Now Reading: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Book One of the Iron Druid Chronicles
Published May 3, 2011
ISBN-10: 0345522478
ISBN-13: 978-0345522474

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

I've been hearing only wonderful things about this new series, so I of course had to give it a try. Like all other reviews have stated, the first few pages have excitement. Atticus has magnificent voice that is reminiscent of Harry Dresden, which in all respect to Kevin Hearne, could very well be the druid's mentor. He has flare and style in the way he moves and talks, and that all shows in the writing.

Atticus wears an amulet imbued with iron, the natural weakness to faeries and all things magical. What I found instantly fascinating is the way that it all is described: Hearne has a finesse about giving you a lot about Atticus's history and what he did to get to this point in his life. I'm only three chapters in, but I can see this series being one to gobble up.

There's a great handful of mythology behind the story, too. Two characters that I've met in a previous series (The Secrets of Immortal Nicholas Flamel), the Morrigan and Hecate (or Hekate), make an appearance. Celtic lore is the backbone of this series and I'm extremely excited to learn more about it.

Review to come.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

Review: The Warlock by Michael Scott

The Warlock
Book Five in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Published May 24, 2011
ISBN-10: 0385735332
ISBN-13: 978-0385735339

Review: 4/5

In the fifth installment of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Nicholas, the Alchemyst, is minutes from death. In a desperate attempt to have him for one more day, his wife, Perry, gives one day of her life to revive Nicholas to health. At this point in the novel, I was more connected to the Flamels as a couple than ever. Perry would truly do anything for Nicholas and this was a fantastic example.

Dr. John Dee is moving ahead with his plan to unleash monsters on the city of San Francisco, all in an attempt to have the people run in fear. He then plans to save the humans from the monsters by summoning the Elders to the city. They will all be worshipped as gods. The plan is foiled to an extent however as the separated twins, Josh and Sophie, miraculously reunite under strange circumstances. However, it is not a happy meeting. They blame each other for choosing the wrong side -- Sophie with the Flamels and Josh with Dr. Dee.

The end of the novel does not, however, leave a hint to the title character as it did in the previous five books. The last chapter of book four had something to the effect of: "The world is in need of a warlock again."

Nothing at the end of this novel. Makes me excited to learn who The Enchantress (title of the sixth book) will be.

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In other news, my good friend and (occasional) blogger Tara is hosting a blogfest for her one year blogiversery. You can sign up at her blog, Aleatoire. It takes place Saturday, June 18. It's a rather simple contest challenging you to write a scene while taking inspiration from a song. More details are on her page.

Finally, I'd like to give a huge flyby congratulations to my critique partner, Steph (at Scribbler to Scribe) for receiving her first short story publication!

That's all for now.

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

Staying Motivated

While I slowly progress in the outline of my current WIP, I use my talents in illustration and painting to carry me along. Basically, it gives me something else to do. Most of you don't know I freelance, so I'll add a shameless plug of my website.

www.jwparente.com

If you're ever looking for freelance for any reason, whatever the project, I'd be glad to take a look and help you out.

Here's the latest progress of my current project.

SUBJECT: Nicholas Flamel, protagonist of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series.
MEDIUM: Pencil > Illustrator Render > Corel Painter Render