin hurls at the reader faster than a spinning sliotar. 

The character of Inspector Conroy was my favourite as he made me chuckle on a number of occasions; he brought some zany reality to the story. I really did feel for him. It was an absolute pleasure to read this book with a great villain at the heart of the adventure, action in abundance and some fantastic gadgets. It is a really easy to follow plot, full of shining whit, Irish charm and a whole bucket of craziness to boot. Hopefully we will have a lot more to come! 

Published by Marvel Press (26 Oct. 2016) Egmont (27 Oct. 2016)