My book reviews for the Ink & Sigil trilogy by Kevin Hearne, including Ink & Sigil, Paper & Blood and Candle & Crow. Please be aware that the review for the later book contains spoilers.

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.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

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I knew Ink & Sigil was in good hands after following the progress of this book, including Hearne’s research trip to Glasgow. I didn’t realise just how extensive that research was or how good those hands were until I flicked to the first page on my tablet and found myself smiling as I started to read the “Author’s Note”. You see, Hearne hasn’t just written a book set in Glasgow and ignored the fact that Scotland has its own language and dialect. Much like the Disney film Brave, he fully immersed his new series in it, and it’s delightful.

The Author’s Note is his personal introduction to the reader about the language, with personal anecdotes and accurate information. That’s the important thing to me, not just as a Brit, but as someone who lovingly calls Glasgow home: accuracy. For those who don’t know, I’m not Scottish by birth (heritage, very much so), and I’m originally from London. My fiancé is from Glasgow, and even now, after 13+ years, he still comes out with some words that I’ve never heard. So when I say that Scots is a language, I’m not just talking academically; it is very much a living language. I thus found the pronunciation guide to be great fun to read, especially as it’s all about Glaswegian. Most people, when they write Scottish people, tend to go for a typical Edinburgh accent, which brings me to my next point;

Another point in the authenticity column for Ink & Sigil is that the level of dirty language is not toned down. No one curses quite like a Scottish person, and there are some absolute beauties in this novel. I’ve seen some comments by American readers who are either amazed by it or comment about how “violent” the language is. I’ve not put a trigger warning up for it because while it could be considered “violent” or even “abusive”, it’s actually just about being expressive. Here’s one of my favourite examples;

“I’m supposed to have the day off. If you make me late for my brother’s wedding, Nadia warned, I’ll have your bollocks slow-roasted and served with mayo.”

Threats like that are commonplace in Glasgow and can be found throughout Ink & Sigil, the banter thrown back and forth with ease between characters, whether they’re friends or foes. Hearne wields Glaswegian like a natural Glaswegian, and you’ll be too busy crying your eyes out with laughter to be actually offended by anything. If you thought you’d heard creative insults before, just wait until you’ve not heard a Glaswegian hobgoblin do it.

Language and dialogue are just two things that add to the charm of the characters of Ink & Sigil. Each one has a very individual personality and well-developed personal history that draws the reader to them. While there are some similarities between Al and Atticus, the protagonist of the Iron Druid Chronicles (both care about the world and their duty to protect it), he is a very different type of character. Nevertheless, as I followed him through his investigation of his recently departed apprentice’s criminal activities, I became just as fond of Al and his companions as I was of the cast of the original series. That includes a particularly foul-mouthed hobgoblin with a fondness for pranks, whom I dare you not to like.

We find out that the magic that allows Al to protect against rogue members of the pantheons is a skill taught to a select few mortals by the Celtic goddess Brighid. Combining a pre-existing form of sigils with druidic bindings, Brighid created sigils. Unlike druid training, which required twelve years to complete, the new system could be taught much more easily. This was during the nineteenth century, when only one druid (Atticus – read his story in the Iron Druid Chronicles 😉 ) was alive and in hiding, so introducing Sigil Agents provided a working system that did not rely on the druids, who had been hunted to near extinction.

Sigils are a completely new type of magic that will be intriguing to urban fantasy fans, stationery lovers and alchemy. Hearne goes into lots of detail about the preparation of inks, the ingredients and the way they need to be made and/or sourced. These interludes include anecdotes from Al’s past and his training, continuing to connect the dots between past and present while also acting as a momentary pause in the action. Unlike other books where I’ve seen authors use the interlude to throw more information at the reader, Hearne’s style gives the reader a moment to catch their breath, if you will, and collect their thoughts before picking the story back up. It’s only ever a few pages long and succinct, always leading straight back to the point with a comment from Al that links everything together. It’s a great way to provide a behind-the-scenes look at Sigil agents’ work without making it ridiculously tedious for the reader.

Overall, Ink & Sigil is a fabulous read, whether you’ve read the Iron Druid Chronicles or not. Hearne has done a great job of making it fit alongside the original series and helping it stand up on its own. One thing I particularly liked was the inclusion of the short story from Besieged, which originally introduced Al MacBharrais. Hearne doesn’t include the entire thing, instead, he retells it briefly from Al’s perspective as a memory. It’s just enough to connect the two series, to introduce Atticus and his Irish Wolfhound to the readers of Ink & Sigil, and to make those of us who know the pair already smile. Having now read Al’s story in Besieged, I now know that I was mistaken about this and what I thought was the short story is completely unrelated to it.

I’ve briefly touched upon the originals of Sigil agents and their role in the world of Ink & Sigil; however, I’d like to point out that this is just the tip of the iceberg. As with every element of this book, it is well-researched and developed, and the result is a truly magical world set in a remarkable city which has been lovingly and respectfully brought to life. The characters, while fictional, are as real as any you will meet on the streets of Glasgow.

