Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles, by Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles has been one of my reading "accidents."  I listened to "Hammered" first because of a special promotion through Audible.  I enjoyed that book and decided to try a print version of another title from the series.  I expect I will be reading all eight in the series.

The main character, Atticus O'Sullivan, is as suggested a Druid.  In fact, he is the last Druid.  He does have an apprentice in the works and we're all pulling for Granuaile to succeed in her apprenticeship program.  However, given the trouble that Atticus seems to attract, that is not guaranteed!

Atticus has a great group of friends--vampires, werewolves, and a wonderful Irish Wolfhound with whom he can "talk" telecommunicatively. 

Hearne is from Arizona and the geographic connections are fascinating.  He, like Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan, and Michael Scott; brings a wide range of gods and mythological figures into his books.  I'm enjoying learning a lot about Irish gods and mythology as well as other traditions.  I think I'm going to have to dust off a book about druids that I got long ago and didn't finish.  Now I have a reason to want to dig in more deeply.  Hearne also connects to the Gaelic, Polish and German languages.

I like the entire series a lot and would recommend them to "mature" young adults.  There is occasional reference to sex, but nothing particularly graphic. I think this series would be a good one for readers who like series like The Seven Realms, Chima or Codex Alera, Butcher.

In addition to enjoying the series I also believe in supporting Hearne.  Before he was able to turn to writing full-time he was a high school English teacher. 

Gideon's Corpse, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I have been a fan of Preston and Child's Pendergast series.  I think as their popularity as writers grows, the quality of their writing is diminishing.  Even in their most recent Pendergast book, I felt they had shortchanged their readers.  I am guessing that publisher pressures to turn out books quickly are forcing them to release books that are incomplete and not polished as much is they had been before they became best selling writers. I have had a similar experience with reading Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. I felt the last couple books have ended prematurely.  They feel almost more like chapters that should be part of a longer book.

The plot of this book focuses on terrorism and dirty nuclear weapons.  I think the plot had great potential but the characters, plot and settings were not as well developed as in the earlier books by this writing team. Much of this book is set in New Mexico, a state with which I am very familiar.  I couldn't help but compare the visualizations of New Mexico in earlier books by this writing duo.  I felt that they shortchanged the descriptions of setting and culture of New Mexico.  Particularly, Los Alamos, one of America's nuclear research facilities, deserved a little more detailed description.

For some reason I am less enamored of Gideon as a main character than I am of Pendergast. I can't really explain it, they're both larger than life and surrounded by mystery. Perhaps because Pendergast's history is more complex and revealed more slowly he becomes a more engaging protagonist than  Gideon.  It may also be that Gideon is very much a loner.  Although this could be said of Pendergast as well, he also has a collection of friends and supporters that add texture and depth to Pendergast as a character.

The Black Angel, by John Connolly

I managed to get out of order in my Charlie Parker series books.  Consequently, reading this book helped fill in some gaps in my knowledge. This book is more supernatural than most of the other books in the Parker series. In some ways the role of the angels and demons in the book remind me of some of Anne Rice's novels.

The book introduced me to be Sedlec monastery and Ossuary. It prompted me to do some research about the Cistercian order and this monastery in the Czech Republic. I am traveling to Paris later this summer and need to see if I can talk my friend into visiting the catacombs (including some ossuaries) which have played it important role in the plot of the Michael Scott books (The Immortal Nicholas Flamel series-for younger adolescent readers) and some of the Anne Rice's novels. An ossuary is connected to the storage or display of skeletal remains. The church at the center of this book is famous for having most of the interior decorated an ornament in with human skeleton parts. Connolly weaves this historical, religious, and artistic information throughout the book.

In The Black Angel, Connolly explorers the fallen angels and their agents on earth. Consequently, readers of James Lee Burke and Anne Rice will feel a resonance with the works of these authors. They are among the few authors, exploring the concept of evil and its work in the world, who end up simultaneously having to explore religion, angels, and demons.

As always, Connolly writes in a literary style and as a result can be challenging to readers.  Taking the time to do the background research on topics introduced and the geographical connections will enrich the reading. The book is also accompanied by a CD of music either mentioned in the book or connected to the plot and characters.  This is the first time I have played an accompanying soundtrack. It was an interesting and enjoyable collection of works.  As our writers become more technologically engaged I anticipate more media connections and additions to their works.

Bad Men, by John Connolly

Fans of John Connolly need to be aware that this is not a book in the Charlie Parker series. Although Charlie Parker makes some brief appearances in this book, he is not the main character.  Once again, Connolly, an Irishman, writes with sensitivity and detail about Maine and other parts of the United States. In this book he begins with an historical event set on one of the islands off the coast of Maine. As always, ghosts and the supernatural come into play. There is significant violence and description of a relatively gruesome events in scenes. It is not a book I would recommend to adolescents.  Both the plot and the writing make it clearly an adult read.

Conley writes with relative sophistication blending historical fiction, religion, and geography with strong plots and characterization. His plot and characterization grab the reader immediately and will keep you reading.

Benny and Babe by Eoin Colfer

I am a fan of Colfer's work. His fantasies can appeal to almost any reader because they have an added layer of irony about the entire genre. Benny and Babe isn't a fantasy, rather realistic fiction set in contemporary Ireland. Overall I give this a very positive review--it addresses issues of male/female adolescent friendships, bullying, and general adolescent issues. Unfortunately for American readers there is also a lot of regional background knowledge assumed. It may be a good book to help students learn to read over cultural information they don't understand to get to the good "bits" of a book. It's a skill they can use in reading fiction that is written in unfamiliar registers (Swift, Shakespeare, Wharton, etc.). But, it probably isn't going to become a classic book or one included in the "canon" so I'd only recommend using it with students who are Colfer aficionados. Those students will need a bit of introduction to the book and a strategy for reading over the unfamiliar bits in the first chapter, "Culchie Hurling."

Having spent a lot of time on Puget Sound I enjoyed the setting of the book, a seashore town, and the fishing adventures of Benny and Babe . Readers from desert climates may not have the feel of the setting, but the stories of adolescent adventures and attempts to make some spending money through summer vacation may carry them through the book. Those who live in or have visited resort communities will appreciate the tensions between the townies and the vacationers. The life threatening adventure near the end of the book will grab almost any reader, but especial those who live or have visited the Pacific Coast of the US.

I doubt this book will have a wide readership because of the regional idiosyncrasies, but it is one I will recommend to a few selected readers ready for its challenges.