Mini-Review: Staked by Kevin Hearne

In a time where if you look at the posts on this blog you are just as likely to find a post explaining why I’m not posting very much because of all the @$%# life throws at me as to find an actual review or other genre-related post, it’s not all that surprising that I am reading a lot books that are simple fun. Call it escapism or whatever. But one of the most important criteria for me to choose a book is just how fun it will be. I’m certainly not looking for something that will reflect life too much (like when I bounced off Last First Snow).

Anyway, one series that I love to come back to for some nice, simple fun is The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Staked is the eighth book in this series and by far the best yet. The star of the show, Atticus, has always been the driver of the series, but Hearne has been building the scope and leaning more heavily on other characters. Most notable is Atticus’ partner, Granuaile, who has been a growing presence in the books. In Staked, it feels like Hearne finally gets her voice ‘right’ and believable (rather than cringe-worthy as the early points of view were). Granuaile has been largely on her own and independent from Atticus for 2 books now, and I think that was what was really needed to bring her into her own.

Atticus’ arch-druid, Owen is also a growing and welcome presence. While not (yet?) nearly as strong as a character as Granuaile, he is an interesting foil and fun addition to the books. Plus, it looks like he’s putting roots down in my hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona, so we’ll hopefully get to see more of the area as time goes on*.

So, the fun continues. Consequences from earlier actions come due. Gods die. Vampires are staked. Action-packed, nerdy wish-fulfillment complete!

I know that Hearne is growing his career and expanding into other areas of writing (Star Wars, epic fantasy, etc.), but I’m so glad that he’s primed this series to continue and I’m hoping that we get at least 8 more!

The Iron Druid Chronicles

Hounded: My review, Amazon

Hexed: My review, Amazon

Hammered: My review, Amazon

Tricked: My review, Amazon

Trapped: My review, Amazon

Hunted: My review, Amazon

Shattered: My review, Amazon

Staked: Amazon

*Kevin, if you’re reading this, there’s a nice new independent bookstore in Flagstaff –Barefoot Cowgirl Books. I’m sure they’d love to have you for a signing!

Mini-Review: Shattered by Kevin Hearne

Good, fun, pulpy comfort reading.

That about sums my feelings of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne, including the latest, Shattered. As I’ve said in previous reviews, these books are not deep, and one must not think too hard on things. But they are perfect for an escape into a funny, action-packed world of nerdy wish fulfillment.

Shattered features more points of view from Granuaile, which I’ve been critical of in the past. They are better in this book – they don’t feel quite as much as a 14-year old boy’s imagining how a beautiful 18-year old girl thinks … in the form of an essay. But there is still a lot of improving to be had. Shattered also features a point of view from a new character – Atticus’ archdruid. This serves to ‘freshen’ things up a bit and is quite welcome, if a bit overdone.

Shattered feels a bit less pulpy than the other books in this series, it actually feels like a complete novel rather than a serial adventure. Perhaps this is because it’s the first book in the series to see a hardback release. Or maybe Hearne has just improved his writing such that it feels more rounded with the added points of view. Or perhaps I’m imagining things. But I don’t think any of that matters – Shattered is the 7^th book in this series, and if you’re still reading, this book is going to offer more of the same that has kept you reading this long.

So, it’s more of the same. And yes, I can’t wait for the next one, though it sounds like it may be a while since Hearne has a lot going on right now.

Hounded (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Hexed (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Hammered (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Tricked (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Trapped (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Hunted (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Shattered (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Mini-Review: Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearn’s Iron Druid series has become my own special sort of cotton candy – it’s light, fluffy, I know it’s bad for me, but I enjoy it a lot anyway. While it’s billed as series, it’s more of a serial to me – the books have much more in common with episodes than actual novels. And there is nothing bad about that, except that treating like a series rather than a serial will probably mean it ends soon than it should.

