Review: Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.
 
One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself
 
Audio CD, Unabridged, 10 discs
Published July 5th 2011 by Brilliance Audio (first published January 1st 2011)
ISBN: 1441870105 (ISBN13: 9781441870100)
series: Iron Druid Chronicles #3
(Goodreads)

Review

I don’t know how Kevin Hearne does it.  It’s not just that these books are awesome tales of adventure and butt-kicking, but they are clever, witty, intelligent, and believable.  It’s so easy to buy into the world that Kevin has created and be wrapped up and absorbed into it.  I am amazed every time I read [or listen to] one of these books.  I will be sad when I read the last in the series.  I will morn their passing with a funeral pyre befitting of a god.

Kevin Hearne is back with the same energy of the previous Iron Druid Chronicles.  Atticus finds himself bound to keeping his oaths from Hexed.  He has promised Laksha a golden apple and Leif revenge on Thor for their help fighting against a hoard of witches [you MUST read the other two books to fully appreciate Hammered!].

Things go…not according to plan, as if anything Atticus does goes according to plan. Which in and of itself reveals the genius writing talents of Hearne, that even though the book itself is carefully calculated and crafted, as a reader you still get the sensation that Atticus is flying by the seat of his pants.  Nothing AT ALL seems contrived or scripted.  There are things you feel or know must happen, and they often do, but it feels so honest.

As Atticus and crew take their journey, stuff happens, butts get kicked, and people die.  I mean really, I think there is more blood shed in Hammered than the other two books combined.  Awesome, right?  There is more depth, more emotion, too.  And I really empathized with the characters, felt their hurt and pain.  

There is never a dull moment in any of Hearne’s books, so prepare for a nonstop adventure through mystical, magical worlds, and a little bit of our world.

I cannot express how thankful I am that I finally started this series!

5 Trees

Get to reading,