HOUNDED
Author: Kevin HearneSeries: The Iron Druid Chronicles #1
Source: Purchased from Audible
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:
Summary:
Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.
Amazon | Chapters | TBD
I liked a lot of pieces to this one and didn't enjoy others, especially the gratuitous aspects of "I am the hottest dude ever and every woman who encounters me wants to bang me" that you find all too often in Fantasy books written by men. Like, sure Jan. However, an intriguing start to an Urban Fantasy series that does things just a little differently, I do actually recommend reading this one.
Part of my distaste for this one may have come from the fact that I was listening to it as an audiobook so I had to listen to a man describe how much all these goddesses wanted him. Which made me vomit in my mouth a little.
However, I loved the Celtic history and mythology tied into this one. I thought it was such a unique way to tie in magic, mythos, and goddesses. I was so into it that I actually spent time afterwards Googling some of the people and myths that were talked about in the book. I hope the series continues to look at different avenues and ideologies of this because it is really cool and interesting.
I loved the characters (even with my reservations about the main male lead) and thought they were well thought out and had interesting motivations. I would like to know more back story for some of them because we are dropped into the middle of a 2000 year old conflict and I wanted to know more.
The world building was really cool and interesting because it mixes real life with these old ass creatures and I was HERE FOR IT. I love the thought that some Old Creatures can easily assimilate into our culture while others have a really hard time. The humour in those areas was really well done with just enough popular culture references to anchor it in the time it was written without making it universal to the future.
If you are looking for an interesting new Urban Fantasy series, this is for you! However, I will warn you about the male character being the Object of Affection for literally anyone who identifies as female. And his dog isn't much better.
Part of my distaste for this one may have come from the fact that I was listening to it as an audiobook so I had to listen to a man describe how much all these goddesses wanted him. Which made me vomit in my mouth a little.
However, I loved the Celtic history and mythology tied into this one. I thought it was such a unique way to tie in magic, mythos, and goddesses. I was so into it that I actually spent time afterwards Googling some of the people and myths that were talked about in the book. I hope the series continues to look at different avenues and ideologies of this because it is really cool and interesting.
I loved the characters (even with my reservations about the main male lead) and thought they were well thought out and had interesting motivations. I would like to know more back story for some of them because we are dropped into the middle of a 2000 year old conflict and I wanted to know more.
The world building was really cool and interesting because it mixes real life with these old ass creatures and I was HERE FOR IT. I love the thought that some Old Creatures can easily assimilate into our culture while others have a really hard time. The humour in those areas was really well done with just enough popular culture references to anchor it in the time it was written without making it universal to the future.
If you are looking for an interesting new Urban Fantasy series, this is for you! However, I will warn you about the male character being the Object of Affection for literally anyone who identifies as female. And his dog isn't much better.
That attitude from men in fantasy is so annoying, that would definitely frustrate me. The Celtic mythology sounds pretty neat, though! I don't read much urban fantasy, but this one does sound interesting despite the male protagonist.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of my favorite series. I found it when I was looking for something to read like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.
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