Great New Urban Fantasy Series

[Xanthe]

I just finished the advance reader's copy of "Hounded" by Kevin Hearne, the first in The Iron Druid Chronicles. Great story and characters, and possibly one of the best dog characters in the urban fantasy genre. Most of all, the author has a sense of humor and it comes through in his writing. The author also researched his mythologies and that also comes through; we've all read those books where an author throws in a few well-known names from Celtic mythology and, hey presto! they've written an urban fantasy novel. I like that this author also included some bits from Slavic, Nordic and Native American mythologies.

Here's the blurb from the book:

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors think that this handsome, witty, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old - when in actuality, he is twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: he draws power from the earth and wields a magical sword. Unfortunately, an very angry Celtic god wants that sword and he's hounded Atticus for generations. To thwart this determined deity, Atticus will need all the power he can muster to deliver himself from evil.

The blurb doesn't really do it justice. The reviews should start showing up on Amazon shortly so you can get more information there. The main character is well-defined as are the secondary characters; you're given enough information about them to want to find out more.

It's not a Dresden files knock-off; I think I like Atticus O'Sullivan better than Harry Dresden (though I do like that series too), because he's more comfortable in his own skin and not handicapped by modern culture. He's also not one of the New Age types of Druids who dress in white robes and prance around standing stones: he's rather low-key and knows when to be honorable and when to fight dirty.

The book is being issued by Del Rey and will be released on May 3rd, with the next two books in the series coming out in subsequent months. I'll definitely be buying them.

(I have no connection to anyone involved with this book)

[FizzyWater]

Sounds interesting, but I'll never remember it two months from now...

[Xanthe]

That's what I use my Amazon Wish List for - reminders of books I want to buy.

[LCF]

If this dog is cooler than the one in "A Night in the Lonesome October", then it's a must read

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Sounds interesting, but I'll never remember it two months from now...

I find Google Calendar great for things like that.

The book sounds very interesting.

[natasha_fawn]

That does sound interesting. Your description reminds me vaguely of some of Charles de Lint's books.

[Xanthe]

There is sort of a de Lint air about some of it, though I wouldn't say there are direct similarities.

I wrote to the author and he said that he is deliberately including gods from multiple pantheons because he's always been "bugged" as an urban fantasy reader that writers tend to limit themselves to a certain few. He said that in the next books there will be gods from the Russian, Finnish, Native American and Chinese pantheons, among the more familiar ones (I suppose given the fact that the main character is a Druid there's no avoiding the Celtic crowd - lol).

@ LCF: I never read that one, so I looked it up. Oberon isn't a familiar like Snuff seems to be - he's an actual dog who is Atticus' pet. Because Atticus is able to communicate with him mentally, they have become friends. His understanding and behavior is more in keeping with that of an intelligent dog than a familiar. He came from a rescue ranch in Massachusetts.

<I thought you said never to attack humans.>

She hasn't been human for a very long time.

<All right. I do not think she will attack. She is a very nice inhuman.>

You mean nonhuman. Inhuman is an adjective, I said as I rose from the lawn and padded softly around the left side of the house to the backyard.

<Hey, I'm not a native speaker. Give me a break.>

and:

<You think she's going to try something? Should I move behind her?>

No, she knows you're there. She can see through the camouflage. But I think she's hiding something from me, and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

<When did she drop the first shoe? I missed it.>

[FizzyWater]

Have you tried Mark del Franco's Convergent World series? If you have, how would it compare IYO?

[gmw]

Sounds like a good read, and I am very pleased to see more coming out in quick succession, I like not having to wait. Thanks for the recommendation, this is definitely going on my list.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Have you tried Mark del Franco's Convergent World series? If you have, how would it compare IYO?

I read the first couple of books in that series a while ago and enjoyed them. Haven't read the recent ones - mainly because I sometimes like to let a couple of books in a series pile up so that I can read them in one fell swoop. I remember them reading more like detective stories. I had to look up the series on Amazon to refresh my memory.

Unlike Connor, Atticus is not any type of "investigator" per se, nor does he work (as of the first book anyway) in conjunction with the police. Although he does not flaunt any type of wealth (he lives in a modest home and rides a bicycle to work), he does mention that he's made some good "long-term" investments. He's also not written as a "wounded reluctant hero" nor is there that element of "inter-office politics"; he's apparently had joys and sorrows in his life but has been able to deal with them. The emphasis seems to be on his long life and what he has experienced - he tells his dog a story about riding with Genghis Khan's Horde, for example. Atticus' connection to and veneration of the Earth seems stronger than Connor's.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

IAtticus' connection to and veneration of the Earth seems stronger than Connor's.

Yeah, Connor's a rather spoiled baby - or was. He has improved a bit over the life of the series.

Thanks for the info!

[phenomshel]

I *will* be buying this the second it's available, LOL. Sounds great, thanks for the tip!

[Xanthe]

I've been following what the reviewers have been saying on Amazon and so far they've been agreeing with my assessment of this book.

[covingtoncat73]

This sounds like something I'd enjoy. I hope that some other store like B&N, Borders, or BAM has it in ePub.

[covingtoncat73]

Ha! Found it for pre-order on B&N for 7.99.