Hammered

Best of the series so far. The proportionality works much better, the pacing and plot are also more developed, and there are less diversions down random side alleys.

As part of his price for aid in his fight against the witches in the last book, our Druid Atticus offered to help the vampire Leif in his quest for vengeance against the norse god Thor, who's been kicking around for a several centuries making a pain in the ass of himself. Atticus though is warned against this project by both Jesus and the Morrigan, so he has some doubts about his course of action - for the first time in these books. He's also going to try running away again - a tactic which has served him well in the past, but on this occasion he's still lumbered with a dog show more an apprentice, and a tract of land in need of healing. It will be entertaining to find our how he manages it.

Pretty much the whole book is written with a slightly sarcastic cool dude tone, Atticus hanging out with the lads, looking good and going to cause some trouble later on. I suspect this will both appeal to some subset of readers, and greatly annoy another set. Whether Hearne cares enough to ever give Atticus some form of moral empathy will be, maybe, revealed in later books. As a Druid you'd have though it would have been one of his prevailing traits. But so far it isn't. - partly explained apparently by Atticus' desire to fit in with modern US culture around him. I remain unconvinced.

But in a popcorn style way this remain entertaining. The dog Obereon finally is actually funny, rather than trying to be, and Atticus pays at least a little bit of the price expected for going up against major league opposition. He still gets to use magic almost unlimited though, which just comes across as odd. The complex actions scenes are well crafted. show less

Hammered follows immediately after the events of Hexed, the previous novel in this series. The hammer referred to in the title belongs to Thor, who is hands-down the most disliked god in any pantheon. (After killing two gods from the Irish pantheon, Atticus was visited by deities from all over, each of whom wanted to make it clear that deicide was a bad plan, unless the target was Thor.)

I'm reading through this series pretty quickly, and finding it fun, light bedtime reading. Anyone interested in details can check my reviews of previous volumes, but in general, my main complaint with the series are that Atticus's voice and tone are way too modern and shallow for an aged druid. The author, Kevin Hearne, addresses this within the books, show more and clearly isn't going to change it, so it is what it is. Reading other reviews of this series, readers either feel like I do, or think the voice is the best thing about the books, so opinions clearly differ on this.

Reading other reviews also helped me put into words another problem I have with the books: the way Atticus's apprentice, Granuaile, is written. She isn't a character as much as a cardboard cut-out. She is way, way too oblivious to her attractiveness to be anything like believable, as ReginaR points out in her perceptive review. She doesn't get any better in this volume, basically sitting out the entire book. When she does show up, she is brilliant, helpful, obedient, gorgeous and sexy. She needs to either grow a personality, go away, or turn out to have been a double agent all along.

Now to the specifics for this book: The Norse mythos is by far my favorite. I've read the Eddas several times, and I am familiar with the major and minor characters and the social setting. Hearne does a really impressive job with this. He takes some liberties, but it's really well researched and written. So far, this is my favorite book of the series. Ratatoskr, the squirrel who lives in Yggdrasil, the world-tree, is now my second favorite character after Oberon the wolfhound. (Note - yes, I am saying that the animals are more vivid characters than the humans. And yes, that is a back-handed compliment.) I'm a little peeved that my favorite Aesir, Heimdall, lasts for about 20 seconds, but at least he plays a decisive role.

Jesus makes an appearance, as do the Jewish Kaballists from Hexed. Again, Hearne is doing a great job of piling on the problems, setting up scenaria for future volumes, and writing a pulled together series rather than just a bunch of stories. I see from his website that he has this planned as a nine-volume work (the Norse would approve), and I actually believe that he has it planned out and he's not just playing it by ear. (This is a very large and sincere compliment!)

There is a really interesting section in the middle, where the adventurers sit around telling their personal stories of why they hate Thor. It's interesting both for it's comments on the role of stories in building community, and for the stories. Hearne has made a real effort here to use voices that aren't clones of Atticus's shallow "frat boy" diction, and it shows. Considered for writing alone, this is the best part of the book.

Setting us up for further adventures, Jesus and The Morrigan both tell Atticus in no uncertain terms that going to Asgard and taking on Thor is a huge mistake. He basically ignores them. Naturally, things spiral out of control pretty quickly, and he does a lot more damage to a lot more people/gods/beings than he ever intended. If the ending is any indication, he's in for big trouble from another source as well.

I'll keep reading. show less

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A plot that is dark, bloody and humorous, Hammered is an enjoyable read.

Opening Sentence: According to popular imagination, squirrels are supposed to be adorable.

