Review: 150. Hammered by Kevin Hearne...

I enjoyed this series so much I couldn't put it down. It should come with a contagion warning...

Title: Hammered (Iron Druid Chronicles #3)
Author: Kevin Hearne
ISBN-13: 9780345522481
eBook:
Publisher: Random House, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Purchased

drey's thoughts:
Oh. My. Goodness. Be prepared to snort, chuckle, and flat out laugh-out-loud when reading Hammered. Not that facing off with the Norse gods just to fulfill a couple of promises is laughing matter, especially since one of those gods has a reputation for being a complete tool... Nevertheless, Hammered definitely tickled my funny bone.

So much so, in fact, that I had the guys (the Mr.'s friends who were hanging out at our place) asking why I was laughing so much. I think I may even have one of 'em interested in checking out this series... ;-)

Anyway. Back to the review. Apparently Thor has amassed quite the number of aggrieved enemies in his long and annoyingly ramification-free life. Not any more. After waiting centuries to hone his skills, Leif is ready for his revenge--along with a half-dozen others. And who's the lucky duck who gets to lead this group of vengeance-seekers to Asgard? Why, our very own favorite druid, of course. Never mind that he'd most likely not survive the trip...

If you've read any of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, you'll know that he liberally sprinkles it with gods from various mythologies. His reach is far and wide, and part of the reason I really enjoy his stories are because of this breadth of characters. And not only does he bring them in, he gives them background and color, and purpose. One of my favorite parts of the story brings to mind Terry Pratchett's Small Gods--which brings forth the premise that gods only existed insofar as they had followers. Once your last faithful follower is gone, you're history. But we're not here to talk about Small Gods (though I'd suggest you pick it up if you happen to like irreverent humor and philosophy in your books), we're here for Hammered. So. One of the vengeance-seekers is a former thunder god--one whose name is no longer known because Thor convinced myriads other gods to have their followers forgo verbal histories in favor of drawing on cave walls and chiseling in stone, not much of which withstood the test of time... And so they languished, forgotten by the fickle humans...

So. There's humor. There's fighting and magic-slinging. There's death and destruction. And more humor. What else do you need to know? Go start with Hounded!

drey's rating: Outstanding! Kevin Hearne just gets better and better. I can't wait to find out what Atticus does next. After all, he'll have a whole horde of Norse gods on his tail...

Have you read Hammered? What did you think?

October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kevin and the old-school creepies...

It's the last Wednesday in October (already?? how??) and our Featured Author Kevin Hearne is here to talk about Halloween and creepy stuff... Read on!

For Halloween, I am posting a sign on my door that says KNOCK AND I WILL CHEERFULLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR TOOTH ENAMEL. I may or may not append a postscript with the season’s greetings, “Muah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!” Because there is nothing so terrifying as a visit to the dentist.

There is some debate in my house as to whether this celebrates the spirit of Halloween or not.

I may retort that we honestly don’t want to celebrate the spirit of every holiday—look closely at what Christopher Columbus did, for example, once he got to the New World, and you won’t want to celebrate that man anymore. But fine: let us celebrate an ill-defined spirit of Halloween. Creepy stuff! Yeah!

Hollywood has its own definition, but I don’t mean creepy in the modern sense—someone stalking you or sociopathic serial killers who were abused as children and now must abuse everyone else—I mean old-school creepy. Dread. A pants-crapping fear of the unknown. My stomach can’t handle modern horror: it basically turns people into victims, knocks them down on the food chain somehow, and that’s it. But Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft—those dudes knew how to crawl inside your head and mess with it a while. They created tension with mere words, not camera tricks and close-ups on the victim’s face and loud noises to startle you. So in the spirit of Halloween, why not visit (or revisit) their stories? The horror genre owes much to them. Heck, every Scooby-Doo episode with a creepy mansion in it should give credit to Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

If you have a Kindle or other electronic reader, you can get the complete works of Poe and Lovecraft either for free or for less than a dollar. But if you want to kick it old school with these old-school masters of horror and turn actual pages, there are plenty of collections out there, often with critical essays lumped in, that would look quite lovely on your shelf—after you’ve read them, of course.

My bestest recommendation: participate in All Hallow’s Read. Give someone (an age-appropriate) scary book to read. Used or new. It’s better for them than a visit to the dentist.

And in completely other, non-Halloween related news, I’d like to thank Drey for featuring me on her blog this month. I appreciate the love and I’m very grateful to you all for reading my (completely non-scary) books!

