Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B004X41A26 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 Epub FreeYou can download Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Epub Free for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link
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.
Direct download links available for Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Epub Free
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 8 hours and 11 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Brilliance Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: April 19, 2011
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004X41A26
I don't usually get overly effusive in my book reviews, but d*mn, this was a fun book! I'm an urban fantasy junkie and have logged a lot of reading hours in that genre, and with every writer and his/her brother jumping into the field to take advantage of its current popularity, I've thrown a lot of books at the wall because they're not worth the paper they are printed on. "Hounded" is definitely one of those books that you place down carefully, and remember where you stored it in your bookcase because you know that you'll be re-reading it sooner or later. It's definitely a keeper!
Quick synopsis: Atticus O'Sullivan is a 2100-year old Druid, supposedly the last of his kind. His appearance is that of a 21 year old, good-looking Irish guy. He lives in Tempe AZ, and runs a New Age-y herbal and book store. He's got an enemy who is the Celtic god of love who wants a mystical sword that Atticus took from him in a battle centuries ago, and who also wants Atticus dead. Periodically, as the god has located Atticus, he sends minions after him to kill him. In this story, he has located Atticus again, and decides to kill him personally.
The usual urban fantasy suspects exist: the Tuatha De Danann, werewolves, vampires, witches, ghouls, gods, goddesses, demons, etc., though they are not "out" to the general human population. So far, this doesn't sound like anything special, does it? The key differences between this book and most of the others in this genre is that it is extremely well-written (and even though I was reading the Advance Reader's Edition, it didn't have the spelling errors that are so common now in books), the characters are fleshed-out and interesting, and most of all, there is a sense of humor and fun in this book.
Two things made me crave this book in my hands before its release in late April/early May--first the protagonist, Atticus, sounds like my kind of guy. He's brash, he's sensible and he taunts gods and goddesses like their nothing more than playground bullies. His tactful, but not truly, reverent attitude towards those beings is part of his charm. The second is that the excerpts I've read have made me eager to read more. Normally excerpts from authors I don't know make me interested, but not eagerly anticipating. They tend to be too short so I don't get a good feel for the character.
Not so with Atticus!
Admittedly my other reason was I was eager to see how all the pantheons of deities interacted and most especially the Celtic lore. I was happily ready to read, spot a deity I only cursorily know, look them up and then go back. Hearne didn't make me need those encyclopedias though, he gives a very good accounting of these deities without having Atticus run around playing Exposition Man.
In truth I appreciated the fact that Atticus was neither too modern nor too archaic in his speech and mannerisms. He balanced the line well; he managed to adapt many of the customs he grew up with to modern day and picked up the speech patterns of the modern world well. He was practical where others expected him to be foolish (given his words) or reckless (given his actions). It never got tiring to see when it dawned on people that hey Atticus is a clever one.
On occasion descriptions got to be a bit tedious or redundant--Hearne doesn't need to tell us, every single time, what's going on with Atticus' tattoos. Or that he has to be barefoot to channel his power. I understood--Atticus is on land, thus he's barefoot'ed, thus he's very powerful.
Book Preview
Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 Download
Please Wait...