The Learning Annex presents a three-session workshop:

HOW TO WRITE URBAN FANTASY IN 3 EASY STEPS!

Session 1: Uncover Your Inner Shallow Self And Flaunt It

Why waste time putting energy towards creating depth? Readers are not looking for intangibles, they are looking for escape! Depth often makes them feel out of their depth so why not create some positive impact. Research your mythology of choice, then surround that central mythology with as many other mythologies and fantasy figures as you possibl More...

A few moons ago, I use to read PNR/UF books like I breathe air, and ate them like potato chips. Then the treads started up with many authors pretty much doing the same thing over and over again. Walking back to the genres has been (so far) very good with the help of many of my GR friend’s reviews; I’ve had a lot of luck with PNR and Romantic UFs, but haven’t had the true courage to try my hand at a UF until Hounded. Hounded is a book that made me remember why I loved and miss the genre so much! More...

If Joss Whedon and Jim Butcher had a love child that would one day grow up and write a novel - this would be the novel he wrote.



PLUS



EQUALS


Now would be the time to admit the truth about your parents, Hearne! ADMIT IT!

For the most part, Hounded is a delightful, action-packed urban fantasy novel with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, interesting characters and witty banter.

It's not a perfect novel. The main protagonist, Atticus, a 2100 year old druid living in Tempe, Arizona is a fantastic characte More...

I’m kind of torn on this one. On the one hand, it was fast paced, exciting, fun, and humorous. On the other hand, it’s a little muddled, has a couple of plot holes, and is occasionally silly to the point of being cheesy. I enjoyed it, but I honestly don’t know whether I would recommend it to someone else. So here is what I liked and what I didn’t - you decide.

Hounded has an interesting premise - a 2,100 year old Druid, along with the Celtic god of death, a magic sword, a pack of werewolves, and More...

Manchee fans (of Chaos Walking) - you will love Oberon!

Review for the males :

Atticus is a guy's guy. He's got a dry sense of humor, doesn't spew pretty language for the sake of having to impress anyone, and spends a good portion of his time communicating with man's best friend - yep, a dog. A very intelligent dog who happens to be loyal and helpful in a pinch, but would rather be eating sausages and banging french poodles.

Oh yeah, and this Atticus guy carries a big sword. And works some badass More...

Enjoyable, engrossing read. Definite fun. Atticus is the first praciticing druid I've read about in a long while, and it's nice to have a new take on magic in the urban fantasy line. In fact, all sorts of immortals and deities seem to be present, particularly from Celtic and Norse mythologies. They actually behave a lot like the stereotypes of gods from mythology (at least in the Greek myths I read), which is to say, manipulative, egotistical and randy. Hearne does a nice job of balancing their More...

Awesome start to what I think will be a very fun series.

Atticus somehow walks the line between being a pervy smart ass modern dude, and a 2000 year old wise druid. Sometimes his speech smacks of olde tyme phrases and in the next he's making gaming jokes. In short, he's written with awesome realism. You can't help but think he's cute.

Then you add to his character a host of funny and hilarious ensemble characters, the star of which is Atticus's Mans Best Friend the canine Oberon. Picture a large I More...

I received an early copy of this book as part of the Goodreads firstreads program.
I loved this book. It is one of the best I have read this year, and I am happy the next two in the series are following this summer. I will definitely be reading them.
Atticus is a 2100 year old Druid, kept alive so long by means you will learn in the book. He makes his living owning an occult bookstore and apothecary. He has been hounded for centuries by a god who wants the sword Atticus picked up in an ancient ba More...

Urban fantasi - pure, ga pake (atau belum?) cinta-cintaan, pengarangnya cowok, tokoh utamanya cowok

Karena Druid - berarti dari Irlandia, dewa-dewa celtic, dengan nama
yang bikin pusing hehehe

sang Druid sakti itu berumur 2100 tahun bertampang pemuda 21 tahun,
namanya Siodhachan Ó Suileabháin (bacanya susye paan) - atau Atticus Sullivan, sudah kabur ribuan tahun dari kejaran Aenghus Óg - dewa cinta (hee aneh pan?) karena Atticus dianggap membawa lari pedang sakti Fragarach.
karena dewa-dewi biasa More...

