Showing posts with label druids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label druids. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
“Hammered” by Kevin Hearne w/Bonus Review of “A Test of Mettle” (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Order “Hammered” HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Kevin Hearne graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in English literature and currently teaches high school English. Kevin is a self-confessed comic book fan and collector. He also collects and paints miniature dwarves in his free time. He currently lives with his family in Arizona and is the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles.
OFFICIAL PLOT SUMMARY: Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.
One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. Plus things are heating up in his home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plane of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry Norse gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself...
CLASSIFICATION: Like its predecessors, Hammered is an urban fantasy novel in the vein of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and K.A. Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson series, and features an exciting mix of comedy, action and mythology.
FORMAT/INFO: Hammered is 336 pages long divided over twenty-eight numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Also includes a Pronunciation guide for all the names and phrases mentioned in the book, a map of Asgard, and excerpts from the previous books, Hounded & Hexed. Narration is in the first-person, mostly via Atticus O’Sullivan. Hammered also features five solo first-person POV chapters from five different individuals. Hammered is the third book in The Iron Druid Chronicles after Hounded and Hexed. It would be extremely ill advised to jump into the series with this book as the plot has a lot of references to the past events portrayed in the preceding two titles.
July 5, 2011 marked the North Amercian Mass Markert Paperback publication of Hammered via Del Rey. Cover art is provided by Gene Mollica. The e-book version of Hammered includes a bonus short story called “A Test of Mettle” featuring Granuaile MacTiernan.
ANALYSIS: With Hounded & Hexed, Kevin Hearne has pretty much established himself as one of urban fantasy’s best new voices. Not surprisingly, expectations were sky-high for Hammered, the third volume of The Iron Druid Chronicles.
Hammered begins with Atticus O’Sullivan undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Asgard. The plan is to retrieve a golden apple that would cancel his debt with the Indian witch Laksha, while also relieving Thor of his power and godhood. Unfortunately, like many of his past outings, the mission doesn’t go as planned and Atticus ends up making things worse. His plan botched, Atticus returns to Arizona to settle some business before dealing with Thor. This involves Atticus’ Third Eye bookstore and Granuaile MacTiernan, the latter of which is further explored in the short story, “A Test of Mettle”. The book also features the return of the Jewish demon hunters from Hexed as well as the appearance of someone who will surprise many readers. Meanwhile, joining Atticus in his quest against Thor is Lief, Gunnar and three other very powerful individuals, thus setting the stage for Hammered...
Like its predecessors, Hammered features a liberal does of humor, which is one of the most consistently fun factors in The Iron Druid Chronicles, with the Irish wolfhound Oberon once again stealing most of the show with lines like “Anyplace is good so long as there’s sausage and bitches”, “Oh look it’s a dead guy and a wet dog”, and “Pai Mei’s probably on Facebook right now, look him up.” Despite the humor, The Iron Druid Chronicles has progressively become darker with each volume with Hammered the darkest book yet. The author never descends to all-out gore in Hammered, but there is lots of violence and death, tragic histories, depressing futures, and a more overall serious tone. Characterization meanwhile, remains superb as ever with Atticus leading the way. This time however, Magnus & Lief get to share center stage with Atticus, while five chapters from the POVs of five different characters lets readers see what others think about Thor, which was very rewarding. Story-wise, Hammered is the most epic and satisfying volume yet in The Iron Druid Chronicles, but the ending will leave readers salivating for the fourth volume, Tricked.
Negatively, nearly every book possesses some element that will rankle the reader. For me, the issues in Hounded and Hexed were fairly minor, but in Hammered, they are non-existent.
CONCLUSION: The Iron Druid Chronicles has been receiving praise all over the blogosphere. Praise that is richly deserved considering the series’s memorable characters, entertaining humor, and surprising, action-packed story. As impressive as the series has been though, Kevin Hearne takes The Iron Druid Chronicles to a whole new level with the excellent Hammered...
A Test Of Mettle is featured in the e-book version of Hammered. The short story is about 9-10 pages long and occurs side-by-side with the latter half of Hammered. A Test of Mettle is narrated in the first-person by Granuaile MacTiernan, who must perform a task set to her by an elemental, while overcoming the expectations of the pantheon to which her new status is associated with. Accompanying Granuaile on her task is Oberon.
A Test Of Mettle reveals a small, but significant part of Granuaile’s past which I believe might factor in future volumes. The pace of the story is rather fast and it was good to see Kevin give Granuaile a narrative voice distinctive from Atticus’s. The short story also reveals a bit about a certain pantheon, which happens to establish Atticus’s views of that pantheon from the earlier books. Overall, I thought A Test Of Mettle was a nice addition to Hammered, making an already great book even better...
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Order “Hexed” HERE
Listen To A Sample HERE (MP3)
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Hounded”
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Interview with Kevin Hearne
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Kevin Hearne was born and brought up in Flagstaff, Arizona. He earned his degree in English literature from Northern Arizona University and then got a job as a teacher in California. After three years, he returned to his native state and got a job in Tempe, Arizona. Kevin is a self-confessed comic book fan and collector. He also collects and paints miniature dwarves in his free time. He currently lives with his family in Tempe, Arizona.
PLOT SUMMARY: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to “make nice” with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial non-aggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. The new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of WWII.
With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch-hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney Lief, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex...
CLASSIFICATION: Like its predecessor, Hexed is an urban fantasy novel in the vein of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and K.A. Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson series, and features an exciting mix of comedy, action and mythology.
FORMAT/INFO: Hexed is 320 pages long divided over twenty-five numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Also includes a Pronunciation guide for all the names and phrases mentioned in the book and an excerpt from the sequel, Hammered. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively via Atticus O’Sullivan. Hexed is the second book in the Iron Druid Chronicles after Hounded. While the plot is self-contained, there are a lot of references to Hounded, so it would not be advisable to jump into the series with this book.
June 7, 2011 marks the North Amercian Mass Markert Paperback publication of Hexed via Del Rey. Cover art is provided by Gene Mollica.
ANALYSIS: Kevin Hearne’s Hounded completely justified its hype and was a favourite of mine amongst this year’s Urban Fantasy debuts. Not only did it liven up the subgenre’s landscape, but it also announced Kevin Hearne as an author to watch. Now before I continue, just a warning: MILD SPOILERS are ahead...
Now for those who have read & enjoyed Hounded, you’ll be happy to hear that Hexed features more of the same and then some. Starting out, the book finds Atticus relaxing after his victory over Aenghus Og, which finally freed him from his millennia-long vendetta. Because of his actions though, Atticus is flooded with offers by various pantheons to become a Godslayer for them and eradicate other deities. At the same time, Lief—Atticus’ lawyer/sparring partner/vampire—wants him to help settle his debt to Thor, while the Polish witch coven of Radomila is interested in signing a non-aggression pact. Complicating matters even further is a demon last seen in the climax of Hounded; a hell minion who has been terrorizing a local school, which requires aid from the Irish widow Katie MacDonagh; a promise to Morrigan given in the previous book which puts Atticus in a difficult situation with the Tuatha Dé Danann; a group of German witches who are muscling in on the Polish coven and also targeting Atticus, while aided by Bacchants or Maenads from Las Vegas; and protecting his druid initiate, Granuaile MacTiernan.
As you can see, a lot is happening in Hexed, as the book continues to develop events and characters from its predecessor, while planting seeds for the next sequel and beyond. Based on what happens in Hexed, it’s obvious that Kevin Hearne is planning some big things for the rest of the series—which is now planned for six volumes—as Atticus is forced to become a weapon/person that he doesn’t want to be, which was a major plus for me to read about. In particular, I can’t wait to see Atticus, Lief and other super-powered folk take on a certain Norse thunder god. Another thing I liked about the story was the way Atticus had to coax, cajole and bargain favors in order to get everything under control.
