Smoke and Iron starts off with Jess Brightwell posing as his twin brother Brendan, having handed over Scholar Wolfe and his girlfriend, Obscurist Morgan Hault, to the Archivist in Alexandria. This plan was worked out between Jess and Dario, once they realized Jess and Brendan's father was going to sell them out to the Archivist regardless. Meanwhile, Thomas, Glain, Khalila, Dario and Captain Santi are on a ship under the control of Anit, smuggler Red Ibrahim's daughter, with a deal for them to arrive safely in Cadiz, Spain and into the waiting arms of Dario's royal family. But betrayal is a smuggler's middle name and nothing goes according to plan.
Jess finds himself playing a dangerous game with the Archivist, whose personal assistant happens to be the girl Brendan cruelly broke up with not long ago. Talk about some awkward interactions. Meanwhile, Morgan is in the Iron Tower and under the control of the new Obscurist Magnus, Gregory, who murdered the previous holder of the position, to assume her role. Fortunately, Morgan is becoming stronger in her powers, and with the help of her roommate, is able to combat the spells and drugs used to control her.
Jess soon gains the Archivist's trust as Brendan, but he has little hope of saving his friends, specifically Scholar Wolfe, who has been imprisoned and is to be executed as an example at the Feast of Greater Burning in just a few short days. Glain, Thomas, Khalila, Santi and Dario are working their own angle, but soon find themselves as potential political pawns. Add to that the fact that the Archivist has decided to send out a brutal message to Alexandria, and he has a deadly new automata toy to show his force, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, Thomas has been working on a new toy of his own.
When Smoke and Iron comes to a screeching end, everyone will be primed and ready for the great battle that is to come - to free the Great Library from the tyrannical rule of the Archivist and his wicked cronies, once and for all, so that knowledge can be enjoyed by everyone. But at what cost?
Once again, Rachel Caine delivers an incredible story, one you'll be hard-pressed not to read in a matter of days. I love these characters and the stories woven between them and Smoke and Iron only reinforced my fandom for Ms. Caine. There's only one book left in the series and, while I can't wait to see how it all plays out, I also don't want it to end.
