[kcf]

Over the weekend I finished up Hounded by Kevin Hearne - his debut and the first book in The Iron Druid Chronicles. Two more books in the series are coming out this summer. It was a fun read and I enjoyed it for it what it is. An excerpt from my review is below.

Has anyone else read it yet?

Quote

As I indicated in my introduction, Hounded is full of some major wish-fulfillment. Atticus is essentially immortal, forever young at 21-years old, has cool magical powers, a witty tongue full of geek-references, can talk to his dog, and has sex with beautiful goddesses. Hearne has essentially admitted as much as he reveals on John Scalzi’s The Big Idea that “Hounded was spawned from an episode of Defiant Drunk Nerd Syndrome”. However, through that revelation you can sense Hearne’s often self-deprecating humor that keeps Hounded from taking itself too seriously.

Wish fulfillment in books can be flat out awful – especially since it often comes out in some form of sexual fantasy. With Hounded, Hearne actually makes the wish fulfillment fun. Hearne spins a good yarn as he gives himself lots of material to use in his imagined world where the modern world is basically as we know it, only myths and legends tend to be true, with gods and goddesses and all other manner of the supernatural actually existing. Don’t think on it too hard as all the impossibilities and inconsistencies will trip you up – keep it at the surface. And on the surface, Hounded is a very entertaining, fast read – the proverbial page-turner – and full of humor and clever homage.

...

Hounded is a quick and entertaining urban fantasy set in Tempe, Arizona. It’s full of Celtic lore, but in a world where all the old pantheons are real and magical beings seem to pop up everywhere. I enjoyed it very much for what it is and I really look forward to reading more from Hearne – and the good news is that I won’t have to wait long with Hexed coming on June 7th and Hammered on July 5th.

Full Review

[Aptorian]

Just the title of the series alone sounds horrendously generic and unimaginative.

I have to say your review doesn't make it sound any better.

[kcf]

 Battle Plaptypus, on 10 May 2011 - 05:32 AM, said:

Just the title of the series alone sounds horrendously generic and unimaginative.

I have to say your review doesn't make it sound any better.

Well, it's a pretty standard urban fantasy, so yes, it's pretty generic. I wouldn't say unimaginative though - Hearne seems to have a pretty wild imagination, though in comparison with much of UF it's not terribly original.

The key is that it is fun, and in that I enjoyed it.

[QuickTidal]

A fast paced, fun as hell read!

http://icebergink.bl...iron-druid.html

[Abyss]

sold!

[kcf]

http://forum.malazan...showtopic=21724

search is your friend (it's still visible near the bottom of the page)

[QuickTidal]

 kcf, on 29 July 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:

http://forum.malazan...showtopic=21724

search is your friend (it's still visible near the bottom of the page)

Bugger, sorry. Missed that.

If a Mod wants to unite the threads that's coolio.

Sorry for the thunder stealing KFC.

[kcf]

 King Kazma, on 29 July 2011 - 05:25 PM, said:

 kcf, on 29 July 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:

http://forum.malazan...showtopic=21724

search is your friend (it's still visible near the bottom of the page)

Sorry for the thunder stealing KFC.

No worries, I'm more concerned with efficiency than thunder stealing...well mostly

[Abyss]

The threads have been assimilated.

- Abyss, also notes that resistance is futile...

[kcf]

And some of my brief thoughts on Hexed:

Quote

In Hounded, the 2000-year old druid, Atticus, faced off against ancient Irish gods and a few witches. In Hexed, the fight is with more witches, a few succubi, a fallen angel and a couple of radical witch hunters. Atticus is once again joined by his vampire and werewolf friends and his ever-present dog through a number of supernatural fights in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona.

These books are simply fun – don’t think too hard about them and the world that Hearne creates, just sit back and enjoy the ride. The takes on various pantheons of gods are fun, the action satisfying and it’s all woven together with a geek humor that refuses to take itself seriously. Another huge positive (for me anyway) is that they are short and fast to read – Hexed took me just a couple of days to read, and I could easily have knocked it out over a relaxing afternoon (not that I ever had one of those). Hearne’s writing is quickly becoming something of a comfort read for me, probably in no small part due to them being set in Arizona.
Full Review

[kcf]

I finished up Hammered a few days ago. It falls right in line with the first two as another really fun read. I'm looking forward to Tricked this spring. An excerpt from my review is below.

