Besieged (Iron Druid Chronicles) by Kevin Hearne

This collection of short stories works well for this series. Atticus is, after all, 2,000+ year old character - and, rightly, a lot of that doesn’t come up in his main storyline. It’s alluded to in many artful asides and in fun moments like his stories to Oberon - but we don’t dive too far back because 2 millennia of backstory can be a lot.

But his character is covered in markers from these 2 thousand years of experience, little moments that really give colour and texture to the character and make those 2,000 years believable despite his very young demeanour.

So we have many of the stories of this book that delve back into his past - and through the already excellent established medium of the stories he tells Oberon and Granuaile (frequently forcing him to spill various points of his history).

So Eye of Horus tells us of his history in Egypt (and the source of his legendary animosity with Bast) in a fun little irreverent heist drama. It has a nice amount of research - which is always a nice element of this series that all this history and mythology comes with some real work on this. I also like looking back on Atticus’s own difficulty in fleeing Ireland and the Romans with his very prominent druidic tattoos; in some ways I don’t even think of Atticus’s tattoos and what that would mean in historical contexts where most people are not tattooing pretty much anything on any part of themselves. What I didn’t like was the Egyptian gods which seemed simplistic and not all that powerful and divine.

Goddess at the Crossroads however seems to be more name dropping Shakespeare (which Atticus has a thing about) but it is trying to address Atticus’s attitude towards witches. This has been a problem of the series for a while since early in the series which always felt excessively demonising of witches who in turn were largely female. It did not feel good: but since then the series has been trying to a) present this as Atticus’s actual prejudice based on past experience but not necessarily fair to universally present as Atticus does, b) present us with good witches. This is part of Atticus’s bad history but contains a lot of notes of how his own experience is skewing this and Notallwitches.

Demon Barber of Wheat Street kind of repeats but expands a little upon a short story from Carniepunk but the expansion is useful to add context to the rest of the book and the series in general: basically why druids are not fans of demons (nothing to do with religion and everything to do with how they tend to drain and despoil the Earth which is the Ultimate No for druids). Which in turn leads nicely to Gold Dust Druid which gives us another excellent snippet of his druid life, what he was doing at various points of history and how he negotiated the issues of the time, some nice reinforcement of why demons are bad and what Druids actually do (including the fact that, as the only druid in the world, he was pretty much on call to any elemental who had an issue).

The Purloined Poodle (Iron Druid Series Novella) by Kevin Hearne

I admit that when I picked up this book I had mixed feelings and expectations.

On the one hand, it’s Kevin Hearne (who we love in unreserved fanpoodling glee). And it was a book about Oberon, who we definitely love. So what’s not to like…

…well, animal companions can be fun and cute and Oberon definitely adds something awesome to the Iron Druid Series… but a whole book around the cute interlude? Yeah that can get… annoying. Also, when it comes to short stories, I do wonder what the point is of many of them. Sometimes it’s for fun, sometimes it’s to explore different elements of the world that haven’t otherwise been touched. And sometimes it’s a way to hold fans upside down and shake them until the loose change in their pockets falls free (also known as The Charlaine Harris method).

Yet this book worked.

It worked because it was balanced. Yes Oberon is a dog, but for the most part he thinks like a human. His narrative is not annoying or impenetrable – because he has spent several decades with Atticus learning how to communicate with humans and among humans. His mind set isn’t frustrating and impossible to follow or awkward or clunky.

At the same time we still have several cute moments that really do convey Oberon’s doggishness – yes Oberon is focused on his mission. But he’s a dog – and he has a low attention span. And a loathing of squirrels. He’s food orientated and he still has absolutely zero concept of time. He has next to no colour vision (or awareness of ethnicity making racial inclusion somewhat fuzzy though there’s at least a Latina police detective) I like this combination of not making Oberon so doggy that he comes off as a gimmick, but also making sure he doesn’t just feel like a human in a fuzzy suit. It’s an excellent balance of making him accessible without making him bland and generally keeping it excellently balanced.

