Hounded: In the first book of the Iron Druid Chronicles we are introduced to our main character, Atticus O’Sullivan, a hot ginger druid who carries a massive sword around, (no no, it’s literally a sword, people!) a magical sword named Fragarach which is how our hero falls into a whole mess of trouble. Oh yeah, did I mention that he is 21…centuries old! After settling down in the Phoenix area of Arizona and being virtually unharassed for several years, Atticus finds himself in a mess of trouble after an old enemy, a very angry Celtic god, finds Atticus and wants to take revenge for their encounter hundred of years ago. So now he will call upon the help of a seductive goddess of death, a vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some Irish luck—to kick some Celtic God arse! Oh and did I mention there is a talking dog, cause there is, and he is by far the best character of the books!
Hexed: Atticus is having some lady trouble, and by lady trouble I mean, witches, demon woman who love to tear people apart after driving them into a lustful fury, and two sexy goddess who want to tie him to the bed. A great deal of the first book leaves things very on-edge in the magical goings on of the Tempe area. The witch coven and Atticus are in a mutual peace treaty (You don’t cross me and I won’t cross you otherwise we have nothing to do with each other). But when a coven of very old evil bitches, ergh, I mean witches, come vying for the localTempe area, the coven seeks Atticus’s help. Atticus realizes that he has dealt with this coven before revealing a part of his past from WWII. Mayhem ensues. I don’t want to mention too much else except there is a rocket launcher involved….
I thoroughly enjoy these books, as someone who likes that urban fantasy type books like the Dresden Files, these books were right up my alley (and kind of literally since I spent 12 years in Arizona as a child so all of the settings are very familiar to me which makes for an even nicer reading experience I believe). The characters are fantastic, and one of the greatest strengths of the book. Believe it or not Atticus is not really the most interesting of the characters, I mean sure, he’s older than Jesus, but being the old one of your kind has got to bring a dude down sometimes. The other characters though, including Atticus’s hilarious Irish wolfhound, Oberon, who is telepathically linked to Atticus. The nice little old lady down the street, the Widow MacDonagh, who knows about Atticus and the magical world by nearly getting killed in the first book, and it doesn’t phase this spit-fire old lady one little bit! Then there are Atticus’s attorneys, a werewolf and a vampire, practicing law cause someone has to keep Atticus out of trouble in the human world just as much as the magical. There are six books currently out in the series, with the seventh coming out in June. There are also seven short stories that take place all around the time of the main storyline. These are short, easy to read, fun books that you can easily down in no time. Like I said, think of the Dresden files, but instead of the cold dingy streets of Chicago, it’s the bright sunshine and heat of the Arizona dessert.