Hexed by Kevin Hearne

As part of the Iron Druid read-along, Kat is adding her review of Hounded to Percy’s 2015 review.

You shall not suffer a witch to live. Well, unless they aren’t so bad. Or you want to make peace with them. Or. Wait, let me start over. Witches that try to kill you, well, you should try and kill them first. Welcome to Hexed.

Title: Hexed
Author: Kevin Hearne
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 02
Publish Date: January 1, 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: Atticus 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.

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

Kat Mandu says…

Hexed picks up right where Hounded left off: with Atticus due to sign a non-aggression treaty with the local Polish witch coven and its leader, Malina. The coven is taking fire from a wicked German coven who have Bacchants as allies, so they’re requesting aid from Atticus. All in all, these baddies lead our not-so-humble Druid badass into a lot of bloody battles.

I really enjoyed the fight scene with Coyote and Atticus while they were taking down the fallen angel. Lots of chaos that was written well. Probably my favorite scene in the whole book.

Sadly, I think I’m enjoying the story more than the characters. Atticus is too complicated for me. Over two thousand or more years old has given him a lot of knowledge of magic and history. But it does nothing for his social life beyond him knowing how to blend in as a human and with other creatures of the supernatural world. I feel like he’s incredibly naive despite his age. It’s weird to explain. He’s trying to protect his friends but he’s also always leading them into situations where it’s necessary for him to protect them in the first place. Plus, he may have friends in high places, but I feel like he takes advantage of their friendship a lot.

I mean, even Hal, his lawyer, doesn’t want his werewolf pack entangled in his messes because he involved them in the first place. Maybe it’s his character flaw? I’m not sure, but I’m not a fan of him so far – though, I’ll admit I do enjoy the perviness Atticus exudes. Poor guy is definitely not afraid to get naked.

Overall, I enjoyed the storyline involving the Auroras coven versus the Hexen. However, I’m not sure where the whole Kabbal/Hammers of God is going. I’ve read the back cover of Hammered enough to know they’re featured in the next book, but I didn’t quite understand what they were doing in this one beyond being introduced. It felt out of place amidst all the excitement. It wasn’t a bad story, just seemed off-putting at times, especially when the Rabbi is suddenly in the middle of the ending battle.

For that, this gets four stars.

Also, I love Oberon.

Percy Procrastinator says…

What I didn’t like: I can’t think of a darn thing I didn’t like.

What I liked: The whole book. I have read many books that ramble and it feels like filler. With this book, the next thing I knew, I was at the eighty percent done point! I enjoyed watching Atticus and the coven interact. I still enjoy his relationship with his dog, Oberon. Again, a good book about someone who has been around for a long time and seen tricks, even if he can’t always counter them. The history of the many different groups involved was fascinating, gave me the information I need, but left me wanting more.

What I’m really happy about, though, is that the book isn’t based on flashbacks. The main character is two millennia old and the author could easily use flashbacks to relate this to something else. For me, having seen it a lot on TV shows and books over the past two decades, it’s now an overused trope. So the one flashback that happens, is completely relevant, told well, and doesn’t detract from what is currently happening.

I stayed up late to finish the book when I saw I was over eighty percent done. And I’m ready to read the next one!

This is a strong five book in an already good series.

Our reviews in this series…

Percy reviewed the first book in this series, Hounded.

Ivana has reviewed the audio versions of later books in this series:

Trapped Book 5
Hunted Book 6
Shattered Book 7

Other reviews…

If you like this book…

Besides the normal urban fantasy types, I think anyone who likes the White Wolf RPG Scion would be interested in this book. A lot of themes, although certainly not exactly the same, are here and it would be a good example of how to do that style of game.