Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3)

by Kevin Hearne

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/04/25/audiobook-review-hammered-by-kevin-hearne/

Atticus just got himself into a shit load of trouble.

His neatly ordered life continues to unravel in the third book of the Iron Druid Chronicles. Hammered is more of a continuation of promises Atticus made in Hexed. In some sense, Hammered is a much more unified story than Hexed; everything in Hammered leads up to a fight with Thor, and there are fewer problems pulling Atticus in different directions. This made the audiobook much easier to follow.

One thing that I really loved about Hammered was that we were able to learn more of Gunnar’s and Leif’s backgrounds and their stories about how they came to be a werewolf and vampire, respectively. Up until now, we have really only be exposed to Atticus’s story, and there has been little information about Lief and vampires (mostly as Leif has refused to answer Atticus’s questions thus far) as well as Gunnar and the rest of the pack. In some ways, Atticus takes a back seat in this story. He makes some very important decisions (whether they are wise or not remains to be seen), but for the most part, Gunnar and Leif drive this story forward. Well, Leif perhaps more so than Gunnar, but still.

There was one thing missing from Hammered: Oberon. He plays only a small role in the beginning and end. It was rather sad (especially since Oberon is beloved by many) but there is enough action and other interesting happenings to make it okay.

We also get to meet Jesus! JESUS! Jesus was pretty chill. There was also the introduction of a few other characters who also had something against Thor and who joined in the fight. Each of these characters got their own chapters with their own stories and loved what they added to the overall story.

There are A LOT of changes in Hammered. And a slight cliffhanger. Things, they are a-changing. I don’t exactly know how I feel about some of the changes. I know that something on that scale had to happen, but I don’t like it. I’m glad that Tricked is out, so I can find out.