Hammered

Wow. This book has a non-stop pace, for reasons that will be obvious to the reader but cannot be explained to others without spoilers. I'll just say “clear your calendar” because you'll not find ANY good stopping places.One of the things that truly impresses me is that [a:Kevin Hearne 4414255 Kevin Hearne http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1289238438p2/4414255.jpg] doesn't just show his characters doing amazing things, but shows them experiencing the consequences of their actions – some expected, some totally unexpected. I truly enjoy his views of archetypes and myth, especially coming from a character who walks around speaking to gods, having a beer with Jesus and throwing down with Thor.I'm so glad that I have [b:Tricked 12700306 Tricked (Iron Druid Chronicles, #4) Kevin Hearne http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1324455119s/12700306.jpg 16669362] on hand, but I wish Trapped were out already! At least I have the extra [b:A Test of Mettle 13145815 A Test of Mettle Kevin Hearne http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323216768s/13145815.jpg 18323275] to read, too. I just can't get enough of Atticus.

Kevin Hearne delivers a darker book this time that is still grippingly alluring. There is still great humor here and I missed all the wordplay between Atticus and Oberon (there's still some here.) Overall Mr. Hearne once again delivers. It will be hard to wait for his next offering.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

After all the help he got dealing with the bad guys in Hounded and Hexed, Atticus owes favors, so he sets out to get those paid off in Hammered. The theme is Norse mythology ??? first Atticus has to steal one of I??unn???s golden apples from Asgard, then he must help Leif, his vampire lawyer, kill Thor. Leif must have been planning for this for a long time because he???s bringing along a bunch of other guys who want Thor dead, too.

Hammered feels much different from Hounded and Hexed. Instead of the modern Tempe, Arizona setting, most of the action in Hammered takes place in, or traveling to and from, Asgard. Oberon, who provides the comic relief, is left at home, and so is Granuaile, the wide-eyed perky apprentice. Thus, Hammered is quite a bit darker than the previous novels. The action is forestalled for a while when the characters stop to tell stories about why they want to kill Thor. This works well with Leif, who we have grown to care for, but perhaps not so well (at least for me) with the other guys, who I didn???t feel like I knew well enough to care about. It does, however, serve to explain why Thor must die.

Hammered was certainly entertaining, but I didn???t enjoy this installment as much as I enjoyed Hounded and Hexed, mostly because it focuses less on some of the elements that have made the Iron Druid Chronicles so successful thus far ??? the bookshop in Tempe, Atticus???s neighbors and, most of all, the faithful and funny Oberon. It doesn???t help that I???m a bit weary of Norse mythology, having read quite a bit of it already this year.

I perked up at the end of Hammered when something dreadful happens and is left as a cliffhanger. I will definitely be eager to learn the resolution to this in the next novel, Tricked, and I???ll definitely be reading it on audio because Luke Daniels, the narrator, is awesome.