All that is good must come to an end one day. We will be pecked by Loki, the crows, which is the ninth volume of the series, and closes the story of Atticus O'Sullivan, an Iron Druid who existed for over two millennia, who dreamed only of living in peace.
Time for an apocalypse
It has been a long time since Atticus confronted him with the Irish god of love Aenghus Óg. The result of this duel triggered an avalanche of events that, despite the hero’s sincere intentions, may eventually lead to the end of the world. Released, Loki and Hel seem ready to start Ragnarok. It won’t be easy to get out of this battle, and winning it seems impossible. In order to have at least a shadow of a chance to save the world, Iron Druid sets out to find allies. He looks for help, among others, from a Hindu witch.
Atticus’ former teacher, Owen, decides to leave his school, training future druid generations, and also begins to seek support in the face of the looming cataclysm. O’Sullivan’s former student, Granuaile, staying in Krakow, finally deals with the vampires residing there, and then goes to Taiwan to meet the Monkey King. There is very little time until the end of the world begins.
Farewell to the heroes
The Chronicles of the Iron Druid is my favorite urban fantasy series. Well-conducted action, humor and a multitude of characters from various mythologies have always made it unique. The last part is not my favorite though. Part of the problem are the fight scenes, which seem very chaotic, although it is impossible to deny their scale and epicness. I suspect that Loki had such intentions when he started Ragnarök in many different places, but history suffers from it. The heroes are scattered all over the world and each has its own battle.
We also get a lot of gross lectures about how greedy and evil people are. I do not mind posting this type of message, but it may have been delivered in a different way. For me, the best part of the series (I think many fans will agree) has always been the relationship between Atticus and his Irish Wolfhound Oberon. Their exchanges were the main source of humor and made the whole series unique. In this book we will also experience them, but in far less numbers. At the moment of the greatest danger, Atticus decides to leave his best friend at home. Unfortunately, the druid himself is not that funny without his faithful companion by my side, and I felt quite disappointed in that fact. When Oberon shows up, it’s always a fun and enjoyable springboard.
Many characters that readers have met are also returning, and each of them has a role to play in the face of the coming end of the world. Old bills will be settled, friendships questioned Some will try to use the present state of the world to achieve their own goals. Despite the loose nature of the series, in its last installment, we will not avoid heavy losses and the need to be responsible for our actions. Not all “good” heroes will come out alive, and most will not avoid various types of damage. Atticus will be forced to admit to himself that it was largely his previous elections that led to a massive disaster. The end of the series was not what I expected, which I consider a big plus. I suspect most readers will also not be able to predict
Summary
The feeling of ending one of your favorite series is strange. The premiere of each subsequent part causes excitement and allows you to spend many years with your favorite heroes. One would like it never to end, on the other hand, being aware that sooner or later this end will come. Despite their flaws , Loki will peck us, crows, in my opinion , is a good culmination of the adventures of a druid whose only desire was to be left alone and who, despite the best intentions, constantly ran into new trouble.
Not everyone will like the ending, but fans of the series should definitely reach for it. For those who have not met the Chronicles of the Iron Druid yet , and like urban fantasy, humor and various mythologies, I recommend it with all my heart. If you know English reasonably well, you can also listen to audiobooks read by Luke Daniels, who did a fantastic job, especially with the exchanges between Atticus and Oberon. I am glad that a certain person consistently persuaded me to reach for this cycle. It provided me with a lot of joy and impressions for the next years. You know who you are.
