Hammered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Three (with bonus short story) [Kindle Edition]

Kevin Hearne (Author)

Book Description

BONUS: This special eBook edition includes a bonus short story set in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles: "A Test of Mettle."

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hearne provides lots of zippy plotting and rocking action scenes...fans will be thrilled."--Publishers Weekly

“A page-turning and often laugh-out-loud funny caper through a mix of the modern and the mythic.”—Ari Marmell, author of The Warlord’s Legacy

“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 Three Days to Dead

“Kevin Hearne breathes new life into old myths, creating a world both eerily familiar and startlingly original.”—Nicole Peeler, author of Tempest Rising


From the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Kevin Hearne is a middle-aged nerd who still enjoys his comic books and old-school heavy metal. He cooks tasty omelets, hugs trees, and paints miniature army dudes. He lives with his wife, daughter, and doggies in a wee cottage.

Product Details

• File Size: 2023 KB
• Print Length: 338 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345522486
• Publisher: Del Rey (July 5, 2011)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004J4WLOQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,349 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Phenomenal Modern Day Odyssey. July 7, 2011

By anne-marie

Format:MP3 CD

Odysseus Who? Atticus continues his modern day odyssey in Hammered, and Hearne's druid is making Homer's hero look like a little punk with his epic adventures. After all, even Odysseus didn't go after a full fledge god like Thor.

Too bad Dos Equis isn't an Irish brew because Atticus could definitely win the bid for the Most Interesting Man in the World. Delight in the oddities and misfortunes that have become Atticus' life. Drinks with Jesus. A Shakespearean duel with a vampire. Suggestive salad spinning with a young beautiful apprentice. A bareback ride on a giant squirrel. And getting slapped around by the Morrigan. Sounds like just another day for Atticus O'Sullivan.

The Iron Druid is a man of his word, and it's time to make good on some promises he made. Even if it kills him. First he has to retrieve a golden apple for a certain witch. Then Atticus is to escort Leif to Asgard to take on the patron God of Jerks. They'll pick up some backup along the way and introduce us to some new and endearing characters all with a grudge against Thor. And honestly when someone like Jesus concedes your a thundering D-Bag, you probably deserve the angry lynch mob coming for you.

But O'Sullivan's actions aren't without consequence. Not everyone will come out of the fray alive and with the possible relocation of the local coven, pack upheaval within the werewolf community, and vampire unrest in Arizona the cost of revenge could be too high. The wait for the next installment definitely too long.

Again I have to reccomend the audiobook version of this series. Hammered was just as excellently performed as Hounded, and Hexed. Kevin's words are pure magic when Luke Daniels is narrating them. He did another outstanding job with Atticus and company.... I particularly liked his rendition of a giant squirrel which sounded a lot like a cross between the Chipmunks and Gollum. Lets face it Hearne doesn't make it easy on Daniels who has to voice multiple accents and languages. I love that a new deal is going to give us more Atticus, Kevin, and Luke to come.

Hearne's third effort is yet again another gem, embodying all that is awesome. Fans of the first two books will be pleased with Kevin's usual wit and candor. But he steps things up a bit, with the addition of some different POV's that shows Hearne's more serous side. The pace is a little slower than in the past but I think that is because of the grandeur of the task Atticus has to achieve. There's plenty of the action and unexpected quirkiness that comes with Hearne's twisted imagination, and his ability to blend mythos, theology, folklore, and pop culture is pure genius. As always you can tell Hearne did extensive homework for Hammered, or that he's an amazing literary con artist, either way the words he puts down on the page are completely believable.

With all the delicious threads planted for future tomes, the end will have you trying to conjure up more pages, and cursing the long year wait ahead. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I Wanted to Love This Book April 29, 2012

By E. L. Sapp

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Books 1 and 2 were amazing, and I had such high hopes for book 3. Sadly, this one does not live up to the previous 2.

It seems like Atticus does not do anything in this book. He's involved only because his friends need him to be, but without his own dog in the fight, he just sort of drifts along though the plot. It was great to find out why Thor had to die, but that could have easily been covered "off-stage." The fight with the Norse gods, which was supposed to be the climax of the book, was over too fast, and little was done about the character deaths. ** SPOILER ALERT ** Those deaths were just glossed over; more time was spent trying to put Leif's head back together than was spent discussing the death of Gunnar! He just dies and Atticus goes on to the next step, as if the loss of his friend was nothing. (He seemed more concerned about how Hal would react to being alpha than he did about the fact his friend was killed in front of him.)

Also, Oberon, who was my favorite character in the previous books, barely appears in this one. I understand why Atticus could not take him, but not having the dog's comments left a hole in the book.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Such an unexpected disappointment April 20, 2012

By J. Hall

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Wow, was I disappointed with this book. I loved books 1 and 2 and was looking forward to this one. The last thing I expected was to be bored.

The first major problem with this book for me was that it was heavily plot driven but there was no through line to that plot. It was a set of sequences that didn't feel like they tied together. The sequence where Atticus stole the apple. {A sequence that I found completely uninteresting. I began to wonder if all my favorite characters (Oberon and Mrs. MacDonagh in particular) were going to appear at all.} The sequence where Atticus prepared to abandon Tempe. {My favorite sequence because of time spent with the above mentioned favorite characters.} And finally the sequence where Atticus led a bunch of people to attack and try to kill Thor.

