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.

Moving right along in the Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne takes Atticus and Leif, in Hammered, to finally take down Thor, the God of Thunder. And this Thor is nothing like Chris Hemsworth's character. This Thor is pretty much a D-head!

The novel actually opens up with a pre-kill-Thor trip to Asgard, where Atticus must fulfill his debt to Laksha and get one of the golden apples that will help her retain her body and immortality. That little trip basically sends the whole place into chaos, and Atticus still has to make the trip back with Leif to help him kill Thor. In the meantime, Atticus is already making plans for when, or if, he returns from this mission to leave Arizona with Granualie and Oberon. The gods will be after him for sure, so Tempe no longer remains a safe place to live.

Aided by some new friends, all who have been wronged by Thor in some way, Atticus and his group head off to Asgard. I much enjoyed, about midway, the parts where these new characters share their story a la Canterbury style about why they want revenge on Thor and what he did to them personally. It was a nice hat tip to the classic literary tale that I remember reading in high school, although that may have been one where our teacher broke us into groups to read a story and then teach it back to the class. No matter!

It felt like the bulk of this novel focused on the trip to Asgard. True, there was some mentioning of the vampire turf war that Leif finds himself in, amidst trying to get ready to kill Thor. There's also the return of the Hammers of God led by Rabbi Yosef and their wanting to kill Atticus because they believe he is apart of everything they stand against, ie vampires, demons and all creatures evil. Luckily for Atticus his pal Jesus is there to help tame some of the hostilities! Yep, Jesus himself makes an appearance! 

I always find the mix of cultures, religions and mythologies in this series to be refreshing. It's quite the educational experience in some ways, although I can't be sure how much gets embellished, but I feel secure in the knowledge that most of it is based on the actual fact of whatever piece it's discussing. Being Catholic myself, I wasn't at all offended of Jesus appearing to Atticus like any regular Joe. It was entertaining and kind of shows in a modern way the love Jesus has for everyone, even those not of his religion.

Once again, we have an action packed read filled with humor at the most opportune moments! Gotta love Oberon and his witty quips and doggy knowledge! That wolfhound is truly the spark behind all the humor in this series! Granualie is there as well, but her role is still pretty minor despite Atticus always trying to control himself when in her presence! I am wondering if it will be Trapped, where I believe she's on the cover that things change. I guess I will have to read and find out! 

There were quite the surprises and gasps of shock towards the end of this one, plus a laugh or two before those gasps and shocks! The ending really takes you by surprise and I look forward to seeing how Atticus and crew are going to get out of their current jam!

Once again, Kevin Hearne delights readers with another edition in the Iron Druid Chronicles! A highly recommend read for any Urban Fantasy author wanting to take a walk on the "wild side" and read about a male protagonist written by a male author in what is usually called a "woman's genre." I continue to look forward to more reads from him in this world where there's only one Druid and a Druid in-training!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars