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  • Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Seven
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Seven

Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Seven

byKevin Hearne
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Top positive review

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Sneaky Burrito
5.0 out of 5 starsanother enjoyable Iron Druid book
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2015
I'm kind of sad that my Iron Druid binge-read is over until the next book comes out. I liked a lot of things about this book. (That being said, don't start here. Start with volume 1. You'll need the background by the time you get to this point.) Please be advised that some spoilers from past volumes may be included here; you can't get around that and adequately talk about this story.

First of all, the pace is toned down a bit from the previous book (which was a nonstop run-for-your-life kind of novel). There was still action and there were a lot of good fights in this one, but there were some of the scenes of everyday life that I've come to enjoy in this series, as well.

We have a new character in this book, Owen Kennedy, who was Atticus's (the "Iron Druid" of the title) archdruid many (many) years ago. His introduction to the modern age is a highlight of the book for me (well, it's more a series of smaller events). Owen is one of the three viewpoint characters and one of his chapters has one of the funniest paragraphs I've read in a book in a long time (it's the one about getting a pet monkey instead of a dog and I'll say no more -- except that someone who had not read any of these books, when shown only that paragraph, also laughed).

Atticus gets Owen settled (kind of) and then goes off on a quest to find who is sending various divinities after him and why. He does get his answer, and it ties back into something that happened in the very early books of the series. I like his interactions with various deities; we are introduced to some belief systems (including Shinto) that haven't appeared in previous volumes.

And Granuaile is off to solve a mystery of her own: the disappearance of her father on an archaeological dig in India. This ends up tying in nicely to the overall story arc, plus I like that Granuaile is considered *able* to go off on her own -- she doesn't need protection from a man. She has been trained and bound to the Earth as a Druid and is considered fully capable. In Granuaile's storyline, we are introduced to some of the Hindu pantheon, as well.

At any rate, I think all the main characters' sections are interesting and do a reasonably good job of balancing the current quest along with advancing the overall story arc.

This book is a little unique among volumes in this series in that it has a theme outside of all the plot events, that of coping with loss. In the previous volume, the Morrigan died and Atticus and others are coping with that. Owen comes back to realize that everyone he knew (except Atticus) is long dead. Granuaile deals with issues involving both her parents. Even Orlaith, Granuaile's dog, has a little bit to say on the matter. And Greta the werewolf also has some comments about loss. It's interesting that this all came to a head at once. And each character deals with it in his or her own way. (Owen has some downright sensible words on the subject.) It's not just loss of relationships, but the consequences of making a choice (say, to become a werewolf or Druid) that is discussed. But it's well-integrated into the story and not at all preachy.

Worldbuilding is consistent with previous volumes in the series, as is writing style. The series' characteristic humor is present, and of course Atticus's dog Oberon has a lot of interjections for comic relief. If you liked these elements before, you'll like them again. They don't radically change.

The only aspect I wasn't totally sold on was the alternation in viewpoints. Each of the main characters had a number of POV chapters. I didn't monitor these to see who got the most page time. I didn't think the split was too uneven. And I didn't hate any of the viewpoints; I actually found them all interesting (wanted to read everything, didn't want to skip to new sections of the story). The problem I had was that it was often hard to tell which character's head we were in, when a new scene opened. All of them were in first-person POV, which is fine, but it was jarring to think I was reading something from Granuaile only to realize it was Owen, for example. It wasn't always easy to tell from the context of the first few lines.

I liked the conclusion as well. There were some surprises, some things I did not expect. But they didn't come out of nowhere -- their foundations were well-laid in this and previous volumes. Overall, though, this was a fun book and I can't wait for the next one. 4.5 stars.
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Lady
2.0 out of 5 starsFatigue? It was just phoned in ? Either way this book in the series is a miss and you are better off giving it a miss.
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2016
In terms of the writing for the rest of the series this was big let down. Maybe the authour is struggling with switching between three narrative points of view but as other reviewers have said it is a laborious read. For the most part none of the three characters fully engage. The female protagonist partially engages at a couple of points but never fully catches on. The other two are two dimensional cutouts despite the fact that one of them was the original protagonist of the series and has six previous novels of center stage for character development.