Review:

Kevin Hearne has created an amazing world where gods and monsters are real. Vampires, Werewolves, Immortals, Heaven and Hell exist and Atticus O’Sullivan has seen it all. Hammered finds Atticus sneaking into Asgard, preparing for the war against Thor.

Atticus is a two thousand year old Druid. He hasn’t been alive that long by making idiotic choices. He tries as hard as he can to avoid the anger of the gods, but by just being alive he suffers the wrath of some god or other immortal. Thor is one god that has mostly show more ignored him, but has made other people’s lives hell.

One of the really good qualities of Atticus is that he is a man of his word, and in a time of need he makes an idiotic pact with Liam, a vampire, that needs Atticus’ help to go after Thor for revenge. It is a pact that he will uphold even though he is sure that he will not survive.

Always a loner, Atticus now has two companions that he knows will suffer if he is dead. Oberon an Irish wolfhound is Atticus’ pet dog; they have a telepathic connection to each other. Oberon is hilarious, he often had me laughing out loud, read this book for the dog, although sadly he is missing during a huge chunk while Atticus is in Asgard. Atticus’ other companion is Granuaile, a beautiful young bartender that has begun an apprenticeship in Druidism. After Atticus returns from his first run into Asgard, he begins to make preparations in the event he doesn’t come back or even worse makes it back with angry gods chasing him for revenge.

“Every man for himself” and “There is no I in team” are two expressions that don’t belong together, yet they are two big themes in Hammered. Atticus teams up with misfit monsters and low level gods, each of whom have a beef with Thor. All of the men are loners, except for Gunner, the Alpha of the werewolf pack in Tempe, Arizona where Atticus currently lives. All of these men do not rely on anyone else, they only rely on themselves to get through life but in order to go up against Thor they must rely on each other and work together.

Not only is the battle with Thor looming on the horizon but there are the stirrings of a turf war in Arizona. Vampires believe the area to be fair game since Liam had been hurt in a previous battle. They want to destroy the peace that the werewolves and witches have gained. Atticus, Liam and Gunner have more than one battle they must contend with, and Atticus is burdened with making sure he can bring them back home alive.

I love mythology and this series is full of it. Kevin Hearne has done an amazing job mixing Druid, Norse, Greek, Finnish folklore and so much more into his story. Major and minor deities, anyone who may have been worshipped at one time or another in any culture could be represented in this series. The gods are real people and they live and interact with the people on Earth. My favorite chapters from Hammered are when the men are about to go into battle and they each tell their stories. Their stories are rich with history, mythology and Thor bashing.

Atticus is written with a wry sense of humor. He often speaks his mind and for such an old man he is most definitely a modern geek at heart.

Overall, Hammered is heartbreakingly good. The action flows seamlessly between Asgard and Earth. The world building sets a gritty and dark atmosphere for the events in this book. The consequences of the actions in Asgard are going to weigh heavily on Atticus and his future. Tricked is the next book in the series.

Notable Scene:

The shouted warning from the trailing riders was too late to save the second Valkyrie on the near side of the V. I sliced through her skull and spine with nothing more than the force of gravity, Fragarach sliding through armor and flesh like scissors through silk. The halves of her body sheared away to either side and showered me in blood. When my feet landed on the flanks of her horse, I knelt and launched myself back up, somersaulting backward and twisting to meet the next Valkyrie in the formation. Thinking it might protect her, she’d raised her shield, but she hadn’t had enough time to process what my sword could do. I slashed through both it and her torso, again springing off her horse’s back to meet the next opponent. This one was far smarter. She just got out of the way, yanking her mount up and to her left, past my reach. I began to fall, and I twisted around to assess the situation. Two down, ten to go formation broken and pursuing me. Whoops, make that nine! A thunderous impact and a flash of steel across my vision showed me a Valkyrie hurtling to earth with a vampire latched on to her neck, her horse plunging fatally to earth with a broken wing. Somehow, Thor had tossed Leif away to let the shieldmaidens of Valhalla tangle with him. But they were no better equipped to deal with an ancient vampire than the god of thunder was.

The Iron Druid Chronicles Series:

1. Hounded

2. Hexed

3. Hammered

4. Tricked

5. Trapped

FTC Advisory: Random House/Del Ray provided me with a copy of Hammered. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. 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

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

This is not my favorite of this series which is probably because we don't get to see as much of Oberon the Irish wolfhound and his delightful insights into the canine condition. Who else would think that Starbucks serves bacon lattes (It's on the secret menu.) and that they have a secret R & D facility on the outskirts of Seattle where “Out of the steam and the foam and the froth, a man in white with poor eyesight will craft a liquid paradox, and it shall be called the Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha!”?