A Plague of Giants

Written by Kevin Hearne

Narrated by Luke Daniels and Xe Sands

From the east came the Bone Giants. From the south, the fire-wielding Hathrim. It was an invasion that sparked war across the six nations of Teldwen. Now the kingdom's only hope is the discovery of a new form of magic - one that will call the wondrous beasts of the world to fight by the side of humankind.

In the start of a thrilling new series, the New York Times best-selling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles creates an unforgettable fantasy world of warring giants and elemental magic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
• Release date: Oct 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781405539760

Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne is the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles. He’s a middle-aged nerd who still enjoys his comic books and old-school heavy metal. Visit him online at KevinHearne.com.

Reviews for A Plague of Giants

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It can be hard to start a book this large. It feels like a commitment -- especially because there are so many characters, so many details, and that dreaded phrase on the cover "book 1".

I admit that I began it some months ago in an advanced reader's copy, and then I dithered. I set it down. I never quite came back to it. Finally, a long plane trip offered an opportunity to really spend time with it and the storytelling did not disappoint.

I love the structure of the book -- bard telling stories from many viewpoints about an epic war, with an undercurrent character to balance out the flow and give us more context on the politics of the world. I love the costs and payments for the magical system -- it's extreme, but feels fitting and balanced. The peoples are strange and interesting as well. While there is some George RRMartin-esque character murder, that also feels appropriate to the story.

I'm still not in love with the series nature of this book, but I admire the deft handling of the storytelling, which actually leaves us clearly at the end of one arc and the beginning of a second. I await the sequel with pleasure.

Advanced readers copy provided by edelweiss.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[billiebook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, this is probably more like 4.5 stars, but I rounded down because, as much as I liked it, it didn't leave me with that giddy, fizzy Oh. My. Gods. feeling that I get from five-star reads.

If you are expecting something akin to Hearne's Iron Druid chronicles, only in a different world and with different characters, then set your expectations aside. This is big, complicated high fantasy with a large cast of characters, an unusual magic system, giants, battles, political maneuvering and elaborate descriptions of food. Basically, all the elements readers have been craving while waiting for George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss to bless us with new novels.

Be patient, though. This is basically a 600=page prologue, but every character and everything that happens here is probably going to be very important to the events that unfold over the rest of the series.

Hugely satisfying and definitely recommended.

[jlslipak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the start of a compelling new series, the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles creates an unforgettable fantasy world of warring giants and elemental magic.In the city of Pelemyn, Fintan the bard takes to the stage to tell what really happened the night the giants came . . .From the east came the Bone Giants, from the south, the fire-wielding Hathrim - an invasion that sparked war across the six nations of Teldwen. The kingdom's only hope is the discovery of a new form of magic that calls the world's wondrous beasts to fight by the side of humankind.OUT OCTOBER, 2017BIO"Kevin is the NYT bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, as well as two forthcoming series: The Seven Kennings, an epic fantasy trilogy, and Tales of Pell, a fantasy series co-authored with Delilah S. Dawson. Books 1-8 of the Iron Druid Chronicles are out now; BESIEGED, a collection of new Iron Druid stories, will be out July 11; A PLAGUE OF GIANTS, the first book of The Seven Kennings, will be out Oct. 17."MY THOUGHTS:I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.I have never read anything by this author before, but a friend of mine had and was adamant that I give this new series a try. When I found out it was about giants... man oh man was I excited to get the first book.Can we take a moment and ponder the book jacket? Oh the thoughts it stirs. I love it!Complicated, detailed and intricate world-building along with magic based on the elements, an epic amount of fully fleshed out characters, highlights the talent of the author in writing high fantasy.The premise is fascinating and I couldn't wait to see how this would be laid out in greater detail. In the beginning, I noted all the different POVs and thought them excessive (over 10), but with this particular type of writing style, and epic quality to the story, I get why he did this, however I wonder if the story would have benefitted better from having less?The magic system is complicated and involved. Different races can do different things and I found it fairly easy to keep up with it all.The characters and POV is another story. In the beginning, the narrative felt a bit disjointed and choppy. It was hard to keep track of who was whom so I had to make a list... yup, pen and paper stuff.Everything about this story is intriguing and enticing. You want to continue reading just to learn more about the origins of the stories being told and when everything begins to come together and fall in to place, you'll find yourself nodding in understanding.There's a vast array of characters, that not only give you a further understanding of the world of Teldwen, as it's revealed, but how things work within this world. There are those that will appeal to you and you'll enjoy and those you'll not like at all, but all of them seem necessary to the story. Hearne includes a caste system and how ability is associated to how high in the caste system you are. His writing style is engaging and easy to follow moving from one plot point to the next, transitioning smoothly and continuously.Each character serves a purpose to the story, either by adding humor or emotions, great fight scenes and tension building...This is a large encompassing novel that took me several days to finish, but it was worth every page.My only real complaint was too many characters and POVs at the beginning. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too much happened for the length of the book, so it felt somewhat rushed, with two invasion forces, a kidnapping a revolution, several games, and traveling.