Quote

These books aren’t particularly deep, the characterization doesn’t really go beyond Atticus and his dog and if one thinks too hard on everything, the world that Hearne has created would come crumbling down. And that doesn’t matter one bit since the books succeed in what they want to do – provide a fun, exciting adventure in a creative setting with magic, gods and all sorts of mythological creatures. In Hammered Hearne keeps the fun rolling.

One aspect that I was happy about in Hammered is that there seems to be a lot less of the wish-fulfillment we got in the first two as Hearne settles in to tell the story and escalate the terms a bit. That and the fact that Hearne is happy to have Atticus and friends really shake things up.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, creative urban fantasy series that is quick to read and not particularly deep, The Iron Druid Chronicles may be just what you want. The humor is over-the-top and often caters to geek culture and the adventure is high in a world where all the myths and legends seem to be true and all the gods are real, yet the world is remarkably just like our own. A cool character kicks a lot of ass and he has a faithful dog for a sidekick and a sexy young apprentice along (who I really hope will become more involved in the stories to come). And the bonus is it’s all set in Arizona, a setting rather underutilized in the world of urban fantasy. I can’t wait to read more and Tricked will be published in April, 2012, so I won’t have to wait long.
Full Review

[kcf]

I finished off Tricked a couple of weeks ago. It's on par with the other three, though I enjoyed it a bit less. These are still good, fun books that have become something of a comfort read for me. Excerpt from my review is below:

Quote

In Tricked we finally see Atticus’s apprentice, Granuaile, come into her own as a full, fleshed-out character. The banter with her almost equals the buddy banter between Atticus and his dog, Oberon, but thankfully there is a lack of sexual tension in the man-dog talk. And the humorous back-and-forth between Atticus and Oberon with the Coyote thrown in for spice is top-notch. Hearne also takes some time to explore the legends and religion of the Navajo people, which is interesting and refreshing to see.

Unfortunately, I had some problems Hearne’s portrayal of Atticus and some of the environmental issues of the Navajo Reservation. It’s understandable and appropriate that the last surviving Druid would be a pretty hard-core environmental type. However, I find it very difficult that someone who is supposed to be over 2000 years old, who has managed to live so long among mortals, who has seen human nature and all its complexities play out over and over again, could have such as naïve understanding of the environmental issues faced by the Navajo Reservation. Basically, Atticus shows the nuance of an 18-year old college student in his environmental stance on mining, power generation and the environmental and social ramifications for the Navajo people. And Hearne has clearly never actually visited a working strip mine. Now, this is mostly just sour grapes on my part, since I live here, I am an engineering geologist, I work at mines, I work at power plants, I work on environmental clean-up projects, I know Navajo people, I know people who work for the mine in question and the power plant in question, I’m friends with the NPR reporter who covers the reservation, I know an FBI agent who works on the reservation, etc. etc. While I imagine that Hearne and I probably vote more or less the same, these are issues that I actually know things about, and the way the book treats them was a let-down for me and I found it to be a pretty big break down in the characterization of Atticus. But, thankfully, even though I’ve written more about this than anything else, it’s not a deal breaker for the book. These books are not deep, they are not supposed to be deep, and reading too much into them looses the focus on just what the books are trying to do.

So, even with my reservations that I discuss above, Tricked is another fun entry into the Iron Druid Chronicles. These books have become a fun comfort for me and a must read anytime I receive a new one. It’s a great example of a light-hearted urban fantasy that succeeds well within its bounds and is not set in another generic city.
Full Review

[kcf]

I read the next in the series, Trapped. It's pretty much just like those that have come before, though I liked it better than the previous in the series, Tricked. Good stuff - I'll keep reading 'em as long as Hearne keeps writing 'em. A mini-review is up at the blog for those interested.