Joshua Palmatier's Blog, page 47
September 14, 2012
Book Review: TRICKED by Kevin Hearne
Tricked is the fourth novel in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles and picks up fairly close to the previous novel, Hammered. I've certainly enjoyed this series so far, and look forward to the next book, Trapped.
This book starts off with the main character, Atticus, attempting to leave his old life behind, taking his new apprentice with him, by tricking the gods seeking vengeance on him into thinking he's died with the help of Coyote. He's hoping he can go into hiding and train his apprentice undisturbed. But in order to gain Coyote's help, he's committed himself to helping the trickster god. He thought he'd worded the deal well-enough he'd only be helping shift some dirt around using his powers, but Coyote is known as the trickster god for a reason. Instead, he finds himself obligated to help Coyote deal with some local skinwalkers, while creating a mine for Coyote's people. All of this going on while a vampire war is brewing in the state of Arizona.
I liked the fact that this book dealt with a Native American mythology, which isn't used enough in the SF&F realm in my opinion. I've read a few things, but most of them just don't use the mythology effectively, in my opinion. Kevin Hearne uses it well here, and shows more of an understanding of and respect for it than most (as far as I could tell, not being an expert). After having books dealing with the Fae, witches, and the Norse gods, I was wondering what Atticus was going to be asked to deal with next, and this fit perfectly with the situation as it stood at the end of Hammered. I liked that Atticus decided he had to leave his old, comfortable life behind; not many urban fantasy books have main characters as practical as this (most get stubborn and refuse to move, no matter what). I also liked the pains taken to make most of those after him believe that he, and his apprentice, are dead. All of this activity is woven through dealing with the skinwalkers and the new mine.
In fact, that might be my only real complaint about this book. We get going on the skinwalker plotline and that's moving along rather well, when suddenly it felt as if that got paused while Atticus dealt with the some of the vampire war issue. And then we suddenly return to the skinwalkers again for the remainder of the book. Everything else was woven into the skinwalker plotline except for this one piece.
But that aside, this book was stronger than Hammered, which I felt had a few more serious issues. I like the direction Atticus is taking because it makes sense. I like him and his apprentice (and Oberon, of course). And I like the way he's manipulated by Coyote and others in this book. Like in Hammered, we see more evidence that Atticus isn't all-powerful, which is good. Here, we actually get to see him out of his element. I still recommend this series to the urban fantasy lovers out there. It's different, humorous and dark at the same time, with characters that I think readers will love.
This book starts off with the main character, Atticus, attempting to leave his old life behind, taking his new apprentice with him, by tricking the gods seeking vengeance on him into thinking he's died with the help of Coyote. He's hoping he can go into hiding and train his apprentice undisturbed. But in order to gain Coyote's help, he's committed himself to helping the trickster god. He thought he'd worded the deal well-enough he'd only be helping shift some dirt around using his powers, but Coyote is known as the trickster god for a reason. Instead, he finds himself obligated to help Coyote deal with some local skinwalkers, while creating a mine for Coyote's people. All of this going on while a vampire war is brewing in the state of Arizona.
I liked the fact that this book dealt with a Native American mythology, which isn't used enough in the SF&F realm in my opinion. I've read a few things, but most of them just don't use the mythology effectively, in my opinion. Kevin Hearne uses it well here, and shows more of an understanding of and respect for it than most (as far as I could tell, not being an expert). After having books dealing with the Fae, witches, and the Norse gods, I was wondering what Atticus was going to be asked to deal with next, and this fit perfectly with the situation as it stood at the end of Hammered. I liked that Atticus decided he had to leave his old, comfortable life behind; not many urban fantasy books have main characters as practical as this (most get stubborn and refuse to move, no matter what). I also liked the pains taken to make most of those after him believe that he, and his apprentice, are dead. All of this activity is woven through dealing with the skinwalkers and the new mine.
In fact, that might be my only real complaint about this book. We get going on the skinwalker plotline and that's moving along rather well, when suddenly it felt as if that got paused while Atticus dealt with the some of the vampire war issue. And then we suddenly return to the skinwalkers again for the remainder of the book. Everything else was woven into the skinwalker plotline except for this one piece.
But that aside, this book was stronger than Hammered, which I felt had a few more serious issues. I like the direction Atticus is taking because it makes sense. I like him and his apprentice (and Oberon, of course). And I like the way he's manipulated by Coyote and others in this book. Like in Hammered, we see more evidence that Atticus isn't all-powerful, which is good. Here, we actually get to see him out of his element. I still recommend this series to the urban fantasy lovers out there. It's different, humorous and dark at the same time, with characters that I think readers will love.
