Linda
Written on May 1, 2018
In the second novel in the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles, two thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan faces off against witches, Bacchants, and a ravenous fallen angel.
“A page-turning and often laugh-out-loud-funny caper through a mix of the modern and the mythic.”—Ari Marmell, author of The Warlord’s Legacy
Atticus O’Sullivan has had cause to mistrust witches in his storied past, but he’s willing to live and let live with the Sisters of the Three Auroras, a legendary local coven, even going so far as to sign a non-aggression treaty with them. But that treaty is tested immediately when a deadly new coven sweeps into town seeking to take over, along with some Bacchants from Las Vegas and a fallen angel who’s decided to snack on high school students like they were trail mix.
It’s more than Atticus can handle alone and he must enlist the trickster Coyote, the headhopping abilities of the witch Laksha Kulesekaran, and his neighbor’s illegal arsenal if he wants to keep the city safe from diabolical takeover. He must also exchange favors with his vampire attorney, Leif Helgarson, in a deal that might prove to be the worst of his long life—for Leif doesn’t want to be paid by the hour.
To defeat the mortal hexes of this new coven and keep his apprentice—and his city—safe, Atticus must think fast, make promises, keep his sword handy, and hope he’ll survive to fight another day.
Don’t miss any of Kevin Hearne’s phenomenal Iron Druid Chronicles novels:
HOUNDED | HEXED | HAMMERED | TRICKED | TRAPPED | HUNTED | SHATTERED | STAKED
- ISBN10 0345522494
- ISBN13 9780345522498
- Publish Date 7 June 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Random House USA Inc
- Imprint Random House Inc
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 320
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345522498
Reviews
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Dec 3, 2017
We have several storylines that kept me listening into the wee hours. Some are filled with humor and we even see a little sexy action. I laughed so hard I had tears. We also see different types of demons, supernatural creatures and all sorts of Gods. Fans of Ilona Andrews will feel right at home with this series. Hearne is a masterful storyteller and gives balance to each of the treads. Leif, our vampire lawyer is friggin hilarious. He is trying to grasp modern language and slang..the results will keep you in stitches. Since Atticus asks for his aid he now owes him a debt. We get a glimpse into what Hammered will be about. I love the play on the title. (You'll understand once you read it)
Secondary characters like the Sisters of the Three Auroras, Hal the werewolf, Granuaile, Atticus’s trusty apprentice, the Virgin Mary, and Coyote add interests and loads of problems. Not to mention the Tempe Police who have an interest in Atticus. I loved the encounters dealing with Atticus' noisy neighbor. That poor, rotten man. The Morrigan kills me! She is hilarious and one of my favorite characters. Mrs. MacDonagh an elderly woman who lives in the neighborhood cracks me up and is one of the few humans who know about the others.
Luke Daniels rocked my ears off from his interpretation of Atticus to his voice for Oberon. Nailed it! While I am sure reading the books is equally fun the Iron Druid Chronicles are made for audio and add another level of enjoyment to the series. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
EBookObsessed
Written on Oct 19, 2016
Spoiler warning: This story builds off of Book 1 so there are things that will be discussed.
NOTE: I picked up the audiobook on sale and don’t have print copy so I am at a loss for some spelling of names in this review.
Atticus is dealing with the fallout from the battle with Aenghus Óg. First there is the matter of the energy the Celtic God drew from the land, killing the land for miles around, and then there is the demons that escaped the hell pit he opened up and decided to make a run for it rather than fight.
Coyote, the Native American Trickster God, has come to Atticus to clean up the mess that was created because of him, including killing a fallen angel who is now snacking on teens at a local high school.
The local witches want sign a truce with Atticus, but Atticus doesn’t have much trust in witches. They do let him know that the Roman God Bacchus is sending his followers, the Bacchans, to Tempe, AZ, and ask for his help getting them out since followers of Bacchus create orgies, unrest and spread disease. Atticus is hoping to finally settle into Tempe for awhile and decides to help them. Atticus approaches the Hindu witch formerly residing in the body his new apprentice Granuaile, Laksha Kulasekaran. Laksha agrees but her price is a Golden Apple from Asgard (of Old Norse folklore) that will give her long life in her new body. Atticus agrees and puts that on his to-do list. But getting rid of the Bacchans doesn’t go as smoothly as they all hoped and they might be returning to Las Vegas for reinforcements. Fighting a horde of Bacchans, something else to add to his to-do list.
But before Atticus can go to Asgard to grab a Golden Apple for Laksha, he first has to deal with the German Witches who has suddenly shown up in Town. These are witches Atticus dealt with once before during WWII and which seem to be holding a grudge against the Tempe witches.
As if that isn’t enough for one Druid to handle, a Priest and a Rabbi walk into Atticus’s bookstore asking a lot a weird questions and are pretty insistent about getting a look at Atticus’s rare book collection.
And did I mention that Atticus’s weird neighbor who keeps calling the cops on him has a grenade launcher in his garage? Or that Atticus’s vampire lawyer Leif won’t speak to Atticus unless he agrees to help Leif get to Asgard to kill Thor. (Apparently Thor is a great big asshat in this series and everyone hates him.)
