Short or full-length, Hearne & Daniels OWN it all

THE EYE OF HORUS ~ 4 Stars
This is a campfire tale narrated by Attitus to Granuaile and Oberon, but it predates the IRON DRUID CHRONICLES, so Luke Daniels adopted an old Irish accent for the dialogue which was almost as fun to listen to as Owen’s. Readers discover in part how the protagonist became the Iron Druid which is a tidbit that’s mostly glossed over in the full-length books, thus I really enjoyed unraveling that mystery, plus the usual Siodhachan takes on an impossible task for a God in exchange for a future favour plot line.

GODDESS AT THE CROSSROADS ~ 3.5
This one was a barrel of laughs! The hero and William Shakespeare go witch hunting, and find more than they bargained for. O’Sullivan is pretending to be a French nobleman, so that he can “misunderstand” questions that he doesn’t want to answer, and the Bard is drunk for most of this short which makes them quite the pair. Turns out that we can credit our favourite Druid for a key piece of poetry in MacBeth! GODDESS AT THE CROSSROADS had nothing to do with the main story arc however, it was entertaining.

THE DEMON BARKER OF WHEAT STREET ~ 3 Stars
I liked this segment the least, probably because it revolved around Granuaile. It was a play on Heaven & Hell, but carnival-style. The Irish Wolfhound stole the show at certain points, and the narrative was a bit darker than what we’re used to with a pretty high body count. Although, it did serve as a lesson for the female lead that being a Druid isn’t all roses and fairy dust, it’s ghouls and reapers too.

GOLD DUST DRUID ~ 4.5 Stars
Attitus shares another tale from his past however, Oberon chimes-in throughout the account with star ratings which were freaking hilarious. His fearless leader doesn’t even get to finish his first sentence before the pooch gives him 1-star because “many books suffer the same fate”—a shot at SCOURGED’s Goodreads page? Luke Daniels had to pull-out his Italian and English accents for this Wild West short, and Kevin Hearne kept me happy with little gems such as the looming french fry-magedon. Haha!

THE BOGEYMAN OF BOORA BOG ~ 4.5 Stars
Owen regales Greta with the story about how he met Siodhachan, and became his mentor. This morsel was fairly disturbing as well but, it takes place before the near extinction of Druids, so we do get to touch base with another of Gaia’s recruits. The Morrígan pops-in, and does a bit of foreshadowing about Time Isle, and we learn that the events from THE BOGEYMAN OF BOORA BOG are responsible for the archdruid teaching his apprentice that it’s ok to bend or even break the rules when necessary.

CUDDLE DUNGEON ~ 5 Stars
We haven’t seen much of Perun, the Slavic God of Thunder, since HAMMERED which is a shame because he’s a real hoot! He and Flidais are looking to spice-up their love life, so they visit an S&M dungeon where she assumes the role of dom. What starts off on a light note quickly turns sour, and their relationship takes a turn for the worse. I have a feeling that their drama may continue to play-out in the final installment, or that might just be me hoping that Kevin Hearne will humour fans.

BLOOD PUDDING ~ 4 Stars
Granuaile’s POV is font-and-center again which would normally have me strongly considering hitting fast forward, however she actually wasn’t too bad in this short. We catch-up with her in Poland which could have almost been her intro scene at Rúla Búla. Leif has tasked her with clearing out a vampire nest with a group of mercenaries, and some amusing flirting ensues. I wish that we got to see this side of her character more often because then I wouldn’t cringe every time she opens her mouth.

HAUNTED DEVILS ~ 4.5 Stars
The Elementals don’t often ask the Druids to heal an entire species of animals, so when the call goes out, both Atticus & Owen answer. Circumstances force Greta & O’Sullivan to collaborate, and the problem in Tasmania provides a glimpse of things to come once Loki starts his end game. This tale was also an eye-opener for the archdruid in that he realizes that his pupil is the bridge between the old world and the new, and he acknowledges that he’s proud—so many feels!

