Hammered

Kevin Hearne

Harper Voyager (2011)

This is third novel in Kevin Hearne’s imaginative series, and as usual Atticus O”Sullivan, the last surviving Druid, is in trouble. In the previous novel Hexed he rather foolishly promised a local sorceress that he would get a golden apple for her from the garden of one of the gods in return for her help. Now he is called on to keep his promise.

Through his power of being able to jump between the various planes of existence he is able to enter Asgard, the plane of the Norse gods. He is able to recover an apple but to do so he has had to seriously upset Thor, god of thunder. Now his friend Leif Helgarson, a vampire, reveals he has a grudge against Thor and asks Atticus to take him to Asgard so he can carry out his revenge. This runs against Atticus’ personal motto that has done him good for centuries – stay away from the guy with the lighning bolts.

He is warned by various deities, including his drinking buddy Jesus, that killing Thor may cause worldwide problems in the future. “Things are already looking grim for you, my friend. You’ve unleashed a significant aspect of Fate”. There is a power struggle going on among the local werewolf clans, as well as a turf war with a clan from Florida. His lawyer is head of the local clan and in spite of the mounting problems he also has a score to settle with Thor, and wants to go with them. Friendship wins out but Atticus knows that if he survives he will have to leave his comfortable existence in Tempe, Arizona and find a new home to stay ahead of the other gods who will surely be after him. Oh, and he is also being hunted by a band of loonie Jewish demon-killers.

More and more people attach themselves to Atticus’ war party and before they enter Asgard they tell their stories. Thor is not the great hero that the stories make him out to be. He is a spoiled bully who thinks nothing of killing innocent people and ruining lives. Each member of the party has a good reason for killing Thor. There is even another thunder god who was tricked by Thor into losing his people’s belief in him, leaving Thor as THE thunder god. Many have been waiting for thousands of years to get their chance. Atticus now offers that chance, since he knows a back door into Asgard that is not guarded. The usual entry across the bridge Bifrost is well guarded and is not an option for a war party.

Thor has a number of friends and sycophants among the minor gods. They will also be in the battle. The battle is savage but eventually successful, but Atticus has now drawn a lot of attention to himself and pissed off many gods. He still has a lot of people back home who are after him as well. Life is complicated for a Druid.

Kevin Hearne once again gives us many examples of Atticus’ irreverent humour, his loyalty to his friends and an explanation of the powers of a Druid. His gods are not the characters of mythology but a self-serving bunch of supernatural thugs. “The function of assholes in the world, just like the asshole we all have, is to spread the shit around”.

This original approach makes his books a refreshing and often humorous read, and Hammered is no exception.

Generally reviews appear on the Synergy website with a single cover image. In the digital and print edition, reviews appear with multiple images and with expanded content.

This review will appear in Volume 4 No. 4 of the digital and print edition of Synergy.

We recommend you download the free digital edition (or buy the print edition) to get the most from Synergy. The print and digital editions of Synergy also include a large selection of articles and features not found on the website. If you have a limited download quota you can view the digital edition via the Issuu viewer on the digital edition page.

If you came to this page directly (and missed our menu), click here to go to the front page of Synergy Website or use the following link: http://www.synergy-magazine.com