Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5)

by Kevin Hearne

***OVER A MILLION COPIES OF THE IRON DRUID BOOKS SOLD***

'American Gods meets Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden' SFF World

After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O'Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he's still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.

Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge - but he'll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.


Praise for the Iron Druid Chronicles:

'Atticus and his crew are a breath of fresh air! . . . I love, love, love this series' My Bookish Ways

'Entertaining, steeped in a ton of mythology, populated by awesome characters' Civilian Reader

'This is one series no fantasy fan should miss. Mystery, suspense, magic and mayhem' SciFiChick


The Iron Druid Chronicles
Hounded
Hexed
Hammered
Tricked
Trapped
Hunted
Shattered
Staked
Scourged
Besieged (short stories)

HAVE YOU TRIED . . .
Kevin Hearne's epic fantasy novel A PLAGUE OF GIANTS - described by Delilah S. Dawson as 'a rare masterpiece that's both current and timeless . . . merging the fantasy bones of Tolkien and Rothfuss with a wide cast of characters who'll break your heart'. Out now!

• ISBN10: 1299091903
• ISBN13: 9781299091900
• Publish Date: 1 January 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 12 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Del Rey Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Hixxup]

So it definitely took a minute to finish this book. Stupid work, stupid holidays. Any-who finally finished. It was a good book in the long run, however there seemed to be more filler area's and long winded explanation, that at times I found myself struggling to keep up. But maybe that's because I am a more of the get to the point, than drag on with a backstory. Even though when i'm telling a story I have to have that backstory, lol. I'm complicated. One thing I did enjoy with this book, was well... I can't tell you, because it's no fun to find out something juicy about a book, from someone other than yourself reading it.

So on that note, you wanna know, pick up the book and read it.

You'll get to see more Norse Gods, and other creatures, and and interesting end that I'm pretty excited to find out more about. And of course Oberon, is amazing as usual, I'm always busting up laughing at things he says, which makes it even funnier when I do it while working, and everything is in a quiet period.

Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles are definitely a must read, especially if you dig mythology, witty characters, and lots of laughs.

[Beth C.]

Such a pleasure to revisit this series in preparation for reading the last book. Luke Daniels is terrific as narrator - and I'm iffy when it comes to audiobooks most of the time.

[kimbacaffeinate]

I  was excited to see Atticus was ready to bind  Granuaile with Gaia making her the first new Druid in over 2,000 years. Unlike, Atticus who carries an ancient sword, Granuaile has a tricked out staff thanks to some crafty Fey. We see significant growth in this feisty, fearless young woman who smells like strawberry lip gloss. It was exciting to see what animals forms she would receive and watching her experience each for the first time was both humorous and amazing.

Of course, Hearne brought danger to Trapped in the form of dark elves, angry gods, and pesky vampires. One of my favorite things about the Iron Druid Chronicles is the extensive world-building using lore, myths, and gods. Hearne shares the history of the dark elves, something I was truly looking forward to. We learn more about Roman Gods, Norse Gods, Celtic Gods and even Hell. The author skillfully provided imagery that brought the stories Atticus shares to life all while our Druids and Oberon attempt to avoid death.

Thing heat up a little in Trapped and I loved these moments. Atticus has a thing for Granuaile, but as her teacher, he never acted. The binding scenes made me laugh and I loved how things evolved.

Never have I wanted an Irish Wolfhound as much as Oberon makes me want one. Getting his POV is an absolute treat and added humor during the darker moments. And we see plenty of dark times with action scene after action scene. Granuaile was a total badass, and the scene with the killer clowns was epic!

If you haven't begun the series, I recommend listening. Never tried an audio? This is the perfect series to test the waters. Hearne's story comes to live with the voices Luke Daniels creates. He has fast become one of my favorite narrators. His voice for Oberon is perfection. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[MurderByDeath]

I've listened to the first 4 of these books on audio, and reading this one, I'm reminded why.  I avoid high fantasy because the made up names and places drive me up the wall - because I can't pronounce them, I can never keep from mixing them up.     The Iron Druid Chronicles are not high fantasy, but they are urban fantasy featuring just about every major mythological pantheon, with a heavy emphasis on Irish and Norse; both chock full of names and places I have absolutely zero chance of even coming close to pronouncing correctly.  Luckily, Hearne includes a pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book that covers most of the Celtic/Norse words he uses, but I kept having to flip back and recheck every time I came across a word like Scáthmhaide (SKAH wad jeh if you're curious) and it was distracting.   Otherwise it's a rip-roaring good time as Atticus has the oldest vampire in the world, Bacchus, dark elves, and Freya on his back and most of them want him dead.  But before that happens, he needs to complete the steps that will make his apprentice, Granuaile, a full fledged Druid.  This is the story line that was most interesting to me, as we get a lot of interaction between Atticus and the elementals and (finally) some resolution of the relationship between Atticus and Granuaile.     The rest was good, but mostly just a lot of intermittent bouts of fighting to keep the Druidic tattooing from becoming too dull.  It's fun, but it's a bit chaotic as the consequences of all Atticus' choices in the previous 4 books come home to roost at once.   There are 8 books so far, with the ninth being the final book in the series.  There's no way I can not find out how it all ends, but I think for the final three, I'll go back to audio, so I can enjoy the story without stressing myself out trying to remember how to pronounce words like Goibhniu and Ylgr.

