Audiobook Review: Tricked by Kevin Hearne

9:27 am 14 February 2014

Tricked
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles #4
Author: Kevin Hearne
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published on: April 24, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: 10 hrs & 41 mins , Audiobook
Provided by: Purchased
five-stars
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Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

This installment is a prime example of Murphy’s Law: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” As soon as Atticus’ deal with the trickster god Coyote was revealed I knew that I was in for a wild ride, especially seeing how both Jesus and The Morigan had forewarned the druid about staying on his current path in HAMMERED. I’m not sure if he believes in karma but this is the novel where O’Sullivan’s luck runs out and comes back to bite him in the butt, rather spectacularly I might add, which is not so good for him but excellent news for us readers.

Kevin Hearne more than makes up for the lack of Oberon moments in the previous book by ensuring that my favourite Irish Wolfhound is font-and-center in this installment. I positively adore the humor that Atticus’ furry companion brings to this series; from his musical interludes (the sausage song cracked me up) to his bath time story adventures. O’Sullivan and Oberon keep a running tally of who’s outwitting who in this novel and, surprisingly enough, the dog actually manages to keep a decent lead for most of the book. The sausage point system definitely went a long way into keeping the hound motivated! Atticus and Granuaile have assumed new identities, so Oberon insists that he needs one too. And, of course, he comes up with the most ridiculous name ever for a 150lbs dog: Snugglepumpkin!

Every installment in this series revolves around a different mythology and in this case it’s Navajo. I enjoyed learning more about the trickster god, even though this wasn’t the first time that we’ve encountered Coyote in this series. He has regenerative abilities so I’ll let you put two-and-two together and figure out what lengths he had to go to in order to secure Atticus’ help. But, Coyote being the conniving deceiver that he is makes sure that he comes out ahead in their bargain. As a result, O’Sullivan is forced to go toe-to-toe with one of the nastiest creatures in Navajo lore: skinwalkers. I was equally as fascinated as I was repulsed by these first world spirits.

We learn even more about Atticus and his long lost love in this book as well as some of the identities that he’s previously assumed; apparently the 3 months he spent as “Nigel in Toronto” were the worst. I’m also beginning to wonder why O’Sullivan hates witches so much when vampires are clearly far more awful. I was shocked by Leif Helgarson’s actions in this novel. I thought he was going to be a regular secondary character in this series but now… not so much. I’ve been speculating when/if this was going to happen but, sparks finally do begin to fly between Atticus and his apprentice Granuaile. Nothing of any real significance occurs but the romance wheel has now been set in motion and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become more than just teacher/student in the near future.

Luke Daniels continues to excel as this series’ narrator; not only is he skilled at accents, and at portraying unconventional characters but he also adds singing to his diverse repertoire in this novel. TRICKED contains equal parts action and humour which makes it my second favourite installment in THE IRON DRUID CHRONICLES, after HOUNDED. I can’t recommend these audiobooks enough; they are seriously made of awesome!