I am a huge fan of all things Kevin Hearne and Iron Druid. I was so sad when the Iron Druid ended...and then lo and behold Kevin Hearne returns to the same world as the Iron Druid with his new novel, Ink and Sigil. Ink and Sigil drops us into the world of the Iron Druid with a brand new character. Hearne's signature wit pervades the book and the I love his new protagonist, Al MacBaharrias. The slightly cantankerous Al is under a strong curse that he must find a way to rid himself of. He is part detective, part magic practitioner, and all surly Scot. It all combines into a wonderful book. I also enjoyed some cameos from my favorite denizens of the Tuatha De Dannan and appreciated the new characters, especially the bad-ass battle seer Nadia. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to jump headfirst into a beautifully crafted fantasy world.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3365342895?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I received a NetGalley copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I was skeptical. I didn't think I was going to like it. I kind of didn't want to like it out of respect for Atticus. I am a die hard Iron Druid fan and have not enjoyed any of Kevin's other series. (Sorry, Kevin.) Ink & Sigil was his chance to re-engage me as a fan......and he delivered!

Did he convince me this is the same world that the Iron Druid series occupies? Mostly, yes. There are a lot of familiar characters and shared lore that tie this series to the Iron Druid world, which makes it a lot of fun for ID fans. Someone unfamiliar with the Iron Druid series would still enjoy this. However, some sections would be less meaningful to them.

Is there a fantastic side kick? Maybe. Buck Foi is certainly not the same caliber of side kick as Oberon, but he might grow on me. Hobgoblins are infinitely less cuddly than dogs, and certainly more mischievous.

Booze and food? Check.

Action? Yep. And a fun story to pull this all together.

Al McBharrais is blessed with the ability to cast spells using sigils written with magical inks. He protects the world from nasty creatures and beings from other other worlds using these spells and sigils. Unfortunately, he is also cursed. Someone placed a curse on him that causes anyone who hears his voice for too long to hate him. To safely communicate with others, he uses a text to speech application. Al is also a bit unlucky. He is supposed to be training an apprentice, but his latest apprentice, Gordie, has just met his demise. (Don't eat raisins, kids.) As Al's bad luck might have it, Gordie was involved in some shady business. Al, his manager Nadia, and his new hobgoblin must use all their sleuthing, fighting, and thieving skills to get to the bottom of Gordie's bad business.

I really can’t decide who my favorite character was. The pilfering pink hobgoblin with the mouth of a truck driver or the kick butt office manager/cleaner goth chick, also with a potty mouth. Having not read the Iron Druid series (Which my dad loves) by this author, but reading his parodies, (which he did not) I was kinda torn about picking this book up. Regardless, I am glad I did. The humor is great, the story was interesting all the way through, the Easter eggs and nods to his other books brought a smile to my face as did his referencing other books, like the Lord of the Rings series. I would like to thank Net Galley, Random House and Kevin Hearne for the joy this arc brought me in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is the first book in a new series by Kevin Hearne, who wrote the Iron Druid Chronicles. In this series we meet Al MacBharrais a master of a rare magical talent, a sigil writer,a man who is responsible for writing contracts and magical symbols for the gods of the fae planes. Al is cursed, anyone who hears his voice will come to hate him so he must communicate through a type to speech app on his phone. When his apprentice turns up dead, he discovers a web of illegal activity the apprentice was involved in. Al must solve the mystery of this crime ring before people are hurt.
This is a fun, action-packed, magical story and an immensely enjoyable read ! Kevein Hearne has a vivid imagination and crafts wondrous stories!!!!

This was a fast paced adventure that had a lot of humor and great characters. I love urban fantasy and I can not wait for book two!

While I am a fan of the Iron Druid Chronicles (which this is set in the same World as) and found the premise intriguing with some of the story lines fascinating, I may have found the constant use of the Scottish brogue overwhelming and detracting from the story. Additionally, it may have been the intent of the author to stop and start the action, but the routine telling of back-stories made the book feel rather fractured for me. Not my favorite Kevin Hearne book.

Ink & Sigil features a very appealing cover. Ink & Sigil features a master wizard who makes sigils (paper spells), but is cursed so that he can't speak without being hated. It is told in heavy Scottish dialect and even comes with a short glossary of word usage.

However, I'm not a big fan of "urban fantasy," a sub-genre of fantasy where the modern world through some twist of fate is peopled by elves, wizards, fairies, gnomes, and all sorts of imaginary beings. Maybe this would hold more appeal to fans of the genre. It's just not right for me.

This book was wonderful. It captures you from the first page to the last page. What more can you ask for?!?

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.

