Kevin Hearne (A Plague of Giants; Scourged) introduces an unlikely hero, who practices a different brand of magic in this complex, crudely funny spin-off of his popular Iron Druid Chronicles.
Glaswegian sexagenarian Aloysius "Al" MacBharrais, one of the human world's five sigil agents, uses magical symbols drawn in potion-like inks to enforce a treaty that keeps the Fae out of the human world. He also lives under a curse: the sound of his voice leads the hearer to despise him intensely. Al's life grows more complicated when his apprentice, Gordie, chokes on a raisin scone, becoming his seventh tragically dead protégé. "Deid apprentices tend to tarnish a man's reputation after a while," he laments. Worse, in Gordie's office he finds a caged hobgoblin named Buck Foi, who tells him his late pupil had a second career trafficking Fae beings. With the help of mischievous, foul-mouthed Buck, deadly battle seer and top-notch office manager Nadia, and expert hacker Saxon Codpiece, Al uncovers a twisted scheme that threatens to shatter the treaty and the human world's protection from the Fae forever. Busting the bad guys will take a clever plan, all the magic Al can muster and one epic wizard van.
Distinguished by its intricate and original magical system, charming dynamics among characters and strongly developed Scottish setting, Ink & Sigil places its irascible hero and memorable cast in a wide, fascinating world. Fans of urban fantasy series such as Jim Butcher's Dresden Files will revel in this compelling opener. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads