Description: Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world. Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill—so when Jessie can’t stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization, right before a huge mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade. Jessie needs to right her wrong and prove herself, so she starts her own investigation into the trafficking. But going rogue means she has no one to watch her back as she delves into the horrors she uncovers. Meanwhile, her former teammates have been ordered to bring her down. Jessie must face danger from all sides if she’s to complete her mission—and survive. Review: I have always been frustrated with the James Bond and Mission Impossible movie franchises especially with their reductive treatment of women who are either the femme fatale caricuture or an "agent" who is suppose to be capable an...
Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry. And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they’ll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all.
Review: Scourged is a very fitting series finale to the Iron Druid Chronicles. For eight books in this series we have watched Atticus dodge danger, widen his network of friends and enemies, and survived for centuries. The last few books, however, made me very frustrated with Atticus because his tunnel vision and stubbornness had essentially lead to the Apocalypse. It's not until he is standing at the very edge of the cliff does he realize all of his biggest mistakes. This character arc is a testament to Hearne's writing and makes Atticus a flawed hero who despite his mistakes still makes you want to root for him.
Scourged is essentially Atticus's wake-up call. He has to correct his mistakes and form unlikely alliances all to preserve the world as we know it. His relationship with Granuaile was slowly fracturing in the last few books as she continued to disapprove Atticus's actions, but now it might be irreparably broken. I loved that Granualie has graduated from a secondary character to now a main character and especially in this book calls Atticus out on his mistakes.
In Scourged we see a lot of favorite characters from the past books make a presence. The battle scenes were cinematic and well written. It felt as if I was witnessing it right before my eyes. There were difficult casualties to endure, but it had to be done with this epic war. Hearne does a nice job in balancing the lighter moments with humor without losing the serious and darker notes as we get closer to the big conflict. The ending was fitting though the door has been left open for new adventures. As I learned from Hearne's newsletter an Iron Druid Chronicles series is in the works and I'm definitely going to read it.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language and violence in the book. Recommended for Adults and mature teens only.
If you like this book try: Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Age of Misrule by Mark Chadbourn
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