This book is refreshingly different and well written. It follows a 2000 year old Druid (Atticus O'Sullivan) who lives in the present day as an owner of a herb and rare book shop. However, like any 2000 year old druid would, Attiticus has enemies who would really like to see him dead. Fortunately, Atticus had picked up some friends along the way (i.e., gods, wolves and a vampire)who will help him with his enemies.

I was a little worried when starting this book that I would be bogged down with bac More...

I hope the next book will be better. I've heard rave reviews of this series & read a short story prelude to it. Not bad, although this one spent a lot of time on the back story. It wasn't terrible, but certainly not elegantly done. It was fun & I'm going to read the next book, so that says a lot.

It's pretty typical urban fantasy, but with different critters than are normal. Lots of Celtic stuff in this one & the next, Hexed, should have Norse gods in it if the broad hints in the firs More...

Oberon


★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) I’ve never read anything by Kevin Hearne before, and I’ve never listened to Luke Daniels narrate, either. But I definitely will again! So glad I chose to listen to this one, as the pronunciation of Druid and other ancient dialects would have totally tongue-tied my mind. Even with the nicely provided “Irish Pronunciation Guide” in the front to the eBook. I couldn’t begin to attempt saying Aenghus Óg or Tuatha Dé Danann in my head, let alone out lo More...

Clap! Clap! Clap!
Finally a book that I can praise for the first time this year!

Not only was this book humorous and witty, but also action packed and informative!
No matter how untrue that information might be.

Atticus, the Irish Druid, last of his kind, clearly is the main character in this book.
But nobody in this book brought the laughter like Oberon, the wolfhound.
With treacherous witches, fire fuming demons, powerful goddesses, and deceitful plans that will make your head spin, this book i More...

I picked up this book because it was well recommended on the Karen Chance group, and several members said Atticus was a lot like my beloved Pritkin. Unfortunately, I found the two characters to be nothing alike, and the book not as good as I expected. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable book that compelled me to read it all one sitting.

A minor but frustrating issue Hounded has is a distinct lack of contractions, leading to slightly stilted conversations. A bigger issue is the seeming invincibility of More...

http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...

İş Urban fantasy'e gelince bir dur demek lazım, çok severim. Beni çeken yönü genellikle karakterler kendi yollarını çizmişdir ve -elbette kitap boyunca bu kişiler olgunlaşıyor ama başlangıçta zaten yarı yolunda giden hayatları, gerekli bağlantıları vardır- kendi güçleri vardır. Onları kovalayan problemlere bir çare düşünebilmektedirler. Bu benim için büyük bir artı çünkü zengin karakterleri çok seviyorum.

Hounded'da işte böyle bir karakter vardı. Normalde U More...

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

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 paraphernal More...

Atticus O'Sullivan se vydává za jednadvacetiletého vysokoškoláka, co vlastní malé okultní knihkupectví s lékárnou, ve volných chvílích se stará o trávník staré vdovy a nadevše miluje svého irského vlkodava. Ale realita je někde trochu jinde. Za jeho image obyčejného a potetovaného Ira se schovává pořádně mocný druid se zkušenostmi nasbíranými za dvacet jedna století a mečem Fragrachem, který už dobré dva tisíce let chce nejeden bůh. Po dlouhých staletích utíkání to ale Atticus vzdává. Už nemá ná More...

I jinxed myself. I read the first 5 pages and thought I might actually like it after procrastinating over the decision of: to read, or not to read? I blame myself for attempting to as many have compared it to Jim Butcher's writing. Me and that dude do not get on. We are chalk and cheese.

The humour is unfunny, it's forced. The info-dump is off-putting, too much too fast. Dialogue-overload. Not enough description.

Atticus claims to be 2,100 or just 21 to humans. He lies to everyone but the humans. More...

Full review originally over at Fantasy Book Critic

ANALYSIS: Kevin Hearne first came on to my attention in the last quarter of 2010 when I read about Hounded and the Iron Druid Chronicles on a blog. After happening upon the book’s description and learning about the quick release schedule of the series, I was entranced and wanted to see if Hounded would stack up against the hype it had been receiving.

Hounded begins with a soliloquy by Atticus O’Sullivan who is actually a 2100-year-old Irish drui More...

It started off a little slow and clunky (my opinion), but after a few chapters things started clicking together. Really well.

