Early Review – Shattered (The Iron Druid Chonicles, Book 7) by Kevin Hearne (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: June 17, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0345548481
Stand Alone or Series: 7th book in the Iron Druid Chronicles
Source: From Amazon Vine for Review
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the seventh book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. I can’t believe I have already read seven books in this series, they have just speed by so fast and been so much fun to read! Right now it looks like there are at least two more books on contract for this series.

Atticus is dealing with Owen, his Archdruid, and trying to help him adjust to modern life. Atticus is also still trying to figure out who is trying to hunt him and Granuaile down. Meanwhile Granuaile is called off to India when Laksha contacts her to let Granuaile know that her father has been possessed by an evil spirit that is spreading pestilence.

This was a very well done continuation of the Iron Druid Chronicles. Atticus and Granuaile spend most of the book on separate adventures, trying to solve separate mysteries. The book is told from 3 POVs; Atticus, Granuaile, and Owen (Atticus’s Archdruid).

Owen is an interesting addition to the series. He was Atticus’s teacher two thousand years ago. His Druidic abilities help him learn modern life quickly but he still has a lot to adjust to. He spends some time with shapeshifters adjusting to life two thousand years later and ends up on a trip to the Fae court where he discovers some answers to the secrets Atticus has been trying to ferret out. It was also interesting to see Atticus from another perspective. Atticus leaves a lot of chaos in his wake, and it was interesting to see Owen deal with the aftermath of this.

Granuaile has grown a lot throughout the series and can definitely hold her own. She spends most of her time in India, but also spent a portion of time with Yetis. This was really fun to read about. There is some Indian mythology in here, which was fun to learn about. I also really enjoyed the time she spent with the Yetis…it was very funny.

Atticus and Granuaile spend the majority of the book apart. I missed their interaction with one another. It was nice to see how much Atticus and Granuaile trust and respect each other though…even when they are far apart from one another. Granuaile has a hound of her own now and (while this new hound isn’t as crazy funny as Oberon) she is still very entertaining.

At times I kind of felt like I was reading three different books that had been put into one. Atticus and Owen’s story do have quite a bit of crossover, but Granuaile’s story seems to be unrelated. However, in the end the different storylines all come together and we find that Loki is still in the picture as well. I ended up enjoying the three different perspectives and like the way more of the plot behind who is hunting Atticus and Granuaile is revealed.

As with the previous books there is a lot of humor in this story. There were some very funny parts with Oberon and also some funny parts where Owen is trying to adjust to life 2000 years in the future from when he was put into stasis.

Overall I still am really enjoying this series. I really enjoy the characters and world. There is a little blurb in the beginning about the story thus far, I am happy that was in there. In long-running series like this it is nice to have a little reminder in the beginning of what has happened up to this point in the story. I highly recommended this whole series to fans of urban fantasy and mythology; it’s been a fast-paced series with a great world, wonderful characters, and interesting mythology.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge