A Plague of Giants (Seven Kennings Book 1)

This book is nothing like Kevins other books no humor. No great love. No silly dogs. Nothing that screams Kevin Hearne. I had a very hard time getting through this book. Why have a bard tell us the story when we could live it through the characters. Arghh

After reading and loving the Iron Druid series I was greatly anticipating this new release. Quite frankly I'm not sure that I will be able to get through this book and that is quite a rarity.......grossly let down.

I really enjoyed this novel once I understood how the magic (kennings) worked. It took a little longer than I would have liked for it to become clear but as soon as you get it, the whole thing is very easy to read. Hearne takes a page from George R. R. Martin and goes with a personal flipping perspective for the narrator that truly conveys the feelings of people engulfed in a war they were not prepared to fight. I'm really looking forward to the next installment in the series.

4 stars only because of the slow start. Like others, I had a hard time getting used to the world and the style.

Now, however, introductions have been made and I couldn’t put the book down after I hit the halfway mark. Give it a chance and don’t give up. Kevin delivered, and I can’t wait for the story to continue.

After the wonderful Druid series, this was a terrific letdown. Ponderous exposition, too many characters and confusing plot made this hard to read. While I couldn’t wait to finish each book in. The prio r series, I couldn’t even finish this. What a difference.

My favorite author. His Pov jumps in Iron Druid are often the downside of the newer books, but Owen and Atticus are amazing enough to normally offset how boring the female lead is. In Giants the book starts out amazing.
The premise, a bard telling the story to the crowd is great! However there's way, way too many pov shifts. Most just end, and then switch, with no cliffhanger to leave me caring about what happened next. It just all comes off like filler.
I love Kevin, always been a huge fan, but this was a disappointment, and a chore to read. I finally finished it and I couldn't tell you what happened the last 1/3 of the book. I just didn't care to retain it.

This book was terrible. About three chapters in I realized I'd been duped into buying a compilation of short stories masquerading as a fantasy epic. I stuck it out though, and read the entire thing. Unforunately, it only got more tedious and boring with each turn of the page. Forgettable characters are strewn about from chapter to chapter, and even the gimmicky narrator meant to be telling us these tales is forced to string us along by promising that the chapter we just read, and the characters we just met (only to immediately discard), will somehow be important later.

There's also the overbearing true-to-life social tones that ruin much of the journey. Whether it's the smart giant who gets to say "I told you so!" to all his foolish non-believing citizens when it turns out he was actually wise to take their money for decades to save supplies and build ships to combat a passive excuse for global warming, or the gay hunter who no longer wants to hunt with his father so he can become a farming/bee keeping vegan, this book has enough poorly veiled agendas oozing out at every turn to satisfy even the most leftist of hipsters.

In the end, the payoff for making it through this preachy, cobbled together story just isn't enough. While the concepts Hearne came up with for this fantasy world are exciting and original (and the only things keeping my review above a one star), it's just not enough to save this book from being a total letdown.

Although I generally love Kevin Hearne, this book was to put it simply: terrible. not sure what he was going for, but it was neither fun nor entertaining. However, if you're a millennial who is in dire need of a 'safe space' and all of the things that go with it, then this book is definitely for you!

I love Kevin Hearne and his story telling abilities. Coming into a Plague of Giants I understood that this story would be much different than the Iron Druid Chronicles. I had both the Kindle and the Audible versions so I could go back and forth. Having Luke Daniels and Xe Sands as narrators helped me identified male characters from female characters. I tend to have first book problems and it took over 8 hours (about 186 pages or 30% of the book) before I was in love with the characters and was truly vested in their future. The story is told by a bard and there are multiple characters point of view which helps you get absorbed into this new world with different nations having the ability to control elements such as wind, water, earth, fire, vegetation and animals. Plus it helps you understand what drives them. Kevin took his time setting up the world and explaining the kennings. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Again is not the same as the iron druids, it was slow to begin with but in the end it was fun, captivating and I will read what comes next.

Reading this book can best be described as an exercise in frustration. I think the author has created a very interesting world and peopled it with some interesting characters, but the approach he took to share that world with the reader ruined all the promise of his fantasy world. Hearne has chosen to tell his tale via the device of a bard, who recounts the stories of multiple characters, an approach that made the book very difficult to read.

