Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Atticus, Oberon and Granuaile's Big Olympian Adventure




                                                   TRAPPED (Iron Druid #5)
                                                   Kevin Hearne
                                                   Random House- Del Rey
                                                   November 27, 2012


The fifth book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Series begins twelve years after the events of Tricked with a short novella (Two Ravens and One Crow) in between. Atticus, with most of the Gods of the world angry at him faked his death with the help of Coyote in order do the required twelve years of Granuaile's Druidic training. She is now ready for the final stage, binding to Gaia. Trapped begins with a literal bang when first Perun, the Russian Thunder God, crash lands and brings tidings of the destruction of the Slavic plane of existence. Perun is followed closely by Loki, the mad Norse God of Mischief who has escaped his imprisonment, heralding the beginning of Ragnarok or the end of the world. The fact that Atticus is alive is known and the Olympians, especially Bacchus, and the gods of the other pantheons are out to get him. Even the Dark Elves are gunning for him. Worse, Granuaile is not yet fully bound and can't defend herself without a full connection to Gaia. And even worse- Atticus fears that he is to blame for the triggering of Ragnarok. What follows is another bang- up adventure of mythical proportions leading to what I believe will be the final book in the series.

Atticus has made a lot of mistakes that are coming home to roost, mainly due to to his habit of being a smart-mouth and using expediency rather than wisdom. Sometimes it is hard to believe that  a two thousand year old Druid could be so thoughtless, but I guess a life so long is all about living in the moment and above all, survival. Atticus is one of the good guys though in spite of everything.The Iron Druid Chronicles are an extremely entertaining mash-up of mythology, humor, adventure and this time, a little romance. I read a lot of mythology at one time and enjoy trying to remember what I read about the various pantheons. I never could get my head around the Norse pantheon but none of that really detracts from the enjoyment of this series. It's all about fun, not being learned.

A review of the Iron Druid Chronicles is not complete without a mention of Oberon, Atticus's faithful wolfhound. The mind connection and byplay between Atticus and Oberon are by far the most laugh-out-loud parts of all the books. May I say that I am in complete accord with Oberon on the subject of sausage ( and almost everything else)!

Trapped is another highly recommended entry in the Iron Druid Chronicles but start with the first book, Hounded. Thanks to Del Rey and netgalley.com for an advance copy.

Rating- 4 Stars


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