Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles — (2011-2012) Publisher: Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret. Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World — from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg. Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil.

Hounded

The young-Irish-lad façade does not stand me in good stead when I’m trying to appear scholarly at my place of business — I run an occult bookshop with an apothecary’s counter squeezed in the corner — but it has one outstanding advantage. When I go to the grocery store, for example, and people see my curly red hair, fair skin, and long goatee, they suspect that I play soccer and drink lots of Guinness. If I’m going sleeveless and they see the tattoos all up and down my right arm, they assume I’m in a rock band and smoke lots of weed. It never enters their mind for a moment that I could be an ancient Druid — and that’s the main reason why I like this look. If I grew a white beard and got myself a pointy hat, oozed dignity and sagacity and glowed with beatitude, people might start to get the wrong — or the right — idea.

Atticus O’Sullivan is a 2100-year-old Druid. He’s been lying low for a while, running his occult bookshop in Arizona and romping with his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. Back in the distant past, though, he absconded with a sword that the god Aenghus Og wants for his own. Now Aenghus has found him and is sending his goons to take the sword back.

Atticus is a fun character. He’s a mixture of old and new, wise and youthful. His slang is a blend of the ancient and the current. At times you can sense the years weighing on him, and he has a certain degree of paranoia that explains how he’s survived the millennia. At other times he seems closer to the age he appears, especially when it comes to his weakness for pretty women. Perhaps most importantly, he’s witty, which makes him a great character to spend a book with. His narrative voice is often hilarious. Oberon is a delight, too; he may be smarter than the average dog, but he’s utterly undone by sausages, belly rubs, and attractive French poodles.

The Irish-mythology aspect is very well done. Kevin Hearne has done his homework, and these aspects of the story feel perfectly rooted in the myths themselves. For example, when Atticus reveals the secret of his longevity, I think I actually said “OH!” aloud. It makes impeccable mythic sense.

The plot of Hounded is pretty straightforward, and the book is not very long. It does serve, though, to introduce Atticus, his world and its rules, and the major players, and it moves Atticus into a position where he’ll have plenty of chances to find more trouble (and more story hooks) as the Iron Druid series continues.

I listened to Brilliance Audio’s production of Hounded, read by Luke Daniels. Daniels has a pleasant, unobtrusive voice that carries the listener easily through the story. His narration as Atticus has just the right tone of deadpan humor, and his voices for the other characters are distinctive in their accents and mannerisms without sounding like caricatures of themselves. I recommend both Hounded and Brilliance Audio’s production of it. —Kelly Lasiter

Hounded

Atticus O’Sullivan is an ancient shapeshifting druid. For a couple thousand years he’s been hiding from Aenghus Óg, the god who used to own the famous sword Fragarach until Atticus relieved him of it on an ancient battlefield. Now Aenghus has some plans to advance himself among the Tuatha Dé Danann and he wants his sword back.

Atticus is now a 21-year-old (it seems) bookshop owner in Tempe, Arizona, near Arizona State University. He sells occult paraphernalia and brews special herbal teas (such as Mobili-Tea and Humili-Tea) for his customers. He’s got a nosey neighbor across the street and a nice Irish widow a few houses down (well, she’s nice as long as you’re not English!). He also has a blood-sucking lawyer. Literally. That’s because the Tempe area attracts lots of paranormals. Some of them are helpful to Atticus, but others are definitely not.

I don’t read a lot of paranormal urban fantasy, just because so much of it features snarky women with chips on their shoulders and the sarcastic humor usually doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve found that I’m more likely to enjoy paranormal works which have male leads, so that’s why I gave Hounded a try.

Atticus O’Sullivan is an excellent male lead — he’s strong but sensitive. He mows the widow’s lawn and cares for his employees, but he kicks ass when he needs to. Kevin Hearne nearly crosses the border into too-good-to-be-true, but he just manages not to step over that line. Hearne’s other characters are terrific, too. I laughed at the vampire lawyer who drives a hot sports car and wears expensive suits, but can’t manage to update his language. I also appreciated that Hearne shows us that as much as we like to say we hate lawyers, they can be really useful sometimes!

