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Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)

Kevin Hearne

Start date: September 1, 2011

Finish date: September 30, 2011

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Jul 02, 2011 Cee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: wizardy-magic, urban-fantasy, paranormal, demons, mythology, series-ongoing

As a highly female-dominated genre, urban fantasy has very few male protagonists. The archetypical male main character is Harry from the Dresden Files, and it's almost impossible not to have the Jim Butcher books in mind when reading Hounded. Compared to the dark and moody Dresden books, The Iron Druid Chronicles promise light-heartedness, humour, and action.

Atticus tells people he's 21 - which is technically not a lie, since he is 21 centuries old. He is the last Druid, and he is hiding from hi As a highly female-dominated genre, urban fantasy has very few male protagonists. The archetypical male main character is Harry from the Dresden Files, and it's almost impossible not to have the Jim Butcher books in mind when reading Hounded. Compared to the dark and moody Dresden books, The Iron Druid Chronicles promise light-heartedness, humour, and action.

Atticus tells people he's 21 - which is technically not a lie, since he is 21 centuries old. He is the last Druid, and he is hiding from his immortal enemy. Atticus has a sword that the Celtic god of love wants back, and Atticus won't be able to hide from him forever.

Where Storm Front was serious and grim, Hounded is just plain old fun. All gods and goddesses walk the earth (yes, all of them) and they all have their alliances and feuds. Atticus is caught in the middle and forced to fight, but he does so with good humour and style. Nothing fazes him much, so when some lower fey come to kill him, he kicks their butts.

The world Mr Hearne has created is intriguing. In a true Supernatural romp fashion all gods exist - from Thor to The Morrigan, they are all somewhere. They are powerful, more powerful than mortals, but not truly immortal. Atticus, an Irish Druid himself, mainly deals with Celtic gods and goddesses. I'm quite fuzzy on my Celtic lore so I just kinda went with it, and it was a very enjoyable experience. I'm hoping to see more of the pantheon in the next few books; the possibilities are practically endless with the open world of Hounded.

Atticus draws power from the earth, which means that he spends a lot of time going around bare-footed or sleeping underneath trees to replenish his strength. The magic system isn't very intricate but it holds its purpose well and it makes for pretty fun action scenes.

Hounded is filled with quirky side characters like Atticus' talking dog Oberon, his vampire and werewolf lawyers, the sexy barmaid Granuaile who carries a secret, and the old Brit-hating and scotch-loving Irish widow. Together with a witty narration and fast pace, Hounded was a pleasure to read. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 19, 2011 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2011, first-in-series

This is a really fun read, had me cracking up from start to finish. The mythology is very well-researched, the story is fast-paced and action-packed, and we come across very quirky characters throughout the book.

Atticus is a 2000+ year old Druid who looks like and acts like a 20 year old college boy, after all, the kid's gotta blend in with his surroundings. He is very likable, and while entertaining, the trendy speak coming from someone as old as him was just slightly off-putting.

Like any othe ...more

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May 23, 2011 KarenF rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, kindle

I really enjoyed this first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. For a first book in a series I thought the plot moved along nicely and there was a decent amount of explanation of the various players, the usual suspects of witches, vamps and werewolves with the addition of basically all the pantheons of Gods/Goddesses, without it feeling like a total info-dump. But I'm facsinated by that stuff so others may feel differently. I liked Atticus the wise-ass 2100 year old druid masquerading as a 21 yea ...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Moondance rated it really liked it

Shelves: unusal-characters, magic, humorous, fantasy, druid, celtic

Excellent start to a series. Two thousand year old Druid, Atticus, lives in Tempe, Arizona as a 21 year old bookshop owner. Lots of Celtic myths with gods, goddesses and legends. Oberon, the Irish wolfhound, is one of my favorite characters. Very glad I have the next two in the series to dive into. 4.5 stars!

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Jun 24, 2011 Katie rated it really liked it

Solid 4 stars for me...loved the widow, Oberon, and the lawyers! What a hoot? This book was so much fun to read. Action packed, the plot clicked right along, and it had good suspense. I love books that have a good group of charachters that feed off of each other. It wasn't overly descriptive - of the changes in scenery or sexual encounters. Favorite line: A friend will help you move; but a really good friend will help you move a body! Great start to the series... Can't wait to see how the studen ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2011 Diane ~Firefly~ rated it liked it

Shelves: deity-angel, magic, shifters, vampires, paranormal, dog, uf

Interesting new series. A cool premise with a lot of intrigue.

What I enjoyed:
* Learning about the Irish/Celtic pantheon and druids
* How gods work in this world
* Oberon!

What could have been better:
* The story seemed to drag here and there
* I've never been a big fan of casual sex

...more

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