Hexed

The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 2

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

BOOK 2 IN THE IRON DRUID CHRONICLES

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty - when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Don’t miss any of Kevin Hearne’s phenomenal Iron Druid Chronicles novels:

HOUNDED | HEXED | HAMMERED | TRICKED | TRAPPED | HUNTED | SHATTERED | STAKED

Listen to more Iron Druid Chronicles.

©2011 by Kevin Hearne. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Authenticity, Humor and Brilliant Writing

Authors often use Celtic/Druidic/Pagan ideas, beliefs and characters in their writing as merely functions for a broader story manipulation, paying no attention to the actual mythological history of these characters and concepts. Mr. Hearne is one of only two authors I have discovered who has succeeded in bringing these elements together with authenticity, humor and plain ol’ excellent writing. (I guess that’s what happens when you have a degree in English Education!) And hats off to Luke Daniels for almost perfect pronunciation of those almost impossible-to-pronounce Irish names!

Speaking of Mr. Daniels, his dexterity with dialect is delicious. Through the first two books in this series, he accomplishes Irish (Southern), Tamil, Polish, Russian, American South Western, Scandinavian, “Dude”-ian, and Dog! I don’t know that there has been such a good of a match between author and reader since Jim Butcher and James Marsters.

This would be a mildly entertaining story if not for Mr. Hearne’s exquisite sense of humor. As it is, the book (and series) is an extremely effective, enjoyable, addictive and yes, entertaining, experience. There is a scene in this book where Oberon is trying to impress Atticus with his use of language in order to get a treat. It is brilliantly written and brilliantly performed, and I can’t remember the last time – outside of actual live theatre – that I have been so tickled with hysterics. It is classic, intelligently written, and truly comedic – an almost impossible task that has been achieved by Mr. Hearne. Two other humor points to mention: what Oberon learns from the story of the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and the author’s hysterical use of the word “ass” in many different contexts, will be burned in my Funny Bone Memory forever.

The last time a book made me randomly and breathlessly burst with laughter was David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty One Day.” Expect the same thing to happen with you with this book.

Hexed by the book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

depends on the friend. This book would be more appealing to someone younger

If you’ve listened to books by Kevin Hearne before, how does this one compare?

the story was good until it got to the 2nd book

What three words best describe Luke Daniels’s voice?

engaging; easy; good

Could you see Hexed being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

this book was not as good as the first

Best Part of the Book is the Dog!

STORY (paranormal fantasy) - The cover art for this series might mislead you to think the story is about a warrior in some type of serious battle. Not so. It is light, witty and involves an ancient Druid named Atticus, who looks and acts like a college student. You could sum the whole book up by saying that Atticus constantly finds himself facing a new, different supernatural creature who tries to either cast him under a spell or kill him. He employs two vampire lawyers, owns a magical sword and has an adorable talking dog. He signs a peace treaty with a coven of witches and has a crazy sexual encounter with the Goddess of Death. He approaches the Virgin Mary for help killing an archangel and tells her, "Tell Jesus to stop in for a beer next time he passes through." You get it? Light, easy, fun.

Even though there is clever banter between characters and funny situations, this series isn't really my cup of tea. The constant conflict between supernaturals gets really old. I only listened to this second book because I'm in love with Oberon, his dog. OMG!!! He's so hilarious that he should have his own book. Unfortunately, he doesn't appear enough to hold my interest, so I don't plan to continue listening to this series.

PERFORMANCE - Awesome, wonderful, love him!!! He does everything great, but his portrayal of Oberon is absolutely PRICELESS!!!!

OVERALL - The story stands alone if you want to start the series here. Kids would love this book but there's quite a bit of cursing and some sex, so probably not a good idea.

These Are The Druids You're Looking For.

Looking for the perfect mix of humor and thrills with a twist? These are the Druids your looking for. Hexed and Hounded don't disappoint.

Hexed, the sophomore edition of The Iron Druid Chronicles, is nonstop fun and excitement. Atticus O'Sullivan is a modern day druid, the last of his kind. And lately the crazies have been coming out the woodwork. You would think that defeating a couple of Celtic Gods, exorcising a few demons, and killing half a coven of witches would earn a guy some R&R. Think again. Tempting Tempe, Atticus' little Arizonian oasis is starting to look ripe for the picking to some pretty nasty supernaturals.

A brood of German witches kick off the shenanigans by trying to curse O'Sullivan and the local coven. The murderous attempt is quickly followed up by a demonic straggler left behind by Aenghus Óg. Hearne keeps the pace swift with a visit from Coyote, who informs Atticus of a fallen angel preying on some very unfortunate high school students. Then there are the clergymen snooping around his bookstore, and the cops that just won't go away. But the honey-do list just keeps getting longer since some sin city Bacchants are in town and ready to throw down. Let's Party.