My favorite character, though, was Atticus’s dog Oberon who can mind-speak with Atticus. Oberon is the comedic sidekick, providing most of the humor. Only Atticus can hear him, so his comments are often inserted amongst dialogue that Atticus is having with other characters, and this is very funny. Since Oberon watches lots of movies, many of his interruptions are quotes from movies or reminders to Atticus of how what’s happening now is similar to a movie scene. This is especially endearing to SF fans because Oberon loves Star Wars and Star Trek. Oberon always seems to have a current obsession, too. In Hounded, he wants to be Genghis Khan and keeps questioning Atticus about Genghis Khan’s habits, such as did he take his coffee black? (Fortunately, Oberon’s Liberace phase happened before the events of Hounded.)

Oberon is especially effective in the audio version I listened to, narrated by Luke Daniels. This is partly because there are rarely any dialog tags for Oberon (his interruptions are set apart by <> in the text) and partly because Mr. Daniels makes Oberon actually sound like a big dog. So, when the book is read aloud, the lack of “Oberon said” really makes it sound like Oberon is making comments in the background.

Besides the characters, I loved the mix of the modern with ancient mythologies in Hounded. Kevin Hearne’s contemporary setting near ASU is completely convincing (someday I’ve got to stop for fish and chips at Rúla Búla), but so are the ancient and mythological aspects of the novel.

Hounded was a great read — a wonderful hero with the perfect sidekick, colorful secondary characters, and just the right sense of humor. I’ll be immediately starting the next novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles, Hexed. —Kat Hooper

Hounded

THE IRON DRUID CHRONICLES, of which Hounded is the first installment, have been on my radar for some time now, but I held them off as a kind of rainy day read. They looked funny, they were based on Irish myth (a personal favorite), and on the whole I thought I’d best save them for a time when I needed a nice, relaxing read.

I was pleasantly surprised on some counts and validated on others. Hounded is a fast-moving, funny little book. It concerns Atticus O’Sullivan, an ancient druid in the modern world with a famous magical sword (Fragarach the Answerer is only slightly less popular in some circles than Excalibur) and the enduring enmity of the Celtic quasi-god Aengus Og. The plot is straightforward and really blurs past as Atticus gets deeper and deeper into glorious trouble.

Hearne knows how to spin an easy-going yarn, and his research into Irish mythology is impressively comprehensive. He clearly went above and beyond the call of duty on that score, always a good sign in an urban fantasy author in particular. Atticus O’Sullivan as a narrator is fairly witty and lively (a requisite characteristic in urban fantasy lately), though the jokes occasionally have that strained, slightly over-the-top feel that can crop up when a character has to be funny over a long stretch of text (the wedgie scene in particular comes to mind as a bit of gratuitous “look, he’s funny! Look! Did everyone see?” material). The overall cast of characters is charming, particularly Oberon the Irish wolfhound, who plays all the same notes as usual for the urban fantasy “cute sidekick”, but does it very well.

There is a noticeable eau-de-Dresden about the proceedings, mind you. By this I mean (for the uninitiated) that it feels a lot like THE DRESDEN FILES by Jim Butcher. IRON DRUID is very much its own world, but I would not be surprised at all if its original inspiration was Butcher. Part of the issue is of course simply that urban fantasy has never exactly been a subgenre overflowing with originality as far as tropes are concerned, but from the snark to the mixed-and-mashed mythologies to the frequent beatings to the sensual deities, I did find myself occasionally giving the text a knowing smirk. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Harry Dresden doesn’t have a corner on the witty-magician-with-oversized-dog-and-hot-apprentice-fighting-mythological-creatures market, certainly, and I think Atticus O’Sullivan does certain things better. On the other hand, Butcher’s had longer to refine his formula (and his fanbase), and the similarities between the two works may lead readers to (justly or unjustly) view Atticus as basically Dresden Lite.

I’d argue that Hearne’s plotting is actually better than that of the early Dresden books, but on the other hand, Atticus’s adventures in general lack the sense of urgency with which Butcher usually invests his novels. I was never particularly concerned for Atticus because he’s just so supercapable, to the point of smugness at times. Where Harry Dresden’s various neuroses tend to keep him out of Mary-Sue territory, Atticus slips perilously close to the red line at times. He never quite gets there, but the book is not as suspenseful as it might have been otherwise. Even in the combat sequences, the novel is more good-naturedly cheesy than pulse-pounding, entertaining and well-done without being necessarily gripping. Something else to watch for is that, while Hearne is good at plotting and characterization and his vocabulary is fine, his prose is often a touch uninspiring, something which I hope improves as time goes on.

