ISBN: 978-1984821256
Publisher/date: Del Rey (August 25, 2020)
Genre: Fantasy Comedy
From the world of The Iron Druid Chronicles
Rating: T
"Do you have a headache?"
"I've got you, have I no'?"
Al MacBharrais is a Sigil agent. He is one of the few humans tasked with keeping the human and Fae world separate. And his apprentice just choked to death on a raisin scone.
So down the rabbit hole Al goes, armed only with his Sigils (magical symbols which can grant him a multitude of practical powers,) his lustrous mustache, a hacker with a penchant for exhibition, an accountant who can beat the shit out of anyone, man or fae, a tiny pink man with a raunchy sense of humor, and Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite.
If you were looking for a serious book, a book to make you think very hard, or a book to change your life... don't look here.
But if like me, you're damned tired of 2020 and could use some weird shite to make you laugh (and make you say shite instead of shit,) you've come to the right place!
At first I wasn't too keen on ole Al. Why? I need to emotionally connect with characters to be interested in a book. Al lost his wife, and his grief is barely touched on in the beginning. So I struggled to retain interest for a few chapters.
And then I met his side characters.
There's Buck Foi, the pink hobgoblin who must balance his good deeds with beer theft and pranks, and incidentally gets high off of salsa.
There's Nadia, the Weegie Goth, with her glorious Wizard van. She's Al's accountant and a battle seer.
There's Saxon Codpiece, Professional Wanker (and hacker.)
And then of course we can't forget Gladys, whose "utter unflappability distinguishes Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite from all other Gladyses."
Once we really got rolling it was quite hilarious. The pranks and general dialogue were funny and made me want to keep reading. The side characters made me more interested in Al, and the mystery was in no way easy to predict. (Because don't you just hate when you can tell exactly where a story is going? I do.)
So overall I'm going to give this a solid 3.5 stars. I needed a read like this right now, and I'd read another about the shenanigans of Al and his crazy gang of misfits.
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