The Iron Labyrinth is unlike any story I have read. It is as though the tale is spun from a thread we didn’t know existed. Familiar, made of elements we know, but woven into a tapestry that was combined in such unique way as to be on the edge of something alien, capable of shifting the reader’s usual way of perceiving: of expecting what should come next, or even our assumptions about what we want or hope, for the protagonist.As a reader, as some of the previous reviews have alluded to, I was anxious to find out what was in the next paragraph, page, and chapter. It was a difficult story to put down. However this feeling was pronounced with a sense of mystery, and contrarily, the certainty that I had no idea what was coming around the next corner or page, which made the experience unique.I am amazed by the imagination of the author and what sparked the ability to invent a story and world with no discernible predecessor or recognizable analogue. However, it successfully paints a picture populated with characters we relate to, come to know, empathize with, and invest in. I wanted the protagonist Brian/Column to live, find his freedom, defeat his oppressor, return to his friend on the surface. But I came to realize that my hopes for Brian/Column changed. Is it freedom we want for him, or is it transformation? Do we want him to escape his overlord, or do we want to see what happens should he surrender totally? I am still not sure of the answer.I sensed the story was something special when, like iron in the forge, my own expectations and were melted down and changed into something more malleable. There is an invitation here to transform your understanding, what you thought you wanted for the characters and the grasp of the almost inscrutable nature of the antagonist Uncle.There is so much that caught my imagination. While an underground labyrinth prison may seem restrictive or confining, there’s more insight awaiting the deeper you go. Also, the mystery of what lies beyond the mists, another planet in a distant galaxy, the contrast of the surface world with it’s brilliant sunlight above, time travel, dangerous beings beyond the labyrinth and the dominion of the king, a blossoming love, and Eros aplenty.I cannot wait for what comes next, and eagerly await learning what is revealed to Column next and who or what Uncle serves.