The Iron Trial

Critics have pointed out The Iron Trial’s significant similarities to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Like Harry Potter, Call learns that he has magical abilities and is sent to a mysterious, magical boarding school, where he learns to control and use his magical abilities. As in the case of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, The Iron Trial’s Magisterium is a well-guarded secret from non-magical individuals, as are the respective magical worlds more broadly; magical individuals live secretly within the non-magical world. Furthermore, in both stories, magic most often emerges in the children of magical individuals but can occur in families with no other magical members. Both schools manage to contact these non-magical families and ensure that their children are allowed access to a magical education.

Furthermore, the two series share similar characters. Jasper is immediately presented as a haughty antagonist who makes rude remarks to Call, much like Harry’s competitor and antagonist, Draco Malfoy. As in Harry Potter, Call conquers Jasper in tests of the students’ skills and abilities, conforming to the trope of good triumphing over evil. Furthermore, like Harry Potter’s Hermione, Tamara is a high-achieving and ambitious female student who eventually learns that breaking rules is sometimes necessary in the pursuit of good.

The Enemy of Death, Constantine Madden, has some similarities with Rowling’s archvillain, Voldemort. Like Voldemort, who used to be known as Tom Riddle, Constantine attended the same magical school as the story’s young subjects but became corrupted in a quest for magical mastery and power. Both villains shaped their respective worlds in the decades before the protagonists’ births, causing violence, destruction, and murder, including to the protagonists’ parents; Harry Potter’s parents were killed by Voldemort, and Call’s mother was killed by the Enemy of Death. Both villains were mysteriously vanquished when the protagonists were in infancy. In the case of Voldemort, a spell aimed at Harry backfired. Similarly, the Enemy of Death was killed, and his soul moved into the body of the young Call.

Both Harry and Call learn that they have the power and responsibility to vanquish the forces of evil. Furthermore, both young protagonists are intertwined with the evil forces they are charged with defeating. For Call, this journey is internalized since the soul of the Enemy of Death resides within him. In Harry Potter, Voldemort is a powerful dark wizard who shares skills, powers, and even emotions and thoughts with Harry due to Voldemort’s backfired curse, which caused a part of Voldemort’s soul to impart itself into the young Harry. Therefore, the young protagonists are both charged with the defeat of the powers of evil, which partly reside within themselves. Both boys learn about the extent of their connection with the villains as their respective stories progress.

However, other readers of The Iron Trial suggest that these tropes are creatively reimagined in a novel manner. For example, unlike Harry Potter, who conforms to the trope of the laudable protagonist in that he is attractive, skilled, and athletic, Call is an angry loner who doesn’t put effort in at school. He resents sitting out during school sports and is rude to teachers and students. He also has a disability. One reviewer suggests that, given these character features, “Call Hunt should have been, by all accounts, a sidekick character” (Yash. “The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare: A Review.” The Book Wars, 12 Sept. 2014). The reviewer finds Call to be a refreshing and different protagonist.