 

Anyway, Hunted (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is the most episodic entry in the series so far. It picks up directly after the cliffhanger ending of Trapped (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) and consists entirely of Atticus and company fleeing from a few Greek and Roman gods trying to kill them. Yes, it still has the same humor, the fun wish-fulfillment action and all that. And of course the ending is something of a cliffhanger for the next episode, Shattered, which I’ll happily consume when it is released.

 

My only real complaint (keeping things in the context of my opening sentence), is that Hearne does a truly terrible job of writing the point of view of Granuaile. They read like a 13-year old girl’s private essay of life where she is trying like hell to sound profound – or perhaps a 14 year old boy’s imagining of such. They do not read like the point of view of a grown woman with full agency and independence from male imagined feminine ideals. If the points of view are going to be so bad – keep it to Atticus and the dog.

 

Anyway, these books are nothing more than fun asides from someone who lives in Arizona and sets events in places I’ve been. I’ll keep reading and enjoying, but keep in mind the context of my enjoyment if you’re looking for a recommendation.

 

Mini-Review: Trapped by Kevin Hearne

Trapped is the fifth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) and it pretty well follows in the footsteps of the four that have come before. Atticus is still kicking after 2000+ years of life, his faithful companion Oberon (an Irish Wolfhound) is equally long lived (well close-enough in dog years) and he is still managing to dance a jig between pissing off gods and creatures of various pantheons, running for his life, kicking a bit of ass and generally getting in way over his head. The only real difference in Trapped is that it takes place 12 years after the previous book, Tricked*. In those twelve years Atticus’ apprentice, Granuaile, has continued her training is ready to undergo the ritual that have become a full-blooded druid.

 

Trapped is pretty well a constant stream of action as Atticus, Oberon and Granuaile attempt to complete her training as a druid, dodge death and dismemberment from various creatures, eventually decide to kick some ass, with things leaving off with a cliff hanger of an ending where the situation is rather dire.

 

In Trapped, Granuaile becomes much more of a character than in previous books – her training is complete. Her magical abilities are coming on-line. She’s hot, witty and she kicks ass (remember this is major wish-fulfillment writing). And Granuaile and Atticus are finally forced to confront the feelings they have for each other. The other fun little improvement is with Oberon – the banter between Atticus and Oberon only gets better, and then Granuaile is thrown into the mix.

 

Trapped continues with the fun, wish-fulfillment fantasy that I’ve come to expect from Hearne. These books are a comfort read for me and I’m always anxious to read the next one – it’s like candy corn – I know it’s terrible for me, but I still can’t help but eat more and more of it.

 

 

*Hearne wrote a novella called Two Ravens and One Crow (Amazon) that is set in between the events of Tricked (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)  and Trapped – I’ve seen him refer to it Iron Druid 4.5. I read it before reading Trapped. It’s more of the wonderful fun and wish fulfillment that all the others are. The Norse come looking for Atticus and he and the Morrigan oblige.

Mini-Review: Tricked by Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne have become some of my favorite comfort reads, and the latest in the series, Tricked (Indiebound,Book Depository, Amazon), only reinforces this. Basically, these are fun urban fantasy books, with lots of humor and wish fulfillment, creative takes on gods, mythology and legend alive and interacting in the modern world, and they are largely set in Arizona, the place I’ve called home for over 14 years. Add they are relatively short, easy reads which all adds up to a perfect escape for a few hours. 

In Tricked the last surviving Druid, Atticus, is dealing with the game-changing (and perhaps apocalypse causing) ramifications from the events in Hammered (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon, my review). He fakes his death, he fakes the death of his apprentice and the Navajo Coyote god calls in a favor. Things mostly happen in northern Arizona on the Navajo reservation with Atticus and company dealing with skinwalkers, a Norse god of death, and a tricky situation with vampires. His problems seem to get worse and worse. 

In Tricked we finally see Atticus’s apprentice, Granuaile, come into her own as a full, fleshed-out character. The banter with her almost equals the buddy banter between Atticus and his dog, Oberon, but thankfully there is a lack of sexual tension in the man-dog talk. And the humorous back-and-forth between Atticus and Oberon with the Coyote thrown in for spice is top-notch. Hearne also takes some time to explore the legends and religion of the Navajo people, which is interesting and refreshing to see.  

