Review of The Iron Druid Chronicles, books 1-3, by Kevin Hearne
book 1 – Hounded
book 2 – Hexed
book 3 – Hammered
Kevin Hearne is a new writer on the paranormal/urban fantasy scene and he brings a refreshing new angle to this heavily trod genre of late with his marvelously conceived main character, Atticus O’Sullivan, a 2100-year old druid living in present day Tempe, Arizona. Celtic myth and legend have always intrigued the hell out of me. After spotting the catchy covers for Hounded, Hexed, and Hammered while browsing at Barnes and Noble, and then reading their enticing jackets, I was hooked. I went with the audio versions, and I’m glad I did. Narrator Luke Daniels did a terrific job of handling a diverse cast of characters. One of the most endearing of these is Atticus’s dog, an Irish wolfhound named Oberon. He reminded me a bit of Scooby-Doo. Atticus and Oberon are able to communicate mentally which often results in very amusing dialogue between the two. It’s also a great advantage for coordinating efforts when facing off with their enemies.
The Iron Druid Chronicles gets its name from an iron amulet that Atticus crafted over the centuries and bound to his aura. It serves as a ward against hostile magic directed at him. It also has a number of charms enabling reflex-like speed to do things like boost strength or see thru magic glamours (he calls this one his faerie specs).
As the last druid of his kind, Atticus has a load of other awesome abilities at his disposal. For example, he’s able to draw energy from contact with the Earth to increase his speed and strength, never tire out while running, and rapidly heal himself as necessary. He can shape-shift, call on elemental beings for favors, and create bindings between living things and natural materials. In addition to his magic talents, Atticus can fight with all the skill and savage intensity of a Celtic hero of old with the benefit of 2000 years of martial experience. He isn’t an immortal like Highlander Connor MacLeod though; he’s simply stopped the aging process at the tender age of 21. His secret is a special tea he developed with his druidic herbal knowledge called Immortali-Tea. He sounds like a real badass but Atticus actually exudes an amiable sweet boyish manner and his quick-witted mind has adapted well to the culture of the current times as he has transitioned from one period into the next.
The narrative of the books is almost entirely in first person from Atticus’s point of view, so it proceeds in an easy to follow conversational manner. To partake in the character development and understand the intertwining behind the various major conflicts which tumble from one book into the next, the books should definitely be read in their published order. Hearne does a fine job of revealing bits and pieces of Atticus’s past, explaining his system of magic, and filling out the structure and expanse of the world as the narrative moves ahead. There’s a whole mess of supernatural beings running around in Hearne’s world; he doesn’t stop with the Tuatha De Danann of Celtic myth. Figures from several other ethnic pantheons and cultural traditions are pulled from and sometimes re-imagined in a new light. It seems a bit overcrowded and chaotic. Fortunately, many of these Old World gods are content to stay in their own plane of existence with little if any intrusion into present day human affairs. Others, namely those of the paranormal variety, coexist with humans. They generally try not to draw too much attention to themselves but not to the extent of denying their basic nature. Included are the usual suspects: werewolves, vampires, witches, and demons.
Atticus keeps a law firm on retainer to help him finesse his way out of hard to explain situations that his druidic activities sometimes get him into (like when wolfhound DNA is found in the wounds of a recently slain park ranger near his home). The firm is run by Gunnar Magnusson, alpha of a pack of werewolves that have claimed Tempe as their territory. Gunnar is a real Viking, reputed to have come across to North America with Erik the Red. Atticus usually deals with Hal Hauk though, Gunnar’s second, or another associate, Leif Helgarson, an ancient Icelandic vampire. Hearne explains the unusual association of the vampire and the werewolf pack as a result of having a common enemy, Thor.
In Hounded, Atticus is roused from his laid back decade long seclusion as the proprietor of a new age book shop in Tempe. Rather than cut and run, he decides to make a stand vs. Aenghus Óg, a Celtic god who’s been hunting him ever since Atticus made off with Aenghus’s favorite magic sword centuries ago. Minions sent by Aenghus and meddling by other Celtic deities keep Atticus busy. Ultimately, he and Aenghus go mano a mano.
In Hexed, Atticus must confront the aftershocks stemming from his fight with Aenghus Óg. A couple of nasty demons got loose during the battle. It also attracted the attention of other supernatural beings who perceive Atticus as a real threat or want to ally with him and use him for their own selfish ends. A group of Bacchants (worshipers of Bacchus, Roman god of Wine and Ecstasy) from Vegas invade and a coven of German witches known as the Hexen are drawn in as well. The Hexen have crossed paths with Atticus before (they partnered with the Nazi’s during WWII) and are eager to bring him down this time. Meanwhile, Atticus agrees to take on an apprentice, Granuaile, has a romp with The Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of death, and manages to continue eluding the police who link him to a number of strange goings-on.
In Hammered, Atticus journeys to Asgard, realm of the Norse gods, after having finally given in to his vampire friend Leif Helgarson’s long standing call to help him kill Thor. Yes, really. Talk about turning a popular heroic icon on its head, lol. Apparently – despite his celebrated stature as a champion of goodness and vanquisher of evil – Thor is one hell of a gigantic douche-bag. An assassination squad is assembled to take him down. Each member of the squad tells a sob story of Thor’s treachery which lends a degree of justification for their dire plan. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy into any of it at all. The image of Thor as a capricious trickster was – to me – preposterous. It would’ve been completely plausible if Hearne instead had used Loki for this role. Thor might be a crass oaf at times, but he has a good heart and he just plain kicks ass. To completely invert his standing as Hearne does was asking too much. Not only that, the actual fighting lacked tension, so the story sort of fell flat. There were other lesser problems too. Atticus has a bar chat with Jesus that was corny and out of place. A number of pop-culture references and analogies were clunky and distracting. Granuaile has but a brief appearance early on which was a shame since there is ripe material to build on with her. If anything, I think Hammered should’ve had a hefty number of pages spent on Granuaile’s continued training and Atticus’s relationship with her.
Needless to say, Hammered wasn’t quite on par with the first two books. Aside from shortcomings noted already, I think the basic problem was Hearne tried to shove in and juggle too many other diverse mythic elements and the result was an eclectic mishmash with little hint of the original druid flavor that is the standout strength of this series. I’ll keep reading because I love the character concept of Atticus. I just hope the main story gets back on track. The next installment, Tricked, is due out April 24, 2012. Reportedly, more books will follow.
Hounded 8/10
Hexed 7/10
Hammered 6/10
The Iron Druid Chronicles (so far…)
7/10