The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

[Brian in Mesa]

Hounded (Book One):

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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 sexy 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.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Hexed (Book Two):

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Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Hammered (Book Three):

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Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

 

[Mulli]

What does he hunt with an Irish wolfhound in the desert?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

What does he hunt with an Irish wolfhound in the desert?

Mule deer, javelina, and bighorn sheep.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Author's site: http://www.kevinhearne.com/

 

[Mulli]

Mule deer, javelina, and bighorn sheep.

How much are these on kindle?

 

[Pariah]

How much are these on kindle?

$8.

or, less than the cost of any of the crappy transformer movies.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Clan Rathskeller

(short story that takes place before the events in Hounded)

http://www.kevinhearne.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ClanRathskeller.pdf

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The first six chapters of Hounded are free on Kevin's site:

http://www.kevinhearne.com/goodies

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm about a third of the way through Hammered and I have to say I don't think it's quite up to par with his first two. It's a decent story but I find his frequent scatological references annoying and distracting. You can only trot out "shat kine" or similar comments so many times before they start to lose their impact. Also, he's trying too hard to be witty. He did a much better job in the first two books of letting the humor arise from the moment. And, IMO, there was absolutely no need to reference the classic Seinfeld "shrinkage" episode - it was already old and overdone when they did it and it's been used many, many times since then.

I'm going to finish the book and I will stay with the author for at least one more book (assuming there is one) but I really hope he gets this out of his system soon.

Steve

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well, I just finished Hammered and despite my earlier (and, IMO, valid) negative comments, I did enjoy the book. It sets up well for the next one which hopefully will be out tomorrow or perhaps sooner.

Steve

 

[Pariah]

Yeah, I'm about halfway through Hammered now, and it does seem to be a little slower and definitely seems to "force" humor a little more. But it's picking up for me now that Atticus is bonding with the crew that's going to go to Asgaard.

Still enjoying the Hell out of it.

 

[Mulli]

Read the free sample on kindle. Not for me.

Transformers wins!!

 

[Pariah]

Transformers wins a big steaming cup of shut the hell up!!

 

[Mulli]

I found the references to ASU to be too forced. On the whole there was as much silliness as the Transformer movies.

 

[Pariah]

Sounds like the 4th book is scheduled for April. Hearne just turned it in to his publisher.

He's also just completed the first chapter of the 5th book.

(updates via facebook)

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Sounds like the 4th book is scheduled for April. Hearne just turned it in to his publisher.

He's also just completed the first chapter of the 5th book.

(updates via facebook)

 

[AZZenny]

Just about 4 chapters into Hounded and really enjoying the read a lot. Nice humor; makes me chuckle out loud. Thanks for the recommendation.


next day...
OK, finished Hounded and going to download the next one right away. Very entertaining, nicely done. A little light-weight in terms of real lasting power, but an excellent snack.

I think the AZ aspect adds interest for me and not sure how that would work for someone who's never been here -- wonder if it might seem a bit much.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Tricked (4th book in series) is out. I plan on reading it as soon as the NFL draft ends this weekend. Anyone else reading it yet?

Steve

 

[AZZenny]

I'll probably start it tomorrow evening.

 

[D-Dogg]

I love this series...I'm still finishing up the Song of Ice and Fire series before I get back into finishing Hammered, but this is a great set of books.

 

[jf-08]

I love this series...I'm still finishing up the Song of Ice and Fire series before I get back into finishing Hammered, but this is a great set of books.

Donald, your reading choices seem to be similar to mine. How does the Druid series stack up vs. GoT series? It is a monsterous and complex? Or more like Hunger Games?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Donald, your reading choices seem to be similar to mine. How does the Druid series stack up vs. GoT series? It is a monsterous and complex? Or more like Hunger Games?

Obviously I'm not Donald but it's nothing like either series. It's a modern fantasy set in the Tempe area (at least initially). I can't really think of any other series that is all that similar but the closest that comes to mind would be the Garrett PI series by Glen Cook or perhaps a lighthearted version of Jim Butcher's Dresden series. If you can do lighthearted and fun, you should like the series.

Steve

 

[D-Dogg]

On a reading scale JF, it's in between, closer to hunger games. It is really, really quick to read because the writing is very fast paced and exciting. It leans more towards action than character dev, but Atticus who is the main character is very well developed.

I don't know if you have read the Percy Jackson series or the Red Pyramid series (both kids books by Rick Riodan, but these books are kind of like adult versions of those books. I personally LOVE those books because they are funny, action packed and steeped in mythology. These books are exactly the same, only set for an adult audience and located in freaking Tempe. I highly recommend them.