[theeclecticreview · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"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.See my complete review at The Eclectic Review

[feeroberts64 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne is the first installment in the Seven Kennings. Fintan is a bard that tells the story of the war of giants.I was excited to read Hearne's book as I had heard great things about his books, but this was such a disappointment. There were a lot of characters to keep up with, which wasn't a problem. The world building is incredible. My problem was the dialogue between characters. While I love a good dialogue, it can make or break a story. In this case it broke the story. I felt as though I was in a lecture hall listening to a very boring professor. I give this book two stars for the complexity of the world building and character development. I received this book from Random House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[irregularreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Six Kingdoms have existed in tentative harmony for generations, each country kept safe by a “kenning” or magical ability, each one specific to a certain kingdom. The peace is shattered when an invading fleet of pale, nine foot tall warriors, called Bone Giants, run rampant over the coastal cities, slaughtering everyone they come across. The kingdoms, reeling from the attack, must race against time to ensure their survival. But surely the world will never be the same again.I really enjoyed his book, but I have to say that it probably would have been a dud if written by a different author. This book is, in essence, a 600 page flashback. A novel-length world building tome. Yet it works. It’s crazy, but it works.When the story opens, the invasion is months in the past. The book follows Dervan, a scholar set the task of writing down the tale of Fintan, a bard. It is the bard’s duty to tell the story of the invasion and the subsequent retaliation by the Six Kingdoms. Every night, Fintan stands on the wall of the refugee city and tells another part of the tale. His bardic gifts let us hear the story from devious politicians, poor hunters, forest dwellers, scholars, and soldiers. Intermixed in all this are the gifted, the lucky (cursed?) few able to control one of the kennings.The book is huge, the story is epic in scope, and the world beautiful and terrible in all its detail. Hearne has created something incredibly ambitious, and he does it well. As I said, the format of telling the story in a series of flashbacks is odd, and it took me a bit to get into it, but I was hooked soon enough (though I have to say I do hope we get some more direct action in the next book). The plot would tend towards Game of Thrones-level darkness at times if it weren’t for Hearne’s sardonic sense of humor shining through. The brief moments of levity are enough to offset the horror of invasion, betrayal, and mass slaughter.Any one looking for a new epic fantasy series to dive into (I’m looking to you, Game of Thrones folks!) should invest some time into this book. Fans of Hearne’s Iron Druid series will also likely enjoy this book, though it is certainly a different creature from that fantastic urban fantasy series.An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A favorite author but new setting not interesting.

[montzaleew · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A Plague of Giants (Seven Kennings #1) by Kevin Hearne is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I adore Hearne's Druid series! I couldn't wait to read this but it is nothing like what I was expecting. It started out with about ten characters each telling something in their own chapter apiece, then a kind of summary chapter putting some of this together. Then another round of several characters each having their own chapters then a summary chapter and repeating. Lots of strange names for characters that was hard to keep straight. The way it was told was not appealing to me at all. I am a big fan of his but I won't be following this series, which this book...wait for it...has to be continued! Yes, I hate books that don't finish! ugh! I love you Mr Hearne but I will stick with the Iron Druid. I can't keep up with the many levels of color codes and all of that. Thanks for letting me try the book NetGalley. I do adore the book cover, super awesome!