Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles Series #2)

Fresh new urban fantasy

This series is reshingly funny, witty, and sarcastic while remembering that this genre isn't a romance novel with a little sword and sorcery thown in. Far too many writers think sexual angst and a vampire or two is all a good book needs. Not. He also has created the best dog character every. I love the view of the world the oberon character has. I look forward to see where all these characters go in this fictional world. Lastly, there are some seasoned writers in this genre who could learn a lot from this writer, his books and his style.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

An extremely entertaining second release to a fun new series.

I had this series recommended based on how I enjoyed The Dresden Files. Seeing that it would be a while before another Dresden Files comes out I went looking for the series.

First off, this is the second book. You need to read the first book Hounded. This sets up the universe some and there is a continuing arc between the two books. However you don't have to read the first one to enjoy this one.

The main character is a druid. The last druid. He's kept himself alive for over 2000 years. He's managed to tick off a group of witches that are encroaching on his home turf, and our Druid teams up with the local witches that he's had a few run ins with.

This is a very irreverent series. He uses pop culture jokes to insult ancient gods & goddesses, and in general I find the sense of humor in this book to be funny and creates laugh out loud moments while reading. It's a great pace, great read, and I really enjoyed this and the following book 'Hammered'.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

These Are The Druids You're Looking For

Looking for the perfect mix of humor and thrills with a twist? These are the Druids your looking for. Hexed and Hounded don't disappoint.

Hexed, the sophomore edition of The Iron Druid Chronicles, is nonstop fun and excitement. Atticus O'Sullivan is a modern day druid, the last of his kind. And lately the crazies have been coming out the woodwork. You would think that defeating a couple of Celtic Gods, exorcising a few demons, and killing half a coven of witches would earn a guy some R&R. Think again. Tempting Tempe, Atticus' little Arizonian oasis is starting to look ripe for the picking to some pretty nasty supernaturals.

A brood of German witches kick off the shenanigans by trying to curse O'Sullivan and the local coven. The murderous attempt is quickly followed up by a demonic straggler left behind by Aenghus Óg. Hearne keeps the pace swift with a visit from Coyote, who informs Atticus of a fallen angel preying on some very unfortunate high school students. Then there are the clergymen snooping around his bookstore, and the cops that just won't go away. But the honey-do list just keeps getting longer since some sin city Bacchants are in town and ready to throw down. Let's Party.

It would be simpler to cut and run, but Atticus has decided that Tempe is home, and he has an obligation to heal the land his prior nemisis destroyed. He's going to have to get help from some familiar characters and strike a few ill advised bargains to get through the nine circles of hellion relatively unscathed, though not unmolested. By the end you'll be wondering which battle was more brutal, golems and demon spawn filled witches, or a tussle in the sack with the Morrigan.

Hexed like Hounded was a witty well written book. There were some serious storylines happening here that could have easily gotten confusing. But Hearne's clever writing allowed for clarity while navigating through the fast-pasted and complex threads. I highly recommend the audio version of this book. The narrator , Luke Daniels, is excellent. Daniels does all the accents spot on, and must be a linguist with how well he speaks all the foreign languages. He really brings the words and characters to life. I think Hearne's biggest strength is the diversity and knowledge in the cultures and supernatural beings. The books seem well researched and work well together.

Maybe it's just me, but I find the succession of this series each consecutive month refreshing. A throwback to the serials of not so long ago. Yet, because they're so good, I swear the wait is still excruciating. Keep Them Coming Kevin.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I heartily recommend

I love the series. It has action, magic, great lifelike settings, over-the-top mythological characters and simmering just under the surface, sexual tension. Luckily said tension doesn't cause characters to start having sex every time they think they are going to die (thank God). Another plus is that the author does not feel the need to recap what happened in the previous stories, ad nauseum. Word to the wise; people are not going to start in the middle of a series. Mr. Hearne respects us enough to just start where he left off and for that I am extremely grateful. I look forward to the next installment.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome follow up to Hounded

I wasn't too sure that Hearne would be abke to keep up the humor and fun through a second book. Atticus's confrontration with the "bad" coven of witches had me running out to buy Hammered as soon as I could! This is one author I'll be following for sure!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good read

If you're looking for plain old escapism fun this series is for you. It's written in a fast paced style that will keep the pages turning, or rather the finger swiping. Give a spin and just enjoy

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend.

