Jumped the Shark

What would have made Trapped better?

Less comic book action, the entire point to the amazing character development in the series was lost.

What could Kevin Hearne have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I loved the conversations and character development in the series. But that was lost when it turned into Kill Bill meets Die Hard.

Which scene was your favorite?

First two chapters... down hill from there.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Trapped?

It was well edited, the premise of the book was the issue. It lost focus and started building toward body count.

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of the series, and I will continue to be. However, in my mind the series will end at book 4. (This is very similar to the Eragon Series, I didn't even read the final book in that series, although I'm still a fan of book one.)

6 people found this helpful

Not as good as the last 4 books

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Im not sure.... I loved books 1-4 but this one seemed to lack a real story.

If you’ve listened to books by Kevin Hearne before, how does this one compare?

His other books in the series are great. This one just left me wishing for more.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He should have kept it the same. For some reason he switched up his style for this book. Changing the way some of the characters sounded.

6 people found this helpful

Kevin Hearne commits the fatal flaw of fiction

I loved books 1 - 4 and have even been lucky enough to find all of these far enough along to read them straight through without pausing for the next to come out. Sadly in this one Hearne commits what I consider one of the fatal flaws of writing fiction. In this book Granuaille finally becomes a druid after 12 years of study (note: I'd like to emphasize that it's been ONLY 12 years) It's really great to see her complete her training as I've always liked her character... until this. As a "newbie" to the druidic arts she shouldn't be so super powered as to be able to beat a god of war in a sparring match after only 12 years of training. She shouldn't be able take on a horde of wild women and survive to save Atticus from his single opponent. (again after only 12 years of training). Gaia grants her the best and most powerful of animal forms, and she receives a weapon that even goddesses have helped make, because she is just that special. She is a prodigy that understands some of the druidic arts better than Atticus who's been doing it for centuries. She is Granuaille and can leap tall buildings in a single bound! This is a huge flaw in the fiction simply because she should not be more powerful than her mentor, let alone the gods. She's a novice. There isn't anything left for her to overcome if she's already top of the food chain. What is the point of giving a character an animal form that can take anything on? It's much more interesting to give a weaker form and have the character work around it's flaws. Where's the story if there's nothing to overcome? The whole super power Granuaille makes the book boring because clearly Granuaille can beat anyone now and does. To some degree it also relegated (in my opinion) Atticus to a secondary character which is a damn shame since I love him in the books.

If I listen to the next one it will be on loan. The reviews are even harsher on Granuaille in further books and honestly it's not surprising since it seems that anything Atticus can do Grainuaille can do better. Mr. Hearne, if you or any of your people even bother to read these reviews just give her her own story. That way she won't keep ruining Atticus's.

Luke Daniels, as usual, makes this story a pleasure to listen to.

5 people found this helpful

A little disappointed, but will get the next one

After the awesomeness of the first three I felt a little let down.

Quite frankly, a week after finishing it, I don't remember the ending. I didn't have the second part downloaded when the first part ended, so I started listening to the new Harry Dresden I had downloaded too, until I could get to wifi. Instead I listened to ALL of Cold Days before coming back to the second half of this book.

Maybe it was my own expectations being too high. I didn't have to wait to read the first three, but had to wait for this one, and I really wanted to read the story that gave us a new Druid.

Maybe it was the narrator's Oberon voice. I HATED how he voiced Oberon. It drove me up the wall. He made the dog sound like he had brain damage and a tongue transplant. Apart from that, he was fine tho.

Maybe it was because I felt he took an oft-repeated one-line joke from the first three books and basically made a major plot point out of it - although I had actually been WAITING for that joke to catch up to him (no, I won't tell you the joke, go listen)

Don't get me wrong, the book isn't bad at all. The action moves along at a decent clip, I definitely enjoyed the vampires, both old and new.

Just...

I was hoping for better after the first three.

5 people found this helpful

Not the Best In The Series

I've loved all the previous books in the series, so I eagerly awaited book 5. I'm not completely sure what it was, but I wasn't as thrilled with book 5. I found myself getting bored with the story. I like the story of Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon, but I find Hearne goes off into so many tangents and sub-plots that at some points I no longer know (or care) what the main plot of the novel is. I think he needs to think about his story development and pacing. Oberon was in this novel probably more than all the others, which was fun.

I hope book 6 is able to re-capture my interest in this series. I'll listen to this one again and see if it might have been my mood at the time? This wasn't bad, just wasn't the same experience for me as the others.

5 people found this helpful

Not as good as some of the others in the series

I started the Iron Druid Chronicles some time ago and liked the books, but it was the narrator that I really liked. And now someone's gone and had him reading Shakespeare or something for the last six months... what happened? He used to sound like a guy, telling me his story (which was a big part of the attraction), and now he sounds like a Narrator, With Extra N, all deep, abnormal voice and over-pronunciation like I'm listening to Theatre.

Otherwise, the book was pretty good... it continues the saga into the beginnings of Ragnarok. I especially enjoyed the part where Granuaile is able to shift and Oberon is laughing at her. *I* was laughing so hard I nearly wet myself, and had to excuse myself from the office to outside.

I just wish the ending was a little more climactic... maybe it's because I'm listening, not reading, but the endings always seem so rushed. Overall, it was pretty good, though I liked some of the previous books better.

23 people found this helpful

Well worth the wait!

This was another excellent installment in the continuing saga of the Iron Druid. If you liked the previous books, you will love this one as well. If you have not listened to the other books, I recommend you start there.

If you are like me and are always looking for other books you may like, you might wan to try Brandon' Sanderson's "The Stormlight Archives: The Way of Kings," "The Scar," by Sergey and Marina Dyechenko, "The son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan, the most recent installment in the Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepard - "Furious" - although I think this installment in the series did not really advance the story as much as I would have liked, it still moves the story along some. Please find out what other reviewers have to say before deciding if to read any of the above series. I enjoyed them all, but some more than others. If there is a book you enjoyed, please share it. Thank you.

22 people found this helpful

SO DISSAPPOINTED!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I worried when book 4 ran out of steam at the end and book 5 is all war and gore and none of the enchanting character insights and interactions. The author is bored or tired, but the narrator is still in great form. It ties up loose ends if you need that but I wish I hadn't wasted my time with it

16 people found this helpful

Time to fill the idea tank

I like the series, the characters, and the diversity of travel, but the think tank needs a shot of new ideas, or move on to a new adventure.

3 people found this helpful

Love the series, this isn't the best

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Start with a different Iron Druid book, but worth a read if you're moving through the series. Bits and pieces are typical of Hearne's brilliance but overall this one didn't hold together or flow as well as the others. Luke Daniels is a great narrator, but his voice sounded bored at times during this book.

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

Absolutely

Any additional comments?

Great series, great author, great narrator . . .strangely boring audiobook

3 people found this helpful