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I think I need a break from this series. The quality has dipped so very low.

The good points....

Granuaile is a bad ass. That’s about the main positive I can say about her character. It actually almost seems like two different characters at times - one is a bad ass Druid who doesn’t need anyone, and the other is a whiny, immature spoiled brat.

Oberon, as always, is a joy. He’s truly one of the reasons I’m still slogging through.

Perun is still endearing and I enjoyed meeting more of the Tuatha De Danaan.

Some good action.

Other than that? Meh.

The negatives...

Atticus is a child. A 2,100 year old man baby. I’m all for flawed protagonists, but how can someone live for so long and gain so little maturity or wisdom? He’s the worst Druid I can imagine, who actually does nothing for the Earth, other than take. He pledged to recover the Earth that was killed in the first book, that it was the most important thing in the world, and...well that’s pretty much it. Short mentions here and there but little else. He also still makes rash, off the cuff decisions, which ALWAYS end in tragedy. Five thousand dwarves die because of a lie he told just to piss Loki off. He has zero remorse for anything he’s done. He just blunders through and ensures he pisses off more and more powerful beings, which would be unnecessary if he actually thought for a nanosecond. This isn’t the ‘heat of battle, save my own skin, but not at the expense of my soul’ kinda thing, it’s more ‘it doesn’t matter how I do it as long as it’s done and I’m ok’ kinda thing. It’s not even as if he’s doing it to protect the people he loves, despite the totally unbelievable romance that happens (his best relationship is still Oberon), because he puts her in more danger with every stupid decision he makes.

Granuaile is....hmmmm. Like I said earlier, it’s almost like there is actually two different characters sharing a name and a body. She’s badass (really autocorrect, you changed ‘badass’ to ‘NASA’?!’) and self sufficient, showing real wisdom and emotional intelligence one minute, and a whiny brat the next. She doesn’t like that Gods aren’t perfect? That there are things even they can’t fix? I wanted to shake her so badly. She’s had twelve years of learning yet she never thought to ask about Atticus’ actual beliefs and his reasoning? For someone who says she loves him she really spent zero time getting to know him. She only finds out about his past family life in this book. It’s like Hearne forgot that this relationship had supposedly been building for 12 years, and he’s now showing us the process of them getting to know each other. That’s awful writing. She’s also pissy that he won’t sleep with her while she’s still his apprentice?! GROW UP! He’s trying to do the right thing by you woman! He doesn’t want to take advantage of you and the power imbalance. By whining and pouting that he doesn’t want you to take your pants off because he’s desperately trying to control himself to ensure he does the right thing, you’re just showing how far away from mature you are. Not enough wisdom to be bound to the Earth as a protector.

The storyline is ok. Too jumpy and choppy though. Bouncing everywhere and conveniently avoiding most danger even if it’s on their doorstep. Very convoluted, so many people after him for very few cogent reasons, and he continually adds more enemies with the aforementioned lack of critical thinking skills and problem solving. Just dive in and hope for the best. Same formula in every book.

All the ‘boss fights’ are wrapped up in about two pages. They’re nowhere near long enough. It’s too easy to kill Gods and mythical creatures, there’s never any tension or the vague notion they’re truly in danger.

I loved the first two books in this series but it has driven off a cliff.

Again, a bit ‘meh’. Not as bad as the last book by a long stretch but still not as charming as the first two.

I don’t necessarily understand the character progression and choices and I think that’s the biggest issue (alongside that whiff of misogyny still lingering from the last book), because I can’t care about most of the characters because I do not understand the motivations anymore.

People seem to be really flat caricatures. Even Atticus doesn’t feel fleshed out anymore, which with 2,100 years of history is actually kind of impressive. Granuaile is ok so far but I’m not really getting why she’s supposed to be so impressive to Atticus. The daddy issues is an obvious plot point that seems cynical. The best character is still Oberon and he is the one I really cared about, along with Frank, when they were hurt. The rest? Meh.

I’d love more Morrigan, more history, more emotion. I know Atticus keeps banging on about not being able to do harm because it’s a big Druid no-no but it never even seems to slow him down. There’s a hint of awareness that he’s been an arrogant toe rag and should have listened to the wiser people warning him, rather than go with his ego, but it’s way too little, too late. When the series started I thought it would be about a man desperately wanting to be left alone but doing the right thing, no matter what, when pushed. Yeah, it isn’t anymore. It’s ego and hubris and it’s not that fun to read.

I’ll keep going but I won’t be sad to see the series end. Which is sad in itself for me. I hate feeling this way about any books, but especially a series I really loved at the start.

Disappointing.

Hum. Yeah I’m rapidly going off this series. The killing is much too easy, little guilt or even thought goes into the decisions, plus should gods die so very easily?!

Also, not enough Oberon for my liking. He really makes it worth reading for me.

The ‘Freyja as spoils’ thing? Nope. Not enjoying the offering of a woman for guaranteed repeated gang rape. Nor the description of her as ‘not that hot’...oh so it’s ok to offer her up for rape as she isn’t actually hot then? Are only hot women safe from being given away as prizes?

I did enjoy some of the stories about why people hated Thor and some of the new characters, but it’s just not working for me as well as the first couple of books. Now Atticus is making stupid ass decisions without thought, because of his ‘word’, which isn’t the way a supposedly wise 2,100 year old Druid would deal with things to me. He’s ignoring advice from people who care for him, and just flailing around hoping everything will turn out ok. He wouldn’t have survived over 2000 years doing that. He seems to have undergone a complete brain transplant and personality shift and I really don’t much like the new Atticus.

I’ll carry on because I’ve started the series, so can’t quit now, but it’s not a patch on The Hellequin Chronicles by Steve McHugh. McHugh knows how to write the crisis of conscience that warriors go through, he can write men that don’t offer women for payment in an alliance, he knows how to write great female characters! Do yourself a favour and pick up some McHugh, it’s better by far.