Tricked by Kevin Hearne

Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4)

by Kevin Hearne

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the fourth novel of the Iron Druid Chronicles, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan must pay his debts to cunning trickster god Coyote, a task that includes battling undead creatures of the night as well as a relentless hound of Hel and the goddess of death who commands it.

“[Kevin] Hearne is a terrific storyteller with a great snarky wit. . . . Neil Gaiman’s American Gods meets Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden.”—SFFWorld

Cutting a deal with a trickster god rarely goes well for any human brave or foolish enough to try it, but Atticus doesn’t feel like he has a choice. With members of the Norse pantheon out for his blood, he can’t train his apprentice in peace, so he asks Coyote to help him fake his own death. The cost, however, might wind up being every bit as high as if he’d made no deal at all.

There are things hiding in the Arizona desert that don’t want any company, and Coyote makes sure they know Atticus has arrived. And then there's the hound of Hel, Garm, who’s terribly difficult to shake and not at all convinced that Atticus is dead.

Being tricked by a trickster is par for the course. But it’s the betrayal from someone he thought was a friend that shakes Atticus to the core and places his life in jeopardy. The real trick, he discovers, might be surviving his own faked death.

Includes Kevin Hearne’s novella “Two Ravens and One Crow” 

Don’t miss any of The Iron Druid Chronicles:
HOUNDED | HEXED | HAMMERED | TRICKED | TRAPPED | HUNTED | SHATTERED | STAKED | SCOURGED | BESIEGED

Reviewed by EBookObsessed on

4 of 5 stars

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]I love the change up of the storylines in this series as well as the proper balance of pantheons. I have forced myself to put this series aside for a few books so I don't catch up too quickly. I still have four more books to enjoy before the next in 2017.

Spoiler alert. Some discussion of prior books is necessary.

When you make a bargain with a trickster god, your chances of negotiating a good deal are pretty slim and even someone with Atticus's two thousand years of experience can't outwit someone like Coyote.

Atticus has become enemy number 1 with every god in every pantheon after what happened is Asgard, and with the help of Coyote, Atticus has managed to fake his death at the hands of several gods of lightning looking for a little payback for what happened to Thor.

Atticus agreed to help Coyote create a road for a construction site but, as always, Coyote has the upper hand and wants the road to lead to a new gold mine so that he can take care of his people in the area. What Coyote fails to mention is that the spot he chooses also happens to be in the territory of a pair of skinwalkers who aren't going to sit back and allow the trespass. Coyote knows that once the skinwalkers attack that will force Atticus to kill the skinwalker for him.

What I like about this series is that not only do we cross between the various myths and legends but that everything is like-to-like. Atticus has limited knowledge of Native American legends and ways to kill things such as skinwalkers. He also doesn't have the ability to create the particular magic needed to counter the skinwalkers that use Native American magic. This adds to the excitement of the story since it shows that even someone of Atticus's magical strength doesn't have the ability to fight each and every danger and can be caught very vulnerable and not just from someone with gods powers.

Atticus and Granuaile need to work with a shamen. The skinwalkers have the speed and strength of vampires and it will not be easy.

And speaking of vampires, things are getting out of hand in Arizona after Leif's injury in Asgard. Vampires are moving in and none seem to have any respect for a 2,000 year old Druid in the neighborhood, and the danger doesn't only come from outside Atticus's circle of friends. Coyote isn't the only one who will create his own rules to get what he wants out of Atticus, no matter the cost.

Atticus will also begin to understand that the damage done in Asgard will not avoid Ragnarok but might just bring it sooner, and the gods (yes, plural) are going to be looking at Atticus to clean up the mess he made.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 November, 2016: Finished reading
  • 10 November, 2016: Reviewed