I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Candle & Crow by Kevin HearneSeries: Ink & Sigil #3
Published by Random House Worlds on October 1, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary, Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Buy on BookshopNew York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.
“A terrific kick-off of a new, action-packed, enchantingly fun series.”—Booklist
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.
BOOK ONE OF THE INK & SIGIL SERIES
Don’t miss any of Kevin Hearne’s enchanting Ink & Sigil series:
INK & SIGIL • PAPER & BLOOD • CANDLE & CROW
This book is the conclusion to the Ink & Sigil series, and it wraps all the important things up with a really nice, bloody bow. This book includes: hobgoblin legacies, socialist death cults, solved mysteries, Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite (everyone’s favorite!), and an Irish death goddess deep in the perilous mines of online dating.
What gets me about this series is the contrast to the Iron Druid, which is set in the same world (and, yes, you will see some crossover characters in this book). As much as I loved everyone’s favorite Iron Druid, he was arrogant, over-confident, and prone to diving headfirst into danger without thinking. Al is the anti-Atticus: he is aware of his own limitations; is forced to plan ahead when going into danger due to the limitations of his Sigil magic; and, despite being literally cursed to isolation, still manages to have surrounded himself with friends and allies who care about him.
I like Al. I like his fascination with mixed drinks, the way he works around his disability (curse), and the way he’s willing to accept help from his friends. He cares about people in a close-up way that contrasts with Atticus’ aloofness, and I enjoy that. And yes, part of my enjoyment is the wacky group of side characters that Al has gathered around himself. Buck Foi is, of course, everyone’s favorite hobgoblin: foul-mouthed, vulgar, and endearing. Nadia, the goth battle-seer, is my personal favorite because who wouldn’t love starting their own cult based on whisky and cheese? There’s the Morrigan, the battle goddess who is drafting herself into the ultimate war: being a mortal woman in today’s society. Last, but certainly not least: Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite. A seemingly normal, mortal woman working as Al’s office manager and yet all the big bad Gods and Monsters seem to be perilously afraid of her. The why of that is as big a mystery as who cursed Al in the first place — and both of those are resolved in this volume.
If none of that convinces you, then what the hell are you doing here anyway? Go read some fucking mainstream fluff or something and get out of my face. If it does convince you, the entire series is available to read now at your favorite retailers or library.
