Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed on 11/25/2012 + 2527 more book reviews

Thank to netgalley(dot)com and Del Ray for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the fifth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. The sixth book will be called, Hunted, and is scheduled for a 2013 release. This was an excellent addition to this highly entertaining series and a lot of things come to a head in this book.

Granuaile is finally done with her druid training and ready to be bound to the earth, but Loki has been freed and is disrupting travel through the planes. As a result the only place Atticus can bind Granuaile is right outside of Olympus. Atticus and Grauaile end up dodging Bacchus, dark elves, and vamps dressed as clowns. They need to figure out what is going on if Atticus is ever going to get Granuaile's binding finished.

This was a very fast paced story with lots of wonderful mythology. This book ties up some loose ends from previous books while starting some new storylines as well. As usual with these books there is a ton of humor.

This book starts out twelve years after the last one ended. This was an awesome decision on Hearnes part because thats just a blink of an eye in Atticuss life and we get to pick up right where Granuaile has finished all of her druidic training.

Atticus has made a lot of enemies in his long life and this is the book where he finally has to pay for some of those bad decisions. He faces off with Bacchus and ends up involved with Leif again as well. In addition to that we are introduced to the super mysterious and creepy dark elves. Yep, Atticus has been blaming Dark Elves for everything bad that happens for a large part of his life...now they are here to make him pay the piper.

Atticus does have some good growth as a character. He is learning to stand back and let Granuaile make her own decisions. He also finally confesses his feelings about Granuaile too.

Granuaile has some amazing character growth in this novel too. Granuaile has changed in the years that shes been training, while still staying the same witty and intelligent character shes always been. Now she can kick some serious butt as well, she makes some awesome decisions, and she doesnt stand for any of Atticuss crap. Shes with Atticus because she respects him and loves him, not because she needs him to protect her. She adds a lot of fun to the story and is completely deadly with a knife...

Oberon is here as well and continues to drive some incredibly funny and witty dialogue.

The beginning of the story consists of Granuaile and Atticus dodging a lot of their enemies while they try to finish Granuailes binding to Gaia. In this part there are a lot of things happening that dont seem related. As the story continues Hearne does an excellent job of bringing all of these story threads together. Many things from previous books are resolved, while many new story lines are started. Of course hanging over everything is the question of when Ragnarok will happen.

There is a ton of mythology in this book; Norse, Greek, and Roman...as well as a good dose of adventures in faerie land. I continue to enjoy the Norse gods the most, the story of why they want revenge on Atticus is the most relevant. The Greek Gods are less engaging, but still add a bit of fun to the plot.

Overall a wonderful addition to this series. Lots of action and humor, as well as character growth. It was great to see Granuaile come into her own and I continue to really enjoy the mythology woven into the story. The story is fast-paced, creative, and well thought out. This whole series is highly recommended to urban fantasy fans. I would definitely recommend starting with the first book of the series, because all of these books are pretty awesome.

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