Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5)

by Kevin Hearne

[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.