The primary problem for me is that the entire book is disjointed, the individual stories told in discontinuous dribs and drabs. You need a scorecard to keep track of the characters. It's like the author wrote 10 different stories, chopped each into multiple pieces, then stitched the pieces together using a bard as needle and thread. It sounds reasonable in theory, I suppose, but in practice, it just didn't work for me. Every time the bard ended the telling of one segment of one of the characters' stories, it broke the spell and pulled me out of the tale. For me, there was no flow and it was impossible to get into the story and lose myself in the world created by the author.

I love the author's Iron Druid Chronicles, but I have no interest in reading any more books in this series.

I normally get pretty excited when I see there is a new book out by Kevin Hearne, but I found this one to be somewhat disappointing.
Having the various stories that make up the whole told in bits and pieces by a bard might sound good on paper, but it was very frustrating
to read. It was more difficult to keep track of the many characters, and they felt less developed than usual.

I found some entertainment value in the book, hence the three stars, but I will not be wanting to read book two, there is only so much torture
I am willing to put myself through for a story.

Kevin Hearne's new series is epic in proportion, featuring an entire world, multiple storylines and points of view and a complex system of magic. While this is fabulous, it also makes it a bit of a challenge (especially since it's also a 600-page book), as there are so many people and so many stories within stories to keep track of. But, if you can handle reading Game of Thrones, you'll be good to go with the Seven Kennings.

Our main characters are Dervan, a professor, and Fintan, a bard. Fintan tells the tales of the many kingdoms, using his storytelling abilities as well as his trick to turn into the person whose tale he's telling. Dervan's kind of your everyman, keeping their leader in the know and piecing everything together. There are *so* many characters, kingdoms, rules, and systems of magic that it is hard to keep them straight but, to me, it's well worth it. What seems to be so many disparate stories slowly comes together to reveal a seventh "kenning" (a type of magic) and, as the title suggests, a rather disastrous plague of giants. I'm looking forward to the second in this epic series, A Blight of Blackwings.

First off, this is different from Kevin Hearne's other novels. This one does not have a mention of Atticus in it.

Second, this is long. My proof copy has over 600 pages, and it is part of a series. (Only the second novel is named yet.)

Third, the voice is a little different. While in other novels Hearne has different speakers for different chapters, this time he has a bard tell the story—albeit a bard who takes on the look and sound of different speakers.

I can't tell you much else about this book without giving away parts of it: The bard does a great job. . However, the bottom line is: This is a really good book. I enjoyed it and, if you like Hearne or fantasy stories, you will enjoy this, too.

I really enjoy Kevin Hearne's writing but this seemed at first very different from the Iron Druid Chronicles, and it was a slow starter for me. It's not as funny, and at times it is a bit confusing, I think because a lot of it is told in retrospect. it does have all the elements of high fantasy and the magical system is quite intriguing, as magic isn't ever easy. To use it is to shorten your life, and it's risky to obtain in the first place. It's all centered around the elements, so that is familiar, but there's supposedly magic yet to be discovered or described.
There's a lot of characters and it often seemed disjointed, and there were a lot of times that I wasn't sure who was being discussed.
The world building is very good, and perhaps one of the best aspects of the book. Teldwen is a big and varied place, with diverse cultures in 6 countries and the magic is closely tied to it.
It's really a shame that the beginning is not better, but it is simply because it is such an imaginative set up of this world and its people. By the end it starts to all come together and become enjoyable, but for me, a busy mom who's always having to stop and cook, it was quite a chore to get there. Maybe too I am a bit ADD these days. It was a bit too long and complicated for me to enjoy to the level the work that went into it deserved.

I loved the Iron Druid Chronicles by this author. I read them as soon as they were released. I have to admit that the first 4 of those were my favorite, the rest seemed to get darker and that made them less enjoyable for me. I think that is why I cimply could not get through this book, I tried multiple times, in different moods and even in different places, to pick this up and just read, but I couldn't do it. This is one that will always be a could not finish for me. Too dark, too drawn out, too complex, I guess. I really wanted to like this, but it was not to be.

In this new epic fantasy, a disaster has come upon the lands. Bone Giants have invaded and are determined to take whatever they want. They can throw up a city in mere weeks, and their response when meeting with anyone from any of the surrounding countries is to kill everything they encounter. In this world, every country is the site of a Keening, an extraordinary talent that is given to some of its inhabitants. There are five known kennings. In a country near the sea, the keening is to control water; another country controls rock and earth while another controls all plant life. There is talk of seven kennings but only five have been discovered and used. All the other countries band together to fight the invasion and the death and destruction the giants bring.