Three Slices. Anthology by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S Dawson and Chuck Wendig

These collection of three short stories have two themes:

One is Tyromancy. The ancient art of predicting the future using cheese (traditionally by cheese making) beyond just “we’re going to have something tasty to eat.” This is actually a thing and our ancestors were odd odd people. I do appreciate this rather unique little twist uniting them,

The second is the old Polish saying “Not My Circus, Not my Monkeys.” A saying basically saying (simplistically) “not my problem.

This is most excellently done in Prelude to War from the IronDruid Chronicles a story between Shattered and Staked which nicely fits into the main plot line of the series, filling in some gaps and expanding on some points. In fact, if I have any criticism about this short story at all it fails one of my tests for a short story: it’s probably pretty incompressible if you don’t follow the main series of books. Since I do, I loved it because it excellently added to that main series, showing how Atticus got the information he needed to track down what he finds in the next book

I also always appreciate Kevin Hearne’s dedication to research – as while the other authors have come up with their own ideas for what Tyromancy involves, Hearne has actually gone to the original definition and method.

The “not our circus” comes in when he finds – and learns she “betrayed him”. A definition she gloriously rejects by pointing out she doesn’t owe him anything. He bought services from her once. He is now buying services from her again. She didn’t swear loyalty. She isn’t his friend. She doesn’t owe him anything – she certainly isn’t required to risk her life or die for the sake of protecting Atticus or helping in a fight or war that doesn’t remotely involve her. I appreciate this even more since Mekera is a Black woman – and a Lesbian or bisexual woman. This genre – and the media in general – is absolutely full of minorities being sidekicks for straight white men, serving straight white men and, of course, sacrificing for straight white men that having Mekera declare firmly that she didn’t sign up for any of that, she isn’t responsible for any of that and Atticus has no damn right to expect that from her is a wonderful subversion of that continued expectation. This isn’t her circus. These aren’t her monkeys. She isn’t involved and she doesn’t want to be and won’t be shamed into it or feel guilty because her loyalty was expected

The story also nicely touches on her last relationship – a deep and abiding love that led her to seek isolation when her lover died which is a nice element of character building I appreciated along with examination of her ethnicity and history. It’s a short story and she’s a briefly appearing character, I could understand her not being well developed. I like that some effort was made to make her more than just the woman who tells the future using cheese.

Staked (Iron Druid Chronicles #8) by Kevin Hearne

Atticus continues his lethal war against the vampires – old enemies of the druids who had nearly succeeded in wiping out druidry 2000 years ago. Now Owen is opening his own school for new druids, it’s time to fight the vampires to a new peace – or extinction.

Owen and Granuaile have issues of their own, Owen building his school while Granuaile pursues her long festering family issues as well as continuing to fight against Loki’s scheming as they’ve all been dragged into the fight for Ragnorak.

This is a book with three different protagonists – Atticus, Granuaile and Owen – and I like how all their stories are connected but they all have their own plot lines and own goals. I was surprised by this because, when Granuaile first became a druid I suspected she would become a sidekick for Atticus. A kind of two legged Oberon to follow Atticus around, be sexy and be in awe of his power. Yes, I’m cynical, but I expected that

Instead we have all three of them leading their own lives and their own agendas – each of which says so much about the characters, their view points and experiences

Atticus is interesting in that he is the oldest and most powerful of all three of them – yet at the same time the one with the least plans and even the least freedom. He has spent two thousand years hiding from Aenghus Og, making enemies and collecting baggage – since killing Aenghus Og Atticus has earned so many debts, so many favours and launched on so many crusades (including the whole Norse Ragnorak issue and the current war against the vampires) that he can’t even begin to make plans for the future. When Granuaile comes to him with her environmental aims he not only doesn’t understand her (given he’s from a very different time and is far more focused on supernatural threats than human defilement of the world) but because simply having space to do something he chooses seems pretty alien to the way he’s living and has lived for two millennia. Even now with Fand out there he is, again, under threat. Atticus is a man under siege, often having to make bad decisions to try and solve the problem in front of him, fully expecting it to come back and bite him but not seeing another choice. It’s interesting how Atticus can be such a light, happy character yet have this rather bleak undercurrent.