Overall, though, I’m pleased with Hounded. It was worth the price, at least, and I’ll probably purchase Hexed sometime in the near future, though I don’t feel any particular rush about the matter. Perhaps that’s the best way to sum up the book. I wouldn’t seize your coat and sprint for the bookstore, but if you happen to find yourself in the stacks with nothing else in mind, why not wend your way over toward a bit of Irish goofiness? —Tim Scheidler

Hexed

Turns out that when you kill a god, people want to talk to you. Paranormal insurance salesmen with special “godslayer” term life policies. Charlatans with “godproof” armor and extraplanar safe houses for rent. But, most notably, other gods, who want to first congratulate you on your achievement, second warn you not to try such shenanigans on them, and finally suggest that you try to slay one of their rivals — purely as a shenanigan, of course.

It’s been three weeks since Atticus O’Sullivan slew two gods. This has made him more visible in the supernatural world, and now he’s got a whole new crop of problems. German witches have moved to the area and are attacking him and the Polish witches. Bacchants have arrived, too, and are spreading chaos in Scottsdale. The Morrigan and Brighid are having a power struggle, with Atticus caught in the middle. Coyote wants him to help vanquish a demon that’s eating teenagers. Oh, and everybody is trying to recruit him to kill Thor.

In Hexed, the second Iron Druid novel, Kevin Hearne gives us another funny, action-packed tale. Atticus develops as a character, too. He has survived the centuries by being paranoid, but now he’s forced by circumstances to make alliances and put himself in a position to owe favors. Looks like the biggest one is coming due in the next book, Hammered…

As for “funny,” if anything, Hexed is even funnier than Hounded. Some scenes and quips had me howling with laughter. Wait till you see how Atticus explains a singed kitchen cabinet to the police, or what Oberon becomes obsessed with now that he’s over his Genghis Khan kick, or what happens when a stuffy vampire tries to learn modern slang.

In addition to the humor, there are some touching moments. As the owner of an aging dog, I sniffled a bit when Atticus talked about the usual lifespan of an Irish wolfhound and the measures he has taken to keep his best buddy Oberon by his side.

Hexed has something of an episodic feel. There are several different plots here, and their structure is more sequential than interwoven. There are links between Atticus’ adventures, but for the most part, he deals with one threat, and then either that leads to a new problem or else the new problem arises while he’s trying to relax after dispatching the previous one. The overall effect is that of reading several shorter Atticus stories.

I had the opportunity to devour Hexed in both print form and via Brilliance Audio’s production. Luke Daniels’ narration continues to be excellent. He captures Atticus’ snarkiness and his assumed “Dude” persona perfectly, and does well with the accents and the foreign names. Whatever format you prefer, check out this series for a fun urban fantasy romp with lots of humor. Hammered, here I come. —Kelly Lasiter

Hexed

Usually, after a hero slays the bad guy in his first book, he gets a break. But not Atticus O’Sullivan. He knew this would happen, too, which is part of the reason he would have preferred to leave Aenghus Óg alone, if he could have. But now he’s done it and, sure enough, there are consequences — everyone knows where he is and everyone wants a piece of him. Suddenly, Tempe Arizona is full of paranormals, most notably a coven of East European witches who fought with Hitler back in WWII, and a group of Bacchants from Las Vegas (where else?) who plan to do more than party.

Like its predecessor, Hexed is chock full of exciting action and tons of laughs. Oberon is in full form here, providing lots of truly funny comic relief (best sidekick ever!), and Atticus himself is hilarious, especially when he’s trying to evade the cops by pretending to be just a doped up occult bookshop owner. The vampire and werewolf lawyers are further developed and Atticus also brings on a bright and perky apprentice — the Irish girl who’s been waiting tables at Rúla Búla.

The Iron Druid Chronicles continues to be excellent urban paranormal fantasy that you won’t want to miss if you love that genre and that you should try if you don’t. I highly recommend Brilliance Audio’s version read by Luke Daniels — he is superb. —Kat Hooper

Hammered

First things first: This one’s more serious.