Dervan is an academic. He grew up with the ruler of his country and many of the refugees from the giant's invasion have ended up in his country. The ruler asks Dervan to do two things. First, he must learn how to speak with a giant that has been captured and imprisoned in order to see what he can determine about their plans. Then he is to work with and report on a bard who has come to town.

Fintan is the bard. He is a shape shifter and uses his talent to take on the character and forms of those he tells tales about. He gathers an ever-growing crowd each day to tell them about what is happening; how the giants have come, what they have already done and plan to do and what the various countries plan to counter them. He talks of heroes and disasters, of tragedy and courage and disaster and hope. The crowds grow every day to hear him and the rulers want to have someone there to be sure what Fintan is saying, as there is also suspicion that he is a spy. Can the other countries pull together to defeat the greatest enemy any have encountered? There is a rumor that the Sixth Keening has been discovered and perhaps it will provide the answer.

This is the first novel of a planned trilogy by one of the masters of fantasy. Hearne's Iron Druid series is a masterpiece in the fantasy genre and this new series promises to be another one. The world building is epic and his ability to juggle myriad characters while advancing the story is amazing. The structure of having the bard tell the story in daily implements allows Herne to introduce all the characters in detail while filling in the story of how the giants are to be defeated. This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

The Kennings are gifts or magic individuals hold. The magic comes from the elementals and mythology which quickly made me feel at home. Those who are gifted the kennings, use them with care as doing so drains their lifespan. When the story begins there are five known kennings, and they will soon discover a sixth. No one knows what the seventh kenning offers. I liked the magic and rules established within the world. We get to see a few characters come into their powers and witness them trying to master skills.

While the story contains multiple POVs and shares both present and past accounts, I felt the bard and scholar Dervan Du Alöbar who is transcribing the story being told, pulled all of it together. Kind of like a giant play with intermissions by Dervan. The stories surround the invasion of the Hathrims, the Bone Giants invasion and political unrest or indecision among those in Teldwen. I quickly became connected to the multiple characters and felt their happiness and loss.

Luke Daniels narrates much of the story and as always he is a masterful storyteller with a wide range of voices. He brings Hearnes charters to life, I even heard a little Oberon, and it made me grin. Xe Sands was a new-to-me narrator, but she compliments both Hearne and Daniels wonderfully. She typically took on the female roles and her pacing, tone and connection to the characters only enhanced Hearne’s story.

So this is a book outside of my normal wheelhouse - an epic fantasy sans romance. I think this review may be a bit hard to write because this is a very complex story with detailed world building and cast development. The book gave me a feel of The Hobbit and/or Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones. I commend Kevin Hearne on his imagination and ability to develop such a complex society with varied cultures, language and races/species.

So the basis of this society are the kennings - which are magical abilities. There are five well known kennings (air, water, fire, earth, plants) and lesser known sixth (animals) and seventh (unknown) kennings. The kennings are largely split by city (kindgom?) and/or culture. This is a western society where the people have mostly dark skin, and are further divided by their magical abilities. The western society is invaded by giants from the east who have pale skin that burns, and no magical abilities. We will be operating in the western society for this first installment of the series. That is a very basic and brief overview the society as a whole that certainly doesn't do justice to the complexity of the story.

(I apologize for any misspellings for character names, places, etc. in this review. As I listened in audio, I will be using my best guess for unfamiliar words and names.)

The story revolves around a bard, Fintan, who is telling about the plague of giants from various different points of view. The bard's magical ability is that he is able to take on the persona of each person while he tells their story. At first I was worried about this method of telling the story - but it turned out to be extremely interesting and I got sucked into the story fairly quickly. I was listening to this as I drove across the country and it kept me captivated for the entire time.

I really liked the various magical abilities and I was glad that Hearne delved into each ability and described not only how the people came by the special powers, but also the specifics of what each power allowed them to do, and the consequences of using those powers. The character races (species?) were also very interesting. There were tree people, mariners, fire giants, bone giants, and others both magical and mundane. There were corrupt political figures, sympathetic heroes, and "regular" people who faced more run-of-the-mill issues. There was really a character type for every type of interest and I loved the diversity. That being said... don't get too attached to anyone! I did mention this story had a Game of Thrones feel in that lots of people die. Of course that didn't stop me from getting attached to people, and you felt that gut wrenching moment of loss when their life was lost heroically or not.

