Ink & Sigil - Kevin Hearne

Ink & Sigil is the start of a new series for Kevin Hearne, best known for his Iron Druid series, the eponymous hero of which, an immortal druid with a fondness for dogs and Irish whiskey, contends with a  variety of supernatural menaces whilst (mostly) trying to stay alive. That series was always snappy, pulpy fun, and a great way to pep up a long commute or plane trip. Ink & Sigil is the same, but different. Rather than deal in the vivid vistas of Arizona, it has a rather grungier aesthetic, being set in, well Glasgow. Yes, the one in Scotland. And instead of an immortal druid, we get Al MacBharrais, sigil agent. And old man with a curse on his head, and the ability to write sigils that provide magical powers ranging from the ominously labelled unchained destruction through to the rather more amusing sigil of sexual potency. And MacBharrais has a problem - his apprentice has been murdered. Again. And he needs to find out who did it, and why, before whatever  dastardly goings on culminate in, well, unchained destruction. Or at least a bloodier than usual Tuesday afternoon.

I'll say this for Hearne. He obviously spent some time in Glasgow, and the rest of Scotland. The locations central to the story are provided in vivid detail, and with obvious affection. Being able to describe a gin-bar down to the ground, including the menu and a favourite drink order, is the sort of detail work that makes the city come alive. There's maybe a bit of the cultural Disneyland about it, but in general, Glasgow is approached here with honesty, but also with a positive energy that infuses the locations with an energy and grace you sometimes miss in stories desperate to make of Glasgow something more noir, I think the less urban locations suffer a bit by comparison, but maybe its just that we spend less time in them, relatively speaking. If this isn't the Glasgow you know, it at least has shades of it in its metaphorical hair, and it feels right, at least most of the time. I'll also note there's a pronunciation guide at the front of the book, which is, if nothing else, rather good fun - it has a touch of the sly humour that makes Hearne such an entertaining read.

We've already touched on Al MacBharrais. But suffice to say that rather than our typical action hero, he's something of a different mettle. A man in his sixties, with a penchant for a hat, a long coat, a cane and a slow dram, he is perhaps more thoughtful than Hearne's previous protagonists. That said, inhabiting the same supernatural world as the Iron Druid, he does come with all manner of ethereal connections to other realities and bits of magic. MacBharrais has a tendency to, well, look before he leaps which is rather refreshing. Considers how to solve a problem with the least harm. And, you know, isn't totally unable to pull out cans of magical murder if required, in his undercover role as a combination of supernatural law enforcement and immigration officer for the gods , goblins and godawfuls of about thirty different planes. He's joined by a whole cavalcade of memorable supporters, most of whom I won't spoil here, but a quick shout out to his office manager, Nadia, for being very much of a certain arse-kicking goth vibe, and receptionist Gladys-Who-Has-Seen-Some-Shit, who is, well, Canadian. More on that next time, maybe. I like the interactions between MacBharrais and his staff, who are, in many ways that natter, also his friends and connection to humanity, and I enjoy that they enjoy a clarity of moral purpose - there's never any real question that they, at least, are the good guys.

Which is just as well, because the plot is a supernatural potboiler that has more than a few bad guys, on multiple continents. It's a murder mystery and a  thriller and occasionally a brutally kinetic action movie. I've always applauded Hearne's pacing, and want to do so again here - the story does let up, from time to time, gives us room to breathe, but it never entirely unhooks you from the first page, and it's very easy to read just one more until it's three in the morning and you're realising you have to go to work in a few hours. Without all the convoluted backstories of a longer running series, Ink & Sigil is a fast flowing adventure, and if you're looking for a popcorn book to devour over the course of your commute, I recommend it entirely. It's fun, and has some nice things to say about family and trust and building community. And it also has a lot of magic and mayhem to back it up. Give it a whirl.

Some Desperate Glory - Emily Tesh

Some Desperate Glory is...well, its a lot. It's a story about the way society shapes those inside it. The way those people can ne harmed, or healed, or wounded by the environment and the people who surround them. It's about letting ourselves think for ourselves. It's about the world being stranger than our philosophy. Its about the journey that people make after everything they know of ends, about the way that societies shape themselves. And if that all sounds a bit highbrow...it's the story of Kyr. Of a young woman on the edge of space, in a militarised station on the edge of disaster, certain she's one of those who will fight back for humanity, willing to be a hero, and die in the process. And all of that is true, and there's more than enough war and death on the table here for anyone - but it's also not entirely accurate. Kyr's journey, uncovering who she is and whether that's who she wants to be...well, it's compelling, disturbing, enthralling stuff.

So yeah. Kyr. Kyr is young. And smart. And driven to succeed. And probably demanding too much of those around her, and herself. And Kyr sees herself as one of the last free humans alive. Because this is a universe after a war that humanity lost. A world where people were considered just too damn dangerous to leave lying around by the relevant polity. A universe where Earth was cracked like an egg, and the survivors scattered into a contained diaspora. Or, in the case of Kyr's relations, took the last remains of human military might and hid out on a space station on the edge of nowhere. Kyr is living in the traumatised remains of the death of our world, and it has...done something if a number on her. But, to be fair, on everyone else as well. The station she lives on is slowly slipping into obsolescence. There are patches holding walls and airlocks together. The systems are failing, the equipment is one short step from disaster. The sense of gender equality is slipping away, as the desire for a new generation outstrips the choices of those who would have to mother it. Kyr's station is a place filled with a claustrophobia, a paranoia, a sense of striving to justify oneself in the greater Purpose. Of being willing to accept the unacceptable in the service of someone elses goal. It's...not a nice place to live. And the people it has inside it are, well, people. But the younger ones, Kyr and her squad, see their choices limited, have their horizons foreshortened for them, and fighting against that is difficult, for them, perhaps not even wanted. It's an achingly familiar portrait of a closed society spiralling out into dark places, wrapped in a flag waving patriotism that feels ominous and familiar all at once.

Emily Tesh puts us behind Kyr's eyes, and draws us very quickly into her world. Ky's expectations are, in a sense, ours, and we accept them at face value as much as she does, at least initially. But Kyr is fierce and driven and smart, and if she's abrasive, competitive and prone to indulging the authority of those above her, that's at least somewhat understandable. She's a sympathetic protagonist, but it's clear that she's also one who has been hurt by the world she lives in, circumscribed by the feeling of few choices, and swimming in a worldview which may or may not be entirely accurate.

It's...really hard to talk about Some Desperate Glory without spoilers. I think, if I'm honest, that it's really, really good. Its a searing indictment of  cults of patriotism and personality and the rise of proto-fascism. And it is very willing to take reader expectations of what the story is about, who our heroes are, and flip them on their head. But its also a story about a found family, and a character study of a young woman reaching out, finding the confines she's embedded in, and breaking free. And it's also a high-concept science fiction story that explores some interesting technological and social changes after the end of the world, and the way that affects society and the people in it. 

This is a smart book, an angry book, and, much like its protagonist, a fierce book. It demands a lot from the reader, but pays it back with interest. In short, it's a  bloody excellent read, and thoroughly recommended.