Hunted: By Kevin Hearne

HUNTED

SUMMARY

For a two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt—Artemis and Diana—for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound Oberon are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is . . . run like hell.

Crashing the pantheon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok—AKA the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living—and still have a world to live in.

REVIEW

As I’ve mentioned before I’m a big fan of Kevin Hearne’s The Iron Druid series. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I give this latest addition to the series top marks. What may surprise you are some of the events that take place in Hunted. To say I was shocked by the events that transpired is an understatement. I actually went back and reread the different shocking scenes, moments after reading them (just to make sure I had read the section correctly, and what I thought happened actually did happen.) In fact this literary double take is just my first reaction. Still having just finished the book I’m dumbfounded by the events that came to pass. I don’t want to give anything away but I will say this, Hunted is a game changer. I can’t wait for the next book in the series (Shattered) just to see what happens next.

As for the characters, as usual the characters are amazing. Atticus is one of my favorite protagonists in any book I’ve read, so I always love to read from his perspective. He is an amazing combination of kickass, zen master, and 15 year old boy all mixed into an awesome character who is smart, strong, and resourceful. But I think it’s this the fact that he also makes mistakes that makes him so perfect. He has millennia of experience and but because he's still a human he doesn't know everything. On top of all that he’s funny, he’s happy to run and joke around with Oberon, and he still gets flustered around Granuaile (all very much in line with the 15 year old boy element).  Of course, Atticus isn’t the only awesome character; Oberon and Granuaile are also awesome and provide some absolutely sidesplitting humor.

That said one of my only complaints about the book (and remember this is only a very minor complaint) is Granuaile’s POV that Hearne switched to in this book. I don’t have a problem with Granuaile as a character. In fact, I think she’s an awesome character. She’s fierce, strong, and fresh enough to all of this that readers are able to see a new side of druid life through her. What I had a problem with was that her thoughts just felt forced. She felt to meta at times, seeming to be an uber sentient being, rather than the character readers have gotten to know over the last few books.

That said, even with that one small issue this book is fantastic. Tons of action, great characters, shocking turns of events that will be sure to leave readers dumbfounded, and at $7.99 it's one of the best deals you're likely to see. Plus to top it all off, Hearne does a fantastic job integrating the different myths into the storyline. All in all I loved Hunted and can’t wait to read Shattered (the next book in the Iron Druid series). Perfect for fans of urban fantasy, myth based fantasy, or anyone looking for a good book.

INFO

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: June 25, 2013

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Iron-Druid-Chronicles-Book/dp/0345533631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372038858&sr=8-1&keywords=kevin+hearne