Atticus is back for another excellent adventure. Now
having left his home after killing Thor and a goodly part of the Norse pantheon
he has some problems to handle. Firstly there’s the fact that the Norse want
him dead and so do several Thunder Gods… just because really (they’re thunder
gods, they don’t need a lot of explanation).
There’s also a problem of killing a large portion of the
Norse pantheon. Seems that those gods were largely the reason Ragnorak wasn’t
happening – and now you have Hel and the denizens of Niffilheim running around
unchecked. Add in that Leif’s incapacitation means that there’s a whole lot of
vampires flocking to the area to fill the void.
And Atticus owes Coyote
a favour. Which is never, ever, ever a good thing. It seems simple enough (in
an almost impossible way), Coyote wants to rebuild the economy in an area for the
Navajo (Diné) people. But the Trickster has
far more in mind than that – as you would expect – and Atticus soon finds himself
up to his eyebrows in far more than he expected.
When I finished this book I was sad. Because it was over
and I now have to wait months, MONTHS, before Kevin Hearne releases another
awesome book.
To assuage myself I turned back to page one and read it a second time – I didn’t even put it down between readings. Alas, I have finished it again and, again, I am sad that it is over.
In short, this book is most awesome.
What? You want more?
The characters are amazing. I love Atticus and Granuaille
and their relationship. Atticus engages in a lot of deep and fascinating
introspection, grows as a character as he accepts his own arrogance and pride have
tripped him up once too often. And, of course, he is utterly and unbelievably
funny and awesome with amazing wit, clever ideas without them being
ridiculously over the top and a powerful sense of both the ridiculous and
righteous wrath.
Oberon remains beyond hilarious. And he gets to be the
hero as well, showing he’s not just a witty, sausage obsessed doggy with the
best lines. And Snugglepumpkin has a very very very amusing and likely accurate
hypothesis. The whole book is full off
wit and humour that lightens
The world is incredible – the pantheons of the different
gods and belief systems with creatures and beings from each pantheon and
culture all apparent. And the mob attack by the collected thunder gods was
worth reading over and over again.
This story has plenty of unexpected twists in it – I completely
didn’t expect the Leif storyline and was bowled over by it. I didn’t expect Hel’s
appearance and I totally thought Atticus’ master plan would go much much
differently from how it did. I can’t say more without spoiling it and this book
is just too awesome to be spoiled.
We also have some wonderful side commentary on class, the
political system, and that Dickens was paid by the damn word (and, yes,
Atticus, it shows). Nothing is overly laid on to the point of lecturing but a
lot is portrayed – about the power of large companies, considering environmental
consequences and the often exclusion of marginalised people and areas from
national consciousness.
Inclusion-wise, I love that Atticus ex-wife of whom he
speaks in the most loving and cherishing of terms and was apparently a strong
and powerful woman, was a black woman. I’m also deeply and impressed by the
treatment of the Navajo in this book. There is a vast amount of research here,
a whole lot of fully explored myths, cultural practices, language and beliefs.
The native characters are presented respectfully and as people – not woo-woo dispensing
wise brown people trailing stereotypes behind them and they’re not just an
insert to get some big bad bugaboo for the white protagonists to face. Throughout,
Atticus, despite his 2,000 years of age and his long history of lore and experience
defers to and respect their power, experience and wisdom – and the one time he
doesn’t treat it with total deference he chastises himself for his own pride
and arrogance.
This is one of the best portrayals of Native American
characters I’ve seen in Urban Fantasy. So much information, so much fully
fleshed characters – even side characters, so much research, it’s refreshing to
see more than just “hey this is a Skinwalker and a Wendigo – they’re sorta like
werewolves, raaawr!”
And Coyote is awesome. Yes yes he is. And very very
tricky.
All in all this book not only gives 5 fangs but I’m
tempted to repeat the icon just so it can have all the fangs – and then I can
fly out to wherever Kevin Hearne is to fanpoodle in a most undignified fashion
If I had to drag up one minor criticism (and it’s hard
because every fibre of my being screams that people who say anything negative
about this book should be viciously fanpoodled to death) it’s that there is a
lot of information presented with both lectures and internal musing. But he has
an apprentice who he should be lecturing so it’s fully justified in the story –
it also shows both character growth and is both fascinating and amusing to read
as well.
Did I mention this book is awesome? Because it is ridiculously awesome. And I want to read it again.
