This series is still fun, but it’s not my favorite. The last three books especially have been mostly action, with Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon on the run from the Greek and Roman pantheons. They have to stay alive while trying to figure out how to reach safety, who is passing information from their side to the Olympians, and how they can make peace so they can all just be left alone.
A couple of things have me rounding this up from 3.5 stars, even though non-stop action isn’t my thing. The first is that for the first time (aside from a side-novella) we have Granuaile’s POV included in the narrative. This is also the first time we have broken from Atticus’s first person POV in the series. Honestly, her POV should have been introduced much sooner. She has a very different voice than Atticus (which is so nice to see in first person POV!); you can definitely tell the difference between their voices on the page, and you don’t forget whose POV you’re in. She also has a very different perspective than he does, so it’s nice to see the events going on in a different way.
The second thing is that occasionally they take a break from all the running and fighting, and some cool things happen. I liked hearing the story about Irish god Midhir and his gross machinations, and later when Atticus visits his home, it’s the most tense section of the book, but in a more interesting way because Hearne allows Atticus to spend time there instead of just frantically moving from place to place. His danger there is more fraught and quiet, and much more elevated because of it. The fact that the book ends without them knowing who their enemy in Tir Na Nog is is also interesting.
SPOILERS The Morrigan’s passing was also handled well, and I though it added gravitas to the story without being cheap. I loved the idea that she had chosen to die because she didn’t like the limitations godhood had placed on her, and we really have spent quite a lot of time with her over the last six books END SPOILERS.
I did also like the added twist at the end of SPOILERS Atticus finding his old Druid mentor Owen frozen on one of the Time Islands. Next book there will be three Druids in the world instead of two, and I anticipate much humorous conflict to come as he learns about life 2,000 years after he left it. Oh, and Oberon has a girlfriend now! Granuaile adopts a female Irish wolfhound to bond with, but they . Maybe they will have puppies END SPOILERS.
[3.5 stars]