Hammered

In the adrenaline-spiked third Iron Druid adventure (following Hounded and Hexed), Atticus O'Sullivan, the 1,200-year-old sexy warrior druid, pops into Asgard, steals one of the golden apples of immortality, and zips back out again. Piece of cake%E2%80%94until he has to go back and face off against Thor, the extremely irritating Norse god of thunder. Thor has annoyed a whole lot of people over the eons, chief among them Leif Helgarson, an ancient vampire with a mighty grudge. Atticus reluctantly teams up with Leif and Gunnar Magnusson, the alpha werewolf of the Tempe, Ariz., pack, to take Thor down%E2%80%94that is, if everything goes according to plan, which it never does. Hearne provides lots of zippy plotting and rocking action scenes, and fans will be thrilled by hints that the series is set to continue. (July)