Tricked by Kevin Hearne
Series: Iron Druid Chronicles #4
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.
But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.
I’m not sure if it was me, or the book, but this one didn’t hold me like the last one did. I seriously don’t know why. I love Native American mythologies, and I think there are far too few books – fiction or otherwise – that really delve into it. So, I was excited to start this one.
But I quickly found myself frustrated by the lack of any sort of real development in the storyline. I felt like we were jumping around from crisis to crisis – and only some of them to do with the main story. I never really got to settle into anything.
That’s not always a bad thing, and sometimes keeps the tensions high, but I guess I wanted to settle a bit in this book.
I also found myself slightly frustrated with Atticus in this book. His ‘meh’ attitude and desire to just procrastinate didn’t do much for me. I get that he had other obligations. And I do understand how important training Granuaile as a Druid is. But at the same time, stuff is happening. And it’s stuff that you had a hand in starting. A bit more concern wouldn’t have been overdone.
Not the strongest book in the series. Hammered, is still my favorite of the ones I’ve re-read this go ’round. But solid, nonetheless.
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