Hexed

The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 2

By: Kevin Hearne

Narrated by: Christopher Ragland

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

This is book two of the Iron Druid Chronicles. If you would like to hear more, you'll find the first chapter of book three at the end of this recording.

©2011 Kevin Hearne (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

" Hexed is an excellent sophomore effort by Kevin Hearne who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In short, I highly recommend picking up the Iron Druid Chronicles, which just might make you forget about other urban fantasy novels..." ( Fantasy Book Critic)

Why the change in narrator

I heard this book a when it was first released and narrated by Luke Daniels this new guy is just wrong and what has he done to Oberon, Bleerggg.
Otherwise this is a great book I will be changing over to written word for this series

DNF

I was relatively okay with the first book of this series, maybe a 3 had I rated it. Relatively inoffensive with some pretty poor narration.

When a 2000 year old Druid starts blushing like a teenager at the sight of a woman in provocative clothing though? It's so annoying every other little thing that only slightly annoyed me started to feel 10x worse. Particularly the voices of the characters and how Atticus just sounds like an American college kid.

Yeah, not for me.

Great tale, incredibly good narration.

The series has one of the best narration performances I have come across for a while. Christopher Ragland is a contender for the best narrator of audio books.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed book 1. For those who have not read book 1, I recommend starting there first.

Those with rigid religious views should avoid this book. Some references, all with good humor, are made to many religions including christianity. So far in the series the main character has interacted with figures from many religions, including having a beer with Jesus.

The main character can communicate with his dog via some sort of telepathy. Some of the best lines are voiced by the dog. The dialog involving the dog character are very funny, but also convey a child like innocence and the unique quality of K9 enthusiasm familiar to most dog owners. I love the way the narrator voices the dog character.

The author unashamedly borrows from just about every mythology to weave this highly entertaining tale. Witches, Greek Gods and Thor and just some examples of the characters used. In keeping with the humor of this book his layers are Werewolves and vampires.

A light-hearted and enjoyable listen

Story – 4/5

It has been a while since I listened to the first Iron Druid audiobook, and I am not really sure why – it is a very fun series. As the headline says, a very light-hearted and enjoyable listen. The lightness does mean that you never worry for the characters during battles, which is potentially enhanced further by the narration style, but that is fine - as the world and characters are rich with background and humour.

As far as urban fantasy goes, I think Butcher’s Dresden Files beats this due to having more depth, seriousness when it needs it, and I think the wit is a lot sharper. If however you are looking for a good, lighter alternative having already listened to Dresden, then I would recommend this.


Performance – 4/5

Christopher Ragland overall did a very good job. There were a few questionable accents when they were non-American, but it was infrequent and didn’t detract from my enjoyment. His characters each have their own voice, making them immediately recognisable, and he enhanced the light-hearted nature and humour very well. You might argue that he does the latter part too much though, as there was never really a sense of danger in the big battle at the end for atticus, but I think 4 stars is a fair rating for him.


Overall – 4/5

The best group of books since Game of Thrones

What did you like most about Hexed?

I love these books, I've tried many chronicle books since I finished Game of Thrones, but haven't found anything!! These books are amazing and can get you very hooked. Strong characters, excellent names wonderful action!!

What other book might you compare Hexed to, and why?

Lord of the Rings meets World of Warcraft

What about Christopher Ragland’s performance did you like?

Christopher is animated, excellent with different voices and reads perfectly!!

love it

I find the information and details in this book fascinating and can't wait to hear more

Hexed

Just as good as any of tolkien books on middle earth. Difference being this is more believable

Really entertaining

This is another really fascinating story from mr. Hearne. I would, without take any story or line out of the book, recommend this.
Thanks to Christopher for his vivid enthusiasm in making this audiobook, and for making my time off so entertaining!

Not bad, not great.

A fun story, but I got a bit fed up hearing about the numerous ladies the protagonist finds sexually attractive and why. The narrator lost me during the action scenes. He reads them the same as he reads all other scenes, with no sense of urgency or excitement, and I found myself switching off.

light hearted fantasy

Enjoyable escapism. Well read and gripping. I love the banter with the dog. Learnt a lot about different pantheons of God's, Irish, Norse and eastern religion.

awesome!

love it, love it, love it! Kevin Hearne is a genius! On to the next one!

Book 2 just as great as book 1

If you enjoyed the first book then definitely carry on. This series only seems to get better.

Bloody Awful

What made me listen to this drivel after book 1!???!? I had dearly hoped it was going to get better and not sound like part wet dream from some 13year old boy, and part 1980’ male nerd fantasy! The premise was good but the execution is sloppy and poorly written.

And don’t get me started on the narrator.. the ridiculous female voices! What was he trying to achieve? He has somehow made each female character sound like a wannabe soft porn star. Plus his annunciation and pronunciation is like nails down a chalk board. I could weep.

Then his interpretation of the male characters… gah!!!

It’s unfortunate that the story hasn’t held up well as time has passed. The main character lacks empathy, wisdom, morals and is a creep. I wish I hadn’t persevered with the first two books.. I just want to wash the ick off of myself.