Actually, there is nothing quite so terrifying as a visit to the dentist when in need of dental work... Just visiting isn't so bad, but I hate that drill... All Hallow's Read sounds interesting, I've got it bookmarked to check later--thank you for sharing! And you can come back anytime. I love your books, and your sense of humor, and your letting me make you work! *grin* Thank you for taking the time to visit!

Review: 146. Hexed by Kevin Hearne...

I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin Hearne's Hounded--what a romp! So of course I had to pick up Hexed, tout suite!

Title: Hexed (Iron Druid #2)
Author: Kevin Hearne
ISBN-13: 9780345522498
eBook:
Publisher: Random House, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Purchased


drey's thoughts:
In Hexed, our favorite druid runs into witches. Bad witches, good witches, witches who try to kill him, witches who wreak havoc, witches he's trying to sign a non-agression pact with... You get the idea: LOTS of witches. And if that wasn't headache enough, he's got a fallen angel chomping on high-school kids, demons coming down his street, and followers of the god Bacchus are heading to town to--you guessed it--wreak more havoc. Did somebody put up a neon "C'mon Over, All Ye Troublemakers" sign?

So off he goes to take care of the problems, and make sure the peaceful witches stay that way. I particularly enjoyed his messing with their magic with his ward--like a "neener, neener my ward's better than your magic" thing... Of course, he can't just let 'em do what they want--one of them might figure out how to kill him, and Atticus hasn't lived this long by letting that happen.

Atticus is still my new-favorite-hero. And I love, love, love, Oberon. Granuaile's irreverence provides yet more amusing reading. Coyote makes an appearance, which should foretell trouble to anyone remotely familiar with the legends... Laksha shows up to help out in a fight, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. The Morrigan on the other hand scares the bleepers out of me!  And oh my, the promises we make to get the help we need to keep our world and its people safe... All I know is, Atticus is going to have a heck of a time fulfilling those vows to Laksha and Leif--the latter might actually kill him.

There's something for everyone here, whether you like Shakespeare, urban fantasy, mythological gods, snippy vamps, lovable wolfhounds, baseball, ass-kicking action, or plain ol' flat-out laugh-out-loud funnies. Go pick it up. Seriously.

drey's rating: Excellent! This series just keeps getting better and better!

Have you read Hexed? What did you think?

October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kevin's favorite books...

It's Wednesday! And that means it's time for another visit from our Featured Author of the  month, Kevin Hearne! Today, Kevin tells us what his (current) favorite books are, and some are totally delish, while others have been added to my want-to-read pile... Check this out!

(Note: I couldn't help myself. Please excuse the interruptions...)

In general, my favorite book is whatever I’m reading at the moment. But these days I read anywhere from five to ten books at a time: They’re scattered around the house with bookmarks in them, and I pick them up whenever I walk by and read a few pages at a time. It’s like literary snacking. So it’s rare that a book will snag me and not let go; most books I can put down and savor over time, but there are a few that are NOM NOM NOM and I can’t stop reading. Here are my top ten faves, but in no particular order, mind you:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I think he’s the best storyteller walkin’ the planet right now. Told him so, too. I completely geeked out on him. Sorry, Pat.

Heh. I'd completely geek out on him, too, so you're so NOT alone... *grin* 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. If you’re over 35, read this! If you’re under 35, you might want to read it just to find out what all the old people are talking about. This is the latest book to grab me and I’m still grinning about it.

I will have to check this one out. When an author who tickles your funny bone says he's grinning about a book, you take note of said book...
 

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Aside from being a cyberpunk masterpiece, it’s turned out to be scarily prophetic about economics—the privatization of formerly public services and corporations running the show is darn close to the truth.

The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman. This is the last big story arc in his comic series, The Sandman. It’s a masterpiece.

I am embarrassed to admit to not having read The Sandman... I shall have to rectify that oversight... *cringes in shame*
 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. This is the book that made me want to be a writer. Incredible voice.

The I Inside by Alan Dean Foster. This is out of print now, but you can find it online at various used vendors. Here’s the thing: I could have picked almost any title by Mr. Foster. I’m always entertained by his stories. His Spellsinger series was my first introduction into fantasy—which may explain quite a bit of my approach to writing it. Prior to that, I read sci-fi almost exclusively. Have you ever read his books? He’s prolific and still writing today.

