Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 7

I'm kind of sad that my Iron Druid binge-read is over until the next book comes out. I liked a lot of things about this book. (That being said, don't start here. Start with volume 1. You'll need the background by the time you get to this point.) Please be advised that some spoilers from past volumes may be included here; you can't get around that and adequately talk about this story.First of all, the pace is toned down a bit from the previous book (which was a nonstop run-for-your-life kind of novel). There was still action and there were a lot of good fights in this one, but there were some of the scenes of everyday life that I've come to enjoy in this series, as well.We have a new character in this book, Owen Kennedy, who was Atticus's (the "Iron Druid" of the title) archdruid many (many) years ago. His introduction to the modern age is a highlight of the book for me (well, it's more a series of smaller events). Owen is one of the three viewpoint characters and one of his chapters has one of the funniest paragraphs I've read in a book in a long time (it's the one about getting a pet monkey instead of a dog and I'll say no more -- except that someone who had not read any of these books, when shown only that paragraph, also laughed).Atticus gets Owen settled (kind of) and then goes off on a quest to find who is sending various divinities after him and why. He does get his answer, and it ties back into something that happened in the very early books of the series. I like his interactions with various deities; we are introduced to some belief systems (including Shinto) that haven't appeared in previous volumes.And Granuaile is off to solve a mystery of her own: the disappearance of her father on an archaeological dig in India. This ends up tying in nicely to the overall story arc, plus I like that Granuaile is considered *able* to go off on her own -- she doesn't need protection from a man. She has been trained and bound to the Earth as a Druid and is considered fully capable. In Granuaile's storyline, we are introduced to some of the Hindu pantheon, as well.At any rate, I think all the main characters' sections are interesting and do a reasonably good job of balancing the current quest along with advancing the overall story arc.This book is a little unique among volumes in this series in that it has a theme outside of all the plot events, that of coping with loss. In the previous volume, the Morrigan died and Atticus and others are coping with that. Owen comes back to realize that everyone he knew (except Atticus) is long dead. Granuaile deals with issues involving both her parents. Even Orlaith, Granuaile's dog, has a little bit to say on the matter. And Greta the werewolf also has some comments about loss. It's interesting that this all came to a head at once. And each character deals with it in his or her own way. (Owen has some downright sensible words on the subject.) It's not just loss of relationships, but the consequences of making a choice (say, to become a werewolf or Druid) that is discussed. But it's well-integrated into the story and not at all preachy.Worldbuilding is consistent with previous volumes in the series, as is writing style. The series' characteristic humor is present, and of course Atticus's dog Oberon has a lot of interjections for comic relief. If you liked these elements before, you'll like them again. They don't radically change.The only aspect I wasn't totally sold on was the alternation in viewpoints. Each of the main characters had a number of POV chapters. I didn't monitor these to see who got the most page time. I didn't think the split was too uneven. And I didn't hate any of the viewpoints; I actually found them all interesting (wanted to read everything, didn't want to skip to new sections of the story). The problem I had was that it was often hard to tell which character's head we were in, when a new scene opened. All of them were in first-person POV, which is fine, but it was jarring to think I was reading something from Granuaile only to realize it was Owen, for example. It wasn't always easy to tell from the context of the first few lines.I liked the conclusion as well. There were some surprises, some things I did not expect. But they didn't come out of nowhere -- their foundations were well-laid in this and previous volumes. Overall, though, this was a fun book and I can't wait for the next one. 4.5 stars.