Unfortunately, I had some problems Hearne’s portrayal of Atticus and some of the environmental issues of the Navajo Reservation. It’s understandable and appropriate that the last surviving Druid would be a pretty hard-core environmental type. However, I find it very difficult that someone who is supposed to be over 2000 years old, who has managed to live so long among mortals, who has seen human nature and all its complexities play out over and over again, could have such as naïve understanding of the environmental issues faced by the Navajo Reservation. Basically, Atticus shows the nuance of an 18-year old college student in his environmental stance on mining, power generation and the environmental and social ramifications for the Navajo people. And Hearne has clearly never actually visited a working strip mine. Now, this is mostly just sour grapes on my part, since I live here, I am an engineering geologist, I work at mines, I work at power plants, I work on environmental clean-up projects, I know Navajo people, I know people who work for the mine in question and the power plant in question, I’m friends with the NPR reporter who covers the reservation, I know an FBI agent who works on the reservation, etc. etc. While I imagine that Hearne and I probably vote more or less the same, these are issues that I actually know things about, and the way the book treats them was a let-down for me and I found it to be a pretty big break down in the characterization of Atticus. But, thankfully, even though I’ve written more about this than anything else, it’s not a deal breaker for the book. These books are not deep, they are not supposed to be deep, and reading too much into them looses the focus on just what the books are trying to do. 

So, even with my reservations that I discuss above, Tricked is another fun entry into the Iron Druid Chronicles. These books have become a fun comfort for me and a must read anytime I receive a new one. It’s a great example of a light-hearted urban fantasy that succeeds well within its bounds and is not set in another generic city.

Review: Hammered by Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne are just about the perfect mindless entertainment – the books are full of a fun humor, they are largely set in Arizona (where I live) and they are short, quick reads. Hammered (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is the third book in the series and it picks up after the first two and continues forward with Hearne’s fun and irreverent style.

Atticus, the world’s last Druid, has a promise to keep – he must help a vampire and a werewolf kill the Norse god Thor, who it seems is a grade-a asshole. He knows that there will be consequences to such an action, and several other gods have mentioned as much to him. It’s time to start digging up the roots he grew in Tempe, Arizona and move on. And it’s time to kill another god.

These books aren’t particularly deep, the characterization doesn’t really go beyond Atticus and his dog and if one thinks too hard on everything, the world that Hearne has created would come crumbling down. And that doesn’t matter one bit since the books succeed in what they want to do – provide a fun, exciting adventure in a creative setting with magic, gods and all sorts of mythological creatures. In Hammered Hearne keeps the fun rolling.

One aspect that I was happy about in Hammered is that there seems to be a lot less of the wish-fulfillment we got in the first two as Hearne settles in to tell the story and escalate the terms a bit. That and the fact that Hearne is happy to have Atticus and friends really shake things up.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, creative urban fantasy series that is quick to read and not particularly deep, The Iron Druid Chronicles may be just what you want. The humor is over-the-top and often caters to geek culture and the adventure is high in a world where all the myths and legends seem to be true and all the gods are real, yet the world is remarkably just like our own. A cool character kicks a lot of ass and he has a faithful dog for a sidekick and a sexy young apprentice along (who I really hope will become more involved in the stories to come). And the bonus is it’s all set in Arizona, a setting rather underutilized in the world of urban fantasy. I can’t wait to read more and Tricked (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) will be published in April, 2012, so I won’t have to wait long.

Mini-Review: Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Following up on his successful debut, Hounded (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), Kevin Hearne’s second book in The Iron Druid Chronicles, Hexed (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), offers another satisfying dose of action-filled, wish-fulfillment, urban fantasy fun. This will be brief, because my thoughts on Hexed pretty much mirror what I wrote about Hounded.

