Al parecer Kevin Hearne es el autor de una saga de fantasía urbana bastante popular, Iron Druid Chronicles, de la que esta novela es un spin-off. Como no conozco la saga anteriormente citada, pensé que esta sería una buena oportunidad para conocer la obra de Hearne y ver si adentrarme en la otra serie de novelas.


Lo cierto es que la fantasía urbana tiene esa parte palomitera y un tanto frenética que la hace apta para un consumo poco reflexivo, que te entretiene mientras lo estás leyendo pero que luego no te deja mucho poso. Quizá es una reflexión un tanto simplista, pero es justamente lo que me ha pasado con Ink & Sigil.

El protagonista en esta ocasión es Al MacBharrais, un sigil agent, un intermediario entre el mundo mágico y el humano especializado en la creación de runas y contratos mágicos para regular la presencia de lo feérico en este plano de existencia. La premisa es muy atractiva, y el personaje en sí no te dejará indiferente, sobre todo cuando empecemos a conocer su historia. Al está maldito, y no puede hablar durante mucho tiempo con nadie ya que provoca el odio en las personas con las que se relaciona. Con la tecnología moderna ha encontrado la forma de soslayar su maldición, pero no sin antes haber perdido a su familia y amigos. Es curioso cómo el autor diferencia las comunicaciones de Al con su marcado acento escocés cuando habla y las diferencias con los momentos en los que se comunica a través de una app que convierte texto en voz, con acento inglés. Se juega mucho con estas particularidades idiomáticas, algo que quizá a mí me pasa algo desapercibido ya que bastante tengo con entender la novela en inglés como para diferenciar el origen de cada palabra y su pronunciación, imagino que un lector nativo podrá apreciar estas sutilezas mejor que yo.

En cuanto a la narración, se trata de una trama de investigación de una red de trata de seres mágicos, orquestada por el ayudante de Al, muerto por accidente. Pero si tenemos en cuenta que es el séptimo ayudante que muere por accidente, lo mismo hay que ponerse a pensar que hay algo más detrás.

Es divertida la forma en que el autor mezcla el mundo actual con la magia y el folclore (principalmente irlandés), pero el asunto de la investigación avanza un poco a trompicones, más por las casualidades que por el mérito del protagonista. Los personajes secundarios cumplen su papel cómico o violento según va llegando el momento e incluso hay un cameo personajes de la otra saga, como no podía ser menos. No obstante, es un libro perfectamente válido por sí mismo, que hace una presentación del mundo muy correcta sin necesidad de apoyarse en las demás novelas y eso es meritorio y muy acertado para crear una nueva puerta de entrada a la saga. Es posible que haya habido referencias que se me hayan pasado por alto por mi desconocimiento, pero en ningún momento me he encontrado perdida en la lectura.

Ink & Sigil es un buen comienzo para una nueva saga, un libro que entretiene y despierta tu curiosidad, que no pasará a los anales de la literatura pero es que tampoco lo pretendía.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this book was a load of fun!! Urban Fantasy is very much the sort of fantasy I enjoy the most, and this one involved a side helping of mystery to boot!

I had come across Kevin Hearne before and I thoroughly enjoy his Iron Druid series (although I must admit I still have quite a few to catch up with), and this is very much a spin-off from that series, but I have to say you really don't need to have read the original series to enjoy this. If the premise here appeals to you then go ahead and jump right in with this one, you'll soon catch the few bits you need to understand the setup, and by the end of it - go back and read the rest of his work, you can thank me later.

Seasoned Urban Fantasy lovers will see a lot they are familiar with in here, some may call it old school fantasy, but I think it just adds to the charm. There is also plenty that is interesting and new to keep you engaged too. Plus, it's funny, and I don't just mean raise-a-smile funny, I actually laughed. Ok, ok, it's not a comedy, it's not meant to be, so it's not laugh-a-minute, but it does have enough to make you feel it's not taking itself too seriously, and I admire that.

Now I just need to keep up with this series as they come out... already looking forward to book 2!

4 thoroughly entertaining stars

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
An unique and unusual story, perfect for those who like these kind of stories.
A good read.

