Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Published: May 3rd, 2011 (Del Ray)
Pages: 289
Source: bought
Challenge: none
Age group: adult
Series: Iron Druid Chronicles #1
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Rating: ★★★★☆


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 sexy 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.

Not having heard much about this book or its series, I wasn't expecting much when I picked it up. But Hounded proved to be a pageturner that was almost impossible to put down.

Atticus appears to be an Irish dude who is around 21, owns a bookstore and is a bit of a stoner. But in reality, he's a 2100 years old Druid who draws power from the earth and is chased by an angry Celtic god. So much for normal. Atticus owns a bookstore and sells tea, all different ones have a punny name, and tries to blend in with the locals. That turns out to be difficult when you're chased by local police, fae, an angry god and some bloodthirsty giants.

The best thing about this book: the humor. Atticus has a wolfound named Oberon and he had the most amazing remarks. It was hilarious! The writing was quick, easy and witty and I thoroughly enjoyed myself while I was reading this book. Atticus was likeable, even though he has massive amounts of power and seems to intimidate even the oldest gods and witches, and it was nice to follow him around. The story itself wasn't too original, but it was a great read and I really liked how everything was put together. It was fast paced and I loved the distinct personalities of the characters, even the ones we only saw for a couple of lines.

It's adult material, mainly because of the gore and swearing, but there are some suggestive scenes in it as well. I really really really liked this one and hope it gets picked up by more people, because up until now, I haven't heard a thing about it in the blogosphere. It deserves more love!