ayla_abbott
Written on Dec 10, 2022
New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.
“A terrific kick-off of a new, action-packed, enchantingly fun series.”—Booklist
Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails—and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.
But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.
But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective—while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.
- ISBN10 1984821253
- ISBN13 9781984821256
- Publish Date 25 August 2020
- Publish Status Remaindered
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Del Rey Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 336
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781984821256
Reviews
MurderByDeath
Written on Sep 19, 2020
The first book in a new series that takes place in the same world as the Iron Druid Chronicles, I’d heard two completely opposite views on it before I picked it up: one saying it was great, and hilarious, and the other calling it woefully juvenile.
Having read the book myself I can say: yes. Maybe not woefully juvenile, but the humor is heavily scatalogical in places and it’s clear the author prefers his jokes to be of the earthier, less-sophisticated variety. They weren’t my definition of funny, but I didn’t find them offensive either.
The story itself was enjoyable, though a little heavy handed thematically. It’s a credit to the author that he uses his story space to confront a problem that gets very little serious time: the trafficking of humans, using both the fae-trafficking plot line, as well as the sub-plot of Al learning more about the human side, and doing his part to stop it and advocate for its victims. But it, like the humor in the book, isn’t subtle. He has a point, and a message, and he’s going to make sure his readers don’t miss it.
There’s a lot of story-building in this first book, with a couple of chapters devoted just to how Al met his business manager/battle seer, Nadia, and the flow is a bit wandering. It works, but I noticed it; I was never actively bored while reading it, but I had mind space to notice that the story wasn’t very linear or fast-moving.
I have this 4 stars because the sum is greater than its parts. The things I spoke about above, taken by themselves, would be turn-offs, but as a whole, the story was enjoyable. I don’t regret buying a hardcover copy, and I’ll happily read the next one. Though I will also hope the humor that the humor, along with the whiskey Al so dearly loves, matures.
annieb123
Written on Sep 11, 2020
Ink & Sigil is the first book in a new tie-in series by Kevin Hearne. Released 25th Aug 2020 by Penguin Random House on their Del Rey imprint, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an exuberant Scottish romp and feels like a whiskey soaked script for a supernatural Scooby Doo adventure (including the tricked out van). It's an ensemble cast including a cursed sigil mage, a sarcastic hobgoblin sidekick, a more-than-competent-goth-battle-mage-accountant (who has a sweetly stable relationship), a cabal of international sigil mages keeping the peace over the interplanar beings, some shady government skullduggery, and a librarian for romantic interest.
For fans of Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, Atticus (and Oberon) do make an appearance, but it's a very short flashback cameo. Obviously since they're on one another's radars, it's more than likely they'll be showing up in crossovers, but this book stands very well on its own merits, and fans who are looking for Iron Druid won't find him here.
Many of the characters in this book are Scottish and the author has made a herculean attempt to translate the language and accent. It's mostly successful and I didn't have any trouble following (and got more than one chuckle out of the vernacular), but readers unfamiliar with spoken Scottish might find parts of the book slow going. The language is rough, but not egregiously so. There is violence and destruction aplenty (again, used in context). For readers familiar with the author's other work, it's on a similar level (or roughly equivalent to Jim Butcher, Charles Stross, and the like). I couldn't help but hear the dialogue in my head in the Glaswegian accent as written).
I liked that the main protagonist wasn't a 20something badass. He has to use age and experience to his advantage (along with magic). I like that he has a slight romantic interest who's a late-middle-aged librarian. I liked his egalitarianism, his morality, his kindness, and his pragmatism. I also liked that the book is genuinely funny. It's not often that I am surprised into laughter by reading (smiles, yes, laughter, no). This book actually made me laugh out loud a couple of times.
Definitely worthwhile and highly recommended to fantasy humor fans. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
EBookObsessed
Written on Sep 10, 2020
Be back with a full review.
See more at EBookObsessed.com
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Aug 15, 2020
When Gordie, his latest apprentice, turns up dead, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. What he finds in Gordie’s home alarms him and dons a detective hat to find answers. That is after he gets his new flat mate situated.