[EBookObsessed]

It’s finally time for a new Druid, and a move forward in the romance department between Atticus and Granuaile, but no one said it was going to be easy especially when 1,500 years of scapegoating comes biting you in the butt.

Some spoilers from prior books.

I really love this series. While I felt Hammered was a little slow, this story makes up for that.

We skip forward twelve years after Tricked and it is finally time for Granuaile to be tattooed and bound to the earth as the first Druid in centuries. But this is not something the Atticus and Granuaile can do just anywhere. There are certain requirements which must be met and the tattooing will take several months.

Atticus and Granuaile are about to travel to Tír na nÓg when they are waylaid by Loki. He is not happy that he cannot get revenge on his brother Thor which he has been dreaming about during his centuries of imprisonment and torture. He wants to take it out on the druid that killed his brother. Quick thinking Atticus diverts Loki’s attention to the Dwarves and off Loki goes to confront them.

But nothing else goes well for Atticus and Granuile from here on out. Once they travel to Tír na nÓg, Brighid wants an audience with Atticus, mostly to explain how come he is actually alive and not dead, as it was reported, and if he was never dead, why didn’t he let her know this.

Atticus also finds out that all doors back to earth are closed except for the one at the foot of Mt. Olympus where Bacchus is waiting to get his hands on Atticus for killing his Bacchans twelve years prior.

While the Elemental near Olympus squeals with joy over helping to bind Graniule, they may not be left in peace to do the bindings. Now that word is spreading that the druid is not dead, everyone with a grudge against Atticus is coming out of the woodwork. The vampires are looking for Atticus, including his former friend Leif Helgerson but is he there to help or kill Atticus? We need to wait and see.

Now that Loki has escaped, Oden wants Atticus to help fighting in Ragnarok since Atticus is responsible for the loss of all the Norse Gods who were supposed to prevent it. Oops.

Atticus also finds out what happens when you have used other beings such as the Dark Elves and the Dwarves as your scapegoat for centuries. After being needlessly attacked for wrongdoings they never actually did, they are looking for a little payback from Atticus in the form of his head on a pike. Another big oops.

Atticus and Granuile fight never ending battles just to have a moment to get Granuile bound to the earth. Atticus’s last apprentice was killed just before he was bound. Will history repeat itself?

[littleread1]

I am really enjoying these books. I have heard great things about the audio narrator so I might switch to that for the next several.

[Amanda]

This series fucking rocks. Yes, the swearing is necessary. Kevin Hearne manages to shove Atticus's personality off the pages and straight into your brain, making these stories so deliciously addicting. Delicious like the Atticus cover model or chocolate or whatever food slides you into a state of bliss. (See? I'm avoiding the pajama comparison. I'm sticking to food instead.)

Most of what happens in Trapped is a direct result of all the shenanigans that went down in Hammered. All these forces are beginning to swirl around Atticus and well, shit is gettin' serious. (The ending is cruel, by the way. CRUEL. It's why I want it to be June. I also want it to be June so it's not cold anymore, but that's off topic.) But Atticus continues to come up with plans that are simply delightful. (Delightful in the way you might clap your hands in excitement over diabolical plans, all the while laughing a little maniacally.) These stories are worth reading for the shenanigans alone.

Granuaile takes more of a prominent role in Trapped, and I have to say that I'm really liking how bad ass she is. She may not have Atticus's years of wisdom, but she is smart and crafty and is definitely a Druid to be reckoned with. There are also certain...developments in this story. And, as I so often say: THINGS HAPPEN. I was also pretty sure that it was impossible for Oberon to become more charming and entertaining, but I was so very wrong. Oberon remains one of my favorite sidekicks.

Though it's a bit jarring at first to realize that Trapped starts off TWELVE YEARS after Tricked, it's quickly forgotten, because Kevin Hearne really does make it that easy to jump back into this world. And I can't wait until we found out what trouble Atticus gets himself out off next.