New Book Discussion!
The newest book discussion is now up at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! We're discussing Tad Williams' newest release, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, the first book in his urban fantasy series called Bobby Dollar. Swing on by and check it out! Or if you've read it already, let everyone know what you thought of it.
dawbooks
)! We're discussing Tad Williams' newest release, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, the first book in his urban fantasy series called Bobby Dollar. Swing on by and check it out! Or if you've read it already, let everyone know what you thought of it.September 7, 2012
For the Aspiring Writers Out There!
Here's a possible open market. Harper is looking for submissions for a new imprint/line that publishes original ebooks. At the link, go down to the "Publishing News" section and you'll see the announcement with the details. Note that they're only open to submissions from newbies and aspiring writers for two weeks in October, so get those manuscripts polished up between now and then and submit!
September 6, 2012
Book Review: "Hammered" by Kevin Hearne
Hammered is the third book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, which I discovered when he was on my panel at Comic Con. I love this series, and moved immediately from the second book to this one.
The premise of the book is that Atticus' debts have come due. During the first two books, he made deals with some questionable characters in order to achieve his goals, and now he needs to follow through on his own end of the bargain. He told an old witch he would steal one of the Golden Apples from Asgard, and Hammered starts off with him infiltrating Asgard to follow through on that. But that isn't his true purpose in Asgard. He's using it as more of a scouting mission in order to satisfy Leif's request that he help the vampire kill Thor. The rest of the book is essentially Atticus' attempts to help Leif--and a slew of other characters--take out the thunder god, even after he's been warned by the Morrigan and Jesus that it's a bad idea.
First off, this book has a slightly different feel from the first two books, but it's hard to point to something specific that causes this feeling. I know that when I started reading it, I felt like the beginning was rushed, and what happens escalated too fast--from sneaking in to OMG DEATHS! After that, the pacing seemed to slow down way too much. So perhaps part of the feeling in pacing issues. Another part, though, is likely the characters. Atticus' actions seem out-of-control, when he's never appeared out-of-control before, and some of his decision just seem unthoughtful and rash, especially at the beginning. So the character felt slightly off to me as well. Not until late in the book did Atticus seem to settle back into his old character.
I did enjoy the book. I liked seeing that Atticus' actions in the previous books had significant and serious consequences, and they all (pretty much) came due here. In too many urban fantasies, the characters do some horrific or at least consequential things, and yet there never seem to be bad repercussions because of their actions. That's not true here. In fact, I felt that Atticus was appearing too powerful in the second book; that fear was allayed here, when his smugness comes back to haunt him. Once Atticus returned to his old character, and the pacing picked up, the book was great. There was a section in the middle--sort of a Canterbury Tales kind of thing--that readers are going to love or hate, but it was a minor distraction overall.
So, not as great as the first two, in my opinion, although it had its moments and certainly didn't turn me off from the series at all. I've already read the fourth book, Tricked, and intend to get the fifth book, Trapped, when it hits shelves later this fall. I still recommend the series highly to everyone who loves urban fantasy . . . or fantasy in general, actually. It's fun, humorous, but with a serious backbone to it.
The premise of the book is that Atticus' debts have come due. During the first two books, he made deals with some questionable characters in order to achieve his goals, and now he needs to follow through on his own end of the bargain. He told an old witch he would steal one of the Golden Apples from Asgard, and Hammered starts off with him infiltrating Asgard to follow through on that. But that isn't his true purpose in Asgard. He's using it as more of a scouting mission in order to satisfy Leif's request that he help the vampire kill Thor. The rest of the book is essentially Atticus' attempts to help Leif--and a slew of other characters--take out the thunder god, even after he's been warned by the Morrigan and Jesus that it's a bad idea.
First off, this book has a slightly different feel from the first two books, but it's hard to point to something specific that causes this feeling. I know that when I started reading it, I felt like the beginning was rushed, and what happens escalated too fast--from sneaking in to OMG DEATHS! After that, the pacing seemed to slow down way too much. So perhaps part of the feeling in pacing issues. Another part, though, is likely the characters. Atticus' actions seem out-of-control, when he's never appeared out-of-control before, and some of his decision just seem unthoughtful and rash, especially at the beginning. So the character felt slightly off to me as well. Not until late in the book did Atticus seem to settle back into his old character.