THE END OF IDYLLS ~ 5 Stars
The protagonist has mentioned his first companion a couple of times in passing throughout this series, and in THE END OF IDYLLS Siodhachan tells Oberon what happened to him, and why it took him so long to open his heart to another. The Morrígan announces the onset of Ragnorok, and sets the tone for the last novel. Luke Daniels adds yet another voice to his arsenal, and I can’t tell you how psyched I am to listen to his narration of the finale! *sniff*

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78 people found this helpful

This is a collection of short stories

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I thought I had pre-purchased the next installment of the series, not a collection of short stories. I DID enjoy the short stories, just not what I expected.

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61 people found this helpful

What the heck happened?

When I first read the Iron Druid Chronicles, I was so delighted that I preached to all my reading friends about it. I read the two first ones and listened to all the rest, including the novellas, on Audible. Hearne's storytelling and Daniels' thoughtful yet fun delivery were a match made in heaven.
This book though... My god. Hearne is only rehashing his old jokes (poodles and sausages, over and over) and to say that Daniels is hamming it up would be the understatement of the century. Think Shatner on steroids reading to toddlers. What was a great series for both youths and adults now sounds like a nickelodeon production.r
Are they bored? Just going through the motions? Whatever it is, the should seriously reassess their work. Both of them turned Oberon into Jar Jar Binks and the franchise into a throwaway trifle.

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53 people found this helpful

Better than a novella

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This is one of my top all time favorite series. There are different stories told from different perspectives and a redo of The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Luke Daniels (Thank the Gods!). Luke Daniels is spectacular with all the voices, it seems to me as if he truly enjoys this series and characters, especially Oberon. The stories are all interesting and add to the stories past and the current storyline. Listening to these stories makes me truly anxious to hear the final book. I pray that Hearne reconsiders and keeps writing IDC novels. Hearing Atticus and Owen swear put a smile on my face all day!

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32 people found this helpful

Disappointed

I really enjoy this series and enjoy listening to Luke Daniels performances. I really didn't enjoy the short stories that jumped around. I was looking forward to the continuation of the story where it left off from Staked. This book feels, rushed, thrown together and is not up to the authors usual story telling. Parts of it are fun but I feel like this is the Phantom Menace of the series. A book I'll listen to/read once or twice but not one I'll come back to over and over again.

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28 people found this helpful

Not worth the time

I am a huge Kevin Hearne fan, and Luke Daniels does his usual outstanding job performing this book. However the "stories" are terrible. They feel like chapters that were cut from the original stories for a very good reason...they were awful. It seems to be the rage with popular writers to take a collection of half written stories, bad chapters and vetoed story-lines and put them in a book and pass them off as "new works or short stories". Brandon Sanderson is doing it, C.J. Box is doing it, and now it seems that Kevin Hearne has joined the bandwagon.

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23 people found this helpful

Sigh

I really like the series but I had to take away a star because the self- indulgent political preaching got to be so annoying in this one. And the worst part is that the arguments weren’t even well thought-out. It distracts from the story, takes me out of the entertaining experience and frankly, pisses me off. I listen to stuff like this to get away from all the divisive politics I have to see on the internet and everywhere else in my life. Thanks for ruining my entertainment outlet, too. :(

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22 people found this helpful

A little too political for my taste

Is there anything you would change about this book?

When I listen to or read a book it is to get away from every day life. I don't want to hear the writer's views on political subjects. I like the Iron Druid series but I didn't care for a couple of the short stories in this collection. I knew this was a collection of short stories when I purchased the book but found myself not really caring for this format.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kevin Hearne? Why or why not?

I'll probably listen to the last book since I have so much time invested in the series.

Which character – as performed by Luke Daniels – was your favorite?

Oberon is always the best.

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17 people found this helpful

Yawn...

Getting really tired of these short story collections from the Iron Druid. Not likely to buy any others. Hugely disappointed that this was not a full novel.

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10 people found this helpful

A Collection of Short Stories

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The format is a collection of short stories which bounce around in time. Each new story is prefaced with the books that they are before and after. The transitions which attempt to link the stories can be awkward but they are not too annoying. The stories themselves are solid short stories. It's definitely not as good as the Iron Druid books, but it's worth 1 credit. The on benefit of this format is that it's easy to pick up and put down.

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9 people found this helpful