Besieged

Stories from The Iron Druid Chronicles

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

In the ninth installment in Kevin Hearne’s New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles, the ancient gods are still wreaking havoc today in this hilarious, action-packed collection of original short stories featuring Atticus O’Sullivan.

In ancient Egypt, Atticus agrees to raid a secret chamber underneath the library of Alexandria, dodging deadly traps, only to learn that on-site security includes two members of the Egyptian pantheon.

At a Kansas carnival, fun and games turn to murder and mayhem, thanks to soul-snatching demons and flesh-craving ghouls luring visitors into an all-too-real house of horrors.

In olde England, striking up a friendship with William Shakespeare lands both Atticus and the Bard in boiling hot water with a trio of infamous witches.

During the Gold Rush, the avatar of greed himself turns the streets of San Francisco red with blood and upsets the elemental Sequoia. Atticus may have to fight fire with fire if he’s going to restore balance.

More, you say? Indeed there is—including bogeymen, vampire hordes, wrathful wraiths, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. Prepare to be besieged with ten tantalizing tales—not to be missed, never to be forgotten.

Don’t miss any of The Iron Druid Chronicles:
Hounded | Hexed | Hammered | Tricked | Trapped | Hunted | Shattered | Staked | Scourged | Besieged

©2017 Kevin Hearne (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Kevin] Hearne is a terrific storyteller with a great snarky wit. . . . Neil Gaiman’s American Gods meets Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden.”—SFFWorld

“[The Iron Druid books] are clever, fast-paced and a good escape.”—Boing Boing

“Hearne understands the two main necessities of good fantasy stories: for all the wisecracks and action, he never loses sight of delivering a sense of wonder to his readers, and he understands that magic use always comes with a price. Highly recommended.”—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Short or full-length, Hearne & Daniels OWN it all

THE EYE OF HORUS ~ 4 Stars
This is a campfire tale narrated by Attitus to Granuaile and Oberon, but it predates the IRON DRUID CHRONICLES, so Luke Daniels adopted an old Irish accent for the dialogue which was almost as fun to listen to as Owen’s. Readers discover in part how the protagonist became the Iron Druid which is a tidbit that’s mostly glossed over in the full-length books, thus I really enjoyed unraveling that mystery, plus the usual Siodhachan takes on an impossible task for a God in exchange for a future favour plot line.

GODDESS AT THE CROSSROADS ~ 3.5
This one was a barrel of laughs! The hero and William Shakespeare go witch hunting, and find more than they bargained for. O’Sullivan is pretending to be a French nobleman, so that he can “misunderstand” questions that he doesn’t want to answer, and the Bard is drunk for most of this short which makes them quite the pair. Turns out that we can credit our favourite Druid for a key piece of poetry in MacBeth! GODDESS AT THE CROSSROADS had nothing to do with the main story arc however, it was entertaining.

THE DEMON BARKER OF WHEAT STREET ~ 3 Stars
I liked this segment the least, probably because it revolved around Granuaile. It was a play on Heaven & Hell, but carnival-style. The Irish Wolfhound stole the show at certain points, and the narrative was a bit darker than what we’re used to with a pretty high body count. Although, it did serve as a lesson for the female lead that being a Druid isn’t all roses and fairy dust, it’s ghouls and reapers too.

GOLD DUST DRUID ~ 4.5 Stars
Attitus shares another tale from his past however, Oberon chimes-in throughout the account with star ratings which were freaking hilarious. His fearless leader doesn’t even get to finish his first sentence before the pooch gives him 1-star because “many books suffer the same fate”—a shot at SCOURGED’s Goodreads page? Luke Daniels had to pull-out his Italian and English accents for this Wild West short, and Kevin Hearne kept me happy with little gems such as the looming french fry-magedon. Haha!

THE BOGEYMAN OF BOORA BOG ~ 4.5 Stars
Owen regales Greta with the story about how he met Siodhachan, and became his mentor. This morsel was fairly disturbing as well but, it takes place before the near extinction of Druids, so we do get to touch base with another of Gaia’s recruits. The Morrígan pops-in, and does a bit of foreshadowing about Time Isle, and we learn that the events from THE BOGEYMAN OF BOORA BOG are responsible for the archdruid teaching his apprentice that it’s ok to bend or even break the rules when necessary.

CUDDLE DUNGEON ~ 5 Stars
We haven’t seen much of Perun, the Slavic God of Thunder, since HAMMERED which is a shame because he’s a real hoot! He and Flidais are looking to spice-up their love life, so they visit an S&M dungeon where she assumes the role of dom. What starts off on a light note quickly turns sour, and their relationship takes a turn for the worse. I have a feeling that their drama may continue to play-out in the final installment, or that might just be me hoping that Kevin Hearne will humour fans.

BLOOD PUDDING ~ 4 Stars
Granuaile’s POV is font-and-center again which would normally have me strongly considering hitting fast forward, however she actually wasn’t too bad in this short. We catch-up with her in Poland which could have almost been her intro scene at Rúla Búla. Leif has tasked her with clearing out a vampire nest with a group of mercenaries, and some amusing flirting ensues. I wish that we got to see this side of her character more often because then I wouldn’t cringe every time she opens her mouth.

HAUNTED DEVILS ~ 4.5 Stars
The Elementals don’t often ask the Druids to heal an entire species of animals, so when the call goes out, both Atticus & Owen answer. Circumstances force Greta & O’Sullivan to collaborate, and the problem in Tasmania provides a glimpse of things to come once Loki starts his end game. This tale was also an eye-opener for the archdruid in that he realizes that his pupil is the bridge between the old world and the new, and he acknowledges that he’s proud—so many feels!

THE END OF IDYLLS ~ 5 Stars
The protagonist has mentioned his first companion a couple of times in passing throughout this series, and in THE END OF IDYLLS Siodhachan tells Oberon what happened to him, and why it took him so long to open his heart to another. The Morrígan announces the onset of Ragnorok, and sets the tone for the last novel. Luke Daniels adds yet another voice to his arsenal, and I can’t tell you how psyched I am to listen to his narration of the finale! *sniff*

Love the short stories, adds so much!

This is a great book that adds a lot to the overall storyline. Please read!

Excellent!!!

I love Luke Daniels, he does an amazing job with all the voices and narrates very well. I am looking forward to listening to Scourged next.

Just not enough!

The time spent with Atticus, Oberon and the rest is like spending time with friends. And you hate to see them go!

Amazing as always

Few living artists weave a story with such apparent ease as Kevin Hearne. This newest chronical of the Iron Druid series is great and as usual Luke Daniel's is a pleasure to listen too.

Worth every minute

As much as I would've preferred to hear them all in order with the novels, they're all fabulous.

love it all

great story, great characters, wish I could see it all on video so that I could share it with others

Good book just started

I just started book but my brother recommended it and he has the same interest as I do. I really like the narrator makes it very interesting.

great short storys and voice actor

love this entire series. great attention to detail. the voice actor captures all the characters

Brilliant use of short stories to setup finale

Would you listen to Besieged again? Why?

Yes, because I enjoy the play between the characters and ithe stories fills in some holes in the characters back stories. Additionally, the stories sets up the end of the series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Besieged?

I enjoy all the stories and especially the additional stories by Owen.

What does Luke Daniels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love the voices of Luke Daniels as they add the appropriate emotion to the stories. I enjoy the humor of Oberon and the cool brogue of Owen and young Atticus.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes. I really enjoyed the stories narrated by Owen; his swearing was epic not to mention imaginative.