While Granuaile is very energetic and passionate and driven – but also very personally invested. In some ways she’s much more connected to the modern world than Atticus or Owen – she’s also relatively young and still growing into her life and role. She still has issues with her step father and his callous polluting of the world which is very emotional and personal for her, which involves a lot of growth, missteps and learning – in fact I think a lot of her story this book is Granuaile deciding what she’s going to do with her life and how that doesn’t involve Atticus. It’s not that she’s breaking from Atticus, they still care for each other and spend time together – but all of Granuaile’s plans and growth are her own: her own battle against Loki, her own deal with the witches, her own plan for the future, even picking her next language to learn (druids have to learn languages for different head spaces) all separate from what Atticus suggests or would do.

Two Tales of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

  

I really like these two short stories together, they’re both snippets into the lives of Atticus and Granuaile, certainly not necessary for the overall metaplot, they do add some nice insight

Yes, that’s exactly what I look for in short stories.

Their contrasting voices are absolutely excellent – and both unexpected but really work. Despite Atticus being two thousand years old, in many ways his voice is much less formal than Granuaile’s. But it doesn’t feel wrong – rather Atticus’s confidence and even his cockiness are part his apparent youth but also the confidence that comes with being that old, that knowledgeable, powerful within his parameters and very sure in what he does. He isn’t as overawed and bowled over as Granuaile is because he’s had millennia of doing this – and I think that shows in his voice. A young man with a lot of experience of being young

While Granuaile is a poet. And a poet who is still reeling from the amazing experience and sensation of being a new druid. He language is elaborate, awe inspired, completely overwhelmed by what is happening to her. I think her voice has been really well chosen to respect that.

Both stories also work really well in showing what a druid does and what a druid is. Atticus is doing his thing enjoying life when he, the experience druid, is summoned in to help an elemental in trouble. This is what a druid does and what their purposes. While Granuaile is facing on of the tests on her path to druidy – a test that points to what a druid should be, what values a druid should hold and what is important to a druid. Between them we get a lot of the essence of what a druid is.

I also liked that the second story was about Granuaile with the female goddesses – because the first story is about, again, evil witches. I’m glad that Atticus recognises that his animus towards witches is not entirely reasonable. Except, every single time we’ve seen a witch she has been evil. Even witches who are on Atticus’s side have definitely not been good people. And they’ve all been women. Evil female witches who need vanquishing have been a recurring theme of this series and some positive female power is definitely needed.

The story continues to be the same fun I’ve come to expect and love with this series – and lots of Oberon who is always an utter gem.

Diversitywise, as a short story it doesn’t have much focus beyond the two main characters – but I’m disinclined to let that be an excuse, as much as I love this series, because it really hasn’t had a good record when it comes to inclusion of minorities

While I feel I always have to reiterate my dislike of short stories in general, this is one of thosat actually gets it right and is a really nice addition to the Iron Druid Series in general – definitely worth adding to the whole saga.

Shattered (Iron Druid Chronicles #7) by Kevin Hearne

Atticus has brought his old Archdruid to the 21^st century. Owen faces a near impossible task – adapting to the last 2,000 years of history, not least of which the various shenanigans his apprentice has got up to (and, perhaps, questioning his own teaching style with him, looking at what Atticus as become).

Granuaile is clear of Owen – but Laksha calls for help. Granuaile’s father is in India on an archaeological dig and has been possessed by a very dangerous, worrisome creature. With Atticus busy, new druid Granuaile is ready and able to set off and handle this herself.

While Atticus, in between helping Owen, is still facing Ragnarok and Loki’s ongoing plotting. He has the support of a number of deities from different pantheons, but he needs to know what help they can give, what is motivating them and, basically, what is going on and what his next move should be. He’d also quite like to know which of the Tuatha de Danann is trying to kill him – that would be helpful, but he ends up uncovering something far larger than expected

Set the Fanpoodles to drool!

