Paper & Blood (Book Two of the Ink & Sigil series, by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey)
I’m a huge fan of Kevin Hearne to begin with, and his “Ink
and Sigil” series is a delight. As a former student of calligraphy, I love the
idea that the written word is magical. In this series, set in the world of the
Iron Druid, scribes create magical spells using not only words, but
painstakingly prepared pens, inks, and paper. The spells include the Sigils of
Unchained Destruction, Restorative Care, Agile Grace, Muscular Brawn, and Quick
Compliance and are used to protect the world against malevolent gods and
monsters.
Our everyman-hero, Al MacBharrais, is under a couple of
nasty spells himself. If he speaks to someone more than a few times, they
loathe him (this happened to his own son), and his apprentices die violently
after a year of service. This isn’t good news for his hobgoblin apprentice,
Buck Foi. While Al is searching for a way to lift his misfortunes, his fellow
sigil agents go missing in the wilds of Australia. Al and Buck are off to the
rescue, joined by one of the missing agent’s apprentices, his receptionist
Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite, a few sundry allies, and the Iron Druid
himself. The search leads them to a forested preserve, where chimeric monsters
lie in wait. These critters are sometimes more effective and lethal than
others, but always inventive: a turtle-dragon-spider, an eagle bull, a scorpion
with a rat’s head (ugh), pygmy goats with fanged snake heads, a gorilla
elephant, a yak badger, and my favorite, a zebra possum.
All in all, this is a quick, fun read filled with plot
twists and delightful characters but also depth, the best combination.
“Abandoned cheese is a sure sign that something’s gone
wrong.”
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