Book Log 2/2013 - Kevin Hearne: Hounded

[jacey]

Atticus O'Sullivan is the last (real) druid. he's been on the run from Aenghus Óg: Celtic god of love, who has been pursuing Atticus for over two thousand years to retrieve the Fragarach, a sword of unearthly power that Atticus acquired on the battlefield. Currently Atticus, a permanent twenty-something in appearance, is the proprietor of the Third Eye bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, about as far away from any portals available to malevolent Irish gods as he can get, but Atticus is getting fed up of running, so when he gets several warnings that Aenghus Óg is getting close he decides to stand his ground.

There are some good characters including Oberon: Atticus' Irish Wolfhound who communicates telepathically with Atticus and has some snappy dialogue (and for a talking dog is quite an engaging character and very dog oriented). Atticus himself narrates the story in first person and since he's got two millennia worth of knowledge and experience, nothing much comes as a surprise to him, so it's not a question of figuring out what next but more about Atticus figuring out how to deal with what's next.

In addition to Irish gods from the Tuatha Dé Danann, some friendly, some not and all forming factions, Atticus' attourney is a werewolf and the boss of the law firm is a vampire (cue the occasional joke). There's also Granuaile: barmaid at the local Irish theme pub, who is currently possessed by an Indian witch and interested in taking up the magic trade.

Yes, this is first in a series, much recommended by various avid readers on the r.a.sf.w newsgroup I frequent. As a first outing it lives up to expectations as a fast paced, engaging urban fantasy with mythic overtones, so I shall be looking or the next one.

Comments

[teriegarrison.livejournal.com]

I've been listening to the audiobooks, and OMG! I adore these books! Just finished book 3 over the weekend. Luke Daniels reads them superbly, and I suspect that I'm enjoying listening to his rendition even more than I would've enjoyed reading the books myself. His voice for Oberon is perfect -- in a weird way, it's the wrong voice for an Irish Wolfhound, and yet it's absolutely perfect for Oberon all the same.

I've turned one friend on to the audiobooks and another on to the print book. The friend reading the print book said, 'This is The Funniest book I've ever read.' Yes, spoken with the extraneous capital letters.

I would be hard-pressed to choose whether I like Iron Druid or Dresden Files better, and I would be even more hard-pressed to choose whether I like Daniels' reading or James Marsters' reading better. Both have been absolutely audiobook crack for me. :-D

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Against my better judgement, because animals that talk like humans often don't work for me, I love Oberon. He has the best one-liners and his food obsession is so perfect.