Overall (3.5 to 3.75 Stars):-----------------------------------"Shattered" introduces a third Druid, Atticus's Arch Druid while resolving why Atticus is constantly being attacked / harassed (outside of his general actions trying to help Gaia. The Arch Druid is curmudgeon who brings some of the flair and style of the Celts to the books. The book is a fairly quick read and follows very much the formula for the previous books in the series. So, if you like the other books, you will like this one.Loki is alive and well starting to create some serious havoc -- he does reveal his level of intelligence and guile. Atticus and crew are in for some big problems down the line.A major plot element, why Atticus and fellow Druids, get attacked constantly comes to a head in a very understandable way. It is not a great mystery but more of a foil for working in Arch Druid.Oberon made me laugh out loud several times while reading the book. Oberon is a fantastic character -- very well conceived and executed by Kevin Hearne. The very thought of Oberon developing "The book of five meats" is very well done (I wished for more of that discussion between Atticus and Oberan). Oberon's counter part is slowing learning language so the exchanges are a bit limited there but do have promise with more time/character interaction.Plot (3.5 stars):---------------------The plot is not terrible complex but executed well. There are the obligatory fight scenes (some small and some large). The fight scenes are handled well as per usual. The intrigue was a pretty thin and seemed a bit odd for it to come to a head now vs. other times; it seemed a bit forced.Characters (3.5 to 4 stars):-----------------------------------The character development is better in this novel than some of the previous novels as Atticus must explain the world to someone who has been in stasis for 2000 years. Atticus does well as a teacher and reframing how to explain things to the point of view of the audience. The reflectiveness is handled well.Graniaulle starts to get into some independent trouble of her own; trying to save her estranged father. A couple of hard lessons are learned by her -- hopefully, she will grow in a good way in the next book.Writing (3 to 3.5 stars):-------------------------------Very accessible and on pair with previous novels. The vocabulary is not very tough (Freshman to sophomore in High School). The prose style does not get in the way of the story telling.

Conforme à mes attentes.

I've become a big fan of The Iron Druid Chronicles. Kevin Hearne's writing style is fantastic as are his stories. They're intelligent, well researched but still easy to read. His books are full of threads but never leave me feeling confused. Kevin keeps me entertained from the first page to the last. Shattered is slightly different from previous books. Atticus, Granuaile and Owen all get their own chapters. It was very insightful to get their differing perspectives and a great way of getting to know Granuaile and Owen better.I downloaded the Audible narration to listen to Shattered as well as reading. However, I ended up listening to the whole thing rather than reading it. Christopher Ragland’s performance was once again outstanding. He transports me into each and every adventure. The pace at which he reads the story and the emotions he adds to the different scenes are perfect. I love the different accents he gives each character – his performance brings them all to life. Christopher doesn't have as wide an array of female voices as male ones. However, that's understandable and doesn't diminish his obvious talent. I knew straight away whose head we were in for the different chapters and didn't get lost in any of the conversational dialogue.While I’m talking about the characters, I must say how much I love them all in this series. They’re complex, written with their own tales and histories. It makes each one feel real and believable. I love how much Granuaile is featuring now. We get whole adventures and chapters from her perspective in this book. I also really liked the onerous druid, Owen and liked his opposing views. Oberon, Atticus’ faithful Irish Wolfhound is still the BEST. He just lights up my heart in every scene he’s in.Although the story was fast-paced it never felt rushed. We never had more information than our protagonists. Therefore we journeyed with them, never really knowing when or where the next problem would occur or the next attack would strike. I loved that I spent most of my time on the edge of my seat.Shattered is the seventh book in the Iron Druid Chronicles so a lot has happened so far. However, Kevin does a good job of weaving any pertinent information into the story seamlessly. I didn’t notice any detrimental effects to the flow or pace.The next book in this incredible series is Staked and I can’t wait to see what trials and adventures Atticus, Granuaile, Owen and the hounds have to face next!

Nice

After the last few books in this series, which felt a little like placeholders, it's great to see the author returning to his earlier excitement and style. This book reminded me what I loved so much about the Iron Druid books when I first discovered them with a short story on the author's website years ago, before the first book was even out. For anyone who thought the series was spinning its wheels, you'll be glad you gave this one a read. A lot of things are finally starting to happen to Atticus and company again, and you're going to want to be there for the ride.Just want to close with a thanks to Kevin Hearne, the author, for pulling me back into this fantastic world and uncovering some new and exciting parts of it.

Well, this book was good but felt more like a necessary slowing in the series to set up for what is to come.