fantasy and science fiction book reviewsTwo Ravens and One Crow by Kevin HearneTwo Ravens and One Crow by Kevin Hearne

You could think of Two Ravens and One Crow as book 4½ in Kevin Hearne’s IRON DRUID CHRONICLES series. It’s a novella that takes place halfway between book 4, Tricked, and book 5, Trapped. I don’t always read these “extra” stories, but I think fans of THE IRON DRUID CHRONICLES will want to read this one because 12 years passes between Tricked and Trapped —Atticus is training Granuaile to be a druid during this time —and readers will want to see get a glimpse of what was happening all those years.

Atticus and Granuaile have faked their deaths and are living in a trailer under the false names Sterling Silver and Betty Baker. (If it’s not obvious, these names were supplied by Coyote the Navajo trickster god.) Oberon the Irish Wolfhound is with them, too, of course. Granuaile has been getting mentally and physically prepared for her life as a druid. Kevin Hearne ramps up the sexual tension — Atticus and Granuaile are attracted to each other but as teacher and student, they keep a professional relationship.

We don’t see too much of Granuaile and Oberon in Two Ravens and One Crow because along comes the Morrigan to whisk Atticus away for a short trip. She says she wants to fix his tattoos which were damaged in the battle with the giant locusts in Tricked. Since these tattoos are what heal and protect Atticus, he knows this means that the Morrigan has foreseen danger for him. But that’s not all that she wants, of course, and in her lair, Atticus is pretty much at her mercy.The Iron Druid Chronicles (9 Book Series) by Kevin Hearne

After that, the Morrigan drags Atticus to dinner with Odin and Frigg who have discovered that Atticus isn’t dead after all. This might explain why the Morrigan insisted on fixing his protective tattoos. Dinner is a stuffy six-course tuxedo affair which gets interrupted with all sorts of mayhem including a naked fist fight in the middle of a street in Oslo. You don’t want to miss that.

Two Ravens and One Crow is another fun story by Kevin Hearne and will definitely go at least a little way toward satisfying readers who wish they could see some of those missing 12 years. I hope Hearne will write a few more of these novellas. Two Ravens and One Crow is available on audio, just like the rest of the series, but I chose to purchase it in Kindle format since it’s only $2.99 — a lot less than the audio. It took me only a couple of hours to read it.

Publication Date: September 4, 2012. Atticus O’Sullivan is back in an all-new, action-packed, laugh-out-loud novella from the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles. Two-thousand-year-old Atticus may have outwitted and outfought everyone from Odin to Bacchus, but in this eBook original, he’s about to discover what comes around when you go around messing with gods. Six years into the training of his beautiful apprentice, Granuaile, a large crow swoops down and transforms into none other than the Morrigan, a goddess who insists that Atticus come with her at once. He must leave his apprentice behind, along with his Irish wolfhound, Oberon — and he must also leave his sword. The Morrigan has always taken extreme pleasure in pronouncing the Druid’s mortal danger and imminent doom, so the fact that she won’t reveal the purpose of their journey makes him very nervous. Of course, any time the Celtic Chooser of the Slain drops in unannounced, it’s never good. When she does let slip that she’ll be saving his life in the near future, Atticus is left to wonder… will he soon be giving his legions of enemies something to crow about? Includes a preview of Kevin Hearne’s highly anticipated new novel in The Iron Druid Chronicles, Trapped!

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  • Kat Hooper

    KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance, Robin Hobb, Kage Baker, William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Richard Matheson, and C.S. Lewis.

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