Oberon’s Bathtime Stories

The Iron Druid Chronicles #10.1

by Kevin Hearne

If you give Oberon the Irish wolfhound a bath, he’s going to ask you for a story. Fortunately, his human, Atticus, has many centuries of life under his belt as the Iron Druid, and a whole lot of stories to share. Enjoy twelve new short stories from the New York Times bestselling series the Iron Druid Chronicles.

Join Oberon and his Boston terrier buddy, Starbuck, in the tub as they hear about Corie Ten Boom, Junko Tabei, Francisco de Miranda, Johannes Kepler, and many other figures from history spanning centuries. Sack Rome with King Alaric of the Visigoths or have a think with Auguste Rodin! Let the sparks fly with Michael Faraday or go down to the crossroads with Robert Johnson! And witness the fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha, wherein a man in white with poor eyesight will craft a liquid paradox…!

Oberon’s Bathtime Stories are a wonderful addition (or entry) into the Iron Druid Chronicles. Stories
“The Watchmaker”
“The Grocery Sack of Rome”
“Another Mountain to Climb”
“The Human Dynamo”
“The Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha”
“The Spy Who Wrote Plays”
“Mississippi Devil”
“The Thinker”
“The Skinny Dipper”
“Seeking Harmony”
“A Riotous Distraction”
“The Man Who Dodged the Guillotine”

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, Humor, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2025

About the author

Kevin is the NYT bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, as well as The Seven Kennings, an epic fantasy trilogy, and the Tales of Pell, a humorous fantasy series co-authored with Delilah S. Dawson. INK & SIGIL, a new urban fantasy series set in the Iron Druid universe, will be out in 2020.

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Hearne's series. I have read all of the Iron Druid series and Ink & Sigil series. I have also read all of Oberon's Meaty Mysteries. Oberon is the Iron Druid's Irish wolfhound in this spin off of the Iron Druid series. Oberon, the dog, is the narrator, in these adventures with his Boston terrier buddy, Starbuck the Iron Druid. This is a collection of 12 short stories which are all structured around some tale of the 3 protagonists, which leads to a bath for the dogs Attica, the druid, always tells the dogs a story while bathing them. Each short story is built around these bath stories which often have a lesson/moral built in.
I would give the shells involving Oberon a 5, the internal stories are more of a mixed bag. Many are built around the idea that the druid is a protector of Gaia, but I think Keane goes too far with industrial sabotage and his trashing of capitalism.

[Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook is a LOT of fun. It's a series of shorts told from Oberon's point-of-view, but the bath time stories are Atticus's tales. They are primarily historical in nature and teach Oberon and the listener some important lessons. While it's not spoilerish in any way for the Iron Druid Chronicles, I think it's best for fans of the series.

Luke Daniels is his spectacular self, bringing to life Oberon, Starbuck, Atticus and others.

These stories were originally shared monthly in 2024 via the author's newsletters for paying subscribers. Those subscribers each received a complimentary audiobook version. I am a paying subscriber.

[J.M. Celi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the Iron Druid saga was bittersweet like any beloved series should be. When Kevin Hearne announced he was doing these Oberon Bathtime Stories, I was psyched. We were getting more content in that world!

And Hearne delivers all the wit and heart that you would expect from Oberon, Starbuck, and Atticus. These stories each had a heaping helping of fun and cool history. Real deep cut stuff, and the history nerd in me loved it.

Atticus spins tales of his adventures through the agers as he gives baths to Oberon, and it's a solid, fun good time.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do NOT sleep on the bloopers at the end. Luke has conversations with himself in multiple voices from the book when he messes up!!!!

Overall I probably preferred the interaction between Oberon, Atticus and Starbuck over the bath time stories. I loved the handling of the prophecy and Oberon holds up his title of Best Comic Character in Fantasy Literature in my opinion, but I’m beginning to wonder how much more Kevin has to say in this world. I would love a little more from Owen’s perspective but am not sure I need much more from Atticus, who seems to be treading water until his relationship with Rose runs its inevitable course and he has another chance for major growth. He feels stalled out to me. With that said, I enjoyed this collection of stories and am looking forward to the next one regardless of the final content.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spending time with Oberon is always a joyful occurrence. The big guy knows what he enjoys and he's enjoys sausages and bathtimes. And Atticus. And Starbuck. Let's just say there are lots of things he enjoys (squirrels excluded) and he's always happy to share his love of said things.

