Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, Inc. (2011)

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Blurb from Audible.com: Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully - he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plane of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

I am really enjoying this series, which Kevin Hearne started with Hounded, continued with Hexed, and now Hammered. In case you don't know, Atticus is a 2100 year old druid living in the desert southwest with his Irish wolfhound Oberon and training up a new druid, former barmaid Granuile.
In Hexed, Atticus had to compromise and make some promises to his lawyer, the Icelandic vampire Leif. Leif wants something next to impossible - he wants Atticus to join forces with him in taking on Thor, God of Thunder. Yeah, right. Sounds like suicide to me. And a great story.

First Atticus must set a few things right. He knows that if he keeps his promise, and survives, he won't be able to stay in Tempe, AZ any longer. He'll have the Norse pantheon after him, and probably after all those he cares about. So, first things first. He has to uphold his promise to Lakshmi, the Indian witch body snatcher. She wants one of Idun's golden apples, which will allow her to stay young and healthy for centuries. And that quest starts with a squirrel the size of a Mack truck. Folks, meet Ratatosk, the insult-shuttling squirrel of the World tree.

This was a great, wild ride of a book. Constantly, I wondered if Atticus was going to get handed his head, ever find his clothes again, take a spear in the gut, be forced to take out large, fuzzy, mythical animals, get laid. The balance between tension and humor is exquisite! It was hard to put this audiobook on pause and go make dinner, run the trash out, shower, etc.

Luke Daniels once again gave us an awesome performance. His pronunciation of the Russian and Nordic gods, along with the Scandinavian names of the Thor-Crushing Squad was excellent. I especially loved his voice for Ratatosk - it truly sounded like a large fuzzy hoarding nuts in his cheeks.

+++++: Excellent action scenes, humor in the face of death, Oberon is such a lovable character, the male-bonding chapters.

-: Purely my opinion, but I hope Kevin Hearne finds it in his heart to resurrect one the mythical characters that bites the dust (the first to go in this book).