Irish mythology, midnight museum raids, and one kid absolutely sprinting toward danger.

✶ PRE-READING ✶

Books using Irish mythology are few and far between. Recommend a book as 'Percy Jackson but Irish' and I'm going to be there.

✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought... There are some very clever uses of Irish mythology here. The book leans hard into 'newcomer doesn't know the rules and no one explains anything' but even though I hate that trope, the plot moved so quickly it didn't really bother me here. 

It surprised me by... Highlight for spoilers: despite the blurb's claims, this is not the  Fionn Mac Cumhail, but a descendant using the English spelling of Fionn McCool. Don't let it confuse you!  (The exact family tree is left vague, so don’t overthink it — maybe we’ll learn more in the next volume.)

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

Book Recommendation: Artemis Fowl is another Irish hero twisting mythology in interesting ways.

TV or Movie Recommendation: You can watch Percy Jackson as a TV series or a movie series.

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

A colour palette: Grey cement, bright Celtic patterns

A soundtrack: Fiddles and drums

A season: Winter - chilly but fresh

A mood: Confused, defiant

A scent: rain and the aftertaste of magic

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

The Fool. Oisin is pulled into a world he knows nothing about, but he follows along and does his best to help anyway, trusting that things will turn out alright at the end.

Final Thoughts

This is a fabulous action adventure for readers who like a little bit of complexity in their reads. I love the twists on Irish mythology, the cleverness of some of the plans (they usually get derailed, but that's half the fun) and the found family feeling. I can't wait to read more in this series.

Best for readers who:

would absolutely run toward a museum at midnight

like mythological troublemakers and hidden worlds

enjoy discovering the rules after the adventure starts