One of the things he REALLY enjoys are when Atticus tells him stories during his bathtime. Atticus being a person who has lived an extraordinarily long, interesting life, he has many MANY events to draw from. He's met individuals who made impacts of both the big and small variety on the world and on him. Possibly most importantly, thank to Oberon, Atticus has now met the extraordinary individual who invented the Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha.

Life is good!

All in all, a deeply satisfying romp through snippets of history interspersed with Oberon's love of all things sausage. GOOD TIMES!

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Michele Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin has made me laugh and gave me food for thought. Masterful writing and an uplifting message. Good dogs and sausage. Can’t beat it!!

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always I loved these collection of tales. Luke Daniels' captures these characters with his narration. A real treat for fans of the Iron Druid Chronicles.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oberon and Starbuck are just delightful and these are some fun little stories. It's cool to get a glimpse into Atticus' past.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved the IDC audiobooks since they were first published and I adore Oberon. While I liked the parts of this in Oberon’s voice the actual stories were not very interesting. Atticus basically Forrest Gump’s his way through some short historical vignettes and there’s a moral to every story.

Not bad but not one I’ll re-listen to.

[Hobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this post, you might like others on that site. Consider checking it out!
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WHAT'S OBERON'S BATHTIME STORIES ABOUT?
So, whenever Oberon—the Iron Druid's Irish Wolfhound—gets a bath, he gets told a story so he'll put up with it long enough to get clean. This is something we've known since the first book, and it continues in Atticus' (largely undocumented) adventures and life post-Scourged.

This is a collection of those stories—eleven of them plus something a little different. The outline is simple—Oberon and/or his buddy Starbuck engage in some sort of shenanigans or misadventure. Atticus cleans them up, telling them a story about meeting some famous person—usually with a point/lesson—then the dogs get the zoomies and take a nap.

These people range from the Visigoth King Alaric to John Quincy Adams, from Corrie Ten Boom to Robert Johnson, and so on.

A BREAK IN THE PATTERN
There’s one exception to this pattern—chapter 5, "The Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha." Features Oberon prompting Atticus into action. It’s nothing major—it’s just a brief 17 page story, after all. But it’s the kind of thing that would take up part of an early chapter in an Iron Druid novel.

It was good to have this break, so everything wasn’t just the same. It was also fun to see the Iron Druid in action, knowing that he’s still got it in him.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT OBERON'S BATHTIME STORIES?
This was fun—some good light entertainment. Not quite as satisfying as a dog would find a belly rub, but probably a good series of scritches behind the ear.

I do think Hearne got a little preachy a time or two—both in the selection of subject and how he told their story, particularly Atticus’ lessons for Oberon and Starbuck. I don’t particularly take umbrage with his messages, just the delivery. Not so much umbrage that I didn't immediately turn the page to the next story—I'm just using this excuse to say umbrage a few times.

If you’re a fan of the Iron Druid Chronicles and this somehow slipped by your radar, you’re going to want to invest the time. It’s absolutely worth it. If the idea of stories featuring historical figures told to a dog, and you haven't read the IDC, you'll likely still enjoy it. Hearne's got a reliable charm.

[Laurla2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

-4 stars, cute. i love Oberon. he's an irish wolfhound who has been given a potion tea to extend his life many times over and has learned many english words and the iron druid has bound himself to him so they can speak freely. Oberon doesn't like baths, so Atticus tells him (and Starbuck the boston terrier) short little stories during bathtime so they'll hold still until they're rinsed clean. this is a collection of those stories.