It feels as though the entire novel was background material for a real novel. Instead of building up with character development the epiphany of a major character which should have been the most emotionally engaging point of the novel was a rushed, dry, two dimensional blurb buried in an action sequence ... when the blow by blow account of a battle is more engaging than a major inflection point in the emotional character development of the most important character of the series ... well underwhelming is the nicest way I can put it.

For another authour I would have given this three stars but given that this authour has spent six books showing that he can do so much better I was actually tempted to give it one star. Partly because it falls so far short of the six previous books and partly because it is uneven and two dimensional it was a real effort to finish and in the end it didn't feel as though the effort paid off.

The only way this book is worth reading is if it sets up the next book and the writing in the next book shows the quality that made me buy this one without thinking. Even if, or maybe especially if, the next book is good I suggest skipping this one and just read the prelude or a plot summary online. That way you can enjoy his writing and the characters will not lose their grip on your imagination while you slog through book 7.
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From the United States

N. Wiggins
3.0 out of 5 stars Atticus learns from his past mistakes
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
So, it's been a while since I read the Iron Druid series, luckily Kevin gives enough back story to jog my memory. I liked the book, you can tell that its coming to the end of the series as some threads are ending. I wasn't a fan of the abrupt ending. It could have done without the last dozen paragraphs. When I tried to turn the page and it was empty I had an audible WTF moment.

I really liked Owen. I still think Oberon is the best character in the series, don't give me crap about him being a dog.

I'm extremely happy that Atticus has to deal with the fallout of some of his douchy moves. And he finally shows the proper respect to the female dieties. I thought Kevin's previous portrayal of the female gods was misogynist, he begins yo redeem himself here. Well done.
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RMM_RAM
3.0 out of 5 stars It was ok
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this one. I really like the series. Atticus, Oberon, and the bunch are pretty interesting charecters. I couldn't like this one as much because for some reason Atticus's charecter is changed greatly from what it once was. He was once a badass 2000 year old druid with legendary fighting skills and now he is taking on some nerdier trends. Since when did he play role playing games, video games of any sort, or not act accordingly to someone verbaly bashing him? He was introduced as a witty fighter with an edge, but for some reason he loses his backbone to his archdruid, someone he has far surpassed in knowledge and skill, and is gonna let him just trash talk him and ruin his image freely. The same archdruid that supposedly left him scarred forever? Didn't he kill and imprison a few godly folk for much lesser slights? And this archdruid... ok so he traveled 2000 years into the future from a past where, as is said from his own mouth, no one liked liked him nor him any other and now all of a sudden everyone likes him and he makes friends everywhere? All of a sudden he is a social butterfly when, to him at least, a few days previous he was a hated hermit with zero social skills. Overall, if you ignore all of my gripes the book was entertaining. I liked seeing the progression to what I'll assume is the final bout to come. From the looks of things Atticus will be fighting Loki after he finishes off that weird vamp thing or enlists him to his own side, Owen will be taking on Hel's dog and the vampire king, and Grainuelle will prolly cry a bit a then those tears will enrage her and she will furiously destroy Hel herself and probably fight Laksa too for her betrayal with her father. It's a pretty decent read if annoying at the sudden charecter changes and I still think the best work in this series was done in the first 4 books
2 people found this helpful
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frozenskeeter
3.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoy the basis of the story
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
I have been reading these from the start. I really enjoy the basis of the story; however, I am so tired of reading about sausages and poodles...it is seriously overkill. I find myself skipping over the dialogue a lot. It doesnt push the story forward and drags it down. I get it, the author loves this part of his books, but please...not so much.
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Baroness of Topaz
3.0 out of 5 stars High-Energy But Lacks Purpose
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
It took me awhile to get around to reviewing Shattered, the latest Iron Druid installment, because I could actually put into words what I felt about the book.