Oh, there’s still humor here — and to butcher the nursery rhyme, when Kevin Hearne is funny, he’s very, very funny. I cackled madly as Atticus geeked out over his favorite author and demonstrated his knowledge of Internet memes. On the whole, though, Hammered is a much more serious story than either Hounded or Hexed. While giving us two books’ worth of side-splitting entertainment, Hearne has been sneakily laying the groundwork for Hammered, building up characters and friendships and subplots so that we care deeply about what happens here.

We begin in medias res. Atticus is climbing the World Tree to Asgard so that he can keep his promise to the witch Laksha by bringing her back one of Idunn’s apples. The trip becomes messier than expected, which leads Atticus to decide that he’s been in Tempe too long. He’s too visible, and it’s too easy for one of his ever-growing list of enemies to use his friends as leverage. Atticus does his best to put affairs in Tempe in order before going back to Asgard to keep a second promise, knowing he might never return. One conversation stands out as particularly beautiful; it’s the kind of conversation we all wish we’d had with a loved one before it was too late, but so often don’t get around to having.

That second promise is to help kill Thor, and he teams up with a group of allies who passionately hate the thunder god. Hearne surprised me by breaking with the usual structure of the Iron Druid books for a little while, employing a “Canterbury Tales”-type section that I loved. It fleshes out these allies, and in telling us why each of them wants Thor dead, it tells us a lot about Thor as well. When we follow Atticus & Co. back to Asgard, we’re good and mad at Thor, too.

The central theme here is the question of how to hold on to one’s humanity when one has great power and can live for hundreds or thousands of years. How do you keep from getting arrogant and seeing ordinary mortals as insects? How do you hold on to what makes you you — and conversely, is it possible to hold on too much, becoming consumed by a grudge that might not be worth all that you sacrifice to it? It’s clear that Atticus is better than most at this balancing act, and it’s equally clear that it’s often his humanity that puts him in so much danger.

Hammered is not the end of this series, but it effectively closes a big story arc. It makes a good temporary stopping point as we await Tricked, due out in 2012. Kevin Hearne is evil, though, and packs in one more spooky plot hook at the end. It’s not a cliffhanger for the plot of this book, but it’s sure going to cause some trouble in the next one!

All that said, I think it’s a little skeevy when Atticus [SPOILER here, highlight if you want to read it:] tells the frost giants they can have Freyja if they help him invade Asgard. It turns out that he didn’t think it would really come to that and he feels bad about saying it, and it’s left up in the air whether it does come to that. It’s consistent with what motivates the giants in the actual myths… but it still skeeved me out.[END SPOILER] —Kelly Lasiter

Hammered

After all the help he got dealing with the bad guys in Hounded and Hexed, Atticus owes favors, so he sets out to get those paid off in Hammered. The theme is Norse mythology — first Atticus has to steal one of Iðunn’s golden apples from Asgard, then he must help Leif, his vampire lawyer, kill Thor. Leif must have been planning for this for a long time because he’s bringing along a bunch of other guys who want Thor dead, too.

Hammered feels much different from Hounded and Hexed. Instead of the modern Tempe, Arizona setting, most of the action in Hammered takes place in, or traveling to and from, Asgard. Oberon, who provides the comic relief, is left at home, and so is Granuaile, the wide-eyed perky apprentice. Thus, Hammered is quite a bit darker than the previous novels. The action is forestalled for a while when the characters stop to tell stories about why they want to kill Thor. This works well with Leif, who we have grown to care for, but perhaps not so well (at least for me) with the other guys, who I didn’t feel like I knew well enough to care about. It does, however, serve to explain why Thor must die.

Hammered was certainly entertaining, but I didn’t enjoy this installment as much as I enjoyed Hounded and Hexed, mostly because it focuses less on some of the elements that have made the Iron Druid Chronicles so successful thus far — the bookshop in Tempe, Atticus’s neighbors and, most of all, the faithful and funny Oberon. It doesn’t help that I’m a bit weary of Norse mythology, having read quite a bit of it already this year.

I perked up at the end of Hammered when something dreadful happens and is left as a cliffhanger. I will definitely be eager to learn the resolution to this in the next novel, Tricked, and I’ll definitely be reading it on audio because Luke Daniels, the narrator, is awesome. —Kat Hooper