4.5
So much fun.
This book is an offshoot of Hearne's Iron Druid series. That being said, it is not mandatory that you've read them, although you really should. A little knowledge of the Fae before reading this would also be helpful.
Al is a great narrator and his sidekicks are well drawn, interesting characters, especially Nadia. Her backstory is very interesting. I'm hoping in further installments to get to know her and the other sigil agents better. Al's curse needs to be lifted so I'm sure they will all somehow be involved.
Kevin Hearne thrives when writing the silliest aspects of his stories and his shout out to Terry Pratchett is an added bonus.
I am no eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

Another great book by Kevin Hearne! This story is set in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles. It features a new character, Mr. MacBharrais, who is a Sigil, and tries to keep things under control between humans and members of the Fae world. As usual, the story is filled with adventure and humor. I very much enjoyed this book and hope there will be more stories with these characters. Highly recommend! Happy reading!

Whew friends, let me tell you.. I LOVE THIS BOOK!! I have never laughed so hard reading a book. I need Buck Foi in my life! He had me ROLLING!

Seriously, the plot was so fun. I enjoyed every single aspect of this book. At first, the writing took a bit to get used to because of the terms. I’m not familiar with Scottish slang. So, that was a learning curve and I’m thankful for my kindle dictionary but I loved it! I felt like it added so much more personality to the story.

The characters! Oh gods, the characters were the best! Nadia is my spirit animal. The REPRESENTATION!! Friends!!! Nadia is an Indian, lesbian, goth, pit fighter! 😍😍😍 The MC, Al, was so much fun and so freaking cheeky! I loved him so much!

The magic system was so inventive! Honestly, I thought it was unique and just awesome. I’m definitely going to read Kevin Hearne’s other series. I’ve add every book of his to my tbr.

I give Ink and Sigil allllll of the stars!!

let's be clear, i've been enjoying Kevin Hearne's books for a long time now. And what little i know of him as a person, I also admire (check out world builders, especially their auctions, such good values in action)! Yay, Kevin!

so I was looking forward to a familiar style of writing (for those of you who have read the Iron Druid books), with humor and big adventures and kinda ridiculous but wonderful people, and important themes woven into the fun. And I was not at all disappointed. Wait, that's phrased poorly! I really enjoyed this book. I even enjoyed things I typically skip thru quickly -- like the author's note explaining Glaswegian pronounciation in the beginning-- Read it , it does help you with how the names are pronounced and it's fun (quite an accomplishment!) There are many many fights, and an interesting story. Very occasionally, I found it a little too silly but almost always, i enjoy the silliness along with the rest of the humor.

I look forward to the next book, which i will want to read immediately.

First, I'm a huge fan of Kevin Hearne, so it should be no surprise that I was really excited to hear about a new series that takes place in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles. <i>Ink & Sigil</i> is a fun, fast-paced read in the same style as the previous series. If you enjoy urban fantasy novels, that you are definitely going to enjoy this new series.

Second, without giving anything away, this new series introduces a new group of characters created by the Fae Queen Brighid to fill in the gap caused by The Iron Druid when he was on the run from the gods. The main character, Al MacBharrais, has been empowered by Brighid to create sigils that help him create and enforce contracts between the gods, the Fae, and earth. In this book, the central plot centers on a Fae trafficking ring that MacBharrais' former apprentice was completely wrapped up in. Without giving anything away, this inciting event leads to a fun cast of new characters that have their own unique style and charm.

Lastly, I really want to thank the publisher for allowing me to read this book prior to publication. Even though I am thankful to the publisher, this review is 100% my own.

I really like this book. This wasn’t a surprise because I liked the Iron Druid Chronicles, but I went into Ink & Sigil trying to experience it both as its own story and as a work of urban fantasy. It delivers as a lighter urban fantasy story that takes a unique approach to the genre. I highly recommend it.

Al MacBharrais is a sigil agent, a cross between a lawyer and a wizard who uses sigils drawn with magical inks to do magic. This magic is primarily used to enforce contracts between the magical worlds and the human world, but can be used for other purposes such as battle and maintaining privacy in a world full of surveillance. This book is in the Iron Druid universe, so all pantheons of all faiths exist and there are very strict rules for how they meddle in earth’s affairs. When they do unchecked, bad stuff happens.

Al is an older man with a well manicured mustache who runs a print shop as a cover for his magical work. It’s an interesting life. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows because his apprentices keep meeting untimely ends. He also has to communicate via text to speech because he’s cursed. If he talks to anyone with his own voice, then they end up hating him. After his latest apprentice, Gordie, meets an untimely end, Al discovers that Gordie was doing some shady things with his magic and tries to figure out what was going on.

This book follows the universe’s ‘urban fantasy lite’ formula of mystery and unique characters mixed with a lot of humor. However, it also takes this formula in a completely different direction than most series do. Al is an older guy who practices a type of magic that isn’t very common in popular fiction right now. He’s a very plain person compared to the Atticus O'Sullivans and Harry Dresdens of the genre. This allows for the quirky world and clever banter between the characters to really shine. Al can fight and is powerful, but he can’t carry his entire team to victory like other heros do. Instead, he is good at assembling a team and outfitting them with the sigils and information necessary to carry out the mission as one unit. It’s a totally different approach to urban fantasy, because usually the protagonist is one larger than life character who often overshadows their companions and enemies instead of being part of a balanced team.

