"Kevin Hearne creates the ultimate Atticus O'Sullivan adventure in the grand finale of the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles: an epic battle royale against the Norse gods of Asgard. Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They've made allies on the darker side of many pantheons, and there's a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O'Sullivan will be hard-pressed to survive, much less win. Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry. And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they'll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all. Praise for Kevin Hearne and The Iron Druid Chronicles "[The Iron Druid books] are clever, fast-paced and a good escape."--Jason Weisberger, Boing Boing "Celtic mythology and an ancient Druid with modern attitude mix it up in the Arizona desert in this witty new fantasy series."--Kelly Meding, author of Chimera "Outrageously fun."--The Plain Dealer, on Hounded "Superb. plenty of quips and zap-pow-bang fighting."--Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Hounded "An exciting mix of comedy, action, and mythology. [Atticus] is one of the best main characters currently present in the urban fantasy genre."--Fantasy Book Critic, on Tricked "Funny, razor-sharp. plenty of action, humor, and mythology."--Booklist (starred review), on Shattered"--
"Kevin Hearne creates the ultimate Atticus O'Sullivan adventure in the grand finale of the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles: an epic battle royale against the Norse gods of Asgard. Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They've made allies on the darker side of many pantheons and there's a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O'Sullivan will be hard pressed to survive, much less win. Granuaile McTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry. And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they'll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all"--
Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They've made allies on the darker side of many pantheons and there's a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O'Sullivan will be hard pressed to survive, much less win. Granuaile McTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry.
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
4.5 stars
Where to begin with this review? I was late to the Iron Druid party. I just picked up Hounded back 2016, but I flew through the books until I got caught up. Now, I’m at the last book in the series. I started this book with lots of anticipation and dread. Anticipation because I love Atticus, Oberon, Granuaile and Owen. Dread because I don’t want the story to end, but alas, all good things must come to an end.
This story starts off with Oberon (at least if you’re listening) to doing a recap of where we’ve been since the beginning of the series. So much as happened to Atticus and the gang. There are things that Atticus has done that he knows he’s going to have to pay for. Mostly, when he killed the Norns and brought about Ragnarok. It is time for him to pay the piper.
So mostly, this story is about Atticus trying to fight Loki and prevent the end of the world. I don’t want to go into this plot because, spoilers. Let’s just say there is a large battle and leave it at that.
We get to catch up with most of the characters from the series. We don’t really see any of the pack, except Greta with Owen. But we see most everyone else, include Leif, Lacksha, Brigit, Flidas, Manannan mac Lir, The Morigan, and The Sisters of the Three Auroras. Oh, and Orla had her puppies.
One of the things I loved about this was the dogs, as always. Oberon is one of my all-time favorite characters. I’m so happy to hear that we will get at least one more Meaty Mysteries story (and I’m praying to all the gods from the Iron Druids series, that we will get more than one). I really liked Starbuck, who is still struggling to learn to speak.
“Yes, food!”
“Good human”
There are new additions to this series too. My favorite is SloMo the sloth. She befriends Owen, who she calls Oak Druid. She was truly a character that made me smile. I kept picturing the sloths from Zootopia as Luke Daniels voiced her.
This was a tough ending. It isn’t all happy ever after, but I don’t think it is all bad either. Things happen to several characters than change the course of their lives. I thought the ending was fitting, even if it made me sad. I wish all these characters to have happy lives from here on out. I will miss them all. I’m sure I will start the series over again one day from the beginning.
Narration Luke Daniels again nailed the narration. Great male and female characters. Perfect accents. The voices of the dogs and SloMo the sloth are great. He is one of the all-time greats. If you don’t listen to this series, you’re really missing out. I can’t recommend this series on audio enough.
**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
