A couple of things occurred to me while reading Staked:  it feels like Herne doesn't really like his main character, Atticus; at least, not judging by the amount of existential pain he dumps on him.  The other is that I can see the inspiration, right down the the scatalogical humor, of the character in his new series that starts with Ink & Sigil - clearly in Owen, the arch-druid and Atticus' mentor. Owen is quite feral and off-putting, no matter how gold and good his heart may be.

Staked is told through the rotating viewpoints of all three druids: Atticus, Granuaile and Owen, and the meandering is epic.  We begin and end with the titular war with the vampires, but in between there's a battle-seer-horse needing rescue, ecological retribution being wrought, treaties being hammered out in Asgard, greek gods getting vaporised, and all matter of other trivia.  It wasn't boring but I disliked being passed off between characters, especially when I had little use for Granuaile's daddy issues and Owen's feral lack of expletives that didn't include his bollocks and backside, and those of everyone else's.

I do enjoy Atticus's adventures and character, and I like Oberon even more when I read him, as opposed to listening to a narrator scooby-doo his voice.  I enjoy his interactions with the various deities and villains, and especially enjoy the verbal sparring between himself and Leif.  It's a detriment to the books, if not the overall story arc, that Hearne felt it necessary to take all of Atticus' interesting friends away from him; he suffers from the lack of intellectually challenging interactions.   Overall, though, it was a good enough story to keep me reading, and I enjoyed the ending well enough.  If one chooses, one could end the series right here and everything save Ragnarok would be tied up neatly.  At this moment, I'm content to leave the series here, but I can't say I won't change my mind.

TITLE:  Ink & Sigil

AUTHOR:  Kevin Hearne

__________________________

DESCRIPTION:

"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."

___________________________

REVIEW:

After Hearne lost in interest in the Iron Druid series and botched up the last book, I swore I wouldn't touch another one of his book... only this one sounded so interesting. But it turned out to be bland, with juvenile potty "humour", a muddled plot and an old man (Sigil Agent) who can magic away any injuries (how bloody convenient!) and a rather ineffective detective - but then again it was a rather ineffective mystery to be solved and the other 2 mysteries weren't solved at all. The side characters were the most interesting part of the book. I would rather have read about them than a mute wizard glued to his phone app. Most of the characters also need their mouths washed out with soap. In short, a decent concept with juvenile execution.  

I liked it but...? I mean; the idea of skewering fables and fairy tales works for me. Having an agenda...not so much. The afterward says plainly it had a purpose for existing besides just being amusing. Perhaps they should have just let the book exist on its own merits.

Eh, enough about that. Sticking to the contents therein, the various characters ranged from amusing to irritating. I think, to be honest, the goat and the sand wich were the most interesting. So we have the farm boy who is told he is the Chosen One, we have the goat who *is* the Chosen One, we have a bard who is turned into a rabbit mutant by a curse laid upon a castle by a sand witch (ahem), we have a warrior who wants to just grow roses, we have a wannabe Dark Lord whose main power seems to be making bread from thin air, we have a rogue who "breathes so loud you could shoot her in the dark", we have the sand witch who...laid the curse upon the castle to prevent the daughter from getting involved in something that would embarrass her family... I mean; it sounds like a D&D party.

And they go adventuring to take out a magician or wizard or something who has the nasty fairy/pixie/whatever she is, who anointed the goat and lied to the farm boy in the first place, on retainer. Stuff happens, a couple of party members don't make it, the Chosen One eats a magic boot, fulfills his destiny, and we have an ending of sorts where he's now king, the castle is mostly awakened, and strangely enough, the daughter seems to be still under a curse.

This is part of a trilogy I think. I might read book #2 if I find it while book shopping.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I ended up really enjoying this book. I have had the book for a while but was a bit intimidated by its size. Since I am spending almost all of my time at home with the current health crisis, I decided that this was the perfect time to finally tackle this story. This is a very different book than Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles and I enjoyed seeing him take on high fantasy. It did feel like a very dense story and I felt like it took me longer to read than a lighter story of the same length might have. I had a good time with the book in the end.

I liked the way the story came together. There are a lot of points of view in this book but they are all shared through the tales from a bard. The bard, Fintan, takes on the persona of each individual as he shares their story. I will admit that it was a lot to keep track of at the start of the book but as I continued to read, I got to know each character and started looking forward to learning more of their story. I did like the way that all of the different points of view came together to tell a story that stretched across more than one group of people.

This story is set in a very interesting world. We actually get the opportunity to see more than one realm in this story and I found it interesting to see what each group shared and how they differed. The different lands had individuals with special abilities. Those abilities changed from place to place but each required anyone seeking the power, or kenning, to risk their lives. If they survived, they would be blessed with a special ability. Each land had its own kennings which were often closely related to the terrain in which they lived.

I found this book to be quite exciting at times. There was quite a bit of action spread throughout the story. I also enjoyed getting the chance to see the political workings of each of the groups. I found the personal journeys of some of the characters to be the highlight of the book. I really wanted to see things work out for these characters as they faced incredibly difficult challenges.

I would recommend this book to fans of high fantasy. This book transported me to a world of unique people with extraordinary abilities. I grew to care for many of the characters as they worked to keep their people safe. I cannot wait to read more of this exciting series!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing - Del Rey via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
I am so glad that I finally got around to read this book. It is very different from The Iron Druid Chronicles and I enjoyed getting to see this author tackle a bit of more serious fantasy. This story is told through the stories shared by a bard. This bard takes on the persona of each individual as he shares their story. There are a lot of different points of view to juggle in this story and I have to admit that it was slow going for me at the start. Once I felt a little more settled in this world and knew each character a little better, I found that I was enjoying the story a lot more. I did enjoy the magic and world-building in this book and loved the way everything came together in the end. I do look forward to reading the next book in the series very soon.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I enjoyed this audiobook quite a bit. I have been slowly working my way through the Iron Druid Chronicles during the past couple of years and have really been enjoying myself. I did take a bit of a break in my listening which seemed to work out well since this book picks up twelve years after the previous book. I found this book to be a solid installment in the series and I had a great time with it.

Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon are still together when this book picks up twelve years after the events of the previous installment. Atticus has been training Granuaile this whole time and she is finally ready to become a Druid. To become a Druid, they must complete a lengthy binding ceremony. Unfortunately, there is a group that would like to see them dead before the ceremony draws to a close. 

I found this to be a very exciting story. There was plenty of action dispersed throughout the book. I loved seeing how much Granuaile has learned during her training and the binding ceremony was very interesting. I loved seeing how the relationship between Atticus and Granuaile has changed during the past twelve years and I was really excited to see things really start to develop. Oberon was as awesome as ever.

Luke Daniels is the perfect narrator for this series. He handles all of the different character voices incredibly well. The voice of each character has been consistent throughout the series. I adore the way that he is able to bring Oberon to life. I think that he really takes this story to the next level and I am sure that I have enjoyed this series just a bit more because I made the decision to listen to the audio.

I would recommend this series to others. This is the fifth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles which is a series that should be read in order. I found this to be a pivotal book in the series and cannot wait to read the next book!

Initial Thoughts
I enjoyed this audiobook quite a bit. This book jumps ahead 12 years which worked out well since it's been a year since I listened to the previous book in the series. Granuaile is ready to be bound to the earth as a druid and is pretty kick-ass from her years of training. Her relationship with Atticus has also progressed over the years. Oberon is just as awesome as ever. I thought that the book was rather exciting and I found this to be a really easy listen. Luke Daniels did a fabulous job with the narration.

Book Source: Purchased