A Plague of Giants

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up.
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There's just so much about this book that I loved, and so little that I had issues with, I couldn't piece together anything coherent. I think the idea of the kennings is brilliant (yes, common to other fantasy series, but Hearne's approach sells it). Most of the point-of-view characters are so well-drawn and developed that I can't find fault with any of them.

This has all the strengths of The Iron Druid Chronicles (and maybe a couple of the minor weaknesses), which is enough to get me solidly on board for the series, but there's more to it than just that.

The best thing, the most inspired idea is the way the bard tells the story, how we get each different POV. It's a brilliant stroke.

The whole book is great—the magic system, the characters, the stakes, the big mystery about the source of invading giants, and the very human responses to the invasion. A great start to a fantasy trilogy that's surely going to be one of my favorite trilogies. I just wish I could be a bit more articulate about it.

It does move maddeningly slow. But it has to—you can't establish this fantastic world at a fast pace. You can't take the time for all the tiny character moments that are just pure gold if you're driving towards big action moments. But when the pace does pick up occasionally, you get a hint at how dynamic parts of book 2 and most of book 3 are going to have to be.