A refreshing new twist in urban fantasy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Decent Modern Fantasy

Fresh perspective in modern fantasy, blending old world of swords and sorcery into modern life. The writer does tend to the left on his politics in the story, but not so much as to detract. Character development is relatively steady and humor is used quite successfully throughout the book(s). Male and female characters are realistic, and not overblown with unreal attributes. I am reading the series to fill time between the "Dresden Files" and it is filling the time nicely. I recommend the series with a warning they will be a quick read. I can easily finish a book in one day.

Great Read!

You will not be disappointed.

Unreal!!! So awesome

A REAL PAGE-TURNER

A Fun Read

I've burned through all five books in less than a week. I've seen this series compared to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series and while it's good and a fun read, I think that might be a bit of a reach. I love the humor and I dare anyone to not snicker at the one liners but I'm not sure I'd rank it that highly yet. Definitely something to read though.

Loved it!

Great writer.

Hexed is much improved upon by Hearne from Hounded, and marks a

Hexed is much improved upon by Hearne from Hounded, and marks a promising future for the Iron Druid Chronicles. While Hounded was a fun read, it lacked much of a coherent plot and clearly was Hearne's attempt at getting his feet wet. Hexed on the other hand begins to see the formation of a plot, although the overarching plot is certainly not there yet.

Hexed does three things that were very lacking in Hearne's debut; character building, foreshadowing, and world building. All of these combine to create a much more enjoyable and in-depth read. While I called the first book something similar to brain candy, Hexed deviates from that territory and tries to make the Iron Druid Chronicles a legitimate series. It doesn't quite achieve that, but it is a valid attempt.

In Hounded, many of the characters felt two dimensional and stilted. There was not a whole lot to them aside from what was directly said by the author. The interaction between Atticus and his gods continues to be good, but the relationship between Atticus and those around him improves remarkably in terms of getting fleshed out and our ability to see into them. The most important of these is his relationship with his apprentice Granuaile. We begin to see some of the Druidic teachings that Atticus is trying to impose, as well as what Granuaile is actually like without the influence of a witch in her head. In both cases, Hearne does an excellent job and it really makes the reader look forward to the fact that Atticus will be spending the next 12 years at least with Granuaile by his side as opposed to dreading it.

The other aspect that really gets fleshed out is Atticus's relationship with Leif and Hal. They are often referenced in the earlier book but neither seemed to have much of a personality aside from the typical werewolf vampire stereotype. This book faces important conflicts for each of them that allows Atticus to truly get to know them better, or at least gives the reader a chance to do so. Prior we knew that they were Atticus's lawyers but we did not know exactly how far the personal feelings went outside of that. In Hexed we see that Hal truly does like Atticus as a friend. The easy banter that they fall into and Hal's willingness to toe the line against Magnus's orders help the reader get a much better sense of Hal's character. Leif on the other hand appears to have a much more business like relationship with Atticus. While they appear to enjoy each other’s company as evidenced by some of the Shakespearean banter in the book, when it gets down to the fine details it does appear to be more quid pro quo then Atticus's relationship with Hal is. The fact that Leif is unwilling to help Atticus until he promises to help with Thor leads the reader to believe that there could be a conflict that has Atticus and Leif on opposite sides if push ever came to shove.

This leads into the next major improvement that Hearne appears to be working on; foreshadowing. The first book really read more along the lines of: the rambling day to day activities of the last druid. The plot was moment to moment and there was hardly any foreshadowing in it. This is not the case in Hexed, and really shows growth as an author. We begin to learn of the politics among the gods, especially with The Morrigan and Brighid. Their attempts to manipulate Atticus into taking their sides are enjoyable and add some of the only humility we see from Atticus. In addition, one can tell that there is a rich back story with Thor to come at some point in the future. Why does everyone want him dead? What did Thor do to Leif?