Yet another to add to my oversight list... I don't know, Kevin, you keep growing my TBR pile, and where will I find time to read Tricked??
 

The Caves of Steel by Issac Asimov remains one of my favorite science fiction books and holds up pretty well. They speak of recording data on tapes rather than silicon chips, but aside from that bit of dating, the story still holds up well today.

Dune by Frank Herbert. Don’t watch the movies. The richness of the world is lost.

Shai-Hulud! The spice melange! House Atreides! Mentats! Bene Gesserits! Who hasn't read Dune? If you haven't, get thee to a bookstore and pick it up!

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. One of the coolest monsters ever in science fiction, the Shrike, doesn’t even show up until near the end of the book, and you don’t know who he’s going to kill next. Wonderful storytelling.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. I’m not sure how to explain this one. Look: Tom Robbins has a way with words matched by very few. Check him out!

Well. what's there left to do but go shopping? *grin* What about y'all? Have you read any (or ALL) of these? What do you think of Kevin's list?

October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kevin Hearne's books!

Ooooh! Today I get to share with you our Featured Author Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles! Yay! Without further ado, here's Atticus!

Book 1: Hounded

Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret.

Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.

Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil.

Read the first six chapters of HOUNDED.

Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

Book 2: Hexed

 

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to “make nice” with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial non-aggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. The new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of WWII.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch-hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository


Book 3: Hammered

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. Plus things are heating up in his home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plane of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry Norse gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

Book 4: Tricked

(Coming in April 2012; no cover yet)

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Pre-order at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

And that's not all! Books 5 and 6 are Trapped and Hunted, and I can't wait to hear more about 'em!

Review: 139. Hounded by Kevin Hearne...

I'd seen mentions and reviews of Kevin Hearne's Hammered all over the blogosphere recently, and decided that I needed to check out his Iron Druid Chronicles books. So I started at the beginning...

Title: Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1)
Author: Kevin Hearne
ISBN-13: 9780345522474
Paperback: 289 pages
Publisher: Random House, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Waukesha Public Library

drey's thoughts:
I finally picked up Hounded, and it sat on my shelves for a week before I gave in to its call. I know, I know, I should be ashamed of myself... But 'tis the truth, and I promised to be honest.

If it makes Atticus O'Sullivan fans feel better though, I regret that wait. This centuries-old druid has definitely found the fountain of youth--and while his tea helps, I firmly believe his attitude and outlook on life has plenty to do with his longevity. He is a smart-mouthed smart-alecky young man who along with his wolfhound Oberon made me laugh out loud. I loved his "translations" of old-time speak into modern-day vernacular, and his gentle chastising of the other long-lived who haven't quite adjusted their speech patterns (yet).

There are gods, a special sword, and lots of action in Hounded. Thank goodness Atticus isn't just a normal dude--he wouldn't have survived. As it is, he's lucky he's still standing after all the dust settles. And after killing gods, you know that what follows is going to keep him on his toes.

Kevin Hearne's Atticus O'Sullivan is going to go on my list of favorite urban fantasy protagonists, and Kevin's on my author-to-stalk list now... Check this series out if you haven't already!

drey's rating: Outstanding! The characters entertain, the plot is crazy yet works well, and the myriad mythological figures makes this a must-read for those who can't get enough of the old(er) gods... I'm off to find Hexed and Hammered, so I can stalk Atticus' next adventures. Don't forget to check out Kevin's visits this month as our Featured Author!

Have you read Hounded? What did you think?

October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Meet Kevin Hearne!

It's October already! Time for pumpkins, Halloween, and our Featured Author for the month, Kevin Hearne!

Kevin is the author of the popular Iron Druid Chronicles, featuring two-thousand-year-old druid Atticus O'Sullivan, and his Irish Wolfhound Oberon.

drey: Hello Kevin! Welcome to drey’s library, and thank you for taking the time to visit us this month as our Author!

Kevin: 'Tis a pleasure.

drey: Please introduce yourself to our readers, in 10 sentences or thereabouts…

Kevin: I'm a mild-mannered high school English teacher by day, and an even milder writer by night. I kind of wish I had a batcave or something to write in, because that would make my life sound exciting—especially if there was a secret entrance behind a bookcase—but the reality is I write at my kitchen table after dinner. I have a wife, a daughter who likes to draw, and two cute little dogs—a pug and a Boston terrier. In theory, there may be cats in the house, but as they completely ignore me, I'm going to ignore them right back. I imagine they will howl most piteously when they discover I have dissed them on your blog.

drey: Oooh, you are one brave soul, to put up with howling cats... 