Atticus is a 2000 plus year old Druid who makes his home in Arizona. Other than running an occult shop (and occasionally selling fake weed to stoners), he has generally tried to lay low to avoid a powerful enemy who has been after him for over a millenium. Because he stole the guy's sword. A bad ass sword. Evidently, the Celtic god of love isn't very lovable. In fact, he's More...

I really liked this one. Probably closer to a 3.5 star, but when a book has an Irish wolfhound quoting Eric Cartman, I'll throw him a bone with 4 stars. It was a light, fun read with great characters, fast paced action and much comic relief. I found myself snickering many a time while reading.

Atticus is a really likable character who is easy to root for. Sometimes his comments were just a bit too trendy to be coming from a 2100 year old druid, but they were usually funny, nonetheless. And Atticu More...

Let me preface this by saying that I am a a big fan of paranormal romance, so the idea of reading a book with no romance was not initially appealing to me. However, the lovely Gigi at DDLF (www.ddlf.net) our paranormal romance and urban fantasy website site set the Iron Druid books as one of our August challenges.

And let me tell you I am glad that she did. This book is smart and very very funny.

The book is about Atticus a 2000 year old druid and his dog Oberon and their fight against some old I More...

Awesomnetastic! There are several reasons why I absolutely love this series and why I can't wait for the next and the next ... 6 books are contracted and I hope there will be more..

First of all, the humor and the voice of Atticus is phenomenal and hilarious! I was listen to the audio (which is equally fantastic) and found myself laughing out lout so so often. Definitely not save for work since people will look very strange at you when they find you laughing so loud and constantly smiling.

Secon More...

It did exactly what it said on the tin, y'know?

It's an urban fantasy book about a 2100 year-old Druid (who is inexplicably far more interested in Star Wars and other "Geek Culture" minutiae than a two-millennium-old person would be), written in the first person perspective of a snarky dude trammeled by a narrative that sort of follows a three act structure, which leads inexorably towards a confrontation with his nemesis in which he is pushed beyond his physical limits to Win the Day.

The thing th More...

Tohle si moc chci přečíst, jak mě to zklame, tak se fakt naseru!

Not only is Hounded and incredibly entertaining fusion of Celtic myth and present-day American culture, but I absolutely adore the story's lighthearted exuberance. From the moment I saw the dedication page ("Look, Mom, I made this! Can we put it on the fridge?"), I knew this book was going to be fantastic. Hearne gives a pronunciation guide, but notes that "readers are free to pronounce the book however they see fit. It's supposed to be a good time, so I do not wish to steal anyone's marshmallow More...

I shall gush now:

CLEVER: It’s an excellent mix of myths of old and action PLUS all of those involved are positively hilarious. Atticus runs a bookstore/new age shop. But is really a druid in hiding. The people around him too are special and by “people” I mean gods, goddesses, witches, werewolves, and throw in vampire as well. On one hand Atticus is trying to keep a low profile, but on the other, he is being hunted by a certain someone. This someone has cops, witches and demons to do his bidding More...

Way to go Kevin Hearne! This was a really fun read. I love the concept of a 2100 year old Druid living in Arizona fighting off a really jerky Celtic god of love with his faithful Irish Wolfhound Oberon (who is good comic relief). Most of these type of stories go off the rails (See Karen Moning) by bringing in lame love interests into the stories or having the hero do the stupidest things that make you want to yell at them 'Why are you doing that?!" But Atticus, the main protagonist here, was jus More...

This book was great! It had a bit of everything in it: a druid, a fantastic wolfhound, werewolves, a vampire, witches, Celtic gods, some demons, and a sassy elderly Irish woman. I was a bit worried that the spectrum of non-humans would be a bit messy and possibly overwhelm the story (or even just muddle it so that it didn't flow well). To my great delight, it all came together - and came together very well. I did not want to put this down and, sadly, it went too quickly for me. I am very much lo More...

When I first finished Kevin Hearne's HOUNDED I thought "Three stars...no, three-and-a-half...."

An hour later, I found myself still thinking about the main character, Atticus O'Sullivan, and his wolfhound, Oberon, and just how much I really enjoyed spending time with them; quite a bit more than I ever did with Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, in fact. Atticus is just a downright likeable, noble guy with a less wry, sarcastic sense of humor than Dresden (which really started grating on me and was the More...