Name: Hounded
ISBN: 9780748133291

Kevin Hearne

***OVER A MILLION COPIES OF THE IRON DRUID BOOKS SOLD*** 'American Gods meets Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden' SFF World Book one in the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles series Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old - when in actuality, he's twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer. Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he's hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power - plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish - to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil. Praise for the Iron Druid Chronicles: 'Atticus and his crew are a breath of fresh air! . . . I love, love, love this series' My Bookish Ways 'Entertaining, steeped in a ton of mythology, populated by awesome characters' Civilian Reader 'This is one series no fantasy fan should miss. Mystery, suspense, magic and mayhem' SciFiChick The Iron Druid Chronicles Hounded Hexed Hammered Tricked Trapped Hunted Shattered Staked Scourged Besieged (short stories) HAVE YOU TRIED . . . Kevin Hearne's epic fantasy novel A PLAGUE OF GIANTS - described by Delilah S. Dawson as 'a rare masterpiece that's both current and timeless . . . merging the fantasy bones of Tolkien and Rothfuss with a wide cast of characters who'll break your heart'. Out now!

The Iron Druid Chronicles

Hounded

Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the Druids, finds his peaceful life in Arizona shattered by the arrival of an angry Celtic god who wants Atticus's magical sword, forcing Atticus to call upon some unlikely allies for help.

Vicky  Nuñez 

I feel like I've read so many Urban Fantasy books it's getting hard to surprise me. Not even this over 2000 year old Druid could. 
Still it had everything a good UF usually does:
1. Snarky main character
2. Funny sidekick (who is also a dog)
3. A ten times stronger enemy
4. gods, vampires, fairies, werewolves...

It was ultimately really funny and I enjoyed it enough to be intrigued by the sequel. 

Definitely recommend it if you like the Dresden Files, but don't expect it to be as great.

Dipo Apelehin

Flippant, forceful and terrible beyond reckoning. Lots of plot holes and not well thought out scenes, poor action sequencing and very very thin plot. The machinations of the villains were decidedly and though it appears to be a run of the mill fantasy book, it fails beautifully. I hated the owner-pet mental link in particular. 
I will be giving the other books a try though, it's the least I could do.

Janice Hopper

Flip. Generally uninteresting. I was glad when it was over. I didn't buy the character of Atticus or Oberon at all. When you're powerful enough to defeat gods & heal yourself, where's the tension? Why should I care or worry abt characters who are never seriously in danger?

And French poodles??? Seriously???? 

Jeezopete. Glad to be done with this.

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Sometimes, I want my fantasy dense and epic. Sometimes I want a fantasy that keeps things light and funny. Sometimes, I want a fantasy that is a happy medium between the two, something that isn’t dense and has humor, but where there are real stakes to the hardships facing the protagonist. That’s when I turn to Urban Fantasy. Some UF series (and most of them are series) are superior to others. While I like what I’ve read of the Dresden Files and the Hollows series, the Anita Blake series and the Black Dagger Brotherhood soured for me, relying too heavily on sex instead of plot. Then there are series like The Others by Anne Bishop and the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, both of which I love. So when I start a new UF series, I never know which of those three possible feelings it will inspire in me. Judging from this first book, the Iron Druid series is at least in the “like” category, and I can see that growing into love.

Atticus O’Sullivan is a fantastic UF protagonist. Far older than he appears, he balances between his physical youth and mental maturity with a fair amount of aplomb. He’s the last of the Druids, and a powerful one at that. But that power, along with his unnatural longevity, has ensured that he has more than a few powerful enemies. As with most UF protagonists, he’s constantly on the wrong side of angry beings far more powerful than he is, and he has to protect himself with his wit and a little help from his friends.

My favorite of those friends, and one of the few who isn’t supernatural in some way, is Oberon. Oberon is Atticus’s Irish wolfhound, who can communicate with Atticus via a telepathic link the druid has developed between them. This canine companion provided the lion’s share of the comic relief. He’s well versed in pop culture, and his references mingled with his doggy sarcasm made for a lot of laughs.

Probably my least favorite thing about this book was that the protagonist’s main weakness was his libido. The man needs to simmer down around the ladies, be they goddess or mortal. However, he knows himself, and it’s something that he’s working on, so I can overlook it. Also, that horniness made for some funny moments. So, while this particular aspect of the protagonist's character annoyed me, it by no means hindered my enjoyment.