The biggest drawback of this book is that it’s not the best mystery in the world, but the point of the book isn’t really the mystery. The relationship between the characters and how they work together really makes this book fun to read. The clues are a little too easy to come across and there aren’t really any clever puzzles that couldn’t be solved by paying off a hacker. A red herring or two would have been nice as well. But where the focus on solving mystery ends, the story really takes off. This is one of those stories that builds on the abnormal and quirky side characters and events more than on the protagonist himself. Each character is someone interesting that you wouldn’t necessarily meet in real life. The dialogue is like a dance between the characters as they try to extract information and not get caught by the authorities who mean well, but are useless. It’s enthralling to read and is the only real source of resistance that keeps the clues from being too obvious and the story from progressing too quickly. Each character really feels like they have their own voice, avoiding the trap that some books fall into where everyone feels like the same person in a different hat.

Finally, I really enjoy the crude humor. I laugh out loud at most of it. For example, there’s a hobgoblin named Buck Foi. That’s the name he chose for himself. It makes me happy every time I read it. Some people don’t appreciate this humor, and that’s fine. Go read something else. I want to spend more time reading about Buck.

I can’t wait for the next installment. I will post my review to YouTube, Amazon, and Goodreads two weeks before the release of the book per the publisher’s preferences and add the links to Netgalley when they are posted publicly. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

A rollicking good tale. Kevin Hearne is playing to his strengths with, humor, mystery and danger. This story touches on current events and highlights the story of human trafficking in a way that is sympathetic and understandable.

Kevin Hearne never fails to delight. An excellent addition to collections where urban fantasy is popular.

Ink & Sigil is the first book in what I hope is a new series that is adjacent to his long running and much-loved Iron Druid Chronicles. The story follows Al MacBharris, a sigil agent, in the employ of the Fae. He is a cursed man who communicates via a text to speech app on the downhill side of an active and adventurous life. His job is Guardian, Agent, and all-around Judge, Jurry, and Executioner of Fae who are illegally on Earth. He has the use Sigils produced with special inks that allow his to preform “magic” to help him in his duties.

The novel is filled with wonderful characters such as Gladys who has seen some shite, secretary to his front printing company and the weegie goth Nadia, his manager and all-around enforcer, and a whole host of other uniquely named characters. The story begins with the death of Al’s protégée and ends with the foiling of Fae/CIA plot. Along the way you will learn why raison scones are one of the deadliest substances on earth, meet a hobgoblin named Buck Foi, who gets high on salsa and has a penchant for nipping beer, spend inordinate amount of time in a gin bar, and ride around in a 70’s esk van with unique artwork on the side.

Warning: Do not be dissuaded by the author’s note of the use of the Scottish way of speech. At first, I was put off and thought I would spend half my time reading trying to figure out what was being said by the kaleidoscope of characters, but I found the language easy to follow.

Anyone who is a fan of urban fantasy or loves the Iron Druid Chronicles will thoroughly enjoy this book. I highly recommend!

Kevin Hearne is better known for the Iron Druid series which I have not read, but Ink & Sigil is a humorous urban fantasy with some interesting characters and weird versions of mythological characters.

Magical sigils, dead apprentices, hobgoblins, curses, a battle seer, and lots of jokes about bollocks. The characters are interesting, the mystery a little forced.

Some of it was fun and funny, so seemed strained and overdone, but as the first in a new series, I enjoyed it and see potential.

Read in May. Blog review scheduled for Aug. 13.

NetGalley/Random House
Scifi/Fantasy. Aug. 25, 2020. Print length: 336 pages

Ink & Sigil is the first in an amazing new series by Kevin Hearne. This story reads like a hardboiled detective novel with an older guy with life under his belt just trying to do his job despite lifes ups and downs. This fantasy is filled with magic, mayhem, humor and heartache. The cast of quirky characters brings humor to a heavy subject. This book is filled with magic from the gorgeous cover to the very last page. Fall into this story and you won’t want to leave.

Al MacBharrais has a problem. Actually, he has several. He is cursed in that the more he talks to people, the more they dislike him. And he has just lost his seventh apprentice who died by "suicide" - i.e. he ate a raisin scone. And the apprentice was doing a dodgy deal with importing Fae into our world for nefarious purposes. Now Al has to clean up that mess while dealing with a hobgoblin he has contracted who was a lucky Fae to escape being trafficked. And since Al deals with magic ink, he has the tools to take on the bad guys and hopefully keep his mustache intact. Since this takes place in the Iron Druid universe, there is plenty of action, puns, spirits, cheese, and hi-jinks! Glad to see that this is labeled book 1 because that means more are planned!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this volume!