Hexed

It’s been a week since I finished this book, so the details aren’t totally fresh in my mind. However, I will say that my general impression was favorable, especially in comparison to book one (Hounded). Because this is the second volume in a series, and the writer has a little experience under his belt now, the beginning was much smoother — there was a lot less infodumping. (And what was there — for example, the explanation of the dog Oberon’s longevity — was kept short and was better integrated into the story.) So the writing has much improved, and with it, my enjoyment of the book.

One thing that I thought was a strength of the previous book was that the main character, Atticus, was generally likable despite having a different sense of morality than a contemporary American would have (because of his upbringing in a very different time and place). There’s a little evidence of that here (especially when he’s out to save his own hide), although there are a couple of elements that seem designed specifically to elicit sympathy for Atticus (for example, the story about his activities during WWII, although there was at least a slim connection to the events of the present-day story there, as well). I guess we learn more about Atticus here, although I wouldn’t say he develops any greater depth. I have found that with first-person POV series in general, not all books contribute equally to character development, though. Some volumes add more than others. So I’m not feeling cheated here.

I do think Atticus is a little bit less of a male Mary Sue here. He can’t do everything on his own; he has to ask for help. And when he asks for help, he has to obtain it from people he’d rather not deal with, or to make compromises he finds a little distasteful. Plus, he has to clean up some messes stemming from his actions in the previous book.

As with the previous volume, most of the magic is based on Celtic mythology. However, other mythologies and theologies make appearances here as well. Atticus must rely on the prayers of a Catholic friend at one point, and we meet some followers of Bacchus/Dionysus. We also encounter a version of the trickster Coyote, and one of the characters has a personal problem with Thor. I rather like all of these disparate elements coming together in one place. One theme in the book is that belief plays a part in making the gods/goddesses what they are. And so only in a country like America, where there are people from all these different cultures living together, would these different mythologies and religions clash. So I think the setting was very appropriately chosen.

This book doesn’t really stand on its own. You need to read the previous volume, wherein you are introduced to many characters, and there are a couple of things in this book that will probably get addressed again at later volumes in the series (Atticus makes promises to the witch Laksha and also to one of his attorneys regarding certain quests he’s undertaking for them or helping them to undertake, and these aren’t resolved; also, one of Bacchus’s followers escapes and the implication is that she may be back again). There is a main conflict that is resolved by the end of the book, however — a new coven of witches is trying to encroach on the territory where Atticus is living, bringing with them all sorts of bad news and events. I don’t get too upset about this because I would not call the ending a cliffhanger and I expect some type of series arc to carry through any multi-volume series (there are a handful more volumes out that I haven’t read yet).

I seem to remember trying to drop everything to read this, so the pace near the end must have been quite good — and I definitely wanted to know what happened. In the end, I did enjoy reading this — more than I enjoyed book one. It wasn’t perfect, but it was fun to read and I’m looking forward to the next volume.

I’m not an especially big fan of urban fantasy, but the premise of the first book in this series was interesting enough to draw me in and I liked it enough to give this second book a try. I didn’t like it quite as much as book one, but I’ll probably try at least one more book in the series. I think the part I liked the most was the dialog between Atticus and Oberon, his pooch. The part I didn’t like was that Atticus, who has lived hundreds of years by keeping in the shadows, suddenly seems to want to shine brightly. That seems odd to me and not in character, unless there’s an explanation for this that I somehow missed.

I thought there was a lot of potential in the first book of this series, and I am happy to see it is expanded on in Hexed. Here, a coven of evil witches makes a move on Malinas territory, which also happens to be Atticus. As if that wasnt bad enough, the followers of Bacchus have also dropped into town to unleash chaos via uninhibited orgies, theres a fallen angel killing high schoolers and everyone wants Atticus to kill Thor. Just another day in the life of a druid.

The first book dis appointed me because everything came to Atticus; someone would conveniently tell him what he needed to know so he never had to be proactive. Thankfully, that is not the case here. The book is very fast paced since there are so many fires for Atticus to put out. This means he has to plan, negotiate and work out how to tackle each crisis. There was a lot of planning involved, with Malinas coven and Leif, plus the return of Laksha. Theres also a lto of humor here, specifically from Atticus knowledge and appreciation of pop culture. I love that hes trying to teach Leif how not to sound like a stuffy vampire!

I did have a couple of issues with the book. The Morrigan and Brighid both make appearances that go on too long and serve no purpose to the current plot. And, a noticeable amount of the book is taken up with setting up the next book, which will no doubt deal with Thor (and everyone wanting him dead). I dont mind some build-up for the next book; but it should come near the end, and not at the expense of the story currently being told. However, it didnt stop me from enjoying the story and I do look forward to the next installment.

Overall, a nice improvement over the first book with some character growth and expanded cast. Recommended to fans of urban fantasy.

A good series with an interesting hero. Like many Americans who drink green beer on St Patricks day they are trying to be more Oirish than the Irish themselves and this appears to be the case with the author. Atticus has not said “begorrah” yet but I suspect it is only a matter of time.
That said, it is a good mix of mythology and contemporary memes with a lot of humorous and erudite writing although a hero who has wild sex with goddesses should not be blushing and farting at the sight of his apprentice in her scanties. For a hero with a healthy sense of self-preservation Atticus appears to have little difficulty in dispatching gods, demons, fallen angels and witches so is a testament to 2,000 odd years of healthy food.
The comic relief of Oberon is good and I like the idea of an actual blood-sucking lawyer rather than a merely metaphorical one.

I have read all three books in this series now, and I’m always left feeling a little short-changed at the end. I don’t know why, full of action, and I like the main concept behind how people/ideas become gods. I suppose one gripe is that it does all seem to be a big blur of killing and sarcastic asides, and I would agree with another reviewer that some of the ‘modern culture’ bits are laughable, such as the ‘Lol-Catz’ speak in one of them which was more than just faintly ridiculous. In all, I enjoy these books, but I still don’t think Jim Butcher (Dresden Files) has anything to worry about yet. I am a bit indifferent about these, but will still see if the fourth book is any further improvement. Ideas good, execution could do with some improvement. The story behind this book, for example, could have made a much bigger story than it did. A load of fuss and build up, then they seem to sail through the final battles. Meh.

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