Honestly, I’ve started writing the review 3 or 4 times because I didn’t even know where to start. There was so much I loved so I’m just going to throw gushing praise at a page.

I loved the three characters with the different voices. Atticus, Granuaile and Owen all have their own separate but connected storylines and they all sound very different. Atticus’s style is something I always love – his age peaking through his general fun and light hearted exterior. Granuaile has a much more formal, even poetic way of thinking and speaking and I think it still resonates with how she approaches druidism, her deep and abiding reverence for the Earth that led her to choose druidry over witch magic. And then there’s Owen – crotchety, ornery but with bits of wisdom poking through his general rough and readiness. He’s dealing with a major case of culture shock but he’s dealing with it in a way that is both very druidic (with its focus on learning) and shows just how tough he is. I also like the byplay between Owen and Atticus – he still sees Atticus as his young apprentice but every now and then realises that Atticus is literally 2 thousand years older than him

It’s interesting to see a book from multiple points of view because it not only lets you see the different characters through different lenses but if the author can pull off the different voices and make them authentic it really carries so much to the characterisation.

I also loved that they were doing their own thing. It’s not just the Atticus show – Granuaile is a grown woman, a full druid and fully capable of doing things by herself. She doesn’t need to check in with Atticus all the time, she doesn’t need his permission or his guidance. He’s definitely the better druid – 2,000 years experience and all that – but she still has skills and talents he doesn’t and she doesn’t need a babysitter. I love that, now her training is finished, she is definitely more than a sidekick; she’s a character in her own right. And she will do her own thing. No, she’s not always successful, yes she faces tragedy and set back – but she also gets to be the hero and save Atticus and a considerable amount of the day as well – so her set backs are not even remotely  linked to her being lesser.

Carniepunk Anthology

By: Rachel Caine, Delilah S. Dawson, Jennifer Estep, Kelly Gay, Kevin Hearne, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Seanan McGuire, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole Peeler, Rob Thurman, Jaye Wells

When I first saw this anthology I leaped to request it – so many of the authors included in it are the authors I already read and already love, a collection of stories by them was definitely something I was sure I’d be able to devour in seconds, loving every word.

I preface the review with this to make it clear that my expectations were very very high – perhaps too high given my oft mentioned dislike of short stories. This left me feeling a little disappointed.

Firstly, on the book overall I was impressed by the unity of theme, short story compilations by different authors can feel very disjointed as you are buffeted from epic story to laughing comedy to heart wrenching tragedy that makes them almost impossible to read in one sitting because they’re so different.  While the writing style of this book was, obviously, very varied the overall theme not just of Carnivals but of something sinister, dark and something pretty creepy was generally well maintained throughout. I don’t know if it was intended or if the authors just find carnivals as creepy as I do – but nearly every story had a strong sense of the creepiness, the alien and the outsider about them that helped keep the whole book together as a coherent whole which I appreciated.

In terms of the stories, the ones by the authors that drew me in were very much their style, but also nothing special and didn’t form much of a useful addition to their own stories:

Kevin Hearne’s The Demon Barker of Wheat Street, was a fun ride with characters I’ve come to know and love. Atticus, Oberon and Granuaile are always immensely fun romp around a Carnival, fighting evil with humour and flair with odd moments of depth and emotion to it that so characterises Kevin Hearne’s work; it’s good but not his best, lacking in style or real relevance to the world he has…  if you’re not a fan of the series already you’re going to be a little lost reading this one – and a little Spoilered as well, which is a bad choice for a short story, I think.

Jennifer Estep’s Parlor Tricks, is much the same. If you know her world and her characters then it’s a great read, a nice continuation and nice to see Gin in some semi-downtime. If you don’t know her world then you’re probably going to be more than a little lost as the full weight of her massive Ashland world is thrown at you. As a fan and a current reader of her series, I enjoyed it while still feeling I wouldn’t have missed anything if I hadn’t read it. That’s a good thing in the sense that I don’t want my series to depend on me tracking down anthologies, but bad in that I left the story feeling I hadn’t gained anything.