"remember how you used to cast camouflage on me so i could sneak up and scare mrs. Macdonagh's cats to measure their vertical leap? Granuaile did that for me once somewhere else and she said 'boomshakalaka!' when the cat hit the ceiling."
"when was this?"
"it was that time-i mean, i just remembered that i'm not supposed to remember that, it never happened. oh! it must have been a dream! yeah! i just like to dream about cats hitting the ceiling, i'd never really try to make that happen, because it was an accident, that thing that...didn't happen."

"he needs me around, you know. Atticus zones out sometimes, but in different ways. ... If his eyes kind of go glassy and his expression looks haunted and haggard, then i have to act, because he's dwelling on his past and feeling guilt or regret and that's not good for him."

"here is how you yank a human out of their haunted reverie and drag them back into the present: stick your tongue in their ear. ... it is not without its danger, however. you have to be aware that you're taking a risk. the human might simply cringe away and say 'EW!' but there's a significant chance of unrestrained flailing and you could get whacked upside the head. so i recommend a guerilla strike. you sneak up, dart your tongue in there really quick, then dash away before they fully clock what just happened."

"we both liked to look around and be happy with what we see or saw and oh no i think i have stumbled into one of those time warps with tenses and i don't know which when i was am doing it anymore. let's just pretend that sentence didn't happen."

"that's how you live. right now. but sometimes Atticus will be living in the now and a song or a smell or whatever makes him remember a time in his past and he stops and chews on it-mentally i mean-and forgets what he was doing, because when he chews on this old memory, it tastes different because so much time has passed. or it got moldy, i don't know. i really try with my metaphors but i'm not sure i stick the landings."

[Helen Robare · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG...I laughed several times while reading this book, and I learned things I didn't know about some historical characters.

Oberon, the Irish Wolfhound, really doesn't like to get a bath, but he will sit in the tub while Atticus tells him stories. It's hilarious how the author manages to show the reader the human point of view about historical battles, but then turns around and shows the reader how Oberon interprets the stories. Believe me, they are in no way alike!

The stories that Atticus tells Oberon are very well told and show a good slice of history that I had only heard references to, since they were beyond my scope of interest before I read this book.

So, if you love fantasy, mythology, talking dogs, and very old humans that don't show their age...I would suggest you read this book.

NOTE: It might be valuable if the reader has read the previous books in the series but it can be read as a stand alone book.

[Lori Thomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oberon's friend is the Best Storyteller

Oberon the Irish Wolfhound and his buddy Starbuck the Boston Terrier are very good dogs. Through the Druidic powers of their best friend, Atticus (a.k.a. the Iron Druid of the related series of books), all three can communicate mentally with each other. And, of course, as any dog owner knows, Oberon and Starbuck also understand everything Atticus says out loud.
Atticus is dedicated serving the best interests of Gaia, and has done so for the past several thousands of years. Oberon has been with Atticus just the last hundred years or so, and always loves to learn more about his beloved friend. How to get two dogs constantly rolling around outdoors to sit still for baths? Bathtime Stories!
So enjoy the company of these very, very good dogs, their excellent take on life, the importance of simple pleasures, and learn some fascinating bits of (what was little known to me) history, told by a master storyteller.

[J.T. Humber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to start by saying that I am a huge fan of this author. I have loved the Iron Druid series, and adored the Seven Kennings. I had high expectations because any book full of short stories told to a talking dog is sure to be wonderful. Instead, when I got was a series of stories reminded me more like an episode of Drunk History than something out of the Iron Druid world. It just wasn’t what I wanted out of the book. Plus I felt it was very preachy. I know that when the character is a druid, you’re gonna get a lot of environmental subjects and opinions. I’m fine with that, I love it. But I don’t need lectures on the evils of capitalism in an urban fantasy book about a talking dog. The parts between the stories were great, and I got that closure I wanted for a protagonist. I’ve lived with for a long time. Thank you for that.

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

On kobo (EPub 2 DRM-Free) 118 pages

Twelve short stories told to Oberon (a large Irish wolfhound) and his buddy Starbuck (a Boston terrier) by Atticus, the Druid, whose long life has allowed him to meet the many historical figures who feature in most of the stories. Related to the Iron Druid Chronicles...

