Wednesday, May 16, 2012

On Thor: A Review of Hammered by Kevin Hearne

This poor book fell victim to my crazy life. I started it while still finishing school, literally in between finals and packing. It got carried home an lost in a box, found again when I needed something to read on the way to my wedding dress fitting. Got shoved aside again because one of my my best friends was in town for the first time in ages, and I wanted to spend every waking moment with her. And finally, I finished it while dining on hastily ordered Chinese takeout behind a pile of boxes that I will have to sort through at some point. Later. I always reason that the mark of a good story is the ability to survive a reader's reality, to still make an impact no matter what might be going on. Hammered survived my reality in as much as I was never tempted to give up on it, even after the third time I had to reread the middle because I'd forgotten what was going on. 
The book opens with Atticus climbing Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse legend, signaling that this is going to be a Norse mythology themed book. In fact, the book focuses on Atticus's quest to fulfill his promises, first to steal an apple or immortality and later to help his friends kill Thor. This book is a bit weightier than it's two predecessors in that it asks questions about fate and morality and decision making.

Positive Comments:

Again, I was invested despite an awful lot of distraction. Atticus is a likeable character, and I wanted to see him succeed. I was invested in Hearne's version of the mythology, and how all of the gods of this world fit together. It borrows much from American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

It has a questing, adventure seeking tone to it, and I love that in a fantasy novel. I deeply respect a quest. By far my favorite part of the book was when the group of men who want Thor dead sit around a fire and tell stories about why they want Thor dead. Is this a cheap, quick way to deliver character motivation? You bet. Did I lap it up like chocolate syrup? Oh yeah. By the time they got done, I wanted Thor dead too. And even though I was tired of this book, and wanted desperately to move on to other things, I had to finish at all costs.

Critical Comments:

I'm not a big fan of fate/destiny plots. The introduction of gods who warn Atticus that they've seen his future if he helps to kill Thor, and it's a grim future, frustrated me on a couple of levels. First, because it isn't necessary. He should be able to figure out for himself that this course of action is likely to screw him over. Do we really need harbingers of doom to tell us that? Second, because the prophecies are so vague and so heavy-handedly foreshadowing. Perhaps something slightly more or slightly less subtle would have suited the story better.

I felt that there were far more characters than necessary. It was a crowded story. I can sympathize with the author's desire to display so many awesome characters, but I can't help but feel that the overall story suffered for it.

Recommendation

I'm continuing to recommend this series whenever possible. I love the mythology, the ideas, and the writing style. I love Atticus. This wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad either. 3 stars.

Click here to buy: Hammered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Three

9 comments:

  1. I felt the same way about this one. I also wasn't that interested in the five or so chapters of everyone's backstory. That felt like it dragged on just a little too much. I like that Hearne is able to raise the stakes higher and higher with every book though.

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    1. The stakes were noticeably higher. I feel like this series has the potential to become epic in scale.

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  2. I love Norse-themed books! I used to be a Norse Pagan for a while (now I'm Catholic). Feel bad for Thor, though, he's one of the nicest of the Norse gods, protecting the downtrodden and the like.

    As for the fate/destiny thing, it's probably VERY appropriate in a book with a Norse mythological theme. Or classical mythological for that matter.

    And the title 'Hammered' really works for me.

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    1. In the context of this series, Thor is proven to be quite the careless a-hole.

      And, while this particular book focused a lot on the Norse, all gods exist in this series. Atticus has a beer with Jesus and has slept with the Morrigan. It's a nice, equal opportunity mythology book.

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    2. "It's a nice, equal opportunity mythology book." lol...

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  3. Oh I really need to start this one, I have the first book but haven't read it yet. I'm glad you enjoyed it, you're right, it's always interesting to have mythology in books. great review!

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    1. It's a pretty good series. So far I think I liked the first one the best.

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  4. I agree. The story was crowded. My sister and I actually discussed at length how some of the men who wanted Thor dead had really lame reasons that could have been cut out completely.

    Fantastic review! And now I'm off to go find some chocolate syrup!

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    1. I think its sort of Writer 101 to ask yourself "Does this character serve a purpose, or is he just filler." Lots of filler with some of these guys, for sure.

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Thoughtful comments are appreciated! I always respond to them, and I usually return the favor! Happy reading!

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