How long have you been a writer? When did you realize that this is what you’re meant to do?

Kevin: I started writing in college, after reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ken Kesey was brilliant. My books aren't in his league, but hopefully people are entertained.

drey: Tell us a little bit about the Iron Druid Chronicles… Why a centuries-old druid (as opposed to anything/anyone else)?

Kevin: Part of it was simply because I'm Irish and interested in Celtic mythology. But another part of it was finding a magic user who could communicate with animals—not as a familiar, but as a true companion—because this was always going to be a series about a man and his dog. Making the man a Druid made more sense than making him a demon or a foul-tempered short-order cook.

drey: True, true... And I love the interactions between Atticus and Oberon--they make me laugh!

Can you share your road to publication? How did you celebrate getting published?

Kevin: It took me nineteen years, so my advice to any aspiring authors out there is to keep writing and don't give up. I wrote several books before I wrote HOUNDED. The story of Atticus and Oberon was actually something to keep me busy and entertained while I was waiting to hear back on another book. That book never got published, but once my agent submitted HOUNDED, four different publishers bid on it in just two weeks. After years of rejection, it was overwhelming to see a reaction like that from editors. But it came about partially through some market analysis: write what you want, by all means—I definitely wanted to write about an ancient Druid living in the modern world—but also keep an eye out for niches on the shelves that you can fill. I celebrated filling the Druid niche by drinking a lot with my friends and family at an Irish pub. :)

drey: Who are some of your favorite urban fantasy authors? What impact have they had on your own work?

Kevin: I like many of the same ones most folks do: Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs. Nicole Peeler is brilliant—she always makes me laugh. Every book of hers has a really loud "Bwah hah hah!" in there somewhere for me. Mostly the impact has been an attempt on my part to explore new territory. When you look at Carrie and Patricia's work, they've done werewolves so well that it's difficult to think of how to offer something fresh there. To be different, you almost have to go in the opposite direction, and for me that meant werewolves wouldn't be dominant in my series (heh!) and they'd be lawyers instead of blue-collar types.

drey: Oooh, a new author to stalk--I haven't read Nicole Peeler (yet!), and "bwah hah hah"s are a good thing!

We know that Atticus can slay gods… But let’s play Smackdown: The Urban Fantasy edition. Throw Atticus in the ring against the protagonist of another urban fantasy series. Who’s his opponent, who wins, and why?

Kevin: Regardless of the opponent, it depends on the setting. If you fight Atticus the city, where he's cut off from the power of the earth, you have a shot at winning. If you're outside, he's probably going to take you out, because he's a very skilled martial artist who will never tire so long as he can draw on the earth—and he's immune to most magic.

drey: Dang. I wouldn't want to be on his bad side... Or if I am, I'll have to make sure he's not anywhere near the earth...

What do you do to recharge your batteries?

Kevin: I hug trees. I get out of town and go walking in the forest, watching birds and squirrels and reminding myself that there is much more to life on this planet than whatever's trending on Twitter.

drey: Heh. I tweet when I'm not working, which means I have tweet-spurts followed by a whole lotta nothing...

I haven’t read Hexed or Hammered yet, so don’t know if Hammered is the end of the series. If it is, what’s up next for you? If it isn’t, what can we expect next for Atticus?

Kevin: The series will go on for a while, happily. I'm currently under contract for six books. Book four, TRICKED, will be out April 24, and you can expect some problems with trickster gods in that one. :)

drey: Six books? YAY!! I love it when I can get more of the characters I like... You'll have to visit us again in April!

And last but not least, the quickie-5 (Halloween edition):

1. The Nightmare before Christmas or The Nightmare on Elm Street?
   Tim Burton for the win! 
2. Trick or treat?
   Treats are cool. 
3. Haunted houses or haunted hayrides?
   I prefer houses. 
4. Costumes: Hand-made or Purchased?
   It's all good. It's just fun. 
5. Pumpkin pie or pumpkin seeds?
   PIE!

Thanks for doing this Q&A, Kevin!

Everyone, you can find Kevin online at his website www.kevinhearne.com, on facebook and twitter. And check out his books--I'll have a showcase up next week, but feel free to pick 'em up anyway. *grin*