I did enjoy the book. I liked seeing that Atticus' actions in the previous books had significant and serious consequences, and they all (pretty much) came due here. In too many urban fantasies, the characters do some horrific or at least consequential things, and yet there never seem to be bad repercussions because of their actions. That's not true here. In fact, I felt that Atticus was appearing too powerful in the second book; that fear was allayed here, when his smugness comes back to haunt him. Once Atticus returned to his old character, and the pacing picked up, the book was great. There was a section in the middle--sort of a Canterbury Tales kind of thing--that readers are going to love or hate, but it was a minor distraction overall.
So, not as great as the first two, in my opinion, although it had its moments and certainly didn't turn me off from the series at all. I've already read the fourth book, Tricked, and intend to get the fifth book, Trapped, when it hits shelves later this fall. I still recommend the series highly to everyone who loves urban fantasy . . . or fantasy in general, actually. It's fun, humorous, but with a serious backbone to it.
September 3, 2012
DAW's New Releases!!!
I've posted the new releases for DAW for September over at the DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
). There's new Tad Williams, Seanan McGuire, and Jennifer Roberson, plus paperback releases for Sherwood Smith and C.S. Friedman. Swing on by and check them out! Then hit those bookstores.
dawbooks
). There's new Tad Williams, Seanan McGuire, and Jennifer Roberson, plus paperback releases for Sherwood Smith and C.S. Friedman. Swing on by and check them out! Then hit those bookstores.Book Review: "Hexed" by Kevin Hearne
Hexed is the second book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, my newest discovery from Comic Con. Kevin was on the urban fantasy panel I was moderating, and I hadn't heard of him or seen his books before that. I'm glad I've found him now though.
Hexed picks up a few weeks after the end of the first book, Hounded. The basic premise is that Atticus, said Iron Druid, had managed to kill a god and this has put most of the other gods on edge, wondering if he's going to make this a habit. He's also caught the attention of Coyote, who wants him to help get rid of a fallen angel that escaped and Coyote figures is Atticus' responsibility, and the local coven of witches, after what he did to half of their group. The witches simply want a non-aggression pact . . . and Atticus' help securing the local area from an insurgence of local unpleasants, including another group of witches and a group of Bacchants. In any case, Atticus' plate is full, and he might be fulling a little bit TOO cocky after the previous god's death.
I enjoyed Hexed. Perhaps not as much as Hounded, which was such a pleasant surprise, but this is definitely a series and author that I'm going to keep on my radar. My main concern here was that Atticus started to feel a little TOO powerful. He handles everything with aplomp, so I'm wondering what it is that could hurt him. The main focus of the book is (based on the title) the insurgent witches. Nearly everything else is simply a distraction, keeping him from dealing with them. This made the book feel a little . . . loose and unconnected. However, as the book progresses, we see that Atticus does have limits and can't handle everything (he has to call in some favors to deal with a few of the distractions), and much of the "random" distractions are actually set up for the books to come.
In any case, the book was still one of the best urban fantasies I've read, and it's hard to please me when it comes to urban fantasy. Fun and humorious, with characters readers will love and will root for. Definitely recommended.
Hexed picks up a few weeks after the end of the first book, Hounded. The basic premise is that Atticus, said Iron Druid, had managed to kill a god and this has put most of the other gods on edge, wondering if he's going to make this a habit. He's also caught the attention of Coyote, who wants him to help get rid of a fallen angel that escaped and Coyote figures is Atticus' responsibility, and the local coven of witches, after what he did to half of their group. The witches simply want a non-aggression pact . . . and Atticus' help securing the local area from an insurgence of local unpleasants, including another group of witches and a group of Bacchants. In any case, Atticus' plate is full, and he might be fulling a little bit TOO cocky after the previous god's death.
I enjoyed Hexed. Perhaps not as much as Hounded, which was such a pleasant surprise, but this is definitely a series and author that I'm going to keep on my radar. My main concern here was that Atticus started to feel a little TOO powerful. He handles everything with aplomp, so I'm wondering what it is that could hurt him. The main focus of the book is (based on the title) the insurgent witches. Nearly everything else is simply a distraction, keeping him from dealing with them. This made the book feel a little . . . loose and unconnected. However, as the book progresses, we see that Atticus does have limits and can't handle everything (he has to call in some favors to deal with a few of the distractions), and much of the "random" distractions are actually set up for the books to come.
In any case, the book was still one of the best urban fantasies I've read, and it's hard to please me when it comes to urban fantasy. Fun and humorious, with characters readers will love and will root for. Definitely recommended.
