Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Some books are just a fun read. They don’t pretend to be anything other than that. They take you to interesting places full of fascinating people where, for a short while, we can forget the horrible weather outside or the lack of cash in our pockets and just smile at the adventure we are absorbed in. Hounded is such a book.

Atticus O’Sullivan is a good-looking Irish lad who runs a New Age store in Tempe, Arizona. To most people who meet him, he’s an easygoing 21-year-old, full of charm and wit with a devilish twinkle in his eye.

However, Atticus is far more than what he seems. For a start, he’s a 2,100-year-old druid who communicates telepathically with his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. He employs a couple of lawyers who just happen to be a vampire and a werewolf, plus a coven of witches are showing an unhealthy amount of interest in him. There’s also the matter of a rather upset Celtic god of love called Aenghus Og, from whom Atticus stole a magical sword. Tempe might have been a great place to hide from the troubles of the Old World but now Atticus’ past is about to catch up with him.

Hounded is the first in a series of books about Atticus and it’s a wonderful introduction to the characters and their world. Hearne reveals just enough of Atticus’ back-story as, and when, it’s needed. He drops hints throughout of much bigger story waiting to be told, as it’s not just Celtic gods who still wander the earth but the whole pantheon from every religion across the world. Hearne very skillfully weaves these elements into the rollercoaster of a plot, never allowing anything to slow the pace down while enriching events as he does so.

In many ways, Atticus is the ultimate comic book fanboy wish fulfillment. Women immediately fall for his charms, he’s always got a witty one-liner on hand, magical powers not only keep him young but also can deal with almost any threat, plus he has a magical sword for when the shit really hits the fan. However, for someone who is 2,100 years old, he talks a little bit too much like a hip 21-year-old, dropping pop culture references from Battlestar Galactica to Kill Bill and everything in between, relying on his street smarts to outwit his opponents. There is neither the world-weariness that one would normally expect from someone so old nor the wisdom. But Hearne hasn’t set out to write a deep and heavy book on the perils of immortality. Instead, he wants the reader to dig into their popcorn and just have a good time.

Hearne writes with great humor throughout, equally comfortable cracking jokes as he is in handling the action. There is never a dull moment that makes Hounded very difficult to put down. He’s tapped a rich vein with Atticus, creating a character that will never run out of stories to be told, set either in the present day or from any time in his past. In many ways, tapping into his past may be a wonderful way to continue the series if the brief, tantalizing peaks into his history thorough out Hounded are anything to go by.

As winter draws in, close the curtains, turn off the doom and gloom that’s out in the real world, settle down in front of the fire, and hang out with Atticus O’Sullivan instead. There’s never a dull moment with him.

There are three books out so far in the series – Hounded, Hexed, and Hammered– with a fourth, Tricked, coming in April 2012.

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