I did enjoy the three POV's of the three druids because it let the reader delve deeper into the thoughts of the three main characters. However, there was a sort of disconnect between Atticus, Granuale, and Owen. There was real common bond linking these three, the last known Druids in the world. They all seemed to be working at cross purposes and other than a brief scene at the end, there was no interaction between the newest druid, Granuale and the oldest-surviving druid, Owen. Not to mention that the numerous pop-culture and politically-correct references often pulled me out of the story and gave the mythology a less mythical quality.

Nevertheless, there was just enough appearances by Oberon and Orlaith to give the story humor and warmth. I loved the rapscallion Owen and hope that he and Atticus can find common ground in there budding new roles as teacher and student. Also, it would be nice to revisit Brighid and see how she re-fines her leadership skills. I really miss the Morrigan. Until the next installment...
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Losing it's punch
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2014
Verified Purchase
Story lacking punch, more of an interlude for more interesting events to come. Still easy to root for the main characters but a bit uninspired. After the big fight against Thor and gang, the series has lost an edge. Try the Before They Were Hanged series by Joe Ambecrombie - a fantastic, smart bunch of books with a phenomenal set of characters.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars All the excitement of previous entries, but none of the cohesion.
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
This title was easily the weakest in the series so far. Nothing of significance to the series' plot actually happens until the final chapters and this book itself doesn't really have a plot of its own. Three different characters doing three different, entirely unrelated things throughout the book. I've enjoyed this series so far because each entry had a self-contained story but was also part of an overall plotline across the entire series. This book felt like filler. Like Hearne has started milking the name recognition he's earned for The Iron Druid. It's still well-written and I'm glad to have read it, don't get me wrong, but this was a compilation of short stories whose only connection is that they take place in the same fantasy world. This should not have been Iron Druid 7.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
The book has a linear and predictable plot. There are a couple of twisters that seemed to be forced into the plot to keep the reader in suspense. It is difficult to tell the characters apart from each other. Sometimes the particular choice of words helps discern them, but the personalities don't vary much between them. On the other hand, there is plenty of action and fight plots that make up for the flat characters of the book.
The author got Loki a bit straighten out on this book, but it is still nothing like the one from Nordic mythology. It is a pity because the real Loki would have added quite some color to the flatness of his main characters.
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D. Kelly
3.0 out of 5 stars liked the book but it felt a little forced.
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
Book seven in the Iron Druid series is written in a three point of view style that feels slightly out of alignment. Atticus is faced with the realization that his errors and pride are going to cost him big time, and that's especially brought home with the battle at the end. The storyline feels a little forced and the plot development is not as good as the previous books. Really missed out on some exploration of Hindu and Shinto pantheons unlike what was done with Nordic and Celtic pantheons previously. Development is reduced to three Manga style fights by three different goddesses. This book feels like a bridge to the next one. Hope Kevin isn't getting tired of his characters. Lots of questions left unanswered, including ones brought up but not developed in this book.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars change in characters
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
Unfortunately, we are getting too many developed characters that the author seems to think need constant attention rather than the primary protagonist. The story is getting too much going on to follow the prime character which is totally counterproductive.
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Bonnie Elizabeth
3.0 out of 5 stars A nice try, but no thanks
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
I was recommended this series since I love the Dresden Files, but this seems like a pale imitation. There's a lot of thought put into it, so I don't want to crack on that, but I can sum up every book in the series so far:

Person warns main character: Someone is coming to kill you!
Main character: I will not run.
Person: They're coming!
Main: I will not run.
Villain of some type: We are here to kill you before the one who comes to kill you!
Main: I beat you!
*preparation*
Main character beats the one who wanted to kill him.

Every. single. book. After the first three, I started skimming. There's a LOT of exposition and traveling and description of the traveling. I like the dog Oberon, but otherwise, all the characters start sounding the same. I could post a quote from a character, and nobody would know who said it. Definitely not a book series I'll read again, but I'll finish reading the series.
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