My 2cents on Kevin Hearne

Like the sister said in her last update, we both read the Iron Druid books by Kevin Hearne. The books were very entertaining works of urban fantasy. In my opinion, Mr. Hearne did and excellent job of keeping a good pace of writing that makes sure the reader doesn't get bored, but still conveys the details and background needed to understand the back stories related to different characters. So far, there are 3 books released in the Iron Druid Chronicles series, with at least 3 more on the way. The 4th installment is due to hit the shelves next spring. I can honestly say that it has been a long time since I have enjoyed a story this much.

The main character of the story is an extremely old, yet young looking Druid, who is trying to deal with enemies of the long past and some newly made, trying to protect those around him and trying to live his life as he desires. The "hero" has a sturdy moral compass, but Hearne doesn't sicken us with writing him as too perfect or as a self-righteous beacon of morality. Pretty much he's an "everyman" to which many people can relate. Well, withstanding his super cool Druid abilities and the way he can use the Earth to some really neat stuff.

The books are written with an amazing mixture of differing mythologies and religious beliefs. Hearne pulls in all kinds of characters ranging from Norse mythology all the way to Psycho Cabalist. And he even tosses in some vamps and wolfs. No one should feel disappointed or neglected on that aspect.

He also writes in some great wit and comic relief. A great deal of this comic relief comes in the form of the hero's companion, a great big Irish wolfhound that he can communicate with via some cool mind mojo.

Lastly, for me, the main attraction to Kevin Hearnes works is Kevin Hearne himself. I greatly enjoyed his first book and had already decided that I would invest the time to read any future installments, but when I did a search to find out more about the author himself, I was truly impressed. Not only did this guy have a very informative website and make use of social media, he also personally interacts with his fans. Mr. Hearne frequently updates his website and facebook page. But, the really impressive aspect is that his facebook page isn't just a place where he, or his rep post advertisements and updates. When a fan posts something to his page, or a conversation breaks out, he actually responds, gets involved and communicates. He's very accessible to his followers and never gives the impression that he's too busy or too good to acknowledge everyone. This goes a long way in my opinion. There are many authors who refuse to interact with their fans. I know of one in particular, and I really love his set of books, that only does 1 book signing per release, never releases more than 1 book a year, sometimes even longer, his main job is writing his books and he never interacts with his followers. There is only a couple of people he deems worthy of his attention and those people are responsible for passing on what little they know to his fandom. But Mr. Hearn on the other hand, is a very busy person, has a job, has a life and makes time for his fans and makes us feel appreciated.

And for that Mr. Hearne, I applaud you. For his creativity, wit, writing style and fan interaction, I rate Him a very strong B+. I look forward to reading more Hearne in the future.