Hammered

The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 3

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

BOOK 3 IN THE IRON DRUID CHRONICLES

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.

Don’t miss any of Kevin Hearne’s phenomenal Iron Druid Chronicles novels:

HOUNDED | HEXED | HAMMERED | TRICKED | TRAPPED | HUNTED | SHATTERED | STAKED

Listen to more Iron Druid Chronicles.

©2011 by Kevin Hearne. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

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

Honor is giving your word but not blindly

Straight up, Luke Daniels is perfect for this Irish druid. But you would think said druid would know that all things aren't the same all the time. Giving your word completely and keeping it no matter what is not always the most honorable thing to do, especially if you don't look down the road to see where it can lead. You would think a man of this age and with his acquired knowledge would know that but then again sometimes you do what you gotta do and rearrange your life as necessary. A druid's life isn't all tea and cakes and always knowing what the right answer is. This is what makes this series so acceptable, so close to what leads our thoughts to conclusions knowing there isn't just one answer and there may not be a right answer. He is the last druid but he is alive, not a hermit or insane from living and losing so many he has truly cared about from old age, if nothing else. He still cares about humanity, individuals, probably deeper than I can because he has outlived so many and chooses to keep caring. The language isn't for children but it isn't slapping you in the face every sentence. You see yourself, your friends, your losses through his eyes. He thinks like you, screws up like you and has to go on living just like you. This book is where some of the characters, so fleshed out in the previous novel, don't survive and so well written that we feel the loss. I found myself grieving for one in particular. I felt the struggle to let go and either move on or let the grief swallow me. The druid has had to move on for over a thousand years yet his humanity is intact. He shoulders his responsibility to the earth, humanity and tries to keep his friends safe. But all isn't as it seems and in there lies the mystery, the subterfuge and how to survive betrayal, questioning friendship and/or loyalty. This is the book that tells you the price of things you never dreamed off. Grab you 2 fingers of something the color of dark golden honey, add a bit of ice, feel the sweat on the glass and ......... listen.

excellent performance enhances a rollicking yarn.

Every one of the Iron Druid books has been enjoyable, and this one is easily as entertaining as the preceding two. I'm now eagerly awaiting the fourth in the series. Luke Daniels facility with accents fabulous, though I was a tad disconcerted by the ice giants speaking with what sounded to me like a weird cross between East London & Australian accents. Especially since Australia is the last place an Ice Giant would likely come from! Nevertheless this is another fabulous performance and it makes a good story a great listen. Bring on Tricked!!!!

Keeps getting better

Narrator is so perfect for this! Great read but ending felt rushed...on to the next one then, as the storyline continues. Also <SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT> in this one I feel the modern story arc of having the main character make incredibly stupid decisions makes an appearance. Just seems like an unnecessarily cheap way to create drama, and doesn't really fit this character. My opinion, of course. Still a great series that keeps getting better.

Very good

I am enjoying these series. I look forward to the next installment which is coming out soon!

Good Book, but should've been combined with book 2

Good book, but should've been combined with book 2. It was basically one story split into two books. Overall a great performance.

Overall, a good fast paced story.

Does stretch your imagination and can step on some toes. If listened to as a 'Work of Fiction', and not fact, it fits the bill. Well worth your time and the delivery was spot on.

Good story but...

I'm a big fan of the Iron Druid series but this one just seemed to try too hard to get in as many nerdy references as possible, even when they didn't lend themselves to the story. Also the reader is usually great (one reason I pick audio versions of these books) but this time he seems to have had difficulty pronouncing many words.

Fun!

The Iron Druid Cronicles as a whole is just plain and simple fun! It's not a series that I'm super hooked on but I keep going back to it because it's a fun and easy listen.

Darker than previous, nail-biting

The story is much darker than #2. There was a lot of good back story for Gunner and Leif. And a horribly delightful cliff hanger at the end

Excellent

loved the narrator, the entire series is a joy to listen to. The progression of the storyline and the character development is very well done.