I know I haven't said a ton about the plot or the story details... but I really don't want to give any of those away. I think fantasy fans will get more from the execution of the plot by finding out the details for themselves. However I do have to say that if you have the chance to listen to this story in audio - I highly encourage it. The narrators were absolutely fabulous. There were so many characters for them to take on, and they both pulled it off with ease. Every character was easily distinguishable and identifiable as soon as the switch in persona occurred. They even went so far as to sing the songs of the bard and I found that to add such a nice element to the story.

I recommend this story to any fans of epic fantasy, urban fantasy, or complex stories in general.

This story was told in a really, really interesting way. Similar to The Kingkiller Chronicles in a way, this story is told by a bard, but instead of telling his own story, he tells the stories of others to create one giant (#sorrynotsorry) narrative about a series of events. He tells the story not only of the characters but as the characters night by night. I really liked that. It was told in the first person, but actually told secondhand by someone with perfect memory who was told the story and is retelling it with the flair that only someone with his specific powers can do.

The book opens with a Dramatis Personae - a short description of most of the characters here - with drawings of each of them. I really liked that, because having a good idea of what they looked like was neat. It's an awesome reference for using as you read.

This world has all of a sudden been invaded by giants. Seven or eight foot tall pale and extremely gaunt men and women that nobody has ever seen before and nobody can understand. They must have come from across the once-thought-uncrossable ocean, but nobody knows why. They've killed everyone they've come into contact with and gone on their way. So, where did they come from and why?

Characters in this book have 'kennings,' which is like a very specific magical power depending on where they live. Each land has a kenning. There are five so far that we know of: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Plants. Some people in their respective lands choose to gain powers based on the kenning of the land. They risk their life for the chance. Their vocation is based on their kenning in most lands. For example, Tallynd is a tidal mariner. She can control water. She can more or less become water, allowing her to travel very quickly across long distances of ocean, change the currents of the ocean, and breathe underwater. It comes with a cost though, and the cost is years of life. The more she uses her power, the faster she ages. So, she's a tidal mariner. The most powerful kind of water-kenning user. She guards the ocean from invaders, looks for things along the bottom, helps boats entering or exiting the port... that kind of thing. That's her kenning, and that's her job.

There's so much more going on here than the invasion of the bone giants. There's also the displacement of an entire nation of other giants (these ones being giants that everyone does know exist- they're locals from the land of the first kenning). An entire nation has had to evacuate their land due to a volcano eruption. They move to a spot of land that seems perfect for them, but... well it's kind of owned by someone else, and is on the borders of a land that protect their trees with religious zeal and who rather do not like the idea of a people known for their production of steel and glass cutting them all down to feed their forge fires.

So, the story all begins to come together as you see it from the POV of several people from several places around the world who have different reasons to be where they are, and different skins in the game. It's a really interesting way to lay a story out. There are really neat little details abound too, like different idioms and slang used in different lands. People from Forn (plant kenning) use idioms about roots, growing, fertilizing, and things of that nature (#stillnotsorry) to reference or explain things in their everyday life. Characters in this book are men, women, gay, strait, and just about every skin color under the sun, and none of it mattered in the grand scheme of things. They were of course noticeably different races and genders, but aside from those noticeable differences, were all just people to everyone else. Not better or worse, but different, with a different story. That was pretty awesome.

And finally... what I thought of it, all told. I admittedly struggled to stay interested in this one in the beginning. It's wonderfully written, and there was nothing in it that I found inherently off-putting, but I found that it didn't immerse me as much as I hoped it would right out the gate. I ended up reading another book in between chapters 1 and 3. This is rare for me, as usually I try and power on through one book at a time. I found myself finding excuses to do other things, putting it down every few minutes, that sort of thing. However, this passed after I got used to the story, and became more immersed in it. Truth be told, I think this happened right around Abhi's story's beginning, as I really liked him as a character. I didn't care quite as much for anyone else, though. I suppose this sort of thing is bound to happen to me every now and then. I liked the setting. I think it's a really interesting world, with a really well thought out and well executed magic system. While it wasn't my favorite Kevin Hearne book, I still think it was a really, really good book all round.

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine via NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

This is an outstanding fantasy novel. A little on the large side (600+), but every page is worth it. A well written and intriguing adventure into the world of the seven Kennings. There are three different story lines, two of which are told through the eyes of a bard that has the ability to become the topic of the tale. Each character is, therefore, told in a first person format and it is a fascinating read. This is a real page turner. The only fault I had with this novel is that it ended, but I take solace in the fact that more is to come.

