Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Hounded (with two bonus short stories): Book One of The Iron Druid Chronicles

Top positive review

Best Fantasy series I’ve read in years!

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018

I read a lot. In the past, sometimes 50-75 books each year. If I don’t like a book I will stop reading it; life is to short to make yourself miserable.

The good books, the ones that years later you are still talking about them, are few and far between. “Good Omens”, “The Return of the King”, “To Green Angel Tower” and the like are all novels that I sat down to read ... and didn’t get up until I finished the book. (Tad Williams nearly killed me from lack of sleep)

“Hounded” is one of those books. It lays forth a tapestry of characters and events without reading like a history book. The characters are fully formed, even the peripheral ones, so when they show up again they feel like a friend.

The characters change. They grow. They falter. Sometimes, as in reality, they die and you mourn them, you miss them.

The only complaint I have (and it is such a petty one) is that the cover doesn’t match the character painted inside. See? I told you it was petty.

37 people found this helpful

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Dire Wolf

Harry Dresden and Mercy Thompson had a baby ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2019

... but it died.

Our protagonist is a 2100 year old druid who wields a magic sword, sports magic tattoos, wears a magic bracelet, kills supernatural assassins with his bare hands, summons elementals, beds a goddess, makes a pact with a demon, gains immortality, communicates telepathically with his dog, transforms into a wolfhound, rides a magic sled (pulled by magic stags), spars with a viking vampire, consorts with werewolf lawyers and murders a possessed park ranger.

And then, in chapter two, things get downright silly.

The author was obviously inspired by the worlds created Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs, too bad he wasn't inspired by their writing.

30 people found this helpful

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Chris Hansen

Best Fantasy series I’ve read in years!

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018

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37 people found this helpful

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Bursar

Very enjoyable.

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018

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I really enjoyed this book, and went on to buy the second. It was recommended to me by a follower on Twitter. There were really only two things I found less than par, and both are very subjective, so they don't affect my rating. First, I found the comedic relief between the MC and his dog to be pretty cheesy and leaned on too hard. I found the vampire funnier, and I didn't get the impression the vampire was supposed to be all that funny. I suppose the dog conversations fall pretty far into typical 'guy humor,' which isn't my taste, but obviously plenty of people love it or it wouldn't be so popular. Second nitpick, all the names and different mythological characters were really hard for me to keep track of. I will freely admit that most of my familiarity with mythology if from Greek and Roman mythology, so if you are more familiar with Irish and other mythologies, that probably won't be too big a deal for you. The main characters were well fleshed out and entertaining, the flirting and sexual tension was perfect, the plot was engaging, the world building was well developed (a MAJOR pet peeve of mine), and the writing was pretty good. Definitely recommended!

13 people found this helpful

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carolynfromoz

Terrific start to an urban fantasy series

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022

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This is totally entertaining urban fantasy and a great start to what promises to be a great series. Atticus O'Sullivan, is the last of the Druids, two thousand years old and living peacefully in Arizona, disguised as the twenty one year old owner of an occult Bookshop. He is friendly with the local werewolf pact, respectful (but not totally trustful) of the local coven of witches, has a vampire for a lawyer and is on good terms with the Morrigan, the God of Death. He is also the owner of a very special magical sword - one a Celtic God claims was stolen from him and wants returned. He's finally tracked Atticus down and plans to use all his powers and resources to kill him and take the sword.

The world building and system of magic, interwoven with Celtic mythology is well done and well explained. There is also a lot of humour in the book, particularly in Atticus' relationship with his dog, an Irish wolfhound called Oberon, who can communicate telepathically with him and has quite a sarcastic sense of humour. An Irish barmaid also proves to be an interesting and amusing ally and may be important to the series in the future. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next in the series.

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Jenna Seaver

Excellent Story and Excellent Writing!

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020

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Loved this way more than I expected to - had never heard of the series and was delighted to find a lengthy series to continue this pleasure. In an age where $9.99 gets you garbage more often than not I was pleasantly surprised to find this long book without filler crap...language has been edited to keep really perfect blend of plot/action, character development and description.

I also LOVE the humor of Atticus and his interaction with Oberon - sometimes he gets a bit silly but Atticus usually remarks the same thing so it works. Also wonderful to discover an author who encourages imagination rather than pound you over the head with melodramatics, OR crassness and gore to deliver violent action - it is amazing how easy it is to picture just the right amount when someone's head gets lopped off.

I rarely write reviews as it would take too much time - I read a couple books per week and only finish the good ones. You will not regret buying this start to the series. I hope the others are as good!

One person found this helpful

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David Menefee Jr

Great stories with a heart

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021

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I raced through the first four of these books, enjoying every moment. I’m only taking a break so I can savor the next, and the next…

What keeps me turning the pages is not only the vivid action and likable characters, but also the evident love of the natural world that informs the actions of the main character. This love of Gaia is all too absent in a lot of modern storytelling, and I for one am glad the author (who evidently speaks his heart and mind through the stories) included it. Complaints that the stories are too “woke” seems more like overly sensitive whining to me. The “politics” that others are complaining about isn’t politics at all. It’s just good, ethical behavior and care for others, and it is an entirely consistent part of the Iron Druid’s psychological makeup.At any rate, these ingredients are applied with a very light touch, spicing but not overwhelming the story.

Summary: great stories, likable characters, inventive stories! Love ‘em!

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Laroo

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022

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I really don't like urban fantasy. The clash between two genres just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. But my sister kept raving about how great these books are, so I broke down and got this one, and am so glad I did. It was absolutely fabulous, and even though I don't want to, I'll probably end up buying all the rest as well. Absolutely excellent book!

