Author: Kevin Hearne
ISBN: 978-0-7322-9292-8
RRP: $22.99
I have just been HAMMERED, right between the eyes by the ending of this book. I’ve had it sitting here a little while on the to-read pile. I really wanted to get it done so that it could go up on its release date but my pile was simply too high. Finally I got to the point where I couldn’t ignore the call of Atticus and Oberon any longer, their antics called to me and I devoured the first half on a quiet Sunday before the real world jumped in and I had to work – leaving me to nibble briefly on the second half over the space of a week.
Hammered is not a book I wanted to nibble on briefly. Hammered is a book I want to go lock myself in a room with, armed with coffee and chocolate to devour the lot in one sitting and no distractions. Sounds heavenly! Every time it got close to time to put the book down I started the countdown… just one more page, just one more paragraph until I was walking back to my desk with my head still being Hammered by Hearne’s humour.
Kevin Hearne writes with such wit that I actually literally had laugh out loud moments. Oberon is hilarious and I’m sure my family dog has as much personality but he lacks the communication skills that convey the personality so distinctly. Oberon played a much smaller part in Hammered than he has in previous books and his presence was missed but he was around enough to get the giggles happening at his sense of humour.
All of the characters we have been getting to know in Hounded and Hexed have their part to play in Hammered – witches, werewolves, and gods of all times. There is also a whole cast of new gods to meet in this one. Some of them quite well known – Odin, Thor – and others that were definitely new to me – Perun, Freyr.
Atticus is over 2000 years old, Leif is a thousand years old and the gods that we meet predate Christianity so to say the characters are slightly less than contemporary would be an understatement. This is where many of the laugh out loud moments arise because Kevin Hearne manages to combine these characters with a modern remark or a reference. There is a visit from an extremely well known religious personality in Hammered and the conversation that follows with Atticus is quite amusing, some definite laugh out loud moments to be had.
In my opinion though, for entertainment value, you can’t go past Leif. He is so set in his ways and remains in his past and that works for him so to hear Atticus attempt to modernise his use of language is funny and sometimes jumps out at you unexpectedly.
Hammered gives us a back story for Gunnar and Leif which allows us to get to know them a little better, changing the perspective and allowing for a more objective view. We also learn a little more of Atticus’s history which is always good to learn, hear a little more about Atticus the man and how he has learnt the lessons of his extremely long life.
Kevin Hearne’s sense of humour precedes him and haunts every page of Hammered. The humour is designed to charm, and it works! Even at the height of battle there are moments that bring laughter and that’s saying something because the battle raged on bloodily.
Hammered is fast paced and filled with the desire for vengeance as Atticus gives Leif his word that he will help him journey to Asgard to even the score with Thor. Knowing they can’t do it on their own they team up with others who share Leif’s feeling – Gunnar, a thunder god, a sorcerer and an alchemist – and an army of frost giants rallied to the cause on their travels.
To avoid spoilers – very leading spoilers – I am going to leave things here though. That should be plenty to get you thinking and have you scrambling to get your hands on the rest of the series.
This series is well worth the read! You should definitely go get it!!!
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!