Adult Audiobook Review of Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

Title: Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1)             Author: Kevin Hearne Narrator: Luke Daniels Length: 8 hours and 11 minutes             Source: Purchased via Audible  Content Rating: For Adults

Back Cover
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.


First Lines

"There are many perks to living for twenty-one centuries, and foremost among them is bearing witness to the rare birth of genius."

In a Sentence

Hounded is hysterical fun mixed with a creative use of mythology. 


My Thoughts (or Five Reasons Why You Should Read Hounded)

After being told by several of my favorite book bloggers (namely, Felicia, Missie, Amanda, and Danny) that I HAD to read this series and that the audiobooks were fantastic, I finally caved and purchased Hounded and downloaded it to my iPod. Boy, did these ladies know what they were talking about. Hounded was such a fun book, and the audiobook narrator, Luke Daniels, was seriously awesome. 
Reason Number One You Should Read (or listen to) This Book: Oberon. I can't actually think of another animal character in any book I've ever read that made me laugh as much as he did. Oberon is a giant Irish Wolfhound who's obsessed with French poodles and Italian sausage. Thanks to a little bit of Druid magic, he's able to communicate mentally with the protagonist of the book, Atticus. His commentary on everything from women to history to citrus air fresheners had me literally laughing out loud off and on throughout the entire book. Oberon has quickly found himself a special place in my heart.

Reason Number Two: If you're anything like me, and you geek out over obscure references...whether they be from history, literature, or pop culture, then this book is definitely one for you. It is FULL of references...from historical figures like Galileo and Genghis Khan to modern day allusions (Battlestar Galactica, Monty Python, and Field of Dreams, just to name a few). 
Reason Number Three: MYTHOLOGY! And not just of the Greek and Roman variety. Kevin Hearne does an excellent job of weaving together all kinds of mythologies from cultures all over the world. There are references to Norse gods and goddesses, witches, werewolves, vampires, druids, angels, demons, ghouls...you name it. 
Reason Number Four: It has appeal for both male and female readers. Unfortunately, when it comes to the various sub-genres of fantasy, a lot of books (though definitely not all) are heavily aimed toward either the male OR female audiences, and not both. Hounded is one of those books that I honestly wouldn't have a problem recommending to any of my friends, regardless of gender. 
Reason Number Five: Because Hounded is unlike anything else I've read in this genre. And I read a LOT, guys! One of the downsides of being a fan of particular genre is that, if you read enough of it, there will eventually come a time when a lot of books start to sound similar to one another, and when that happens, it's easy to hit burnout. Hounded is fresh and exciting. It actually made me excited to get up early in the morning and head to campus because I could listen to fifteen or twenty minutes of it before class. And trust me, making me excited about waking up and spending my entire day at the university at this point in the semester is NOT an easy feat.

Links

Add Hounded to your to-read list on Goodreads.
Find author Kevin Hearne online.

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Rating

Really Liked It