Hounded

Hounded is the first in the Iron Druid Chronicles. The book was good, but I'm unsure if I'll read anymore. In my opinion it had three "strikes" against it that I tend to avoid when reading fantasy novels. Strike number one was putting God on equal footing with all the other pantheons that a person could worship. Strike number two was having witches. These weren't the witches found in Harry Potter but the real kind that sign oaths in blood. Strike number three was the use of demons. Now there are two connotations of "demon" in a fantasy novel. In some older fantasy novels "demon" simply means an elemental spirit. Although I would prefer them to use a different word, these aren't so bad in my book. The other connotation is what people normally think of when they hear the word "demon." This book used the latter kind. I know that a lot of readers of fantasy do not have my reservations, but I thought I would give people that do fair warning. :)

That being said the book in itself was good. It follows the life of Atticus O'Sullivan, a two thousand year old druid living in Tempe, Arizona. Everyone assumes that he's 21, and one of the first things he tells you is that when he says he's 21 if people want to assume it's years instead of centuries, then he's not going correct him. The prominent pantheon in this book is the Gaelic one which I found interesting. I had never had much experience with the Gaelic gods and it was interesting to read about them. The main plot of the story is that Aenghus Oh, the god of love, wants Atticus' sword Fragarach to take over the rest of the gods and become supreme ruler. Atticus and his allies want to prevent this. There is a pack of werewolves, a Viking vampire, and Atticus' Irish wolfhound to help him. The story is interesting in its execution and since there are several more books to go you know that Atticus doesn't die. Plus he's got a deal with Morrigan, the Gaelic death goddess that she won't "take him". Even if I wasn't thrilled with certain aspects of the book I did like the character of Atticus and was glad that he won in the end.

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, playing on the idea of the Ghost and Mrs. Muir, is a wonderful mystery with all the right elements in it. Strong female and male characters, a touch of romance and special haunting.

The story continues as follows: Back in 1949 New York PI Jack Shepard came to Quindicott, Rhode Island on a case. He was shot by those who didn't want him to solve the mystery condemning his soul to the bookshop where he breathed his last. Fast forward to the present day. Penelope McClure has just moved back to Quindicott with her young son following her husband's suicide. She takes up residence above her family's bookshop and helps her aunt Sadie get it up and in the black again. The first step in this regard is to get Timothy Brennan to come sign books in the shop. But all turns to mayhem when Brennan is murdered. That's when Shepard shows up to Penelope telling her that he can help her solve the case. At first she thinks she's imagining things. She doesn't believe in ghosts, but a series of events convinces her that she's not hallucinating and together the two of the go forth to solve the murder. This is the first book in the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries and is available on Kindle, Nook, and in paperback.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

            This is just about the only audio book I will ever review on this site because I want you to decide for yourself how you want to enjoy the books I will be reviewing.

            This is the story of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. It tells of the death of Uther, the pulling of the Sword from the Stone, the receiving of Excalibur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Lady of Shallot, and Arthur's death at the hands of Mordred and his eternal sleep in Avalon. The stories are well told, and told elsewhere if you want more than the three track dedication to them in the book itself. An interesting read of England's only true myth.

            I checked it out because of who is reading it: Sean Bean. I have had a Hollywood crush on him for some time and relished the idea of Sean Bean reading me a story. You might know him as Borimir from Lord of the Rings or Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

It is a joke in Hollywood that Bean is the actor they won't let live. He has died in just about 90% of his movies. Yet he is an excellent actor and can play good, bad, and grey characters equally well. I really enjoyed listening to him read the story of King Arthur and really could see him portraying an older Arthur in a movie at some point.