Hammered

One of my favorite new urban fantasy series remains just as strong in its third volume.

Two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O'Sullivan thought he settled down in Tempe, Arizona, to get away from warfare and bickering gods. Unfortunately, the gods came for him and he was forced to do some slicing and dicing. Killing presumed immortals has now given Atticus something of a reputation, and he's been begged to take out the most obnoxious gods in all the pantheons: Thor. As if it's not enough that there's a vampire war brewing in Phoenix and a mob of demented Russian demon hunters are on his tail! Now Atticus prepares to infiltrate Asgard... even though he's been warned by several potent deities that his actions will have consequences that show more could harm the entire world.

I loved this book. Hearne has created a world with steady rhythm of action and wit that reminds me of fabulous shows like Firefly. That's not a compliment I hand out lightly. There are very few books I find laugh out loud funny throughout, or that I want to pass along to someone and say, "Hey, you have to read this line." The big complaint I have? THE ENDING. It qualifies as torture. Thank goodness more books are on the way, but now I have to wait until next April to see what happens next. show less

This is the third book in The Iron Druid Chronicles. The fourth will be titled, Tricked, and is scheduled for a May 2012 release last that I heard. This was an excellent installment in this series and we learn a lot about the history of Leif, Atticus, and others. I listened to this on audiobook and the audio book is very well done. I would actual recommend listening to this on audio book if you like audio books, the narrator is really phenomenal.

Atticus promised Leif that if Leif helped him out with the evil witch coven in Hexed, Atticus would help Leif hunt down and kill Thor. Leif is determined to make good on Atticus's promise. First of course Atticus has to fulfill his promise to the witch that helped him out in Hexed and steal some show more golden apples. Then there are other complications when rumors of Leif's injury gets out starting a vampire turf war. The major part of the story though focuses on Atticus, Leif, and the other supernaturals that help them out on their quest to destroy Thor. Will killing Thor be worth the repercussions?

This was another excellent installment in this series. I am just totally in love with this series. This book tackles some serious issues, some hilarious issues, and some interesting history. How Hearne can continue to continue to blend hilarious scenes with a salad shooter (which had me laughing my butt off) into a story that also addresses the difficultly in deciding when it is good to let someone you love grow old instead of granting them immortality I will never understand, but he is awesome at it.

This book also tackles the tough question of when is revenge worth it. How many bad things does a person have to do to make it necessary to make heavy sacrifices to destroy them? In this case of course that person is Thor. Via Leif, Gunnar, a Chinese immortal, and Finnish thunder god we are treated to in depth tales of Thor's past evil doings and shown just how big of a jerk Thor can be. I enjoyed the part of the book that went through each of their stories chapter by chapter; it gave each character a lot of history and was fascinating. It was also fun to watch as the Norse mythology of Ragnarok slowly began to unravel and fall apart.

The other thing Hearne does very well is blend Atticus's everyday life with the concept of living thousands of years. For example as a reader we follow Atticus's everyday activities, but then we also get to listen in on a conversation between Jesus Christ and Atticus. This little aside between Jesus and Atticus gives the reader incite into what it actually means to be thousands of years old, Atticus is older than Jesus for Christ's sake!

This is an urban fantasy that blends a multitude of mythologies, is action packed, heartfelt, humorous, filled with wonderful character and has a non-stop plot. I really can't think of anything I disliked about this book. Reading this book was just so much darn fun! It ends well and I really cannot wait to see what Hearne does in his next book Tricked. This is definitely an urban fantasy, not much romance present, still don't let that stop you from reading it if you are a paranormal romance fan.

Overall an absolutely stellar addition to this series. This series is quickly becoming my favorite urban fantasy series. Fans of The Dresden Files and Kate Daniels series should definitely check this series out. This series is hilarious and interesting and heartfelt and just overall very well done. show less

Leagues better than the other two books. Leagues. I adored the stories told by the other characters, I loved the action. While there were some obnoxious pop culture references, there seemed to be less of them, and there were a few that were actually, shockingly enough, funny! (Although this obsession with 'kittehz' needs to die a horrible, horrible death. And the squee reference. ) I also adored the beard-magic. So weird and creepy.

