Atticus has brought his old Archdruid to the 21st
century. Owen faces a near impossible task – adapting to the last 2,000 years
of history, not least of which the various shenanigans his apprentice has got
up to (and, perhaps, questioning his own teaching style with him, looking at
what Atticus as become).
Granuaile is clear of Owen – but Laksha calls for help.
Granuaile’s father is in India on an archaeological dig and has been possessed
by a very dangerous, worrisome creature. With Atticus busy, new druid Granuaile
is ready and able to set off and handle this herself.
While Atticus, in between helping Owen, is still facing
Ragnarok and Loki’s ongoing plotting. He has the support of a number of deities
from different pantheons, but he needs to know what help they can give, what is
motivating them and, basically, what is going on and what his next move should
be. He’d also quite like to know which of the Tuatha de Danann is trying to
kill him – that would be helpful, but he ends up uncovering something far
larger than expected
Set the Fanpoodles to drool!
Honestly, I’ve started writing the review 3 or 4 times
because I didn’t even know where to start. There was so much I loved so I’m
just going to throw gushing praise at a page.
I loved the three characters with the different voices. Atticus,
Granuaile and Owen all have their own separate but connected storylines and
they all sound very different. Atticus’s style is something I always love – his
age peaking through his general fun and light hearted exterior. Granuaile has a
much more formal, even poetic way of thinking and speaking and I think it still
resonates with how she approaches druidism, her deep and abiding reverence for
the Earth that led her to choose druidry over witch magic. And then there’s
Owen – crotchety, ornery but with bits of wisdom poking through his general
rough and readiness. He’s dealing with a major case of culture shock but he’s
dealing with it in a way that is both very druidic (with its focus on learning)
and shows just how tough he is. I also like the byplay between Owen and Atticus
– he still sees Atticus as his young apprentice but every now and then realises
that Atticus is literally 2 thousand years older than him
It’s interesting to see a book from multiple points of
view because it not only lets you see the different characters through
different lenses but if the author can pull off the different voices and make
them authentic it really carries so much to the characterisation.
I also loved that they were doing their own thing. It’s
not just the Atticus show – Granuaile is a grown woman, a full druid and fully capable
of doing things by herself. She doesn’t need to check in with Atticus all the
time, she doesn’t need his permission or his guidance. He’s definitely the
better druid – 2,000 years experience and all that – but she still has skills
and talents he doesn’t and she doesn’t need a babysitter. I love that, now her
training is finished, she is definitely more than a sidekick; she’s a character
in her own right. And she will do her own thing. No, she’s not always
successful, yes she faces tragedy and set back – but she also gets to be the
hero and save Atticus and a considerable amount of the day as well – so her set
backs are not even remotely linked to
her being lesser.
We also have an excellent look back at what she left
behind. After all, Granuaile faked her own death and left her old life behind.
She had family, she had loved ones, people she valued – I’m glad we caught up
with that, addressed it and had some closure on it. It was beautifully, deeply
sad – but also wonderfully mature. The same goes with her failings, she has
grief, she even has anger – but she also has common sense; she recognises what
she can and cannot do, she realises who she must blame she’s poignant without
being melodramatic. I like that a character can have a big, dramatic, awful
moment in their lives without the author leaping on it as an excuse for them to
do something really freaking stupid to cause problems for the future.
The three plot lines also made an excellent whole.
Granuaile is duelling on a very personal, one-on-one level to try and face on
particular battle, reduce to the destruction and trying to foil the enemy.
Atticus is pursuing the meta – he’s talking to the coalition of gods that are
supporting him, revealing more and more of the truth (aside: I love how crafty
and cunning the gods are. Even gods we thought we understood - the gods are way better at plotting than we
are!) and just what is at stake (I also love the idea of evil gods not joining Loki’s
campaign because they have egos and need to be the centre of attention. Lucifer
isn’t going to get involved in Ragnarok because it’s not HIS apocalypse). Owen
is very personally getting his own stuff together, but he’s also reminding us
of the personal connections of a lot of the characters – the werewolves and the
Tuatha De Danann – he’s bringing a personal element that Granuaile and Atticus
don’t have time for and keeping the relationships alive. Each story had its
place and each story carefully
And we have a big dramatic show down and an epic battle
(which was well and truly awesome) that struck a perfect balance between
showing us why the gods valued the druids while at the same time how very clearly the druids are not gods
themselves. It also has a good amount of thinking from everyone involved –
like, when facing an awesome battle scene, the Tuatha de Danann recognising
that maybe, they have screwed up, there is a reason for the battle and they are
at fault for not realising it sooner. There’s a lot from Atticus as well and
Owen and Granuaile – a lot of these characters recognise they’ve screwed up.
They realise they’ve hurt others. They realise they’ve made bad decisions. They
realise they’ve made poor choices – they have a lot of regret and guilt and
pain. Which they deal with – no, they deal with, move on and try to fix things
and resolve to do better next time. They have regret but they don’t let regret
drive them to more mistakes (especially since Atticus has one of those
excellent “I’m 2,000 really” moments of wisdom)
There was some nice world building development as well – including
the limitations of gods and what it actually means when a god dies.
There’s also a whole lot of fun. Not only do we have
Oberon but we have Orlaith as well – we have 2 hounds. DOUBLE THE HOUNDS! No
sausage is safe! We have yetis with their beautiful art and ice hockey which is
awesome. We have a lot of skipping around the world and the Irish gods who are
always immense fun (and Perun who is even more so). We have Owen, copious
amounts of booze and getting into the modern world (he discovers Guinness. The
Irish are not completely lost). It’s
epic and exciting and adventurous – but so fun which is such a nice balance to
hit.
This review is scattered all over, because there’s so
much I want to talk about, so many epic, emotional, wise and plain awesome
moments I want to include but simply can’t without dishing out massive spoilers
We do have a lot of globe trotting in this book which
means a fair few incidental POC characters in India and Japan. We explore the
pantheons of both as they become involved and there is definitely some decent
research here – at least some decent attempt to delve into some of the beliefs
and legends behind these gods. Jesus makes a reappearance as a Latino man this
time. Laksha is around for a decent part of the book as well, bringing in a
heft whack of Indian mythology and being her usual interesting character. I
like her and I like how she works with Atticus and Granuaile – Granuaile is in
a perfect position to know Laksha and trust her while Atticus continues to have
his deep suspicion of witches. There is an element of the Indian people being
superstitious to a very deletious degree but they are facing the supernatural
up close and personal at the time which is understandable – and in a world with
the supernatural everywhere, is it a sign of being backward to be
superstitious?
We also have a couple of Hal’s werewolves being POC to
try and dispel some of the POC=foreign trope.
Another pack of werewolves is led by a married gay
couple. They’re there and, apparently, lacking in stereotype (it’s hard to say
because they’re more mentioned and referred to than actually speaking and being
part of the story). It’s not a lot but it beats the past erasure.
When I first picked up this book I was wary about the
three POV storylines and even more wary about the introduction of Owen. I didn’t
see what he would add to the plot or this already epic world. But it worked, it
really worked and enriched the wonderful things we already had. I could wish
for more involved inclusion among the main cast, though I’ve certainly read
much worse. In terms of plot, characterisation, writing, world building – I just
have to praise, I honestly have not one single complaint or nitpick. I love it,
I read it without a pause even for coffee and when I finished I was sad because
now I have to wait for more Iron Druid goodness.
Hopefully not very long.