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N. Trachta

A little Iron Age fun in the desert

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2014

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I'm a geocacher and my caching name is Pohka. Many of my caches are inspired by Irish Celts and I'd placed a new cache named Samhain and because of this a friend suggested that I read this series so I decided to get Hounded and see what it's like; WOW!! A great opening to a series. I'm very impressed with Mr. Herne's look at the Celtic religion and other religions and their interoperation. With the gods being alive and interacting as they do it makes for a fun and great story. Yes, the question is out there that if the gods interact the way Mr. Herne suggests why don't we know of them more than we do; I write that off though as Atticus being a focus to their and other (witches, vampires, and werewolves) creatures actions. For me this is a 5 star book due to the writing style, interesting characters, and just general fun of the book; I'd love to see this one turned into a movie or tv series!

8 people found this helpful

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DRRD

A Druid to follow

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2015

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I always mixed feelings when starting a new Urban Fantasy series. I want to fall in love and wallow in it, but I never know if I'll make it past the first book. It's so disappointing when it doesn't work for me.

This one worked for me, and I was happily pulled through the book as the plot unfolded.

This one is fun, with a character who's almost older than the hills, but with a love of life and adventure that's still fresh. The last Druid, Atticus is tired of hiding from all the old and new Gods, specifically one that wants him dead and his property back. So when various Gods and evil entities come after him, Atticus decides to stay and fight.

Only, it's really more complicated than that. And more fun, because the story also introduces a lot of interesting characters.

Atticus is a nice guy. Sure, bad things sometimes happen to those around him, but he tries his best to keep the innocents safe. There's a lot of various lore involved, from all sorts of cultures, and it can be a bit of work at times to keep up with it all. But I found it all interesting and info inserted at the right times to keep the action going. He runs a store, sells herbal teas and keeps up with the current movies so he can fit into the current American culture. He can totally enjoy his connection with nature and nerd out on Star Wars trivia at the same time.

My kinda guy!

His Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, who can talk mentally to Atticus, helps keep Atticus' priorities straight. (Which for Oberon is steak, sausages, tummy rubs, hunting and French Poodles. Not necessarily in that order.)

I found this a fun read, and an jumping happily into the next one.

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Amazon Customer

You absolutely have to read these books!

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Let me start out by saying that there wasn't anything I disliked about this book. I got to know some of the characters in the first book. I had to look up some words I'd never seen before. I have had the best time looking them up and keeping track of them. When a book make me laugh as much as I did AND I learn something new along the way, well that's a win-win in my book (see what I did there?) I am now starting on the fourth book and have no intention of stopping any time soon. Bravo Mr. Hearne!

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D. Brennan

Read this series - NOW! So much fun. Great dialogue, characters and magic system.

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

I was on vacation and needed something to read. I guess Amazon really does know me well because this book popped up on the recommended list for me. A couple of clicks on my Kindle and it was downloaded. Five hours later and with a fairly noticeable sunburn I was still kept completely enthralled in the story of a modern-day druid and his 20-century feud with a couple of old Irish gods. What do I like about this book?

Dialogue - Kevin Hearne writes GREAT dialogue. Conversations flow naturally, are full of wit and humor, and never gets bogged down with literary contrivances. Even the druid's dog, Oberon, has consistently witty dialogue. While this might sound trite, I'm telling you that this is one funny dog and I found myself laughing out-loud on a consistent basis.

In addition to the smartest talking dog ever to appear in a novel, the author takes advantage of the fact that he has characters who in some cases are thousands of years ago and who are from a host of cultures. He gets to play with Old Irish, Norse, Ancient Greek, Finnish, Russian, Navajo and a range of other languages. Primarily this means that he gets to be VERY creative with insults and trash talking. If a 2500 year-old god is trash talking, he wouldn't just say 'bring it'. He would talk about your mother's privates, various farm animals she and your father had a particular fondness for, etc. and Hearne has a lot of fun with that.

Magic - Hearne has thought through a consistent and compelling system of magic for his novels. Druidic magic, derived from Gaia, is based on seeing and manipulating the connections between natural things. As the oldest living human on the planet, Atticus O'Sullivan has had a lot of time to push the boundaries of what is possible with his abilities. Most of the old Gods are much diminished with time and the abandonment of their worshippers, though they still pack a punch and can hold grudges for eons.

What was particularly fascinating was the interplay between belief systems. What happens when a druid, Jesus and some Cabalist warriors walk into a bar... You will find out in this series.

Plot line - having read all six of the current books, I can tell you that they flow seamlessly from start to finish. You don't have to read all six. Book 1 is self-contained - you can pick it up, read through it and decide you're done. You won't but you could. Later books do carry over plot lines, sometimes with a gap of several years, sometimes with no time at all passing.

Characters - when you have the entire history of humanity's gods, heroes, monsters and magic to play with, how can you go wrong? Well, some authors have managed to go wrong, but Hearne doesn't. You get characters from all major mythologies, including Jesus and Mary, vampires, werewolves, several species of giants, fairies, Valkyrie, possessed police detectives, witches, hot (as if there are any other kind) red-headed barmaids, fallen angels, a 'douche-bad' Thor along with a bunch of other Thunder Gods, Native American skin walkers, etc.

So is Hearnes just copying from American Gods? No. Absolutely not. Are there some parallels? Sure. If I had to recommend Hounded or American Gods... I would go with Hounded. Hands down. Let the hate mail fly...

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