Writing-wise, prose is once again very polished and the action non-stop, while the banter between Oberon & Atticus continues to fuel the novel’s comedic moments and making the non-action parts that much more enjoyable. Then there’s Atticus who remains an engaging narrator, which is noteworthy because he easily could have come off as a pompous protagonist. Instead, due to the author’s skill, Atticus is an intelligent, semi-rogue avant gardist with a wee bit of a chip on his shoulder, which he’s entitled to. Atticus is also very aware of his long life and strives that much harder to make it smoother for himself and those he calls his friends. Speaking of which, Granuaile MacTiernan has been a minor character in the series so far, but I believe her role will grow in future volumes, while Katie MacDonagh has an interesting friendship with Atticus that I hope will be revealed in greater detail in the next chapter of the series. Lastly, there is a generous helping of Shakespeare in the novel which adds to the book’s overall fun quotient.
Negatively, I remarked that Kevin Hearne’s debut was a bit too PG-13 and formulaic, but in Hexed, the author seems to be heading in a darker direction as there are quite a few deaths. And while the book’s plot remains familiar to urban fantasy veterans, Kevin Hearne is trying to carve his own path by precipitating events that readers would not normally see until much later in a series. So apart from some familiar elements within the story, I have no other complaints about the book.
CONCLUSION: Hexed is an excellent sophomore effort by Kevin Hearne who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In short, I highly recommend picking up the Iron Druid Chronicles, which just might make you forget about other urban fantasy novels...
Thursday, April 28, 2011
“Hounded” by Kevin Hearne w/Bonus Review of “Clan Rathskeller” (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Order “Hounded” HERE
Read the First Six Chapters HERE
Read the “Clan Rathskeller” Short Story HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Interview with Kevin Hearne
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Kevin Hearne was born and brought up in Flagstaff, Arizona. He earned his degree in English literature from Northern Arizona University and then got a job as a teacher in California. After three years, he returned to his native state and got a job in Tempe, Arizona. Kevin is a self-confessed comic book fan and collector. He also collects and paints miniature dwarves in his free time. Hounded is his debut novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret.
Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.
Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil!
CLASSIFICATION: Featuring the right amount of comedy, action and mythology, Hounded is a worthwhile urban fantasy book in the vein of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and K.A. Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson series.
FORMAT/INFO: The Hounded ARC is 289 pages long divided over twenty-five numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Also includes a Pronunciation guide for all the names and places mentioned in the book and an excerpt from the sequel, Hexed. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively via Atticus O’Sullivan. Hounded is mostly self-contained, but is the start of the Iron Druid Chronicles with sequels—Hexed and Hammered—scheduled for publication in June and July 2011. Cover illustration is provided by Gene Mollica.
May 3, 2011 marks the North American Mass Marker Paperback and e-book publication of Hounded via Del Rey. The e-book edition also includes two short stories called “Clan Rathskeller” and “Kaibab Unbound”, which are set ten months and two weeks before the events of Hounded.
ANALYSIS: Kevin Hearne first came on to my attention in the last quarter of 2010 when I read about Hounded and the Iron Druid Chronicles on a blog. After happening upon the book’s description and learning about the quick release schedule of the series, I was entranced and wanted to see if Hounded would stack up against the hype it had been receiving.
Hounded begins with a soliloquy by Atticus O’Sullivan who is actually a 2100-year-old Irish druid, older than the world’s largest religion and apparently the last of his kind. His real name is Siodhachan O’Suileabhain, but for reasons revealed in the blurb, he chooses to modernize himself. He gives the reader his background history in a neat manner, while fending off an attack by five of the Fae. He also learns that this attack is orchestrated by Aenghus Og, the Celtic god of Love. He beats his attackers, but is put on alert by this event since he chose Arizona for its scarcity of Oak, Ash and Thorn, which are required for the Fae/Sidhe to cross over into our realm.
As Atticus contemplates their presence and the meaning of their attack, he’s interrupted by the appearance of Morrigan, the Irish War goddess and slayer of the chosen. She has been on friendly terms with Atticus since the origin of his feud, and warns him about dire omens and his impending death at the hands of Aenghus Og. The reasons for this particular feud are because Atticus, in his youth, stole the legendary sword Fragarach from Aenghus Og’s chosen champion. Atticus discusses his situation with Morrigan who inquires about his particular type of magic, which explains series’ title, and then extracts a promise from him without giving him a promise in return, leaving Atticus with a sense of foreboding.
