Review: Hexed

Hexed
Kevin Hearne
Urban Fantasy
Iron Druid Chronicles/Book 2
Del Rey/June 7, 2011

*Spoilers for Book 1*

From the back cover ~

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.

After reading Hounded, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles, I was curious as to what would happen to Atticus and his adorable pooch Oberon next. In turns out there is rarely a dull moment in the life a of druid. To say there is a lot going on and numerous characters running in and out of Atticus' life is an understatement.

Atticus doesn't like witches but they have become a part of his life. After the battle in the Superstition Mountains (Hounded), Atticus has reluctantly decided to form what you would call a non-aggressive alliance with the local coven. Which in theory sounds easy enough - sign some papers in blood and you're done. But it takes Atticus a while to get to there between threats on his life, visits from goddesses, crazy nosy neighbor, fights, questioning by the cops, a mysterious priest and rabbi, more fights and general mayhem and destruction. This poor guy couldn't get a break! And that was the main problem I had with Hexed. Too many characters and too much going on.

Even with the numerous threads and characters to keep track of, I do enjoy Hearne's writing. Atticus is written in a way that you know he's been around for a long time but he keeps up with the modern world, trying to fit in while not giving up his heritage. He's smart, funny and loyal. Unlike some characters in the series with supernatural powers, Atticus actually gives a damn about others and is not just in the fight for his own benefit. Not that he's opposed to reaping some rewards for risking his life, he just isn't immune to the suffering of innocents.

Atticus continues training his apprentice while trying not to notice how attractive she is. He's amusingly cute when he does this, trying to think about baseball stats instead of how good she looks in, well, just about anything. One thing that I found myself looking forward to are the interactions between Atticus and his hound Oberon. Atticus has the ability to communicate telepathically with Oberon which seems to have strengthen their relationship. They both have a clever sense of humor with Oberon adding a his dog POV.

As mentioned, there are a number of fight scenes and like with Hounded, Hearne writes these well giving the reader a look at how different beings use various means and weapons when fighting. Those scenes have just the right amount of tension, blood and guts without going on for too long.

I'm liking this series but I do hope the next book, Hammered narrows the focus on possibly one main plot and maybe one or two sub-plots, giving Atticus and the reader more time to really focus on a few characters instead of so many.

Rating: B-

*I must say how much I love these covers. It is exactly how I picture Atticus.*

Books in this series ~

Hounded
Hexed
Hammered