Story line(s): contains spoilers.

A bard (Fintan) has come to Pelemyn to tell the story of the giants war. Dervan, a historian has been assigned the task of chronicling the bard’s tales and to keep an eye open, as well, because it is feared the bard may be a spy or even an assassin. As the stories progress, a certain faction from a neighboring nation doesn’t care for the bard’s depiction of their peoples or one of their leaders. Several attempts are made on the lives of the bard and the historian in an effort to stop the knowledge from becoming heard. Dervan also becomes aware that the stories may also lead to the discovery of what caused the death of his wife.

A volcano erupts on Hathrir and the giants flee and take refuge on the shores of Ghurana Nent. What is believed to be a camp of refugees turns out to be an invasion, as the giants have no intent on leaving. The giants use their Kenning (Fire) to establish a defense and a city and several battles ensue between the giants, the forces of Ghurana Nent, and a woman from a neighboring nation, in possession of her own Kenning. She is a greensleeve and has at her disposal the means to create problems for the giants that are harvesting her nation’s trees.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, a full scale invasion is taking place by peoples of an unknown nation in search of the seven-year ship. These people are referred to as bone giants, due to their size and appearance. A Tidal Mariner (Water Kenning) notices the invasion and summons the waters of the sea and drowns a good portion of the invading force before they touch land. However, many do land and several Kennings come to bear against them.

An edge-of-your-seat read.

I was excited to see this book on NetGalley because I am such a big fan of Kevin Hearn’s Iron Druid series. I imagine many of Hearne’s fans will be checking this book out. A Plague of Giants is very different from the Iron Druid series. But it has one thing in common and that is marvelous storytelling.

Kevin Hearne has mastered the art of enveloping the reader in an amazing, exciting, emotional saga. The adventure is relayed by the bard, Fintan, who has collected narratives from a myriad of characters, each with his or her own pivotal role in the invasion of the giants.

And so Fintan tells the story of two separate giant invasions. One is the people from the island of Harthrad who fled to the mainland after a volcano erupted. They plan to take over a significant portion of someone else’s territory (without asking permission). The other giants are known as the Bone Giants and, previously, had never been seen. The run rampant through the countryside, killing everyone they meet. No one knows what they want, nor does anyone speak the language of the Bone Giants.

Fintan’s tales are interconnected and together, they relate an epic, magical part of the people’s history. His characters are nobles, scholars, soldiers, merchants, young people, old people, good guys and not so good guys. Each character is the hero of his or her own story, but the reader gets to decide who the real heroes and heroines are.

What an amazing storytelling experience! The blurb on the store, and I imagine other booksellers, does not do this story justice. The cast of characters is vast and colorful. The stories will horrify you, uplift you and even make you cry. A Plague of Giants is among the best of fantasy in 2017.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley so that I could bring you this honest review.

KEVIN HEARNE!! If you know the name, welcome aboard you're going to love it. If you dont know him you wil wonder how you could have missed him. It is that good. His Iron Druid series is loved by anyone who has ever spelled faery with the "e" the world over. This is not that. This is new. By new i mean unlike anything you've ever read before. It is all new. I wll repeat that for emphasis This is new. There are no fairies of any spelling nor any familiar characters from any other story. Okay there is a bard, but other than that - it is all new. Just like your first trip to the world of hobbits, there is nothing familiar in this book. I wont share spoilers on general principle and it would be a crime to deprive you of the rare experience of something completely outside of everything you know . What I will say is Plague of Giants is fantasy at it's purest Imagine your best friend stepped into the dimension down the street and brought you back the tale. It is that fantastic. The first book at over six hundred pages introduces us to the multiple races that share a world uniquely their own. Where the rising of the sun is the only thing we'd find familiar. And war, of course. Just as the sun will always rise, it seems there will always be discord. But the challenges they face , the allies and enemies they face them with and the natural laws that govern them, are completely unlike anything you've known. Mr Hearne has imagined magic in an entirely new way and given us a brand new world to experience it in. Giants ar only the beginning. Get lost in a world filled with wonders and dangers beyond imagination. With characters and ideas that will stay with you long after the book is done. Congratulations on finding it. Come on in, the water is fine.

