Scourged

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the final book in The Iron Druid Chronicles, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan confronts the Norse gods Loki and Hel to stop the impending apocalypse, while Granuaile and Owen work to secure the future of Druidry.

“[Kevin] Hearne draws his Iron Druid Chronicles to a pitch-perfect close in this dizzy, world-hopping adventure. But amidst the battles and bargaining that go into saving the world, there is also an enormous amount of heart.”—RT Book Reviews

Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They’ve made allies on the darker side of many pantheons, and there’s a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan will be hardpressed to survive, much less win.

Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, and she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought.

Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry.

And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they’ll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all.

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

©2018 Kevin Hearne (P)2018 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

Earlier books were better

Too preachy. And, I'm not entirely sure what "sins" he has to atone for given how badly all the other characters he deals with act.

A nice finish

This was a great way to finish off my favorite series. .... ..... I want to talk about it... I can’t.... no spoilers. It was really good. Given that this is very likely my favorite series, I don’t feel so bad saying that this wasn’t my favorite book in the series. Still, it hit all the things I was looking for. It called back to times passed and blazed a new story moving forward. It offered a fairly realistic and entirely satisfying ending.

Three not really but almost spoilers:

There was one “No! DAMMIT NO!”
There were several “HA!”
And there was one *muppet arm flail with excitement*

I hope that didn’t ruin it for you.

a beautiful end to a beautiful story

all I can say is that this story ended in a way that simultaneously granted finality and left you wanting more. it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to Atticus O'Sullivan and company after 9 amazing stories. while Kevin Hearne may not have given his cherished protagonist it is with a grudging acceptance that I admit that he did give him what he needed. so thank you Mr. Hearne. it's been a wild ride

My heart Hurts With Joy

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book one thing in particular stands out to me and that's one thing can be summed up with one word.......... sloth.

Lightly scourged

This is a top 3 favorite series for me, so the end of Atticus' story is bittersweet to say the least. SPOILER ALERT***************Defeating Loki and stopping Ragnarök didn't really seam that difficult. Was definitely not a fan of the Norse pantheon in this one. They hid in cloud, let everyone fight the good fight, then gang up on Atticus and lop off his arm, all the while everyone else merely lets it all play out. Owens story plays out nicely and I enjoyed his part. To be honest, I was fine with most of the book with the exception of piling on Atticus, other than Granuaile leaving him (a good thing, nobody needs the PC police around). He started the series with a 3 vs. 1 faeries, it ended with him and Oberon, a man and his dog.

Unexpected but perfect end to a great series

I blasted through this series, and find the end to be unexpected, but exactly the best possible end. (No spoilers.)

This is a series with good action, humor, believable non-stock characters a mile deep, a deep feminist streak, and realistic consequences to actions.

For context, I tend to like fantasy and sci-fi (eg Patricia Briggs, Lois McMaster Bujold) especially with strong female leads. I really wanted to like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, but as a woman was squicked by the problematic interactions with women. The Iron Druid has all the fun action and interesting fantasy world construction of Dresden Files, but with healthy views of women and relationships. Win!

Best Series Ever!

Best series ever since reading Lord of the Rings, Spellsinger Series, or The Shannara Series! Loved it! Brilliant, exciting and funny at times! Hope there will be more of Atticus O'Sullivan! Enjoy! Harmony!

Good ending to a great series.

I thought this book tied up the series well. Lessons learned and some new beginning. I really enjoyed this series.

A conclusion of rare grace and skill

There was a darkness to the way the series wrapped up. That's not to say it wasn't fitting or satisfying... the book and the series don't end on what I would call the happiest of chapters. The more I think about it, there is wisdom in this. Closure is brought in a way fans are likely to find compelling in that they are perhaps more likely to feel satisfied knowing the characters are outer —at least most of them—still doing their thing without us tagging along for the ride.

Otherwise, how does the author of a long-running fan favorite draw threads to a conclusion likely to satisfy loyal readers? There will always be readers left wishing for more. Can one close out a series in a way that satisfies expectations while still clearly ending a serial? While not the happy ending I might have wished for all characters, I think these vital objectives were accomplished with rare grace and skill.

Delightful!

Harrowing, rich, and generously peppered with joyful humor. Is it possible to enjoy each of the books in this series more than the last? I think so.