18) Hammered by Kevin Hearne

The Blurb :

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.

My Thoughts :

The Iron Druid Chronicles only got added to my reading list in the Summer.  So I am really behind.  After reading and enjoying the first book I couldn't stop myself from listening to the second book and getting copies of the next three in the series.  However during the last few months I haven't been listening to any audio books and chose to, when I had time, listen to music.  This changed last week when I realised I really wanted to catch up with this series and I had them as audio books.

Within a few minutes of listening to the story I was feeling quite annoyed with myself.  I should have wasted the last few months listening to music but to this amazing series.  The concept is unique and exciting with some amazing characters.  There are some wonderful and varied paranormals which include some gods amongst other things.  The writing style is just the way I like it.  A bit of fun, wit and humour mixed in with a serious, thrilling and intriguing story. Actually there isn't much wrong with this series and this third installment only added to the amount of love I had for the author and the books.

There was a lot of action this time around and it was interesting and entertaining to see how the author weaved another tale in Atticus's life.  The small details, the larger specifics and the depth the writer adds to the series as it continues is just incredible.  As the story unfolds I found it harder and harder to hit the pause button when arriving at my destination.  I needed to know what would happen next and find out how brilliant this masterpiece would be when it was over.  I wanted to keep listening until the very last word because the narrator made the story come alive.

What I really liked about this installment was finally hearing Leif's story.  Although it is only the third book, Leif has been so clouded in secrecy that I was eager to know why he wanted Thor dead.  His tale really packs a punch as far as Atticus is concerned and there was a nice little twist.  Another highlight in this book was Atticus hanging out with Jesus.  Maybe not a good chapter for someone who is very religious but I think the author managed to keep the character holy, respectable but cool.  I hope the character comes into play again in the future.

In a nutshell, I love this series.  Despite being late to party I am planning on catching up a lot faster while I am in the zone.  I immediately started listening to book four when Hammered ended and I plan on having the next book ready so I keep going till I am all caught up.

If you are looking for something inspiring and original then you really need to try this series.   Boredom be gone, reading rut over and something to look forward to.  This is a series that has surprised me and make me kick myself for not finding it earlier.




 

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