Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1

Very high on the list. The perfornance was admirable and the tone and inflection of voice gave a emersive experience. The book scratched an itch I didn't even knew I had.

The conversations with the protagonist and his dog. It gave me a real Scooby Doo for adults feel and the comic relief was great for spacing the drama.

Each character got their own unique voice and they sounded in pitch in tone the same way they behaved. It was truly theatre of the mind and I wallowed in it.

I laughed many times during this book and immediately purchased the subsequent books in the series and finished them within 48 hours. I was smiling the whole time and nearly destroyed my penchant for overbearing cynicism.

My hat is off to the author for somehow convincing his publisher to let the book go to press without a clear romantic interest for the protagonist. It took me nearly a week to realize what was different about it and I appreciated the subtlety. There is an easy manner to the story that really lets you kick your feet up. It's not boring or a rip roaring ride. It just feels good like sitting at the ocean and feeling the gentle breeze cascade over your skin while the waves crash against the surf. It promotes a catharsis while discussing violence in a sinister way. Words fail so I will say this. I have been a member for over a year and I have never even considered writing a review until now, even for some of my favorite authors. This is truly a buried treasure that shouldn't be missed for any modern fantasy fan boy.

I chose this novel based on the synopsis and the sample of the narrator. I was unfamiliar with the series and the author. And I've been delightfully surprised. I very much enjoyed the story arc. The characters are well developed and intriguing. I was curious enough to look up the author's web page and found more interesting background information and - Joy! - more novels in the series. I like to follow series characters and as long as Kevin Hearne continues to offer adventures and challenges of Atticus O'Sullivan's life, I will be a dedicated follower. If you enjoy wizardry, fantasy, good vs evil and epics about ancient gods, mixed in with a bit modern dry wit, you will most likely enjoy this story. I feel the narrator did a great job with Atticus's personality. I will be enjoying this story and those to follow many times. And perhaps more importantly to the author, I'll be yakking to all who will listen about the latest great book I've found.

Great modern fatasy read. And it's NOT a cloaked romance like so many fantasy books these days.

I've listened to the all three of the Druid Chronicles books that have been released so far, and they're fantastic listens. The stories are great. They're engaging and fun from beginning to end. In terms of entertainment, they're the equivalent of big summertime movie blockbusters. I'm now officially a fan of Kevin Hearne.

I also want to compliment Luke Daniels, the narrator. He did these books to perfection. He was a perfect match for the material and greatly enhanced the experience. Because of him, I'll follow this series exclusively on Audible.

Another reviewer compared this to Jim Butcher's excellent Dresden series, and Kevin Hearne's work so far does compare quite favorably to that high mark. The setting is modern-day Arizona, but all the trappings are fantasy: druids, witches, werewolves, vampires, and a healthy bag of mixed gods. There's bawdiness and language enough to make this one for grown-up readers, though I'll say none of it is overdone or forced. The most fun aspect of the book is the relationship between the druid and his dog: think back to the classic (and somewhat underground) science fiction movie "A Boy and his Dog" and you'll get the flavor of Atticus' relationship with his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. It was obvious that the reader particularly enjoyed voicing Oberon, and more than once I found myself chuckling aloud at the great characterization. The story itself was well paced and engaging and I was sorry to have it end though I didn't feel cheated. I'm off to work on book 2 now.

I don't usually write reviews, but I really enjoyed this book and figured I should. A very original concept, easy to follow, laugh out loud funny at times, and all together well written. The Narrator is amazing. Adding in a dog as a "talking" character can sometimes go wrong. But Oberon MAKES the book, well Luke Daniels voice of Oberon makes the book! Highly recommend it.

The Narration was finely nuanced and the accents chosen were well done; amazingly so for an American as I normally do not expect them to do accents as well as classically trained british actors The choice of voice for Oberon was just perfect.

The Story was well written and the World the author created was well drawn I look forward to listening to more of his work as so few mingle well plotted fantasy with deft touches of humor ( his feisty old Irish widow is a classic!)

This book was great. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Atticus and Oberon. The whole thing was action-packed and full of bitingly witty banter between characters. Definitely worth my time.

Amazing! Thats the simplest thing to say. I ran across this book by chance and it blew my mind. I listened to all 3 every hour of the day except to sleep. I listened in the shower, eating breakfast, driving to work, at work, dinner, then until I went to bed. Once in bed I dreamed of this book all night. dreaming of what i think might happen next or just going over the detail of what i had heard already. It was Audio Crack. I am currently recovering while I wait for book 4, but the twitches will have me listen to them again.

HBO Needs to make this into a series like Game of Thrones. If they don't they are full of Shite as Atticus would say. Get this book and when your done and think its the best book you have ever read, then i will call you a fool and hand you book 2. Then your hooked like me on the crack and devour book 3 and chew off your nails while waiting for book 4 in April 2012.

After reading some of the audible listener reviews and catching it on sale, I decided to give this book a try. I'm certainly glad that I did. I tend to listen to romance and paranormal romance. I was reaching slightly out of my comfort zone when I bought this book, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Hounded is the first book in a series, but it can easily stand alone. It has a clear plot and a satisfying ending. It leaves you wanting to read the next book, but not feeling forced to. The world building is brilliant and effortless. The details of the reality the book portrays just seem to flow naturally into the narrative. There's comic relief in the form of his dog, which is truly chuckle-worthy at times.

This truly is a brilliant book, and Luke Daniels delivers a flawless performance. I didn't even ponder my rating. Five stars across the board. Well done!