Kevin Hearne gets better with each book! I wasn't sure how Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon were going to be able to go on after the ending of HAMMERED. Enter Coyote. He assists Atticus with his own "death" so that the trio can live in peace while Granuaile learns the way of the Druid. That happy thought lasts for less than 24 hours as Atticus is drawn into an agreement to help Coyote find gold for the Navajo nation. The group becomes the focus of skinwalkers who do not want their territory invaded. The pure evil that erupts is amazing. Only knowing that there are additional books in the series kept me from lamenting that this would be the end of Atticus. Oberon rocks! His alter ego Snugglepumpkin is a hoot. I love this series! 5 stars
This fourth in the series is marking time, waiting to get back to the whole Ragnarok issue. That's fine, Atticus needs a break. He's trying to find a place to hole up with Granuile before all hell breaks loose. There was a lot of filler though. I like Oberon but I got really tired of all that jokey chatter between the two of them. The stories of Atticus in the New World, and about his wife feel like they were tossed in to add length. And Atticus does not come across even remotely like someone who is over 1000 years old. All his references are modern, and mostly modern nerdy American at that. Obviously Hearne is appealing to a certain reading audience, so I get it, just...eh. But I did like the main part of the book - Coyote and Dine culture, and Atticus' inability to do much to them because he doesn't know their magic. I like Coyote a lot, in fact, and you'd think Atticus would be a lot more careful around him. Anyway, curious to see what will happen next.
This is the fourth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles; it was a wonderful book. This was kind of a transition book as Atticus transitions from his former life to a new one where his main goal is to teach his apprentice Druidic ways. Lots of humor, lots of action, and some serious moments too. The fifth book will be titled Trapped and is scheduled for a Dec. 2012 released; the sixth book is Hunted and is scheduled for a 2013 release.
Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon have left their previous home and journeyed to the Arizona desert to fake Atticuss death. Coyote, the Trickster god, helps Atticus stage his death so that the Norse gods will leave Atticus alone in his new life. Of course, Coyotes help comes with a price. Now Coyote has Atticus involved in an all out war with some very evil shapeshifters. While battling shapeshifters Atticus finds out that vampire activity is increasing because of Leifs decrease in power after the battle with the Norse Gods and that leads to some trouble as well.
This series is just such an excellent blend of humor, interesting mythos, action, and great mystery. Having Oberon back in the story was wonderful, he is absolutely hilarious. Atticus and Granuaile have some excellent banter back and forth, this makes the book a lot of fun. Coyote is a major character in this story as well and he is just flat out amusing.
There is some wonderful action in this book, just like in previous books. Atticus is facing some dangerous enemies in these evil shapeshifters; this led to some wonderful action scenes and Atticus got thoroughly beat up a number of times. It was interesting to see how Atticus worked himself out of truly tight situations.
The setting was interesting for this book too. The majority of this book is set in the Arizona desert in Navajo land; as such we get to learn some about Navajo magic and myth and it was really interesting stuff.
There are some great new characters introduced as well. We get to see a lot more of Atticus training Granuaile and because of this we watch Granuaile grow a lot as a character. We find out more about Granuailes past and why she is so determined to become a druid. We also get some closure involving what happened to characters after Hammered, we finally see the Widow and what became of her.
The book ends well and had me dying to read more about Atticus and Granuailes adventures. I love all the mythology tied into this series and I love the interesting magic. As with previous books we get some glimpses into Atticuss past and these help us to understand him better as a character, they are also just flat out interesting. There isnt really much romance in this book; Granuaile and Atticus continue to be interested in each other but keep things platonic because of their student-teacher relationship.
Overall I really loved this book. It has a wonderful balance of humor, action, interesting magic, great character development, and an engaging plot. This book is a bit of a transition book as Atticus moves from his old life to a new one as Granuailes teacher. There are some excellent surprises in here as well and some additional things wrapped up from the last book. If you are a fan of urban fantasy I highly recommend this series. It is creative, intriguing, and a lot of fun.
Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon have left their previous home and journeyed to the Arizona desert to fake Atticuss death. Coyote, the Trickster god, helps Atticus stage his death so that the Norse gods will leave Atticus alone in his new life. Of course, Coyotes help comes with a price. Now Coyote has Atticus involved in an all out war with some very evil shapeshifters. While battling shapeshifters Atticus finds out that vampire activity is increasing because of Leifs decrease in power after the battle with the Norse Gods and that leads to some trouble as well.
This series is just such an excellent blend of humor, interesting mythos, action, and great mystery. Having Oberon back in the story was wonderful, he is absolutely hilarious. Atticus and Granuaile have some excellent banter back and forth, this makes the book a lot of fun. Coyote is a major character in this story as well and he is just flat out amusing.
There is some wonderful action in this book, just like in previous books. Atticus is facing some dangerous enemies in these evil shapeshifters; this led to some wonderful action scenes and Atticus got thoroughly beat up a number of times. It was interesting to see how Atticus worked himself out of truly tight situations.
The setting was interesting for this book too. The majority of this book is set in the Arizona desert in Navajo land; as such we get to learn some about Navajo magic and myth and it was really interesting stuff.
There are some great new characters introduced as well. We get to see a lot more of Atticus training Granuaile and because of this we watch Granuaile grow a lot as a character. We find out more about Granuailes past and why she is so determined to become a druid. We also get some closure involving what happened to characters after Hammered, we finally see the Widow and what became of her.
The book ends well and had me dying to read more about Atticus and Granuailes adventures. I love all the mythology tied into this series and I love the interesting magic. As with previous books we get some glimpses into Atticuss past and these help us to understand him better as a character, they are also just flat out interesting. There isnt really much romance in this book; Granuaile and Atticus continue to be interested in each other but keep things platonic because of their student-teacher relationship.
Overall I really loved this book. It has a wonderful balance of humor, action, interesting magic, great character development, and an engaging plot. This book is a bit of a transition book as Atticus moves from his old life to a new one as Granuailes teacher. There are some excellent surprises in here as well and some additional things wrapped up from the last book. If you are a fan of urban fantasy I highly recommend this series. It is creative, intriguing, and a lot of fun.
I love that Hearne kept the series based in the desert Southwest. If you think Hammered took on some heavy hitters in the world of the supernatural, wait til you read this addition to the series. Nasty, near-indestructible, pure evil, coming right at you.
Skin walkers.
My advice to our main characters was to flea. But did they listen? No! Not the smartest decision, but it made for a highly entertaining story. On top of these evil entities, Atticus owes Coyote a big favor and pat of that favor is sabotaging a local coal mine. Yet more bare-ass antics ensue. Then there is still tension with the lawyer werewolves and of course the whole void in vampire power for the region is making everyone who knows about it antsy. Atticus has to spread his trust around in this book: his apprentice, Oberon, Coyote, the local Elemental Colorado, his werewolf buddies, the coven, local Medicine Man, etc. But he puts his trust in one wrong person and takes a beating. Ouch. Just thinking about it, even though I read it days ago, still makes me cringe.
While I wouldnt say this is my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed it from beginning to end and look forward to the next in the series.
Skin walkers.
My advice to our main characters was to flea. But did they listen? No! Not the smartest decision, but it made for a highly entertaining story. On top of these evil entities, Atticus owes Coyote a big favor and pat of that favor is sabotaging a local coal mine. Yet more bare-ass antics ensue. Then there is still tension with the lawyer werewolves and of course the whole void in vampire power for the region is making everyone who knows about it antsy. Atticus has to spread his trust around in this book: his apprentice, Oberon, Coyote, the local Elemental Colorado, his werewolf buddies, the coven, local Medicine Man, etc. But he puts his trust in one wrong person and takes a beating. Ouch. Just thinking about it, even though I read it days ago, still makes me cringe.
While I wouldnt say this is my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed it from beginning to end and look forward to the next in the series.