4 0f 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2021/02/02/ink-and-sigil-ink-and-sigil-1-by-kevin-hearne/
I really did have a good time with this one. The main character feels quite unique, very likeable and definitely quirky. There’s a great supporting cast and it really is an easy and entertaining set up for what promises to be an excellent series.

This is a spin off from the Iron Druid Chronicles although I would mention that there is no need to have read that series beforehand (although I do recommend it). Hearne is very good at helping you to settle in and excels at making you feel immediately comfortable with what you’re reading.

Set in Scotland Al MacBharrais is a sigil agent defending the realm against incoming threats from various supernatural creatures. Using magic ink he creates sigils that can be used for all nature of things varying in scale and nature. Al is such a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre. Over 60, a widower and with a curse that means he has to come up with some creative ways to speak to people as his voice incites anger and eventually leads people to thoughts of murder – he really is quite unique. I loved the way that Al is able to plan ahead and come up with Sigils to use whilst he’s out and about to help him succeed and, more importantly, survive.

As the story begins Al’s latest apprentice has died in an accident and upon visiting the scene Al stumbles upon something of a mystery. It seems that Al’s apprentice was dabbling in other, dangerous and seedy endeavours and so an investigation of sorts begins. In other news, not being the first of Al’s apprentices to die in unusual circumstances this definitely makes Al a ‘person of interest’ as far as the local police are concerned and their own investigation is sure to hamper his endeavours.

Now, I can’t lie, the storyline itself isn’t the strongest part of Ink and Sigil. The detecting itself is very flooky for instance and the plot does quite a lot of jumping about but, I think Hearne was setting the scene for future instalments and I’m always a little easier going with the first in a new UF series as there is some groundwork to establish. That being said, don’t take away from this that the plot wasn’t good – it just wasn’t what I would consider to be the winning element of the story.

The characters made this for me, especially as I became attached to them with such apparent ease and so early into the book. I liked Al. I liked the hobgoblin, Buck, that ends up being his almost constant companion, I really liked Nadine (Al’s office manager) and I thought all the little jaunts to the gin bar to meet different members of the fae were excellent (although they did make me perhaps partake of a few sneaky cocktails on the odd occasion – I simply couldn’t resist).

On top of this I really loved the humour and anything that makes me laugh out loud in the current climate is to be applauded imo. Okay, some of it can be a little ‘juvenile’ but for me I always feel that Hearne is enjoying himself when he writes and it really comes across well and is infectious. I was hooked almost immediately and I thoroughly enjoyed myself from intriguing beginning to whacky conclusion.

The setting. As mentioned above this takes place primarily in Scotland although we have various jaunts along the way – not to mention a flight that took a good deal of maneuvering in order to successfully board a hobgoblin onto a plane! There are a few flashbacks that help to provide a picture of just exactly what Al does and in fact how he fell into this field of employment in the first place. All in all a good feel for the whys and wherefores is easily established.

In terms of criticisms. Nothing much to be honest. I found that the written scottish dialect slowed me down a little at first but that’s just a minor issue that I quickly got on board with. The plot is perhaps a little scrappy but at the same time I felt it added to the overall quirkiness of the story somehow.

All in all this was a good deal of fun for me and I wouldn’t hesitate to read more from this series.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Ever since Kevin Hearne announced he was writing a new series spinning off from his fantastic Iron Druid Chronicle series I kept up with the updates. When it was revealed by Hearne that it was going to be set in Glasgow I was even more excited, especially when he and his wife visited the city on a research trip. I knew that the city I had come to call home was in good hands.

Although set in the same universe as the Iron Druid Chronicles series it was announced that this new series does not require any new previous knowledge of that series. As I am familiar with it I can’t not give my thoughts on what information the summary offers about the shared universe.

In this world, every myth, every pantheon, exists. From Christianity’s Jesus Christ to the well-known pantheons of Celtic and Norse gods, to the smaller ones of Slavic gods. The protagonist of the Iron Druid Chronicles, Atticus Sullivan, has various run-ins and interactions with all sorts of gods and mythical creatures. They seem to do what they please without any recompense, however, the summary for Ink & Sigil suggests otherwise.