Seanan McGuire’s Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid and the Open, Lonely Sea, surprised me in that it didn’t seem to be related to any of her actual series. While I liked this story, I also felt that it was the only one that didn’t fit the overall theme of the book, though I quite liked the subversion of finally presenting the Carnie’s point of view and taking their otherness that had been so pushed through the rest of the stories and making that a strength rather than the sinister nature that had been pushed so far. It was an excellent close to the book.

Notable others were Painted Love by Rob Thurman, it was the first story in the book and did a very good job of setting up the dark and sinister theme; the fantastic and the other, the evil and the cruel, the hidden threats as much as the hidden wonders. It was an excellent choice for the first story. But, as far as the story itself goes, it didn’t work for me. It had a nice twist ending but to make that work it forced a lot of character interaction that didn’t make a lot of sense and some very stilted descriptions. The story also had an over-wordy, over-introspective style that I’ve never particularly cared for. It did really set up the sense of the other – in ways that go beyond the simple supernatural creatures we’ve already known - and definitely laid the groundwork for the creepy, the evil and the sinister

Hunted (Iron Druid Chronicles #6) by Kevin Hearne

Following the dramatic events of the last book, Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon are on the run. Granuaile is a full druid now, but them disposing of Bacchus has infuriated the Olympians – both the Greeks and the Romans. With Faunus and Pan preventing them from reaching the Irish planes, they need to race across Europe – from Romania to Britain – chased by Diana and Artemis, goddesses of the Hunt. They’re only assured that some safety can be found in England – but it’s a long way to go on a road scattered with vampires, the machinations of the Olympians and who knows what other monsters

And none of this stops the brewing Ragnarok, or Loki rampaging around, hunting Atticus and causing general chaos. Atticus needs to prepare to help the Norse against Loki and Hel – but how can he do that with the Olympians hunting him across the continent?

I am very tired as I write this review. I am tired because I picked this book up to read yesterday evening and started reading. At 6:00am I could finally stop reading. I may or may not have killed anyone who tried to interrupt me during that time. I believe I would have been perfectly justified in doing so.

Not that I didn’t put it down in all that time. This book was an incredibly powerful, amazingly well written emotional rollercoaster. Within 5% of the book I yelled “no!” aloud in denial of what had just happened.

At another point in the book I put it down and walked away in some kind of denial – that maybe if I didn’t keep reading then I could pretend that it didn’t happen and could live in blissful ignorance.

There was a time when I considered booking a flight to Arizona, appearing outside of Kevin Hearne’s door, falling to my knees and wailing “WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!” It would have been quite quite undignified.

It’s a testament to how strong a story is and how powerful the characters are that you can be this emotionally invested in them.

That same investment and emotional impact means it would be absolutely criminal to spoil this book, so I’m going to have to be really careful in this review.

I just loved so much of it. I love Atticus’s tone. I love his humour, I loves his unabashed joy in the world. I love his depth of knowledge that mean I believe Atticus’s 2000 year history far more than most ancient characters in the genre – even with his pop culture references and deep love of modern culture. I love how he can joke between modern internet references and still quite Shakespeare – and how he can do them both at once flawlessly and without the slightest jar. I love that, even with all that is at stake, he’s ultimately a mischievous trickster character every bit as much as Coyote. But there’s depth to him as well – his depression over what he has done, his fears for Granuaile and Oberon and the future of the world and the people who are hurt because of him all come through starkly. He manages to balance the ancient with the modern, the weighty with the light, the cheerful with the seriously awareness of what rests on his shoulders. Managing to fit all this in one character is difficult but really well done.

