Ink & Sigil

„Ink & Sigil“ is the first book in a new fantasy series by Kevin Hearne that will have you crying your eyes out with laughter. Al MacBharrais, a Sigil Agent in his sixties, is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache and a unique magical talent. His curse, however, prevents him from speaking out loud too much because people will develop extreme hatred toward him otherwise. On top of that his apprentices keep dying on him under the strangest of circumstances. Together with his sidekick hobgoblin who calls himself Buck Foi, MacBharrais sets out to find a way to lift his curse and also figure out what kind of trouble his recently deceased apprentice had managed to get himself into. After many disappointments, I finally found a fantasy novel that was as hilarious as the synopsis made it out to be. The story itself is enjoyable enough, but what really makes „Ink & Sigil“ great is the way it is told. MacBharrais narrates it in such a dry, unapologetic and unfiltered way, with hilarious snide comments sprinkled in here and there, that I had to chuckle pretty much from start to finish. If you haven’t guessed already, the story is set in Scotland, so that explains everything and is exactly what drew me to the book in the first place. Since I listend to the audiobook version of „Ink & Sigil“, I can’t not sing the praises of the narrator, Luke Daniels. He is just perfect and his way of telling the story probably one of the main reasons why I enjoyed it so much. I recommend this book to everyone who loves humorous fantasy.