05-18-2021, 07:43 AM
Ink and Sigil by Kevin Hearne
I'm hit or miss with Kevin Hearne. I liked the first few books of his Iron Druid series but then stopped because there was nothing anyone could do to defeat the main character. I really like his seven Kennings books, the first more than the second. It was great world building with a really good story.
Ink and Sigil is set in the world of the Iron Druid. The Sigil Master Aloyisious or Al does magic by writing Sigils with special inks. He has this knowledge as a way to enforce contracts and treaties between our world and others. He is also cursed. The more he speaks to people, the more they hate him. He has to use to speech to text devices to keep people from hating him.
The novel starts with his lates apprentice dying. Investigation into the death leads Al to find out his apprentice was dealing with illegal sigils and the trafficking in fae creatures. Al needs to find out what's behind this trafficking.
It was a great story. All very pedestrian as they went from one clue to the next. The supporting characters were all suitably odd. Al's manager at his print shop is a battle seer goth woman. His tech guy does masturbation videos for youtube. His liaison to the fae world runs a gin bar. Everyone is quirky. Al has also hired a bogwart who was part of his apprentice's fae trafficking ring.
The story never grabbed me. All the solutions to the problems depended on writing a special sigil and they always worked. Not a lot of challenges to the protagonists.
I'm hit or miss with Kevin Hearne. I liked the first few books of his Iron Druid series but then stopped because there was nothing anyone could do to defeat the main character. I really like his seven Kennings books, the first more than the second. It was great world building with a really good story.
Ink and Sigil is set in the world of the Iron Druid. The Sigil Master Aloyisious or Al does magic by writing Sigils with special inks. He has this knowledge as a way to enforce contracts and treaties between our world and others. He is also cursed. The more he speaks to people, the more they hate him. He has to use to speech to text devices to keep people from hating him.
The novel starts with his lates apprentice dying. Investigation into the death leads Al to find out his apprentice was dealing with illegal sigils and the trafficking in fae creatures. Al needs to find out what's behind this trafficking.
It was a great story. All very pedestrian as they went from one clue to the next. The supporting characters were all suitably odd. Al's manager at his print shop is a battle seer goth woman. His tech guy does masturbation videos for youtube. His liaison to the fae world runs a gin bar. Everyone is quirky. Al has also hired a bogwart who was part of his apprentice's fae trafficking ring.
The story never grabbed me. All the solutions to the problems depended on writing a special sigil and they always worked. Not a lot of challenges to the protagonists.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm