Hexed

Hexed by Kevin Hearne is the second in the Iron Druid Chronicles. It was another highly entertaining read. And so funny! Events pick up just days after the big show down at the end of book one. Atticus has had time to mostly heal and is now dealing with the fallout of those events. There's the matter of cleaning up the few demons that escaped and a group of Bacchants from Las Vegas has come to town to (literally) tear up the local club scene. Plus a new group of witches is in town, ones Atticus has run into before on the German side of WWII. He's decided to do something he never thought he would - sign an nonaggression treaty with the local coven of witches. Perhaps with a little help from his friends he can get it all taken care of and show more start healing the land.

Oberon is hands down my favorite character. He gets some of the best lines. The conversations between Oberon and Atticus had me laughing out loud. The fact that he speaks telepathically making it so that almost no one else can hear which causes Atticus to attempt to keep a straight face during conversations adds to the fun. It's also neat that the author gives Oberon a "theme" for each book.

Hearne is starting to branch out and mix in other mythologies. The Native American god Coyote makes an appearance and lives up to his trickster ways. Eastern European witchcraft lore is further explained. He even manages to work in the Virgin Mary and some Kabbalah. Everyone from all the pantheons hates Thor which I'm pretty sure is a set up for book 3 since it's titled Hammered. My least favorite part is when the two Celtic goddesses make their appearance. They just didn't fit very well into this book's plot for me so I'm sure that's also a set up for something in the future.

Again I listened to the audio book narrated by Luke Daniels. His performance continues to be top notch. As long as they keep Daniels as the voice actor I'll be continuing this series on audio. show less

Setup from the first novel gave us a slam dunk in the second. I can honestly call myself a new fan of this author. I am already aching to sink my teeth into the third. What I am most pleased about is the well rounded line-up of gods and baddies to do battle with, not that these books are entirely a type of beat-em up fiction. He does a great job with that, but more important is the much better character development. I was already planning ahead for it in the first novel, expecting some great stuff later, and of course it's always a pleasure to be satisfied. It is a shame that the novels aren't bundled together, but that can also be expected for later. It's pretty obvious the third is very closely tied to the first two. I'm reminded of show more Butcher's Dresden, that is also clumped together naturally.
I'm really enjoying this guilty pleasure series. :) show less

I'm enjoying the Iron Druid series and feel Hexed lives up to the promise of Hounded. I find them both to be fast, engaging reads, with a host of interesting characters, from the main ones to the minors. Hexed has a load of action, perhaps too much, but it's largely appropriate, as a couple conflicts are fall-out from Hounded, and the new one involves an invading witch group. I enjoy the complexity of Atticus, from his seemingly extreme distrust of witches, to his committed friendship with his wolfhound, to new details we learn about him during WWII. Oberon, his hound, continues with his clever remarks and provides quite a few laughs.

I really enjoy the earth magic Atticus uses and feel its a different angle on the road to power and show more magic systems. I find it interesting that he seems to feel restoring life to the forest destroyed in Hounded is so important, but unfortunate that he gets minimal time to do so in Hexed. I look forward to learning why he hasn't recreated a druidic grove and what the implications will be.

I know some feel like he is too powerful, but ultimately, he is supposed to have two millennia to refine and gather his power--that's a whole lot of time. I also believe Hearne is using the terms "gods" much like the Greeks and Norse did--immortal members of a pantheon of deities, but certainly not all-powerful or all-knowing. Understanding that helps make it clear how Atticus can beat a "god." I also feel his tips to the goddesses about amulet making help give the impression of how time-consuming some of that learning can be.

As a matter of fact, that leads me to one of my only quibbles with the series, in that Atticus "feels" and acts so young--a little too contemporary. Reactions to attractive young mortal women seem to encourage the sense of youngness, in that he is very embarrassed by his reaction to his apprentice. There is a section in Hexed that deliberately deals with language "updating," and Atticus giving hints to another long-lived entity. But he generally seems and acts like a contemporary, spending very little time meditating/ experimenting/ practicing, and mostly maintaining his business, socializing with the neighbor and going for runs with Oberon. In short, he feels and acts like a young modern soul.

Nonetheless, his story is engaging and the cast of side characters are fascinating. I plan to continue the series and will undoubtedly put it on auto-buy. show less

I thought there was a lot of potential in the first book of this series, and I am happy to see it is expanded on in Hexed. Here, a coven of evil witches makes a move on Malina’s territory, which also happens to be Atticus’. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the followers of Bacchus have also dropped into town to unleash chaos via uninhibited orgies, there’s a fallen angel killing high-schoolers and everyone wants Atticus to kill Thor. Just another day in the life of a druid.

The first book disappointed me because everything came to Atticus; someone would conveniently tell him what he needed to know so he never had to be proactive. Thankfully, that is not the case here. The book is very fast paced since there are so many fires for show more Atticus to put out. This means he has to plan, negotiate and work out how to tackle each crisis. There was a lot of planning involved, with Malina’s coven and Leif, plus the return of Laksha. There’s also a lot of humor here, specifically from Atticus’ knowledge and appreciation of pop culture. I love that he’s trying to teach Leif how not to sound like a stuffy vampire!

I did have a couple of issues with the book. The Morrigan and Brighid both make appearances that go on too long and serve no purpose to the current plot. And, a noticeable amount of the book is taken up with setting up the next book, which will no doubt deal with Thor (and everyone wanting him dead). I don’t mind some build-up for the next book; but it should come near the end, and not at the expense of the story currently being told. However, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story and I do look forward to the next installment.

Overall, a nice improvement over the first book with some character growth and expanded cast. Recommended to fans of urban fantasy. show less

This review is also on my blog at: http://abnormallyparanormal.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-hexed-by-kevin-hearne.ht...

Okay, I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib laughing through this one, since I can feel the pain in my right side. This book went to epic levels of hilarity, and I could not—NOT put it down. That, for me, is saying a lot, because I usually have no trouble putting a book down and doing other stuff. But, not with Hexed. Atticus put a binding spell on my copy, so when I started to read it, I could only get about 10 feet from it before I found myself right back at the bookshelf I keep it on. It was the weirdest thing ever!

I say this only because I am completely convinced that Atticus is real, and so are all the other amazing show more characters in this series. Kevin Hearne does a brilliant job of giving each of his important characters detailed little nuances that all real people have—for example, Atticus loves omelets for breakfast and whole wheat toast with orange marmalade. Oberon loves steak (of course, what dog doesn't?). It's things like this that make me believe that they both actually live in the Tempe, Arizona area and that if only I'd drive over there, I might find Atticus' house, and run into his super hot vampire attorney, the famous Leif Helgarson!

Uh, oh... Here comes a long spiel (or squeal?) on how much I love the vampire Leif Helgarson, the famous vampire who isn't famous—or, at least everybody in the book seems to know who he is, yet Atticus can't figure out why, since the man himself claims he is not famous. He is the reason my rib is busted because he's just so ridiculously hilarious, I couldn't not laugh hard enough to crack it. I found myself obsessively reading this book because I just wanted to find out more about Leif…

Here is he is in a nutshell: Imagine an English butler trying to talk like any typical college frat boy. Now, make sure he's pronouncing everything the way an English butler would, very stuffy-sounding and proper, but using all those hip and cool phrases, like “I'm chill, how 'bout you?” or “Throw down!” when he wants to start a fight. But, of course, he's not even using the correct slang, and saying these phrases more like, “I am cold,” or “Throw up!” Now, you have the most epic vampire in fictional existence trying to be cool, and that fella's name is Leif Helgarson. Leif is the raddest, baddest vampire dude ever, and he makes Dracula look like the mosquito of undead bloodsuckers. (He hates Dracula, by the way.)

If you're a nerd like me, and you want to read a fun and funny book filled with forever quotable quotes and quips, then look no further, folks. show less

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

For centuries, Atticus has been lying low trying to stay under the Tuatha Dé Danann's radar but after what went down in Hounded that's no longer an option. Oddly enough, instead of lining up to kill him, the old Gods want to enlist his help to dispatch some of their own foes. Hexed is another action-packed installment in Hearne's The Iron Druid Chronicles; full of demon hunting, manipulative Celtic goddesses and witchy magic. You can't go wrong with this series on audio; both the writing and the narration are phenomenal. A definite must!

I love how versatile Luke Daniels' narration is; he's a pro at transitioning from one character to the next and does a great job of giving each of them a distinct voice with the show more help of accents, pitch and tone. I especially enjoyed his Coyote persona because he absolutely nailed the Southern twang and slower paced dialogue. His interpretation of Oberon never fails to bring a smile to my face and I think Daniels' has Atticus' POV down to a tee. I was relieved to hear him pronounce "Roosevelt" correctly this time around but he did botch "nocked" (as in an arrow) a few times which was a mild irritant.

The mythology, multiple plot threads and scheming characters help ensure that this book is never dull. There's even a bit of sex in this installment, just probably not the fun kind you're thinking of! Needless to say, the Celtic Chooser of the Slain and the Goddess of War's tastes are anything but vanilla. However, she's not the only Tuatha Dé Danann who's vying for Atticus' attention; Brighid, the Goddess of poetry, fire, and the forge also wants a piece of the druid pie.

Oberon still continues to be the star of this series; from his bath time adventures to his doggy humor, I just can't get enough of his POV. As a dog owner I've often wondered what goes on inside their heads and these books do a great job of playing off of that. Atticus comes in second on my list of favourite Iron Druid Chronicles characters; I love how he can talk circles around practically anyone and, can often times diffuse a volatile situation with logic and reason. However, when all else fails there's always Fragarach or in this case... RPGs!

Hexed combines intense action with quick-witted humour to create an entertaining experience that's truly unique. Kevin Hearne and Luke Daniels are quickly becoming one of my favourite audiobook duos; together they transform Atticus' story into an irresistible, full-bodied adventure. show less

A-

Not quite as good as the first Iron Druid Chronicles book, but I still do not regret the purchase price. Hearne continued to flesh out the characters and, we see the consequences of the actions that Atticus took in the first books. I like that everything is not a bed of roses due to the events in book 1.

Also, Oberon is priceless!