Reintroducing Al MacBharrais, a character who had previously appeared in a short story in the collection Besieged, the summary tells us that there’s actually someone who is watching out for our world. Al has the magical means to protect it from “rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae”. We’re only offered the basic information about what Al does, and it only gets more tantalising as we find out that his apprentices keep dying in strange circumstances.

I mentioned that I knew that this book 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 started to read the “Author’s Note”. You seem, 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 fiance is from Glasgow and even now after 13+ years he still comes out with some words that I’ve never heard from. 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 typically Edinburgh accent.

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 beauts in this novel. I’ve seen some comments by American readers who are either amazed about 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.

Language and dialogue are just two of the 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 did of the cast of the original series. That includes a particularly foulmouthed hobgoblin with a fondness for pranks who I dare you not to like.

Sigils are a completely new type of magic that will be really 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.

Great inaugural book in a series! Hearne is brilliant at world-building and weaving history with fantasy to create entertaining stories

TheLadyDuckOfDoom has since also read this book, and liked it very much, just like all the others (she has read everything else by Kevin Hearne). It was not perfect, but TheLadyDuckOfDoom was in a sad mood and could not really enjoy the jokes. But Al was a really enjoyable main character, I love that he is not 20-something and a superhero, but an older person with a lot going on. She’s really looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Recommends it for: I have no bloody idea. I have never read anything like this but if you need a much less serious LOTR this could be it.

Funny, fierce and a little bit over the top. You’re in for a ride with this one.
I was laughing out loud at some parts of this but Kevin has a winner in Ink & Sigil – full of action and colorful characters.

A spin off series from The Iron Druid Chronicles (you don’t have to read them to read this FYI) Ink & Sigil is about Al MacBharrais, a Scottish magician able to cast sigils using crafted ink, and only a handful in the world that can do this. Al also has to use speech apps because he has been cursed – anyone that hears his voice starts to hate him(included his own son). Al’s apprentices also have a habit of dying , including his latest apprentice Gordie, but it seems he was living a life of crime. He must now investigate with the help of a mischievous hobgoblin who named himself Buck Foi.

I really enjoyed this book; it was light-hearted and funny throughout. The characters were cheeky and colorful and although the mystery element was rather weak, it was engaging and entertaining throughout.

I did struggle with the Scottish pronunciation and Kevin does explain how to pronounce everything in the begining, (without which I would of put this book down immediately) it was still complicated but of course that did add to the charm and had to be true to the setting, but it reminded me of that time I tried to read trainspotting and failed. I did feel the need for some more world building and explanations so at times I just felt that was off.

Although entertained I did not form a connection to any of the characters, probably because they are so cartoon like and part of me thought this would make a bloody brilliant graphic novel.

For me it just had a lot of elements that did not suit my sort of reading but I can see how this would be a hit with others so I suggest giving this a read if you love old school fantasy but with a humorous and modern twist.

Rating: 3.6
Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne
Series – Book 1
Publish Date:
Cover Rating: 9/10
Adult – Fantasy – Magic – Mystery – Urban Fantasy- Paranormal - Humor

I'm sure there are many who would enjoy this book, but sadly I am not one of them. This sort of puerile, frat-boy hokum is not at all my style. For all that, however, this is not a bad book. It tries really, really hard and achieves something - I'm just not too sure what that is. I apprehend that Al MacBharrais (I wish I had this on audiobook so that I can actually hear how this confounded name is pronounced) is a character from a previous series of books by the author, and I'm sure his adherents will understand this world and love this book. I neither understood the world nor loved the book. I recall that this was the sort of book I read during my teenage years and possibly I am just too old for it (although I am at least a decade younger than the main protagonist!)

All throughout the book I was wondering just what Al was doing, and why. The early death of his apprentice Gordie seemed to provide a pretext of sorts, but that did not seem to justify the lengths to which he seemed to go. Perhaps it was that I just didn't care. The fact is that about a third of the way through the book I realised that I had no real interest in the other two thirds. I persevered and I really tried to get into it, since I wanted to do my best by the book in return for the free copy I was granted, but I just couldn't build up a head of steam. The characters seemed totally juvenile in their conception. Nadia was such a cliche that I could barely keep from rolling my eyeballs whenever she appeared. The fact that the main protagonist was almost a pensioner was a discordant note and seemed to have been shoehorned in as a means of showing a PC nod towards non-ageism. The profanity definitely jarred. I don't swear and I don't usually like reading books with swearing, although since this seemed in keeping with the setting of the book, I thought I could cope with it. I did cope with it, but it did seem completely gratuitous at times, and overly excessive at other times. Perhaps it was just me, but again this smacked of immaturity.