There's some bad stuff, though. As I mentioned, the pop references are more annoying than funny. Jesus didn't seem very well fleshed out, was kind of bland. Mary in the previous book felt much closer to a modern Mary than this Jesus to a modern Jesus. (I guess Hearne has his work cut out for him since you show more inevitably compare his work to Neil Gaiman's.) There was also the rape of Freya. While Hearne, thankfully, used cats-ex-machina to save her from brutal gang rape by giants, Atticus didn't seem all that concerned or conflicted about it at any point, besides a throwaway "I felt kinda bad." He went out of his way to not kill Tyr, for example. But Freya rape? Meh. I hope she comes back and kicks his ass five different ways. show less

In this third volume of the Iron Druid series, Kevin Hearne seems at first to be repeating the same mistakes once again... but if one can keep reading, suddenly everything becomes worth it. I finally understand why my friends recommend this series. It's not that there was some flash of revelatory brilliance. Rather, it is a small moment and, while it involves Jesus, it's neither reverent nor particularly spiritual. What it is... is down deep in your gut laugh out loud startle the house pets funny. And the fact that there are several moments like that in this book (though really, nothing totally tops the Jesus moment, but I don't want to spoil it for you) really makes it worthwhile.

The other change that Hearne makes here -- again, we show more might say finally -- is that there are real consequences to the actions of the central characters. While Atticus, our favorite ancient druid, is still annoyingly untouchable and too gifted by half, we do get to see some of the ways that he is vulnerable and some of the consequences that result for others when his choices are involved. Some of the characters we might have thought untouchable are brought low here -- be prepared. The upshot of this is that things start to feel more genuine.

In addition, Hearne works in some story-within-a-story narrative variation that makes this novel feel less like a cookie cutter version of the first book. That variety, though it takes some getting used to, is put to good use and feels refreshing. It also gives an opportunity for other voices in the text, some of which -- okay, one in particular -- are startlingly funny. Hearne seems to be at his best when he is delivering one liners from a perspective outside that of his main character (see: Oberon, etc.).

Does it still have flaws? Oh, you bet. Are things still ridiculously easy for Atticus? Oy, yes. (I almost chucked the book at the wall during the scene with the Norns -- really, REALLY? Ugh!) But at least this book resonates along the emotional scale with real weight, developed humor (not entirely relying on potty references now), and interesting implications for the future of the series. I'm intent on finishing this. Whether you choose to start it is entirely up to you. show less

HAMMERED was another excellent addition to the Iron Druid Chronicles. In this episode, Atticus needs to keep his promise to Leif and get him to Asgard where he can finally take his revenge on Thor. Now, Atticus has gotten all sorts of good advice from both Jesus and the Morrigan who tell him that this is a major bad idea. But Atticus has given his word.

Along with Leif and the werewolf alpha Gunnar are three other supernatural beings who also have a need for revenge against Thor. They include an Asian named Zhang Guo Lao, a Finnish semi-forgotten god named Vainamoinen, and a Russian thunder god named Perun. In a somewhat Canterbury Tales mode, we hear each of their stories about their reasons for wanting Thor dead.

I am always amazed and show more informed about various world mythologies when I read this series. The juxtaposition of characters out of legend with current culture makes these stories amazing. This is probably the first time I have ever gotten an ear worm from reading though. Atticus walks in on two frost giants making love and quickly needs something to erase the image from his mind. He chooses to focus on It's a Small World After All which he says is one of the most annoying songs ever. I agree!

This is also a story that begins lots of changes for Atticus. He will have to run and hide to avoid the ire of the rest of the gods. He spends time saying goodbye to his life in Tempe. He is leaving with not much more than his apprentice and his dog. His leave-taking brings up one of the downsides of a really, really long life. People you love don't live forever and every loss brings pain.

This is an excellent series for fans of urban fantasy. It just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to read more. show less

Summary: Thor, Norse god of Thunder, has created many enemies over time – and more than one of them is friends with Atticus O’Sullivan, the last remaining Druid on Earth – and someone who has a proven ability to kill gods. Against his better judgement, Atticus is drawn into an assassination attempt on Thor.

My Thoughts: This is the third book of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and although it’s not as fantastic as the first, it is hilarious and kept my husband and myself happily occupied for our long drive to our honeymoon. This series is highly recommended to people who like urban fantasy – but I’d suggest starting with the first.