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.