The second major problem was that there weren't any real stakes for Atticus. This section should have been heavily character driven...we were told that Gunner and Lief had very strong personal reasons to try and kill Thor that we should have felt it. But the story was told first person by the one character that had zero personal stakes in the outcome. Atticus was like the only guy in the group with a car that promised to give his buddies a ride so they could rob a bank. He promised to 'give them a ride' (so to speak) and that's what he did. He never really seemed to care about what he was walking into, so why should I?

Jesus and The Morrigan both said....killing Thor is a bad idea, but there weren't any immediate consequences set forth for Atticus himself. The warnings didn't matter to Atticus enough for him to try to *do* anything to change the outcome. There was a lame discussion discussion with Lief, but that was it. "Hey, lets not do this.... " "No, I have to" "Okay, fine we'll do this." Then the author stopped the story. He literally parked all the characters by a fire so he could introduce us to three brand new characters we'd met a page or two previously. At a point where the story should have been steam rolling in to a battle that had me on the edge of my seat and unwilling to put the book down I got several chapters, told in an emotionally detached way, telling us why these guys were there. It killed the momentum of the story and killed what little emotional connection I had begun to build with the story. Sadly the biggest joy to listening to this book in audio format was the fact that I could hit the fast forward button. Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific 3rd book in the Iron Druid Chronicles September 12, 2011

By M. Wanchoo VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

With Hounded & Hexed, Kevin Hearne has pretty much established himself as one of urban fantasy's best new voices. Not surprisingly, expectations were sky-high for Hammered, the third volume of The Iron Druid Chronicles.

Hammered begins with Atticus O'Sullivan undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Asgard. The plan is to retrieve a golden apple that would cancel his debt with the Indian witch Laksha, while also relieving Thor of his power and godhood. Unfortunately, like many of his past outings, the mission doesn't go as planned and Atticus ends up making things worse. His plan botched, Atticus returns to Arizona to settle some business before dealing with Thor. This involves Atticus' Third Eye bookstore and Granuaile MacTiernan, the latter of which is further explored in the short story, "A Test of Mettle". The book also features the return of the Jewish demon hunters from Hexed as well as the appearance of someone who will surprise many readers. Meanwhile, joining Atticus in his quest against Thor is Lief, Gunnar and three other very powerful individuals, thus setting the stage for Hammered...

Like its predecessors, Hammered features a liberal does of humor, which is one of the most consistently fun factors in The Iron Druid Chronicles, with the Irish wolfhound Oberon once again stealing most of the show with lines like "Anyplace is good so long as there's sausage and bitches", "Oh look it's a dead guy and a wet dog", and "Pai Mei's probably on Facebook right now, look him up." Despite the humor, The Iron Druid Chronicles has progressively become darker with each volume with Hammered the darkest book yet. The author never descends to all-out gore in Hammered, but there is lots of violence and death, tragic histories, depressing futures, and a more overall serious tone.... Characterization meanwhile, remains superb as ever with Atticus leading the way. This time however, Magnus & Lief get to share center stage with Atticus, while five chapters from the POVs of five different characters lets readers see what others think about Thor, which was very rewarding. Story-wise, Hammered is the most epic and satisfying volume yet in The Iron Druid Chronicles, but the ending will leave readers salivating for the fourth volume, Tricked.

Negatively, nearly every book possesses some element that will rankle the reader. For me, the issues in Hounded and Hexed were fairly minor, but in Hammered, they are non-existent.

CONCLUSION: The Iron Druid Chronicles has been receiving praise all over the blogosphere. Praise that is richly deserved considering the series's memorable characters, entertaining humor, and surprising, action-packed story. As impressive as the series has been though, Kevin Hearne takes The Iron Druid Chronicles to a whole new level with the excellent Hammered...

BONUS REVIEW - "A Test Of Mettle":

A Test Of Mettle is featured in the e-book version of Hammered. The short story is about 9-10 pages long and occurs side-by-side with the latter half of Hammered. A Test of Mettle is narrated in the first-person by Granuaile MacTiernan, who must perform a task set to her by an elemental, while overcoming the expectations of the pantheon to which her new status is associated with. Accompanying Granuaile on her task is Oberon.

A Test Of Mettle reveals a small, but significant part of Granuaile's past which I believe might factor in future volumes. The pace of the story is rather fast and it was good to see Kevin give Granuaile a narrative voice distinctive from Atticus's. The short story also reveals a bit about a certain pantheon, which happens to establish Atticus's views of that pantheon from the earlier books. Overall, I thought A Test Of Mettle was a nice addition to Hammered, making an already great book even better... Read more ›

More About the Author

Kevin Hearne is a middle-aged nerd who still enjoys his comic books and old-school heavy metal. He cooks tasty omelets, hugs trees, and paints miniature army dudes. He lives with his wife, daughter, and doggies in a wee cottage.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#34 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#34 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#53 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#58 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#34 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#34 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#53 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#58 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy