Author: Kevin Hearne
Performed by Luke Daniels
Released: May 2013 by Hatchette Audio
Category: Urban Fantasy
Hounded - Book 1
Atticus O'Sullivan is a powerful, shape shifting 2,000 year old Druid living in Arizona and running an occult bookstore. He's also an accomplished apothecary by which means he is able to keep himself young. Atticus draws his power from the earth through the Druidic tattoos on his arms.
He's a warrior with a softer side, he looks out for his friend, the elderly Irish widow who lives down the street. There's a hugely interesting list of characters which includes Atticus' attorneys, a werewolf and a vampire, and various gods, goddesses, witches and demons to name but a few! But the star, for me, is Atticus' sidekick Oberon, the Irish Wolfhound. Atticus and Oberon have a connection and can speak to each other telepathically.
The first story in the series revolves around Fragarach, sword which Atticus won in battle with a dark god, Aenghus Óg, centuries ago. Óg has been hounding Atticus ever since trying to reclaim the sword and kill Atticus at the same time.
Bloody battles and fast paced action keep the suspense and tension going and there's never a dull moment. Atticus is a great protagonist, a loveable rogue with a good dose of morality.
Hexed - Book 2
Since Atticus dispatched Aenghus Óg to the fiery depths of hell everyone now knows where he is and want his services in the god slaying arena. Thor seems to be the favourite target but Atticus isn't sold on the idea.
Trouble is a-brewin' though and the Polish witch coven aka the Sisters of the Three Auroras, want to sign a non aggression treaty with Atticus since several of their sisters were killed. Atticus has never been a fan of witches with good reason. A coven of evil German witches, who have associations with demons, are out to kill him and take over the area. Not only that, the Bacchants from Las Vegas are also on their way. Stand by for battles galore with demons, witches and more..
I like Granuaile, the barmaid from Atticus' favourite Irish pub, who is now an apprentice Druid and training with Atticus. It'll be interesting to see where her character goes in the next book.
Hammered - Book 3
Atticus manages to steal on of the golden apples of Idunn from Asgard to repay his debt to the Indian witch, Laksha. The trip is not plain sailing and Atticus has a run in with Thor. He decides he's maybe been in Tempe too long and perhaps now is the time to move on. Being a Druid of his word he just needs to keep his promise to Lief and take him to the Norse plain to kill Thor.
After having a few bevies and a plate of fish and chips with Jesus at Rúla Búla Atticus has a violent confrontation with the Hammers of God. Jesus saves the day, proving who he is to the disbelieving Hammers of God.
"It's not every day you see a tie-dyed man with a halo floating above the ground"
There's a feeling of pain and distress running through this story and it's quite a lot darker than previous ones. Along with Atticus and Lief, Gunnar and several others who have grievances against Thor travel to Asgard and each tells their own story.
It's interesting to know the back stories, especially Lief's and Gunnar's and how they became vampires and werewolves.
Oberon, Granuaile and the widow just feature and the beginning and ending of the story and the scenes with the widow are quite sad.
No spoilers but be prepared for changes!
Performance
More excellent performances by Luke Daniels. Time and again the tone of the narrations and the character portrayals are just so perfect for each story and it sounds like a lot of fun was had with these characters, especially Oberon. His 'voice' is fabulous and if a dog could talk I'd want him to sound just like that :-) Magic.
Have a listen to...
and you’ll see what I mean :-)
Thoughts
There are lots of laugh out loud (literally) moments from Oberon and Leif. I love the humour Mr Hearne injects into the telling of the story, which is so cleverly written. The mythology, magic and everything else...brilliant. Well researched and very interesting but the information doesn't overpower or take over. Really enjoying this series.