And Granuaile – for the first time we see in her head and it’s such a different headspace. She’s more passionate, more fiery and, oddly, more formal and poetic. She still takes things much more seriously than Atticus or, perhaps, hasn’t reached the point of being able to integrate her constant awe and respect for her role with the light heartedness that so characterises Atticus.  Her wording is almost purple at time – if the whole book was written like it I’d be seriously put off, but because it’s only occasional it strikes a strong contrast between her and Atticus’s mental tones. Granuaile is awed and overcome by what it means to be a druid, with it all so new to her – and she waxes poetic with it.

The story itself is excellently paced. It’s a roaring chase to escape the two hunter goddesses, hoping to delay them while making a hurried dash to safety, facing off against various forces along the way and with Odin spectating and taking bets with the Einherjar with Loki throwing a regular spanner in the works. It’s exciting, it’s funny, it’s often serious, it makes your blood fizz. There’s a real sense of consequences, we’ve already seen throughout the series that gods can and will die (except the Olympians which is why facing them is such a bother, they keep on coming and coming). It’s even poignant at times – powerfully, deeply, incredibly sad in ways I can’t talk about without spoiling – and that would be criminal. But it is an incredible emotional rollercoaster. It can mix the pougnance of heart rending loss, with the sheer joy of bribing Odin with girl scout cookies.

Oberon is still hilariously funny, immense fun – but even he brings a deeply, agonisingly sad moment.

The Grimoire of the Lamb (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #0.4)

 

Okay to start this review, I feel it necessary to give full disclosure that I am totally a Kevin Hearne fanpoodle.  This means that this review will probably just consist of the obligatory fanpoodling that happens when one of a readers favourite author released a new book.  Lucky for you, The Grimoire of the Lamb is a novella so that means you won't have to tolerate much of my poodling. 

The Grimoire of the Lamb is set four years before the events of Hounded.  This means that  while we still get Atticus and Oberon having an epic adventure in Egypt, Granuaile is missing.  It all begins when a man from Egypt calls with the hope of purchasing one of Atticus' rare books. Nkosi Elkhashab is desperate to get his hand on the a grimoire, which appears to have nothing but recipes for cooking lamb, but Atticus decides that there has to be more to Elkhashab's desire than ancient culinary delights and does some research. When he learns that the grimoire contains 13 spells, which Elkhashab wants to use to "restore Egypt to its rightful place as supreme among the world," Atticus realises that no matter what happens, Elkhashab must not be allowed to possess it. 

When Elkhashab manages to undo Atticus' magic and escape to Egypt, Atticus and Oberon have no choice but to follow.  Like every other pantheon,  Atticus is not exactly very friendly with the Gods.  Before Atticus can even deal with Elkhashab, he must find a way to make peace with the goddess Bast, whose holy book he stole centuries ago.  

This Is Your Life: Oberon

Oberon

What is he?: An Irish Wolfhound (with extra longevity) 
 

Biography: Best friend to Atticus, the 2,000 year old druid; the awesome Oberon has been his constant companion since Hounded loyally by his side, teller of tall tales and epic legends; he has been hunted by the police as a killer, used by a goddess of the hunt, tricked by coyote and much admired by the Tuatha de Danaan. He’s fought furbolgs and fairies and the cats of the widow MacDonagh. Without him, Atticus’ life would be much poorer, much less

What We love about him: First off, how can we not be amused by his constant scheming for sausages and poodles - not necessarily in that order either. He’s smart as a whip and has the perfect line for even the weirdest situation. Like any good hound he loves to hunt and even sometimes uses his fantastic olfactory sense to keep Atticus out of trouble.  He can also provide the perfect bomb to irritate nosy neighbours and for that alone, I want to borrow him.

Oberson is absolutely necessary to this story. Without him, the stories would simply comprise of Atticus pissing off various God, from various pantheons and running for his life. Oberon is the comic relief that humanises Atticus and elevates the story. Without him we’d have none of the banter that breaks up these books - they simply couldn’t work without him.

What we hate about him: Hate? Oberon is flawless, all right thinking people agree.