It would be simpler to cut and run, but Atticus has decided that Tempe is home, and he has an obligation to heal the land his prior nemisis destroyed. He's going to have to get help from some familiar characters and strike a few ill advised bargains to get through the nine circles of hellion relatively unscathed, though not unmolested. By the end you'll be wondering which battle was more brutal, golems and demon spawn filled witches, or a tussle in the sack with the Morrigan.

Hexed like Hounded was a witty well written book. There were some serious storylines happening here that could have easily gotten confusing. But Hearne's clever writing allowed for clarity while navigating through the fast-pasted and complex threads. I highly recommend the audio version of this book. The narrator , Luke Daniels, is excellent. Daniels does all the accents spot on, and must be a linguist with how well he speaks all the foreign languages. He really brings the words and characters to life. I think Hearne's biggest strength is the diversity and knowledge in the cultures and supernatural beings. The books seem well researched and work well together.

Maybe it's just me, but I find the succession of this series each consecutive month refreshing. A throwback to the serials of not so long ago. Yet, because they're so good, I swear the wait is still excruciating. Keep Them Coming Kevin.

Could not finish this.

I read a few reviews before purchasing this, all were magnificent, not "pretty good" not "ok" but magnificent. A magical, able to converse with the Druid, Irish Wolfhound who sounds exactly like Scooby Do, a Navajo shapeshifter with a Kentucky coalminer accent. A Druid with the sense of humor of an Eighth Grader. Maybe Eighth Graders are the intended audience. Maybe Eighth Graders wrote the eloquent reviews. This will be my first rejection of an Audible purchase.

Not as good as Book 1

If I were to rate the first three books in this series (book 4 to be released after this review is written), I would start with 5 stars for the first and drop a half star for each subsequent one. I don't think the story in this one was as strong as the first.
I do, however, like Luke Daniels as a narrator. I think he does a good job of bringing the story/characters to life. I will most likely give the 4th book a go if Mr. Daniels is the narrator.
It's a good story, though. Overall, I'd recommend it, just not with as much 'gusto' as the first one. Still, I take it for what it is - entertaining without too much depth.

BONUS BODKINS

DEMON JUICE IS LIKE JAGERMEISTER TO GHOULS
Demons, Witches, Werewolves, Elementals, North American Deity, Vampires and more and that is just the first hour.

I THINK YOU SHOULD ENTER THAT STATEMENT TO WIN THE NOBLE OBVIOUS PRIZE.
There really is not much of a plot to this book. It is more like a bunch of short stories full of fighting paranormal entities, and full of ANIMAL HOUSE type of humor. Perhaps if you smoke some weed and than listen it might be pretty good. Sometimes the humor was cruel, such as getting two cops to beat each other up. All they did to earn this humiliation, was do their jobs. It came off as a THREE STOOGES episode. At times the book was too cute for adults. I agree with other reviewers. The Dog was the best part.

Luke Daniels does a great job, as usual.

Great fun

Even more cheeky, funnier and enjoyable than the first book. I was listening to this on the train and I almost lol'ed! Did I mention this series also has a Viking vampire and werewolf lawyers? I mean what is not to like?

If you don't mind some cliches like wise cracking sidekick, in this case a huge Irish hound named Oberon, and a main character who continuously gets hurt but keeps on ticking, I think you might enjoy this series, too. If you don't like books such as the Dresden series, this series might not appeal to you.

As for myself I think I'll be religiously buying this series from now on.

Simple but enjoyable

When I listened to the first one, I thought it was a but teenager like for me ( I'm 40). After a couple "grown up books" I realized that the simplicity of this book is quite enjoyable. The second is as good as the first. The details and storyline are well written. I'll be listening to a 3rd.

Nice follow up!

Really enjoying this unique series! I'm totally won over by the way he and his dog communicate, and Luke Daniels voicing of the dog is inspired: I'm sure this is exactly how my dog would speak (if only he would choose to). Looking forward to the next book.

excellent series

Brilliantly read and brought to life by Luke Daniels, this is a witty and entertaining fantasy series, cleverly constructed and filled with interesting characters, not least Oberon the food-obsessed dog. The central character Atticus is an ancient but unaging druid - the last of his kind - whose survival into modern day America has relied largely on keeping his head down and staying under the radar of various gods and other supernatural entities only too keen to take him out.
Audible UK dropped these titles for a while, so I hope they get them back and fill out the series with the later entries and forthcoming novels