This is a crazy story which just never stopped. What I liked best is that we don’t just deal with Roman Gods, Greek Gods, Norse Gods, Celtic Gods, etc., Atticus gets the Virgin Mary to come down to earth to bless some arrows so that he can fight the fallen angel, and he tells her to let Jesus know that Atticus will take him out for a beer next time he comes around…and he does (but that’s Book 3). There is nothing taboo here and the story just balances so well, such as if you are fighting demons from the Christian’s hell realm, you need the help of a Christian God.
I can’t stop and I am currently on Book 4. I am going to hate catching up on this series.
Melanie
Written on May 3, 2016
4.5 stars
The second installment of The Iron Druid Chronicles was just as much fun as the first book. I can still see why everyone raves about this series. It is full of action, humor and wonderful characters.
Atticus O’Sullivan just wants to live his life, train his apprentice and work on fixing the land that will destroyed in the first book. But will people let him, nope. Everyone is coming out of the woodwork trying to get him to deal with their own gods. His own Viking vampire lawyer Leif, wants him to take on Thor. But there are other problems first. He has one problem after another, which of course brings the cops back to his doorstep. Atticus tries to talk himself out of the situation as much as possible, but the cops know something is quite as it seems.
I love the group of secondary characters in this series. Not only do we have the Viking vamp, Leif, there’s his werewolf partner, Hal. Also the Sisters of the Three Auroras (what’s left of the friendly witches from the first book), Granuaile, Atticus’s trusty apprentice and you can’t forget Oberon, Atticus’s everloving Irish Wolfhound. There are also some other great characters that are known characters from mythology that Hearne has added his own touches too like, the Morrigan, the Virgin Mary and Coyote. I love how he takes these characters and makes them his own.
Atticus has a great ability to transform himself to his needs. When talking to the cops, he puts on a geeky gamer t-shirt and tries to talk like he is a dumb kid just trying to make his way through college as best he can. Then he talks to Coyote and becomes a completely different person. I also love watching as he tries to teach Leif modern phrases. Leif has a really hard time fitting into today’s society.
Oberson continues to be the life of this story. Even though he is an ordinary Irish Wolfhound, who is long lived because of his tie to Atticus, he can also talk to Atticus mind to mind. He is hilarious. He always thinks he is deserving of treats. He’ll use a big word and think he deserves and treat. Then pronounce something correctly and deserves another treat. The dog loves sausage.
“You killed my father,” he snorted in a basso profundo rumble. “Prepare to die!”
“Inigo Montoya? Is that you?”
“Douglas Adams was right: There is nothing so massively useful in the universe as a towel.”
“She thinks petting me is an honor. This is an unexpected position to take for a goddess of slaughter, but I applaud her defiance of convention.”
Narration
Luke Daniels once again nails the narration of this series. I love everything about it. I can’t say anything bad about it. I love his voice for Oberson. I think he really brings out the enjoyment that a dog would have about everything. I also thought he did a great job with Coyote and his Southern accent along with Atticus when he changed his voice to match it. This is a series I highly recommend trying on audio.
Amanda
Written on Mar 16, 2012
As I mentioned in my post about my audiobook experience, the way I processed this book in audiobook format is different than if I had read it. But other than sometimes not tracking all of the characters, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book. I spent quite a bit of time with a huge grin on my face and occasionally snorting in laughter. All the humor in Hounded is present in Hexed as well (and with the audiobook, it is perhaps even better). Because I read this during the read-along of Hounded, I think it gave me an advantage to remembering what had happened and how it influenced the happenings of Hexed. There are bits and pieces of Hounded sprinkled into Hexed, but there is by no means an information dumping.
There is a lot of action in Hexed, with a lot of different threads. This is where listening to the audiobook put me at somewhat of a disadvantage, but I was able to track what was happening, even if it took me a few moments to remember and mentally sort it out. There are unresolved story arcs here that will (presumably) be addressed in the next book. I have a terrible habit of not reading the synopses of books until I’m writing the review after reading the book, so I’m just guessing here. Regardless. This is obviously a series book that resolves some plot threads, and leaves other hanging. I wanted to pick up the next in the series (Hammered) as soon as I finished Hexed, but not because there was a cliffhanger — Kevin Hearne simply writes enjoyable stories.
In Hexed, I think Atticus goes through some serious changes as a person (Druid?). Because he has spent so much of his life attempting to stay hidden, being able to live “freely” changes things. In a sense, Atticus is settling down and growing roots, and this means how he lives must change as well. He is still very adept at adapting to his environment, but he now has different worries. There are a few specific instances in Hexed that underscore these changes, and I am curious to see how Atticus continues to grow throughout the next few books in the series.
The characters in Hexed, and the series overall, continue to be delightful. Atticus may be the main character, but he shares the stage with a lovable cast of characters from Oberon to even the witches (the “good” ones, not the nasty ones mentioned in the synopsis). I was particularly amused by Atticus’s dealings with his goddesses. They are at once awe inspiring and like petulant little children who expect to always get their way. Oberon is his usual silly self.
Hexed does not suffer from the second book syndrome, and continues to deliver the same quality of story and humor that Hounded promised. The Iron Druid Chronicles series is not the typical urban fantasy read, but that is a big part of why it is as good as it is. If you’re looking for a lighthearted and humorous fantasy read, look no further than the Iron Druid Chronicles.
Audiobook Specific: this was my first audiobook, so I don’t have much to compare it to. I did really enjoy Luke Daniels’ variations of the voices, though, and I am definitely looking forward to listening to Hammered on audiobook as well.
Beth C.
Written on Jun 10, 2011