This was a difficult review to write because I loved this book so much, and sometimes trying to convey that in actual words that aren’t just wordless squeeing or capitals screaming ‘THIS IS AWESOME, GO READ IT NOW!!!!’. Hopefully, I’ve managed to give you an idea of how the author has recreated the city I love and imbued it with magic and interesting characters that you’ll want to read more about.

From New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne comes Paper & Blood, the second book in his hugely entertaining new Ink & Sigil series. Set in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles, it follows Al MacBharrais - an eccentric master of magic solving uncanny mysteries in Scotland . . .

Packed to the brim with mystery, magic and mayhem, the Ink & Sigil series is perfect for fans of Rivers of London and Rotherweird.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

I enjoyed Paper & Blood, although not as much as the first book, Ink & Sigil, and I still have a few mixed feelings about it. I didn’t quite expect as much of the action to take place in Australia as it did. Normally, books have at least a bit of preamble before they hotfoot it to the main destination named in the synopsis, so I was expecting some wonderful Glasgow action again, and instead, it felt a bit like an afterthought. I just hope that’s not how the rest of the series is going to be because, as much as I love the characters, I love a series based in Glasgow much more.

You can take a Glaswegian out of Scotland… etcetera, and Buck Foi, Al’s trusty hobgoblin, was on hand to bring some much-needed Scots to the conversations. It was interesting to have Scots and Australian slang bouncing off each other, and the new character that was introduced was absolutely incredible. It was great to learn more about Sigil agents through that character and from a new perspective on what we have already seen.

While I was previously excited about seeing Atticus, Oberon and Starbuck again, I found the excitement wearing off as the book reached its conclusion, and it became obvious that this was less of a sigil agent and Al MacBharrais book, and more like an Iron Druid Chronicles book with the sigil agents playing side roles. I know that sounds a bit harsh, however, Paper & Blood felt more like a wrap-up of the Iron Druid Chronicles series than it did a second book in a spin-off series.

That’s not to say it wasn’t a good book, it was just a bit disappointing (and a tad frustrating) to see Al, Nadia and the whole Glasgow cast have their stories put on hold just to finish a left open thread from Scourged, the last book in the Iron Druid Chronicles series. I’m going to hazard a guess that Hearne was only contracted for nine books and had more of a story to say, and this was the way he managed to do it. Like with the trip to Australia, I’m ok with it as long as Book Three gets back on track.

Paper & Blood wasn’t a complete waste of time when it came to Al’s story; we find out more about his curses, we find out some very scary stuff about a certain person in his life and umm… someone has come to join him in Scotland and YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHO IT IS. There is also a bunch of hobgoblin lore, and I loved the role Hearne has given them in the Ink & Sigil/Iron Druid Chronicles universe; it’s not what you probably expect, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. There is also a hobgoblin story in the middle of the book that Buck tells everyone, which is just fabulous.

Paper & Blood wasn’t quite what I expected or what I wanted, but it was still an enjoyable second book in the series. Hopefully, book three will return us to Glasgow again, and the storyline with Al’s curses will progress a bit further. He picked up a few clues in this book and headed to the Mitchell Library at the end, suggesting that the next book could start with something he has found in his research.

There’s bound to be plenty of hijinks with Glasgow’s latest resident, and there are a few other things from this book that are going to come up at some point. We saw some more of Nadia, but things were a bit hectic, and she was busy using her Battle Seer skills to save the day. There’s a long-overdue chat about some of that, and her friendship with the new resident is going to be both beautiful and hilarious. I almost feel sorry for Al! 😀

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes the final book in the Ink & Sigil series, as an ink-slinging wizard pursues the answer to a very personal mystery: Who cast a pair of curses on his head?

Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the human world. But there’s one supernatural mystery he’s never been able to solve: Years ago, someone cast twin curses on him that killed off his apprentices and drove away loved ones who heard him speak, leaving him bereft and isolated.

But he’s not quite alone: As Al works to solve this mystery, his friends draw him into their own eccentric dramas. Buck Foi the hobgoblin has been pondering his own legacy—and has a plan for a daring shenanigan that will make him the most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese.

And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating.

Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending?

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Ink & Sigil trilogy, just as I enjoyed the Iron Druid Chronicles before it. Unfortunately, while Kevin Hearne’s book series is amazing, it seems that he isn’t as great when it comes to finishing them. Just as I found the final Iron Druid book to be rushed, I felt this was very similar. There were a lot of smaller subplots taking place alongside the main plot of who cursed Al and why.

Everything comes together as the mystery is resolved, however, it just felt as though Hearne was trying to tick too many things off a bucket list so that everything was resolved neatly. As a result, things jumped about a lot and felt a lot less smooth.

I was disappointed with the big reveal: who cursed Al and why. It felt like a bit of a cop-out in many ways, as it was too obvious. I did enjoy the way it all wrapped up with the type of hi-jinks I’d expect from this universe. Despite not being as good as the previous two books, it was still enjoyable and worth reading.

Thank you for reading my book reviews for the Ink & Sigil trilogy by Kevin Hearne.

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