Reviews

It was so great to re-enter the world of the Iron Druid with brand new characters, magic, humour, and adventures! Hearne's charm and wit is on full display in the characters of Al, Buck, and Nadia. The story is interesting and led to some wild action scenes.

Most of this story focused on introducing the characters. Buck made me laugh constantly, given his crass humour and pranks. Nadia is an absolute queen and I loved watching her dominate in fights. But the big sell is Al. He is a unique lead character with a tragic backstory. I'm totally charmed by him and want to know more about his curse and family life.

The book is quick and fun and packed with unique magic I would love to see more of. Al, Nadia, and Buck made me smile, so anyone looking for a humorous urban fantasy story with a unique main character and quirky side characters. This is the one for you!

themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition

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3.0

I wanted to like this book because I liked the setting and the magic system. What spoiled it for me was the complete lack of urgency. And that nothing ever seemed to seriously threaten the protagonist, not even when he’s cornered a nest of enhanced Fae and their CIA handlers. And the encounters with deities, also rather … mundane. I got it for 99p on Kindle and I don’t think I’ll be tempted by the sequel unless it’s similarly discounted.

john_nygma's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

An overall 3.25 rating. This was a fun enough read, but there's honestly not that much I can say about this book. The cast or characters is definitely the strongest element of the novel. The story starts out interestingly enough and has some thrilling and funny effort, but then it starts to meander and fails to explore a satisfying fantasy mystery and ends in a rather unimaginative fashion.

I love that we have an elderly main character in Al and someone who has to rely more on his wits, connections, and mental skills rather than being physically overpowering. Nadia fulfils that fighting role, and her character being a tough and nails, charismatic goth girl with supernatural powers only makes her arguably the coolest person in the story. The fact that we have a character named Buck Foi is an excellent example of this book's rather juvenile and "adult" sense of narration. It's never too offensive, but it does borderline cringe territory at times and does feel more performative than earnest in many places.

This book has its entertaining and downright funny moments in many places. I think the colourful cast of characters and their interactions with one another ate the best parts of this book. However, the story is simplistic and lacks proper focus at times. The world building has interesting aspects, but the book never does anything too exciting with its general premise. This was a fun enough read, and I'm tempted to pick up the sequel. However, I'm in no hurry to do so right now...

tg9129's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

ryzar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

julchen99's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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