Book Series: Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Review: Trapped by Kevin Hearne, Book 5 in the Iron Druid Chronicles

 12 years have passed since Tricked, and Atticus has finally finished training Granuaile all she needs to know to become a druid. The final step is to connect with Gaia and tattoo her with the Celtic knots that tie druids to the Earth, a process that should take several months.

Unfortunately, the only place this can be done is Europe. Not normally a problem, but druids don’t normally have long standing grudges with Olympic gods. Through their machinations, Europe is largely off limits to plane shifting, with only one place Atticus can travel to – the very foot of Mount Olympus, right under the gaze of Bacchus who very much wants him dead.

And the Olympians aren’t the only ones plotting. Dark elves and vampires are hunting Atticus for reasons unknown and even one of the Tuatha de Danaan is sending hit squads and spreading information about him. As word of him being alive gets out, more of his old grudges surface and he finds himself, again on many people’s hit lists and enmeshed in many schemes.

If that wasn’t enough – Loki has been freed. God of chaos, of trickery, of flame – he’s immensely powerful and terrifyingly unpredictable. The first shots of Ragnarok have been fired, Hel’s armies are marching and the Norse call on Attics to fulfil his obligation to them

All told, it’s quite a busy time for Atticus.

I feel, before I fall into full fanpoodling goodness, I should begin this with a caveat. I am a mythology geek. I love mythology. I love the obscure deities from a plethora of pantheons. I love the old legends and myths. I love even the rare and unusual tales that are lurking in the Celtic, Norse and Greek lore that rarely see the light of day.

As such the story telling, the info dumping, the random encounters and references, the sudden insights and all of that wonderful drawing on lore and history and ancient stories all pull me in and make me a very very very happy geek. Especially how it does use not just the major figures from the pantheons, but even the more obscure characters that are not well known today – it shows an incredible amount of research and knowledge of someone who has really delved into not just aspects of these old myths, but someone who has embraced them in their entirety.

To me, this makes for an excellent world. It makes for a world that is rich and full and has massive possibility. It means I can gleefully devour the book in seconds and grin over every little hint and every little story and character I recognise.

It also means that if you’re not a mythology buff or mythology isn’t a major interest of yours, you may find these moments drag a little and aren’t for you. To me, I loved them but I can see how it could be a matter of taste.

Even with the stories, the book is well paced with a lot going on to keep it exciting. Atticus has to try and find a way to bind Granuaile to the earth but has to do so in the teeth of a plot that involves vampires, dark elves, Tuatha de Danaan and Olympians. Trying to keep the various factions at bay long enough to get peace is a constant battle that requires many interruptions, desperate fights and lots of cunning. If that weren’t enough, we have some extra epic and excitement provided by Atticus’s commitment to the Norse and the threat that Loki, scarily powerful and terrifyingly unpredictable, presents yet another exciting force in the world. This book is very much one of being bombarded and being manipulated. Atticus and Granuaile stand in the middle of many plots and have many obligations and ties on them pulling them different ways. Not just the Norse, but Leif the vampire is pulling his own puppet strings, Brighit and the Morrigan are duelling over the leadership of the Tuatha de Danaan and there are machinations by unknown hands we don’t even know yet. And everything they do sets off a chain reaction in this crowded world – they manage to make Bacchus and Faunus back off, but in doing so risk offending both Olympian pantheons as well, is just one example. The sheer richness of the world means there are constant domino effects and real consequences to exerting any kind of power and influence in the world.

Fangs for the Fantasy Episode 84

This week we discuss Alphas and Misfits.

We also discuss Kevin Hearne’s novella “Two Ravens and One Crow” and our book of the week “Tempest Rising” by Tracy Deebs

We also discuss the importance of spotting trends across a whole series rather than single books or episodes. And we discuss the changing nature of the novella due to ebooks.

Our next books of the week

17/9-24/9:  Masque of the Red Death: Bethany Griffin  
24/9-1/10:  Lies Beneath: Anne Greenwood Brown  
1/10-8/10: Hexed Anthology
8/10-15/10: Into the Woods: Kim Harrison