We also begin to see some of the more realistic foreshadowing about those around Atticus. It only makes sense that there would be ramifications now that he's not running. Atticus begins to realize this in Hexed, and it adds a sense of realism that was missing in the first book. It's not just him that can be targeted, but those he loves as well.

Lastly, the world building has drastically improved. We the readers begin to learn about the gods on Earth, the realms of the different gods, and how those realms can be accessed. Prior to Hexed we knew that most gods did not reside on Earth but we did not really know where they did reside. Did all the gods live together there? Turns out that no, most gods have their own realms and places they can and cannot access. We learn more about the ways of the druids as well, through Atticus's teachings of Granuaile. Overall we the readers just begin to learn a lot more about the entire world that they live in. It appears to be going the route of most urban fantasy: the world is the world we know it, but we just refuse to see the supernatural. This is neither bad nor good, but it is nice to know the direction that it is going.

This is not to say that Hexed is without its faults though. It has them, and they are not rare. The humor at times is very forced. The books also seems to not know what to do when there is not action going on. For such a short book, it does experience points of dragging on. Be it because of scenes not flowing well together, or repetitive action scenes. Hearne needs to learn that there is more to a book then just Atticus getting himself into scraps repeatedly, healing up, talking to someone important, and then rinsing and repeating. He does a better job in Hexed but it still isn't great. There are also points where the writing is just sub-par. It won't flow that well, or it could be sequenced better.

As a whole though Hexed is a remarkable improvement upon Hounded. It truly is a good attempt at turning a young adult style brain candy book into a series that has a shot at drawing older readers looking for a more serious style of book. I hold high hopes for it and will be eagerly reading the next installment.

4/5 overall.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome series

Read just about everything om the shelf, very good.

I can always tell which books i've completely fallen in love wit

I can always tell which books i've completely fallen in love with based on how fast I read them, and wow can I tell you I LOVE this book and series!! I read this in 4 days!

This book was so action packed! From chapter to chapter something exciting was happening, whether it be a battle with witches or other supernatural/godlike characters, or bits of fun entertaining dialog between his smart ass dog Oberon. I'm also really enjoying the roll of his apprentice and I'm hoping to see more of character building and becoming a larger role.

Overall this book was page turner to the very end!

She Wants Me! *****Caution: Contains a spoiler. ***** Our intrep

She Wants Me!
*****Caution: Contains a spoiler. *****
Our intrepid hero has been attacked by magic and casts his suspicions toward the local witch coven. Of course responsibility is denied and Atticus with the ever faithful Oberon at his side must once again beat back the opposition. Atticus’ plate is already full with Goddess visits, a possible new and exciting threat, new vows being made, Granuaile’s apprenticeship and everyone wants his assistance to kill Thor! If it was easy being a druid everyone would be doing it.

Perhaps a better name for this episode would have been She Wants Me. This installment of the series seems to be all over the place, it felt busy and unfocused. Well not quite, this one squarely focused on sex. There’s very much the stereotypical adolescent teen male ideal of everyone of the opposite sex finding him irresistible at every turn. Every female (and I do mean every) is determined to try her hand at inept and wanton flirting with poor beleaguered Atticus. He almost needs a bat to beat them back and he has to stay strong – but how much can one guy take? Unfortunately for me this entry tripped dangerously close to silly and immature. I felt the overall story arc advancing but can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I will miss Perry, but felt that even his loss was designed to surround our plucky hero with ever more females. Hmmm, immediately the quasi-introduction of a new employee and another appearance of the Daughters of the Three Auroras come to mind. I’m sure the importance of this episode will become evident later but for right now it feels more like a bridge whose sole purpose is to get you from book one to book three than anything else.

I loved Hounded all the way through but I didn’t have that warm fuzzy with Hexed. I did however enjoy parts of this outing to a degree and am looking forward to the next adventure.

Brilliant writing

This is the first time I've ever written a review of a book, but I had to give this whole series a big thumbs up! The quick wit, diversety of supernatural beings and great character development had me reading the whole series in a few days. I loved every book!!

great

Loved it

Awesome!

Awesome!

Highly Recommended!

Good series learning more about Druids.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.