Next, Atticus is visited by Flidais, the Celtic goddess of the hunt, who relates the same tale told by Morrigan, but with an alteration as to who else is coming. Here, there is a small but important info-dump which reveals the nature of Atticus’ lawyers Hauk (a werewolf) and Lief (a vampire). Atticus agrees to go on a hunt with Flidais and Oberon, an Irish wolfhound mentally bound to Atticus. Thus begins the events which fuel the tale that is Hounded.
Other subplots include a witch who requests Atticus’s apothecary skills in return for help/favour from her Coven, and the bartender Granuaile MacTiernan, who’s more than she appears to be.
Kevin Hearne’s writing is competent, led by skillful prose that adds to the book’s refreshing setting and protagonist. Atticus as the narrator particularly excels. Even though he’s the hero of the story, you can discern certain moral ambivalences from his actions since Atticus is a bit of a rogue when the situation demands it. For instance, Atticus relates his own versions of various historical moments, but these accounts seem a bit shady. Overall, Atticus is lovable and trustworthy, but he’s also the sort of chap you wouldn’t want as your enemy.
Humor is one of the major plus points in Hounded, with the dialogue/banter between Oberon and Atticus the highlight of the book. In particular, Oberon’s fascination with Genghis Khan, his love for Poodles and the ultimate allure of hunting, all of which increases the reader’s fun quotient.
Another promising front is the multitude of mythologies utilized in the book, which are reflective of the real world. The author’s use of mythology is very smartly executed, while providing enough of an explanation to satisfy the reader’s curiosity. Lastly, the pace of the book never lets up, with Atticus going from plot point to plot point with as few breaks as possible, thus creating a sense of urgency for the reader.
Negatively, the book has a bit of a PG-13 feel to it. For example, bad things occur, but the author has them wrapped up neatly to lessen their darkness. There is also quite a bit of info-dumping in the first fifty pages of the book, but since Hounded is the opening volume in a series, it was necessary for the author to lay out all this information for the reader. Plus, it was easy to overlook the info-dumping since it was presented in an entertaining manner through engaging character dialogue. Finally, urban fantasy stories tend to be predictable and Hounded does not differentiate much in that regard. It remains to be seen if Kevin Hearne will be able to deviate from the norm and give readers a more refreshing story throughout the rest of the series.
CONCLUSION: Despite a few deficiencies, Hounded is a very good debut which introduces a worthy and refreshing urban fantasy setting and a clever, yet morally dubious protagonist. I was especially amazed by how polished Kevin Hearne’s debut was and anxiously look forward to reading the remainder of the series ASAP!
BONUS REVIEW — “Clan Rathskeller”:
The short story begins with Atticus and Oberon chilling in the Tempe Market place. Amidst their banter, Oberon notes that there’s something inhuman about the Santa giving out presents to the kids assembled. A quick glance by Atticus reveals that Santa’s helper elves aren’t elves at all, but gnomes. His curiosity overrides his safety instincts and he instructs Oberon to fetch one of the gnomes who then reveals its identity in return for Atticus’s own. They also reveal that they are awaiting a certain member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and thought Atticus was doing the same. From here, the reasons for the gnomes’ presence is laid bare and Atticus & Oberon have to decide whether they wish to get involved or not.
“Clan Rathskeller” is well-paced and readers without any knowledge of the series will be able to jump right in and understand what’s going on. Kevin Hearne manages to insert enough of the characters’ background in the story to make it feel a part of the larger series, but it also works well as a short introduction to Atticus O’Sullivan and the urban fantasy world he inhabits.
Overall, “Clan Rathskeller” is a very enjoyable read and I would ask readers to give this short story a try before deciding on Hounded and the rest of the series, since it encapsulates very well the nature of the books. And now onto Hexed & Hammered!
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