(I received a free copy of this book from 47North, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
For some reason, when I saw the cover of this book, I thought it would be more aimed at a young adult audience. The blurb sounded interesting, though, and when I was approved by it, I was quite happy.
Somehow, when I was reading the book, it took me a while to stop thinking about Harry Dresden. Although the storylines are different, the wizard characters are surprisingly similar. Still, I liked Nathan – or whatever name he goes by.
I love things that are steeped in mythology, so this was pretty much like a big bar of chocolate to me. (I like chocolate a whole lot, hence why that analogy makes sense to me). Galahad isn’t someone I see much outside of purely King Arthur-centred stories, so it was pretty unique to have him involved. I also liked seeing a Hades who wasn’t a villain.
Speaking of the villains… they were really nasty sorts. Definitely completely villainous. I know the good guys are the good guys and all, but I’m not the sort of person who wants the hero to pull the villain up from the cliff, or spare his/her life – so I guess I’m like Nate in that respect.
Although this book was the second in a series, it was definitely easy to read as a standalone. What I didn’t understand at first made more sense as I continued reading.
The different types of trolls was pretty interesting. Trolls are often portrayed as the bad guys in fiction, so it was nice to see some that weren’t. Also, werelions aren’t nearly as over-used as werewolves are, so it was nice to see something a bit different there.
I particularly liked Nathan and Galahad’s relationship and some of their comments to each other made me smile. It was also good to see references made of real historical figures – that was pretty interesting.
The writing in this was particularly good, though I did notice a few errors. Nothing major, but still…
I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.
Ink of Blood 