Fantastic February

Heather's February Book Suggestion

Ever since receiving the invite to this lovely blog, I’ve been on the edge of my seat and happily, quietly following along.  I confess I haven’t been able to do all of the monthly reads, but I’m always here in spirit, and reading along to the ones I can whenever I get a chance.  Ah, the price we pay when raising 4 children under age 6 plus a husband, and playing the role of aspiring writer and author in the couple of hours left over.  (Now you’ve already gathered that I like to write as much as I love to read, so the rest of me is not difficult to figure out either.  I am a domestic goddess, sassy lassy and SAHM.   Sarcastic, candid, a chocolate snob, blogger, writer, and not a bad singer either.)  Enough about me- on to the book of the month!

Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book One by Kevin Hearne

Now I know that urban fantasy novels have been overwhelmingly abundant for the past 10 years or so, and most of them aren’t even worth the paper they’ve been printed on, but I assure you, this one is different. The television, literary, and comic book allusions woven throughout this series make it an enjoyable read for almost anyone, from the traditional Shakespeare junkies to the “fracking cylon” haters, and everyone in between.  (The only downside to this book in my opinion has been the abundant use of the “F-dash-dash-dash word”.  I was willing to overlook it because the story itself is pleasingly plotted and very well written.)  The overall sense of humor and the twists and turns in plot were very satisfactory.  Not to mention, after reading books 1-5 and the novellas in between in less than a 3 week time span (that’s how you know I really love something: when I forsake sleep to get more of it), I unashamedly declare that the main character, Atticus, is more intelligent, masculine, and sexy than anything you’ve read about glittering vampires or the like for the last decade and, also, the next dog I adopt might possibly be named Oberon.  


I know I haven’t given you much to go on as of yet. That’s because there’s no point trying to restate something that was already stated well enough, therefore I have just given you the perfectly adequate synopsis off of Amazon.com:

(http://www.amazon.com/Hounded-Iron-Druid-Chronicles-Book/dp/0345522478/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358627157&sr=8-1&keywords=hounded+the+iron+druid+chronicles.+book+1#_)

Happily, I can also add that the audio version of this series is just as good as reading it from print on your own. The author doesn’t have any dialectical hang-ups or speech impediments that will cause a subconscious stumbling block or distract you from the story in any way, and his ability to highlight and individualize all of the key characters is, truthfully, quite enjoyable and amusing.

For kicks and giggles, I've added some questions for discussion at the end of the month. 

• Which character do you like the most and why? The least and why?
• Did any passage from the book stand out to you?
• Are there situations and/or characters you can identify with, if so how?
• Did the first chapter hook you as a reader or did it take a while for you to get into the story?
• At what point in the book did you decide if you liked it or not? What helped make this decision?
• Name your favorite thing overall about the book. Your least favorite?
• If you could change something about the book what would it be and why?
• Describe what you liked or disliked about the writer’s style?

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have, and I look forward to discussing it at the end of the month!