Love it.

For cool ideas and Irish folklore, this book is a 3.5. The book had the feel of a sequel, like there was an inside joke that was missing. This made it hard to fully engage in.

Full of fairy trafficking rings, really ugly and foul-mouthed hobgoblins and a magic system that proves that the pen really is mightier than the sword, this sounded right up my ally.

And although it was an entertaining urban fantasy there were a few things that bothered me.

I love a good curse bestowed on a main character however this one seemed to have hindered the story more than it helped.

As per the book synopsis ”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.”

The action scenes were very clunky because of this “curse”. Who stops to type into a speech app when sh*t is flying around?

It also felt as if this book is just one long setup for the rest of the series. But I suspect fans of the authors Druid series will like this as well.

I may try the 2nd book in the series at some point and will definitely do the audio version next time.

I have enjoyed all (but the very last) of the Iron Druid Chronicles, so I was excited to be introduced to a new character and aspect of this world. Sigils were fun but may have made life a little too easy in places which took some of the suspense out of the book. Al, the MC is an older man who is a Sigil Agent who soon after the start of the book gains an obscene, humorous hobgoblin sidekick. Al learns that his recently decreased apprentice was involved in Fae smuggling and soon goes to investigate and right any wrongs. I liked this plot line even if the ending was overly dramatic and unrealistic with the high body count usually found in action books, but it worked here. This book reads like an action, thriller kind of urban fantasy books. Lots of fighting, obscene humor and while it was not my favorite, I was greatly appreciative that it was done without being homophobic, xenophobic or misogynistic. This might be the best I have even seen that balance achieved. My main issue and why it dropped to 3 stars was because of the human smuggling subplot and how forced it felt to the overall plot. I agree completely with the author’s feelings and explanations but the long info dumps took one out of the book and made me want to skim them. It also felt forced and very unrealistic with the relationship with the police. There would have been ways to comment on parallels to human smuggling without just having Al lecture. I am not sure if I will return for the second, but I recommend it to anyone who likes humor and action adventures and is tired of having to deal with problematic protagonists to do so.

Hearne has this magical ability to weave stories and characters you want more of. Our protagonist, Al, is in his sixties and cursed. He can create magic using paper & ink. Spells to hide, spells to see, heal and more. As for the curse? Anyone who hears his voice feels an inexplicable hatred for Al. Because of this he communicates through the written word or speech apps, particularly if he plans to encounter that person again. He also has difficulty keeping an apprentice.

When Gordie, his latest apprentice, turns up dead, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. What he finds in Gordie’s home alarms him and dons a detective hat to find answers. That is after he gets his new flat mate situated.

Despite this book being full of sexual humour (a little bit is funny but when it's on just about every page, it's too much), it was still very enjoyable. Al's character fit well into the Iron Druid universe and the introduction of sigil agents was interesting. Loved the barghests--ghost dogs. I'll be reading the rest of the series.