Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne
Publication Date: April 19th 2011 by Brilliance Audio
Pages: 336
Audio Book Length: 8hrs 6min
Narrators: Luke Daniels
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★
I re-read Hounded for Anne @Books of My Heart’s read-along (you can sign up HERE) and it was just as good as the first time! Listened straight through in one
day. My original review was posted on The
Readers Den, the blog I used to post on back in 2014.
Thoughts: It's funny how your reading tastes change
over the years. I'm no longer a pure romance junkie, but tend to gravitate to
mystery/thrillers with a bit of romance and Urban Fantasy. Since writing the
review below I've read a lot of UF since first reading, and The Iron Druid
Chronicles continues to be one of my favorites nine years later.
Original review posted January 14, 2014:
I’m first and foremost a romance junkie any genre I read
usually must contain some amount. So it
was shocking to me that I enjoyed this so much when there isn’t any! I credit
that to the highly entertaining and quick-witted Atticus O’Sullivan!
Atticus O’Sullivan may look like he’s twenty-one but in
reality his age is over two thousand. He’s last of the Druids, trying to live a
peaceful life running a New Age book and tea shop. Unfortunately, he’s had an
age long feud with the Celtic god, Aenghus Og over a magical sword and this god
is ready to take what he thinks is his.
Hounded was entertaining and fun. A definite must for any Urban Fantasy fan or
just anyone who loves a great story!
Witches, werewolves, vampires and Celtic mythology factor in heavily,
and you’d think this would be overwhelming, but the story is fast paced with
just enough information to keep you clued in without slowing the story down.
Atticus is a clever and thoughtful hero, who always seemed
to be several steps ahead of any opponent like a strategic game of chess. Loved his encounters with Emily the witch!
There’s lot of witty humor and laughs, and it was a treat
being in Atticus’ head. Oberon, his loyal best friend and dog was also quite
funny with his obsessive love of sausages and French poodles.
There is no romance *sniff* BUT there is a hope and a hint
(maybe?) of something to come.
I listed to the audio version of Hounded, which I highly
recommend! Luke Daniels was an excellent narrator!
Book Description:
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 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.
Excellent Rachel. I'm already hearing from some mostly romance readers they are enjoying it. This is one of the purposes for me of the RA is to stretch people to read great books in more genres. Although UF is always my favorite and I've been picking the awesome ones for the RA.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for joining in the RA and sharing your review with us!
Anne - Books of My Heart
That's great to hear! I used to mostly read romances, but now I mostly read mysteries, thrillers and UF. Of course I always like a bit of romance included. :)
DeleteI tried audio, but dunno why I did not get into it
ReplyDeleteThat's a bummer. Maybe traditional reading would be a better fit for you with this series?
DeleteI didn't get the chance to read this one in time for the deadline. I am going to have to play catch up.
ReplyDeleteHope you're enjoy the story once you get to it, Nadene!
DeleteThis was a re-read for me and stood the test of time for me as well. Fun how even though your romance tolerance has changed, that you loved it the first time.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is one of the first UF series I read and still one of my favorites. Nice to hear you enjoyed it the second time around, too!
DeleteI am having a blast re-listening to this series. I think I enjoyed it more the second time around, having full knowledge of all to come.
ReplyDeleteYes! Nice to hear you're enjoying it again, too. I forgot how funny it is. It really is a great series.
DeleteThis was a reread for me, too. I read the first four(ish) books beginning around 2012, but this time I decided to listen to them and finish the series. I think I enjoyed it even more this second time around, in part due to Luke Daniels's excellent narration. Looking forward to our discussion on Sunday!
ReplyDeleteYes, I love Luke Daniels' performance!
DeleteSo many of the participants are rereading this series, which I guess says something right away. It's a new series to me and I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one!!
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
It is a fun series! Nice to hear you enjoyed the first book, Terrie!
Deleteit is funny how our reading tastes over the years. I started out reading nothing but Horror at first.
ReplyDeleteI know. I feel like my tastes have really changed. I used to read a lot of YA, but I rarely do now.
DeleteHow wonderful that a book that old actually held up. I think a touch of romance elevates all books.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I like a lot of genres but I also hope for a romance to be included, even if it's a small part.
DeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed this one! I like that it has humor
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy. Me too!
DeleteGreat review. I also prefer to listen to most books instead of reading.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a plus for me, too.
DeleteMy husband binged this series a year or two ago and really enjoyed it. I need to find him something else from Hearne to read.
ReplyDeleteI've always been curious about this one. That's awesome you still loved it.
ReplyDeleteLauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net
I'm also need some romance in my books, but I really loved Hounded. Looking forward to the rest of the read-along.
ReplyDelete