I see that this was supposed to be a humorous book, and I did smile indulgently once or twice, but for the most part, this aspect of the book passed me by. I am all for humour, but not of this type. I appreciate that this is probably quite a good book - possibly I am just not the type of person it is written for. Reading it took me back many years to the Tom Sharpe books I used to read and enjoy. However, I was 15 years old then.

This was an absolutely magical book. Full of novel ideas , good plot and characters.

I have already recommended this to friend , family and book club readers. And any looking up other books by Kevin Hearne.
Read it!

A good start to a new urban fantasy series. Al is a great protagonist, an older guy who acts every bit his age. He has a past with some baggage and a current problem of a curse that prevents him from directly talking with people. He's skilled with magic that is helpful but doesn't make him all-powerful, which keeps matters interesting.

A death of an apprentice makes Al discover that fey are being trafficed to earth for nefarious purposes. Befriending one of the victims makes the matter personal to him and he wants to put a stop to it. It wasn't a complicated plot, but it kept me entertained to the end. There were some slower patches where the narrative stops for stories, typically of Hearne, but they weren't overly long this time, and they did add something to the characters' backstories.

The book is set in Glasgow with a cast of characters that aren't necessarily typically Scottish despite the accents -- or maybe they are. There's a pornstar hacker, a prizefighter accountant, and a hobgoblin with a knack for embarrassing Al. They are the salt of the book and definitely the reason to keep reading the series. The magic system of special inks and sigils was interesting and well developed. The decision to make everyone speak with an accent worked fairly well; the unnecessary accentuating of differences between British and American cultures not so well, and it came out as ham-fisted. But as a whole, it was a good book and an entertaining read.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this enjoyable fantasy book!

Before heading into Ink & Sigil, I wasn't aware about the Iron Druid Chronicles series by Kevin Hearne. I can state with authority that reading this series is not a prerequisite for reading Ink & Sigil, as the world-building in this new series is as good as baking bread from scratch, starter and all.

The beginning of this book has a small introduction to Scottish accents, which was very intriguing to me, considering that I haven't really paid much attention to accents in dialogues before. The introduction is necessary for the dialogues mentioned in the book. The narration by the main character Aloysius (Al) MacBharrais is in unaccented English. Another workaround that the author has found to avoid filling up the book with Scottish accents is introducing the fact that the Al has a curse which makes anyone who hears Al's voice begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for him. Hence, Al ends up using the text-to-speech functionality on his phone to communicate with the outside world. While this curse is one of the major plot points of the book, I couldn't help but think that my logic about the curse is true, because the text-to-speech functionality delivers dialogues in crisp English.

Getting to the story. Al MacBharrais is a sigil agent. 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, which is filled with gods and goddesses and other mystical creatures from Irish Mythology. However, when one of Al's apprentices, Gordie, dies after choking on a raisin scone, Al is pulled into a situation he never in his wildest dreams imagined could be possible. Along with him in this journey is his badass finance manager, Nadia and a hobgoblin, Buck Foi (no prizes for guessing this spoonerism), and a super-hacker Saxon Codpiece. On this journey, Al unravels a bit of the past about his curse, encounters various magical creatures and the sadly-natural police in Scotland and a link to a country overseas that potentially changes the scope of the entire mystery.

I found the story to be really intriguing throughout the book, and I felt inclined towards knowing what would happen to Al MacBharrais and his curse and how it would play out in the grander scheme of things. The magic in this book stems from the art of creating ink from various ingredients, drawing the design of the sigil out and storing it for later use. The intensity of the craft and its intricate nature appealed to me: there is no mindless blurting out of spells and looking at the consequences of it 20 years later (ahem). Further, this book also contains a lot of references to other mythologies, like Greek mythology, Norse mythology and Hindu mythology. There are also various fleeting references to the possible role of Russia in the US Elections, the speculation surrounding Area 51, and a healthy dose of Shakespeare involved in it. This may seem like a hodge-podge of content with no streamlining, but it does lend a little bit of frivolity to the fantasy aspect of the story. This book also has a little bit of lesbian representation which was much appreciated.

