Not a big fan of fantasies since my teens and early twenties but this novel and its unique storytelling structure was outstanding and kept my interest for days and days. Highly recommended.

I received a digital ARC via Netgalley though all thoughts are my own.

This book is told in multiple points of view and I loved how it was told as a tale by a bard which very much suited this book. It was a fascinating mix of mythology, magical realism, adventure and full of surprises.

I loved how each of the stories were eventually connected and though it was hard to read about some of the main characters dying, it was fascinating to see the tale from so many points of view.

Kevin really knows how to tell a story and I also loved how there was some humor tossed in along with the darker aspects. If you enjoy any of the themes mentioned, I highly recommend checking out this book. I'm looking forward to continuing this series soon!

Trigger warnings: death, violence, cursing, war, invaders, thievery

Where is book two? I enjoyed the heck out of all the different lifeforms, the story, and many of the characters. I want more right now.

I won an advanced copy of A Plague of Giants through a Goodreads Giveaway. Additionally, Del Rey and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of the book. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of high fantasy, but I found the concept of this book to be interesting enough to give it a try. A bard is the central part of this novel, telling the tales of numerous periphery characters that are woven throughout his epic story of adventure, battles, and giants. At first, the inclusion of the bard seems more like a trick of storytelling 101, but the character is essential in pulling the rest of the book together. Without the bard, the rest of the book just plods along and is only minimally interesting.

A Plague of Giants tops out at over 600 pages, so readers should not expect to finish this novel in a weekend. Had the editing process eliminated around 100 pages or more, the novel might have been more interesting. I did appreciate the cheat sheet of characters at the beginning of the novel, essential for keeping the exhausting list of people straight. I recommend readers of the e-book to bookmark the list, as it is likely that they will need to keep referring back.

Overall, I was not taken in by A Plague of Giants. I liked the bard, but the rest of the story seemed like snippets instead of a cohesive tale. I would not seek out the sequel to this book myself, but those who like high fantasy may like A Plague of Giants.

Just a quick comment: This book was certainly not up to Kevin Hearne's usual level of writing. It was confusing and frankly not as well written as I've seen. He had far too large a cast of characters and the plot frankly meandered everywhere.

I have not had the time or interest to get through this book, unfortunately. I requested based on the author and would love to get to it eventually.

I absolutely love Hearne's writing style. This reminded me of the Canterbury Tales in the way it read. I was so impressed with his writing that I went and picked up the entire other series he's written. I enjoyed the character of the bard and how the tale played out among so many others being told. Absolutely fantastic.

I ended up really enjoying this book. I have had the book for a while but was a bit intimidated by its size. Since I am spending almost all of my time at home with the current health crisis, I decided that this was the perfect time to finally tackle this story. This is a very different book than Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles and I enjoyed seeing him take on high fantasy. It did feel like a very dense story and I felt like it took me longer to read than a lighter story of the same length might have. I had a good time with the book in the end.

I liked the way the story came together. There are a lot of points of view in this book but they are all shared through the tales from a bard. The bard, Fintan, takes on the persona of each individual as he shares their story. I will admit that it was a lot to keep track of at the start of the book but as I continued to read, I got to know each character and started looking forward to learning more of their story. I did like the way that all of the different points of view came together to tell a story that stretched across more than one group of people.

This story is set in a very interesting world. We actually get the opportunity to see more than one realm in this story and I found it interesting to see what each group shared and how they differed. The different lands had individuals with special abilities. Those abilities changed from place to place but each required anyone seeking the power, or kenning, to risk their lives. If they survived, they would be blessed with a special ability. Each land had its own kennings which were often closely related to the terrain in which they lived.

I found this book to be quite exciting at times. There was quite a bit of action spread throughout the story. I also enjoyed getting the chance to see the political workings of each of the groups. I found the personal journeys of some of the characters to be the highlight of the book. I really wanted to see things work out for these characters as they faced incredibly difficult challenges.

I would recommend this book to fans of high fantasy. This book transported me to a world of unique people with extraordinary abilities. I grew to care for many of the characters as they worked to keep their people safe. I cannot wait to read more of this exciting series!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing - Del Rey via NetGalley.

I am a BIG fan of Kevin Hearne, his Iron Druid series is absolutely amazing. But, for some reason I had a very hard time getting into A Plague of Giants.. Maybe my expectations were to high due to Hearne's other work. It just seemed to plod along and it was difficult to really care about the characters. But, I will continue on. Hearne can't have two subpar efforts in a row..Overall, there was so much good with A Plague of Giants and if it had not felt like such a struggle to read I would have rated it higher but it was a struggle and there you have it.

The plot is told in large part as daily storytelling from a bard gifted with magic to make them sound and appear as the person they are speaking about. The main plot is about the beginning of a war and how the countries that are impacted by it. There is a good conclusion to the book but by no means wraps up the main reason of while the giants came across the ocean.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This was not for me. It's very high fantasy along the lines of Tolkien and it's rich world building and complex characters demands a lot of attention to keep it all straight. I think it's probably a great book for the right person, but that's not me. I could not get into it and did not finish it.

This book just wasn't for me. I tried really hard to get into it, and have enjoyed Kevin Hearne books in the past, but for some reason I just didn't get into this book and subsequently didn't finish reading it.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one drops you right into the story and just expects you to keep up. The bard culture and the world history were fascinating to me and I found myself getting sucked into the politics and strategy of war story. It's definitely good enough for me to invest in the next book.

I tried and tried and TRIED with this one and was never grasped by the story - perhaps the changes in narrator came too often? Anyway, the world building seems very solid and the writing is fast-paced and tight, so this is more a matter of personal taste than of the quality of the work. I can recommend because I believe this will scratch someone's itch, for sure.

This is interesting and complex but lacks the lightness and humor in The Iron Druid Chronicles. Hearne's as always builds great characters.

This book wasn’t for me. Instead of posting a negative review, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or label it as DNF (did not finish) on Goodreads/Amazon.

Excerpt from review: "... enjoyed the fact that we heard bits and pieces of this tale through Dervan and through the various individuals Fintan was able to portray in his stories. A Plague of Giants presents us with the beginnings of a fantastic tale of water-wielders, fire-wielders, those who can manipulate the air, the earth or plant life, those who can speak to the animals, and scholars who have no perceived power but are powerful characters nonetheless. The story is so well-written and so intriguing that you feel the need to know what will happen next. The characters are quite interesting, both the good and the bad, and you become invested in them right away. Characters tell it how they see it in this novel – there is no sugarcoating and I found myself laughing out loud at many a character’s colorful speech…especially that of the Viceroy with the unpleasant burning when urinating issue, but I’ll leave you to figure out all that...

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.

Not my personal favorite, but I believe it will have a solid readership appeal.

This is an interesting book and not for the faint of heart. It is told as a story from a bard, so we jump from the current time and then back into the past with multiple POVs. It took a bit for me to really come to grips with how the story was playing out, but once I got farther into it, I was hooked. The worldingbuilding is fantastic on this one and you really feel for the characters. Plus, the magic system is really fascinating. The world is at war on two different fronts, with two different races of giants. Throughout the book, we see stories from people throughout the conflict, not just leaders. We even get some POV from one of the giants. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.