Kevin Hearne is best known – and deservedly so – for his excellent Iron Druid series, and now, after dipping his toe in the Star Wars franchise, he’s begun a new fantasy series with “A Plague of Giants” (Del Rey, $28.99, 616 pages).

Like the Iron Druid books, “A Plague of Giants” manages to be gritty (with the effects of violence not glossed over) while at the same time retaining a somewhat light touch. Hearne, unlike many modern authors, balances the bloody with the benign in this story of a continent invaded by not one, but two groups of giants.

Yes, these are actual giants (12 feet tall), but still human giants, and they are countered by a world steeped in god-given powers called Kennings. One acquires these powers (which range from control of water to control of air) by risking death. For example, the gain the power to control water, aspirants must dive into a deep pool from which they can only emerge if they are become blessed – and the vast majority simply drown.

There are several Kennings, and they all play a role in the complex plot, which is framed by an unusual story-telling device that works, thanks to Hearne’s writing skill and talent.

“A Plague of Giants” is volume one of who knows how many, but it was a very good read, and I’m definitely looking forward to the followups. At 600+ pages, though, it may take a while for Hearne to deliver the second installment, but given his history, I’m happy to wait.

“A Plague of Giants” is Hearne’s first entry in a new fantasy series. This entry novel is a perfect illustration of the old adage, “War is Hell.”

This reviewer has enjoyed Hearne’s novels for several years, and eagerly looked forward to this new novel. Unfortunately, this novel is written in a manner which this reviewer is prejudiced against. As the first novel in a new series, the novel had too many differing points of view. Switching to a different character for each chapter makes it extremely difficult for a reader to feel engaged with any character. At times, I considered abandoning the novel in favor of another story. There was zero investment in any character until reading a little more than 30% of the novel. For many, that is 20% too much.

After 30%, the novel became a pure joy to read. There were some characters more interesting than others. This made it tedious reading some points of view when it really wanted to get back to the interesting characters. This made “Giants” a page-turner at times.

I would love to give this novel a four or five-star review. I liked it, I truly did; however, given the issue of too many multiple points of view for the first novel in a new series, I believe a three-star rating is a better overall rating.

The series has huge potential and I look forward to seeing where this story will go.

Note: An ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"This great war of our time has indeed been terrible, and I am still struck with its horrors, waking up in the night sweating."

Kevin Hearne, author of The Iron Druid Chronicles gives us a tale told by Fintan, Bard of the Poet Goddess Kaelin. A fleet of Bone Giants, tall, thin people with bone armor on their torsos and arms, is on its way to kill anyone in their path to find the unknown Seventh Kenning, a form of magic given to a blessed few. People blessed with kennings are charged with defending their homes at any means against the giants who are invading their land. Kennings include moving the earth, building and destroying walls, moving water, talking to animals, communicating by roots and stems, and taking on the voices and likenesses of others to inform the masses of what is to come.

This is a 640-page, epic story of terror and wonder with an assortment of interesting characters. At times the story was confusing with all of the characters and plot lines, which is what took me so long to finish it. I would have appreciated an Appendix of all of the characters and their kennings more than the tables that were provided. In all it was a very fascinating, unique story and I love the cover of the book. However, it was too long for me and I do not plan to read the next book in the series.

Kevin Hearne is playing with story telling styles in his new series - The Seven Kennings. Kennings refer to powers that different races on Teldwen may develop. The playing by Hearne is in how the story is told. Dervan Du Alobar is a historian tasked by his city's ruler to interact with the Raelech bard Fintan and record the stories he presents to the refugees gathered at Pelemyn after the Bone Giants have been repelled and an invasion force is being gathered. The story is told by Fintan is short pieces though the voices of a number of characters. Using this style forces the reader to construct a mosaic of what is happening not only with the various characters in multiple locations but also follow the tale of Dervan and Fintan in the present. Waiting to see how the second volume plays out.

This book has an interesting narrative format where the overall story is told as a series of short stories told by a variety of characters with a few of the characters carrying through to the end. The stories are linked together by a public bard telling the story of the current situation of the kingdom. I wasn't sure about the the narrative format for the first third of the book, but came to love it as it all wove together towards the end. It maybe did take a little more thought to track and piece together but was well worth it in the end. There is excellent world development and a variety of characters that are believable and interesting. There was always just enough unanswered questions from the previous segments to keep you thinking about where it could be going and what might happen. The Audio narration was awesome. I think this is probably my favorite book by Kevin Hearne. I really look forward to more books in this series.