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Fantasy. Fiction. Thriller. HTML:From the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes a rollicking, all-new urban-fantasy adventure featuring Atticus O�Sullivan. Atticus has a history of messing with the gods, and in this eBook original novella, he�ll have to outfox a deity at her own deadly cat-and-mouse game. When he�s not vanquishing villainous gods or dodging demons, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O�Sullivan can be found behind the counter of Third Eye Books and Herbs in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, literally minding his own business. But when an evil sorcerer�and amateur shoplifter�snatches an ancient Egyptian tome of black magic, The Grimoire of the Lamb, Atticus is not sheepish about pursuing him to the ends of the earth . . . or at least to the Land of the Pharaohs. Unfortunatel,y Atticus already has enemies in Egypt�including cat goddess Bast, who wants her own book of mischief back from the Druid. In the streets of Cairo, she sends a feline phalanx after Atticus and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. With fur still flying, Atticus must locate the sorcerer�s secret lair�where he will face killer crocodiles, spooky sarcophagi, and an ancient evil Egyptian who�s determined to order the sacrificial lamb special tonight. Includes a bonus recording of the short story Clan Rathskellar! Praise for Kevin Hearne and The Iron Druid Chronicles �Celtic mythology and an ancient Druid with modern attitude mix it up in the Arizona desert in this witty new fantasy series.��Kelly Meding, author of Three Days to Dead �[Atticus is] a strong modern hero with a long history and the wit to survive in the twenty-first century. . . . A snappy narrative voice . . . a savvy urban fantasy adventure.��Library Journal, on Hounded.… (more)
User reviews
The Publisher Says: There's nothing like an impromptu holiday to explore the birthplace of modern civilization, but when Atticus and Oberon pursue a book-stealing Egyptian wizard - with a penchant for lamb - to the land of the pharaohs, they find themselves in hot,
The trip takes an even nastier turn when they discover the true nature of the nefarious plot they've been drawn into. On the wrong side of the vengeful cat goddess Bast and chased by an unfathomable number of her yowling four-legged disciples, Atticus must find a way to appease or defeat Egypt's deadliest gods - before his grimoire-grabbing quarry uses them to turn him into mincemeat.
My Review: Set before the events of [Hounded], this 30-ish thousand word novella is a treat. Bast the cat goddess gets Atticus and Oberon in a pile of scary trouble; Sobek the crocodile god is a complete nightmare; and Atticus isn't meeting them for the first time. It's stuff like this that makes the series such fun, this long memory of cool, scary stuff that, in another writer's sweaty paws, would be Utterly Portentous and Hypercharged with Meaning. Hearne, middle aged himself, writes the stuff like it's a middle-aged 2000-year-old Druid's bar stories. I like that.
The $2.99 the ebook costs is fine for entertainment received. At $1.99, I'd be insisting everyone buy it immediately. As it is, don't read this first but equally don't miss it. Atticus and Oberon (scandalously underutilized here!) are good value for money.
These are stories set before the Iron Druid series that tell some of the backstory of Atticus. The novella is worth it totally because of these two quotes in the first two paragraphs:
People today think ancient Egypt was ineffably
The truth is that the ancient Egyptians regarded most people as chattel for the ruling class and practiced some of the blackest magic history has ever seen--or, rather, hasn't seen, because they were deadly secret about keeping their secrets. But they wrote such happy tomes as The Book of the Dead and illustrated joyful kids' books like Little Scarab Shat Blood and
That and the pursuit of Atticus and Oberon through the streets of Cairo by all the resident house and alley cats at the behest of Bast are the high points. The problem with a novella is that there's not much room for a lot of character or plot development, but fans of Atticus will enjoy it nonetheless.
In the Chronicles, all religions/mythologies/belief systems are manifest. So, along with the irish gods and goddesses of Atticus’ culture, we have Norse gods, Indian gods and more also running amok. With so many pantheons, it’s nearly impossible to give them all a chance to take center stage. In this novella, Egyptian gods are given their time in the limelight in an exciting tale of Atticus’ before the events of Hounded launch the series.
Atticus keeps a trove of rare magical books and when a dark wizard manages to steal one, he has to face the wrath of Bast to get it back. This story was very well constructed, with lots of planning by Atticus to accomplish his goal – material I find more interesting than the action scenes (though they are also excellent!) Atticus’ enemy is far more dangerous than he first supposed.
Overall, this was a fantastic read. It isn’t necessary to understand events in the novels, but fans should not miss it. Highly recommended.
Events are fast paced and the story is excellent; my only complaint is the graphic consequences
Atticus O'Sullivan runs an antique book store when he's not out battling gods from all different pantheons. On this occasion he is approached about an ancient Egyptian book which he thought was just a book with lamb recipes but, of course, turns
Together with his trusty Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, he goes to Egypt after this mysterious customer snatches the book and runs off with it.
I listened to the audio version and was not enamored with the narrator, Luke Daniels. Luckily it was a novella and not a full length book.