The reason why I dropped one star from the rating is that this book has suggestive innuendos in it which seemed a little bit crass to me (the name of the hobgoblin, for instance), but that's just my opinion as one individual reader.

Looking forward to the next in this series and to read more about Irish Mythology!

Why haven’t I read any Kevin Hearne before? This was pure Urban Fantasy fun set in Glasgow, Schottland.

Al(oysius) MacBharrais, Scottish sigil agent in his sixties, is the sort of protagonist you seldom read about. The widower and grandfather was cursed in his past, which makes him rely heavily on a text-to-speech app. He has a fancy moustache and defies most cliches about old people. He is the unicorn among UF main characters.

Al is down-to-earth normal. His interactions with his employees, servants, the fairy deities, trolls, other sigil agents, etc are wonderful. The banter is witty and made me chuckle more often that I expected on the outset. Especially the interaction between Al and his hobgoblin servant Buck are often hilarious.

The magic system of specialised sigils written in handmade inks using strange ingredients and special quills and fountain pens is a very inventive and well-thought out, and yet simple way to build this UF world.

The plot was a bit like some of Terry Pratchett’s books. There was some plot: finding who trafficks fairies and why & finding whoever cursed Al all those years ago, but it got dumped under a load of character introductions. Fine by me, since this is the first book in a new series and the characters need to be introduced.

I loved the accent in the dialogue of the book. What was even better was the audiobook! I got it before I was approved a review copy of the book after it was already published. The narrator Luke Daniels, although an American, which shines through here and there (*cough* iron *cough*), did a very good job handling the different accents of the extensive cast of characters – e.g. Irish, Scottish, American, Australian, Spanish, Chinese, London.

Last bit, as an anglophile: Dear Kevin Hearne, if you know that a Brit says “flat” and an American “appartment”, why does your British/Scottish MC use the words “cell phone” and “subway station” instead of the British words “mobile phone” and “underground station”?

Received ARC from the Little Brown Book company and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Set in same world as Atticus,this is a fresh series with Al,a Scottish bampot.I can say that as I am Scottish.

I have been a great lover of Mr Hearnes books since Hunted and I cannot rate this highly enough.If you like fun filled escapades,with Pixies,Hobgoblins and God's,then this is fir yous.
A great read that had me hooked,maybe as I am from Scotland it made it better,but a great read and a wonderful new series

Having only read a couple of short stories from this author about a Druid I came into this book hoping to enjoy it but with no preconceived perceptions and I can only say that I'm exceedingly impressed. Giving us a hero who is sixty three years old and unapologetically human meant that it was original and turned out to be very entertaining. Al has learnt to draw magical sigils and he's part of an elite team wielding this magical gift to control the balance between Fae and Humans. Set largely in Scotland we follow Al as he investigates exactly what his late apprentice was actually doing and believe me this journey was extraordinary, fabulous and just sheer fun to read.
I really liked Al as he is pragmatic, insightful and ready to do whatever it takes to protect others. The characters that surround him are just too funny for words and yet felt real. There's bawdy humour to offset the truly vile things that Al discovers but there's also poignancy as he struggles with the loss of those who he has cared for. This book was a joy to read and I will certainly want to read the next in this series.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
#InkSigil #Netgalley

I'm more than happy that Kevin Hearne decided to write another story set in the Iron Druid world.
I was happy to meet again some of the great characters of this series and to meet some new.
It's a gripping and highly entertaining read that kept me hooked turning pages as fast as I could.
Great characters and world building, a lot of humor and an excellent storytelling are the elements that made me love this story.
The idea of using a phone app to talk instead of using the voice (if you read the book you will learn why) was a strike of genius.
I loved this cast of characters and now I want to learn more about Al's course and how it will affect those around him
Can't wait to read the next instalment, it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine..