Shattered

The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 7

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Acclaimed author Kevin Hearne makes his hardcover debut with the new novel in his epic urban fantasy series starring the unforgettable Atticus O’Sullivan.

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

For nearly two thousand years, only one Druid has walked the Earth—Atticus O’Sullivan, the Iron Druid, whose sharp wit and sharp sword have kept him alive as he’s been pursued by a pantheon of hostile deities. Now he’s got company.

Atticus’s apprentice Granuaile is at last a full Druid herself. What’s more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern equivalent of his old Irish name: Owen Kennedy.

And Owen has some catching up to do.

Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus’s chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury’s still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki—or merely a pain in the arse.

But Atticus isn’t the only one with daddy issues. Granuaile faces a great challenge: to exorcise a sorcerer’s spirit that is possessing her father in India. Even with the help of the witch Laksha, Granuaile may be facing a crushing defeat.

As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they’re hoping that this time, three’s a charm.

Don’t miss any of The Iron Druid Chronicles:

Hounded

Hexed

Hammered

Tricked

Trapped

Hunted

Shattered

Staked

Scourged

Besieged

©2014 Kevin Hearne (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

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

“[The Iron Druid books] are clever, fast-paced and a good escape.”—Boing Boing

“Hearne understands the two main necessities of good fantasy stories: for all the wisecracks and action, he never loses sight of delivering a sense of wonder to his readers, and he understands that magic use always comes with a price. Highly recommended.”—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

LOVE LOVE LOVED it!

Wow! A fantastic book, loved it more then any previous Druid series book. Luke Daniels is so talented with voices, I can hardly believe it's a one person narrating. Soooooo Looking forward to the next one anxiously! Well done, humorous, & full of fun, tears, magic, & action. Way to go Kevin. Leigh W.

great book

Everything about this book and the previous ones are great. I really enjoyed the new characters that were added to the story, 2 and 4 legged.

Engaging, humor and drama.!

Mr Hearne and Mr Daniels you gentlemen deserve copious kudos! As author and narrator you both occupy the top tier of your respective professions! Many thanks for many hours of enjoyment!

on her own

I enjoyed the story itself, had no trouble keeping up. the problem I had with it was the performance. I understand that there were a lot of charters here, which I think one more performer should of been on hand. when it came to atticus and granuaile, it took a few to figure out who it was since there was no voice separation for the two, not saying Luke is a bad performer, I just think he could of used some help.

Luke Daniles' Best Performance & Hearne is OK, Too

With a greater range of characters in this book, Hearne is able to explore a more interesting range of stories. The Owen Kennedy character is my favorite, though Grainuail is an interesting second. her "voice" is sometimes a little too purple, but still fun. Hearne writes some great action scenes as usual, but the great bit here is listening to Luke Daniels do an awesome variety of character voices. Someone needs to give this guy a job in animation as a voice actor!

Loved it!

Incredible as always. One of the best series I have found in a long time!

I miss Oberon

There wasn’t the hilarious, adorable commentary in this book as in the other books; especially the early books. To add insult to injury, Luke Daniels reads the part differently; as if he is trying too hard to read the part. It’s still a good story and a good listen, but it’s definitely lacking from the earlier books. I miss Oberon.

A Great Addition to this Series

Shattered by Kevin Hearne is the 7th installment in the Iron Druid Chronicles Series. Hearne has grown in his ability to add multiple layers and multiple point of view, a great new aspect!

In Shattered we visited two main stories and one back story kind of wrapping around and tickling us. Maybe inappropriately. No, not really. Just making sure you are paying attention. Story line one was focused on Atticus and his archdruid, Owen Kennedy. Owen Kennedy swiftly became a favorite secondary character. Kennedy was completely naive to all modern speak, technology, and living – he was like an inappropriate baby. It was epic. As Atticus and Owen weave their way around the Fae and brewing war, many plot points from the previous books are closed up.

Story line two was Granuaile. Now in her full druid awesomeness she travels to India on her own adventure trying to protect her father. Of course nothing is ever that easy when you are a druid and the usual shenanigans insures. Blood, fighting, and almost dying seem to be something she better get used to! I do think the one missing point of this book is that Atticus and Granuaile are a couple, in Shattered they truly have two very different stories. I am *thinking* that book #8 is going to crash these two pieces together in a colossal crap storm. Guess I will have to wait and see!

Audiobook Thoughts: Seriously Luke Daniels adds so much more than I could possibly inject with my own imagination. And that is TRULY saying something. His ability to do everything from an old Irish man accent to modern Indian women is a superpower in its self. This is narration at its finest.

Darker

Any additional comments?

Kevin Hearne's titles his books very well. Throughout the series the titles reflect an overall mood and intent for the main character. As the title suggests, the main character will suffer, but he does not suffer alone--his former apprentice also experiences her own woes. The overall feel of the story is darker, with less "laugh-out-loud" moments and more serious character development and back story.

Hearne does a fantastic job of picking up the plot where he left it in the last book, while also splitting the narration between three characters.

The only problem I had with this audiobook centered around the character voice changes for Granuaile and Oberon. Both character voices changed subtly from the last book, Hunted. I probably would not have noticed if I had not gone through the entire series in the month leading up to Shattered's release.

I'm an Iron Druid fan.....

Any additional comments?

I have enjoyed Kevin Hearns books immensely. Having grown up in Tempe Arizona I found it a different experience to actually see a story come to life in an environment that I am intimately knowledgeable of. I probably have listened to too many of Robert Jordan's books and feel like Kevin gives a little less of a book than I desire. I guess you can take that in a good light. I have enjoyed the story and want more. And as the saying goes. Leave your audience wanting. But in this case. I believe there does need to be more. So Kevin, if you are reading this my friend. Add 50% to 100% to the books. If Robert Jordan can do it. YOU can do it my friend! I really enjoy this series and have had just about every emotion under the sun while listening to them. I have about a 30-40min commute to work and listen to Audible to and from work as well as on trips I take. Nothing better to make the commute or long trip seem like minutes instead of hours. Other than the length of Shattered the only thing I didn't like was that it seemed pretty juvenile in some places. More so than in his other books for some reason. But hey..... When you have a Comedian like Oberon in your story. You laugh just because it's damn funny.... What are you going to do?