One last reason that I believe that I enjoyed this book more than some other UF offerings is the lore. There's just something about Irish lore that has always fascinated me, and having that in a 21st century American setting was a lot of fun. Watching the archaic attempting to mingle with modernity was incredibly entertaining, and is a big draw for me continuing with the series.

All in all, this was a really fun book, and I fully intend to continue the series. This is another series with audiobooks narrated by the phenomenal Luke Daniels, which added to my enjoyment.

Original review can be found at Booknest.

Cams Campbell

A thoroughly refreshing book that took a little while to get going, but once it did, it was thrilling! Such original concepts and very modern writing style and content.

Elizabeth Neill

Ok I am really not that good at writing reviews so I am going to do my best.

Atticus O’Sullivan is the last of the Druids. He lives in Arizona with his Irish Wolfhound Oberon. Atticus owns an occult bookshop.I fell in love with this book. I got it from Overdrive and read it on my Kindle. I wish they had the next book but I have to wait for my library to get it in. Atticus is a great character and he had my sucked in from page one. Aenghus Òg the Celtic god of love is after Atticus. He has a sword that the god of love wants. 
I read this book in one day cause I couldn't put it down. The pace of the book was great wasn't too fast or slow. The plot was great with great twists. One of my favorite characters would have to be Oberon. I can't wait to get sucked in the other books in this series. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I would recommend it to all my friends.

Sarah Escorsa

Buddy read with the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Club.

Actual rating: 2.5

For the first time in ages I don’t have a lot to say about a book. Hounded was an entertaining enough read but that’s about it.

The story has a lot of potential and it could have been a fantastic read but ultimately it all felt a bit meh. The only reasons why I didn’t give this book a 2-star rating? Humour and mythology. The dialogues between Atticus and his dog Oberon are pretty much hilarious most of the time. Well, Atticus has little to do with it and the dog completely steals the show here. He actually makes the story and I’m not sure I would have finished the book . 

Come to think of it, I liked a lot of characters in this book (the Morrigan, Flidays, Granuaile, Laksha, Hal…) but Atticus, the main character, left me unimpressed. For a druid who is supposed to be 2,000 years old he was disappointingly bland and frankly, quite uninteresting. I couldn’t bring myself to believe, not even for a second, that he was that old. It certainly doesn’t help that he stopped aging at the ripe age of 21...

As for the plot itself, it’s basically about lots of bad guys going after the good guy because he has an artefact they want. That’s about it. The only thing that made the story interesting to me was the use of mythology and the various gods & creatures that kept popping up throughout the book. There isn’t that much action and I had to resist the urge to skip pages quite a few times.

All in all, a light read that could have been a great one, had its potential been fully exploited. One less series to worry about, yay!

Kirby Drake

Listened via audiobook. My buddy Jenny had given me a paperback that I hadn't managed to crack open. This was fun and different and right up my ally.

Remi Damours

Druid keeps fighting on his front lawn and the fights are about as exciting as the ones I have on my front lawn.

Nickie Mohler

This has been on my TBR list for a long time. Most urban fantasy series that I've read have been written by females. Although my favorite genre, there aren't that many out there with little to no romance. I Hate Romance books!! This book was perfect for me. Non-stop action, lots of magic, and no sappy love story to muck it up. I loved it! I will definitely continue this series. I am now on a quest to find more like it!!

Samantha Jackson

I found it a pretty light read, but I absolutely loved it. I love Oberon and Atticus' banter. I would definitely read it again. Perfect for a reading slump.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

I really LOVED this novel, so, so much! Atticus is quick-witted, and I loved seeing all of the other characters in this book.

Kaycee Castleman

This book was definitely an adventure. Normally, most supernatural/urban fantasy books have a female main character. Hounded has a very interesting, very amusing, and very sarcastic male main character. I was laughing quite often throughout this novel. 

The pacing was great and I really enjoyed all the pop culture references. There was just enough action to keep me thoroughly entertained. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in urban fantasy.

Sans

4.5 stars

While not without flaws, this was a truly entertaining book. I fell hard for Atticus (such a great hero!) and can't wait for the next book. I haven't read books about Druids or many books from a male POV before, so this was a fantastic break from the ordinary for me. Not sure if I'll write a full review beyond this. I highly recommend this for urban fantasy fans who are looking for a fun, absorbing read.

Anyaconda

I picked this up on a whim in a second hand book store. This was a quick and entertaining read and I'd like to pick up book two.
3.5✨

Hounded The Iron Druid Chronicles

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