Amusing light-hearted fluff though many of the stories serve Atticus as a teaching aid to broaden the dogs' interests beyond sausages and chasing squirrels. And a spur to my reading the odd Chronicle I seem to have stashed away...

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Luke Daniels
Rating: 3.5

I'm a big fan of Hearne's, and loved the Iron Druid Chronicles, even if he didn't stick the landing.
I was hopeful this collection of stories would give us more ID through the dogs, however, I was somewhat disappointed. Overall, I found this collection to be a bit of a miss. The only story that felt fun was "The Triple Nonfat Double Bacon Five-Cheese Mocha".
Whilst I appreciate many authors use their platforms to highlight a message, this felt a little too "pushy", regardless of how much I agree with the messages within.

[Diana T-C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not finished yet, about halfway through. This isn't quite a DNF, but is more a book I will come back to later. It's got bits of education in it at a time when I am looking for fun distraction.

There's bits of history I didn't learn from the textbooks I had in school, which is probably why these bits are slipped into the stories. I am glad to learn these, but lately have been desperate for distraction from current events.

So, yes, enjoyable, but it's meat and potatoes when I really want dessert. I'll finish this later.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, goofy anthology of stories told by Oberon - Atticus' wonderful canine companion.

For those who fell in love with these two in the Iron Druid Chronicles, this is just a wonderful way to drop back into the wonderful zany world of Oberon, an immortal Irish Wolfhound who has gone on many adventures over MANY centuries with his human Atticus. This time, he is asking for stories - with a few of his own thrown in as well.

I listened to this on audio and part of the joy was hearing this told through the voice of Luke Daniels - who has been the voice of Atticus and Oberon for the entire series. I can't imagine NOT hearing/listening to this on audio and while I am sure the book was just as awesome - there is something about the way that Mr. Daniels has portrayed these guys through the years that I have just missed.

This was a fun trip back into their world.

[Allex Illion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy I read this book. It was fun, light, witty and had good little tidbits of wisdom with a clear understanding on the value of sausages. I also appreciated the gems included from Iron Druid. The world needs more good dug books, especially Oberon ones.

[Lisa Strangeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin Hearne is back with meaty bite sized stories featuring Oberon and Starbuck! Ok, Atticus/Connor is there too, but we all know it's really an excuse to get us laughing at Oberon's antics. And make us hungry. If you love Iron Druid & Ink & Sigil don't miss this one.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

A pleasant little book with short chapters involving historical vignettes told to the dogs. I had missed the last several Iron Druid books, so this wasn't what I was expecting. Maybe it's YA?

[Ron Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the IDC this is mostly A- inserting himself into several stories throughout history in order to give the author a "Soapbox" from which to express his opinions very blatantly on a wide variety of topics with a little bit of doggy perspective humor to soften the sting

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun quick read. Forest Gump like stories

Enjoyed all these short stories. Read it on my flight from Houston to Portland. Very Forest Gump like stories, fun and interesting and make contemplate about today and the past.

[Laura Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun set of mini stories of famous people throughout history who Atticus/Connor had met in his long life. Loved Obérons nuggets of wisdom and his terminology for certain items like coffee (hot bean water), milk (moo squirts) and the vacuum (howling suck Monster)

[Andrew Poage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun as always with Oberon stories but kind of feels like Kevin is turning Atticus more and more into Forest Gump... Quite a lot of accidental meetings with people who ended up doing world altering things.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was adorable! Highly recommend if you have enjoyed other stories involving Oberon, Starbuck and Atticus.

I love how Kevin includes history mixed in with fiction and of course this mainly being about the hounds who are the real star of this book!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much fun! The narrator did an absolutely amazing job capturing the personalities of the dogs! And the stories were a lot of fun in themselves involving important historical people so learning was integrated into the stories.

[Matthew Fenoglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oberon is the goodest of dogs and the best character

[Roseb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun especially in audio. Probably only relevant to people who have LOVED the other books, but I guess that's me!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a lot of fun visiting Oberon, Starbuck, and Atticus again.