In Hounded, the 2000-year old druid, Atticus, faced off against ancient Irish gods and a few witches. In Hexed, the fight is with more witches, a few succubi, a fallen angel and a couple of radical witch hunters. Atticus is once again joined by his vampire and werewolf friends and his ever-present dog through a number of supernatural fights in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona.

These books are simply fun – don’t think too hard about them and the world that Hearne creates, just sit back and enjoy the ride. The takes on various pantheons of gods are fun, the action satisfying and it’s all woven together with a geek humor that refuses to take itself seriously. Another huge positive (for me anyway) is that they are short and fast to read – Hexed took me just a couple of days to read, and I could easily have knocked it out over a relaxing afternoon (not that I ever had one of those). Hearne’s writing is quickly becoming something of a comfort read for me, probably in no small part due to them being set in Arizona.

The next book in the series, Hammered (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), is already out on the streets and Del Rey has picked up Hearne to write more books in the series with Tricked coming in April, 2012.

Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Have you ever daydreamed about what it would be like to have cool magical powers and become a hot immortal forever in their 20s? That is exactly what Kevin Hearne does with his debut novel, Hounded, the first in The Iron Druid Chronicles (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). The result is a fun, wild ride as an ancient Druid battles gods, witches, and other supernatural nasties in the deserts of Arizona.

Atticus O’Sullivan is a 2,000-year old druid living a quite life running an occult bookstore/tea shop in Tempe, Arizona. His day-to-day companion is his Irish wolfhound familiar and he occasionally socializes with the Tempe pack of werewolves, a vampire lawyer, ancient Celtic gods, and the local coven of witches. Atticus has been the keeper of an ancient, magic sword for a long time and an angry Celtic god of love wants it very badly – badly enough to finally confront Atticus directly. Given the choice of running (again) or finally confronting his nemesis, Atticus chooses to stand his ground and face the consequences.

As I indicated in my introduction, Hounded is full of some major wish-fulfillment. Atticus is essentially immortal, forever young at 21-years old, has cool magical powers, a witty tongue full of geek-references, can talk to his dog, and has sex with beautiful goddesses. Hearne has essentially admitted as much as he reveals on John Scalzi’s The Big Idea that “Hounded was spawned from an episode of Defiant Drunk Nerd Syndrome”.  However, through that revelation you can sense Hearne’s often self-deprecating humor that keeps Hounded from taking itself too seriously.

Wish fulfillment in books can be flat out awful – especially since it often comes out in some form of sexual fantasy. With Hounded, Hearne actually makes the wish fulfillment fun. Hearne spins a good yarn as he gives himself lots of material to use in his imagined world where the modern world is basically as we know it, only myths and legends tend to be true, with gods and goddesses and all other manner of the supernatural actually existing. Don’t think on it too hard as all the impossibilities and inconsistencies will trip you up – keep it at the surface. And on the surface, Hounded is a very entertaining, fast read – the proverbial page-turner – and full of humor and clever homage.

While for whatever reason it was the series title, The Iron Druid Chronicles, that lead me to read back cover blurb (I suppose I like druids), it was the setting that really made me pick up the book. It’s set in Tempe and the surrounding environs of south-central Arizona. I lived in the Tempe area for 10 years and went to graduate school at Arizona State University, so I was happy to see an urban fantasy set there. I know the area well and have spent many an hour drinking and eating and drinking at Rula Bula, an Irish Pub that makes an appearance a couple of times in the book. Folks who live in the likes of New York or London are probably used to books set in places they visit regularly. I am not, so it was very nice and refreshing to read a book set in ‘my backyard’ that is described well enough for me to fondly reminisce.

Hounded is a quick and entertaining urban fantasy set in Tempe, Arizona. It’s full of Celtic lore, but in a world where all the old pantheons are real and magical beings seem to pop up everywhere. I enjoyed it very much for what it is and I really look forward to reading more from Hearne – and the good news is that I won’t have to wait long with Hexed (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) coming on June 7^th and Hammered (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) on July 5^th. 7.5/10