Shadowmagic
(Shadowmagic #1)
by John Lenahan (2008)

Conor thought he was an average teenager. Okay, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages, and was a bit on the eccentric side, but, other than that, life was fairly normal.

Until, two Celtic warriors on horseback appear at his front door and try to kill him.

This is another of those alternative worlds fantasy series. It get off to a great start with its first person narrative and immediate action.

The world building is standard medieval with magic tropes. Being out of the real world, Conor provides most of the humour with his modern references nobody gets.

The plot involves an runes and magic rings. Recruit an army,  overcome the evil brother and bring peace to the land. Pretty standard stuff, done well with unexpected plot twists and fun characters.

Although the advertising claims:
A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.

It’s nothing like LoTR, and while has a light tone, I would not describe this book as humourous.