Hammered (Iron Druid Chronicles, #3)
by Kevin Hearne
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Mythology
Reading Grade: Adult
Publication Date: July
5, 2011
Source: purchased paperback
Age Rating: 17+
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...
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...
My Review
Ugh! Death by ravaging cliffhanger!
After that one, I'm smarting a bit. I usually find it easy to wait
for the next anticipated book in a series, even if it's a year before
it will come out. But, this time I'm wasted at the intense presence
of this cliffhanger. Beware the cliffhanger of DOOM...
Now, on to my actual review of this
book. This installment is so fan-freaking-tastic that I don't feel
like I can assemble the right words together. I'm also severely
tired, as I have only just finished reading it, and it's 1:30 in the
morning (this was written 1 ½ weeks ago). Atticus is gearing up to
help pick a fight with a certain thunder god—Tall, Blond and
Lightning himself. Yeah, we really get a good idea of what Thor, the
Norse god of thunder and lightning, is really like, and it is not
good. He has wronged far too many people and he needs to be taken
down.
If you'll recall in Book 2, or not
if you haven't read it yet, Atticus agreed to join his fabulously
handsome and old-fashionedly quirky lawyer that I'm in love with,
Leif Helgarson, on a mission to take revenge on Thor, who more
rightly ought to be regarded as the god of douchebags. Leif has
assembled a team of immortal dudes who are all sporting murderous
rage against that lightning/hammer guy, too. I love how through the
tales each of them tell each other around a campfire—good ol' male
bonding—we learn their origin stories, not just how they were
wronged by Thor and how awful he is.
My favorite character has been Leif
since book 2, and we really get a vivid picture of who he is, how he
became a vampire, and how old he is (very old), amongst other juicy
tidbits. Leif fans will adore this one, although may find the ending
to be a bit hard to swallow. But, I'm super happy with all the
background info on him, and his strengthening friendship with
Atticus. It's beautiful, man!
Anyway, again, I laughed so hard I
nearly pooped a cow (I won't say this expression the Irish way
because I am not in anyway Irish, and that would make me look
foolish. Although, I've probably already managed that just now). I
didn't hurt myself this time, at least, but Atticus reached new
levels of funneh, and his questions to Leif about the secrets of
vampirehood were just so friggin' hilarious, it made the whole book
worth reading right there!
But, seriously, this book does
everything—makes you laugh out loud (lolcat style), makes you cry
(especially at Gunnar's and Leif's tales, if not at them directly
when they battle the gods), and makes you gasp in horror at the Star
Wars Force-infused cliffhanger that threatens to choke you like
Darth Vader's death grip. You will fall in love with this series if
you haven't already, and if you're already there, you will fall that
much more in love with it. It's the best one, so far. With all this
in mind, you have been warned....
My score: 5 out of 5 stars.
(Wish I could award it more!)
