Kevin Hearne wrote the Iron Druid Chronicles, an urban fantasy novel series. Between 2011 and 2019, Del Rey Books published nine novels in the series. The novels are set in a world that seems normal. But it has supernatural creatures such as werewolves, witches, demons, vampires, and deities. The series’ stories are set in locations with real-world names. The first two books are set in Tempe, Arizona. The story is narrated by a Druid named ‘Atticus O’Sullivan.’
Atticus O’Sullivan is 2000 years old and resides in Tempe, Arizona, where the story takes place. He is one of the last Druids, and he owns and operates an occult bookstore with an apprentice. In his spare time, he hunts with his Irish wolfhound through shape-shifting. As the story unfolds he has to face his adversaries.
Atticus has managed to keep a low profile. But this is until an ancient divinity knocks at his door. Some of his foes have returned.
Atticus’ house is not always beset by hazards of his own making. But the wrong forces sometimes infiltrate, motivated by malevolent motives and personal grudges. A goddess of death and a crew of werewolf and vampire attorneys accompany Atticus on his escapades.
The Iron Druid volumes have been praised for reviving urban fantasy themes with a sense of humor.
There are 2 possible reading orders. The first is solely focused on the main novels in the series, while the second includes both novels and short stories.
Iron Druid Chronicles Books in Order
One of The Iron Druid Chronicles
- Hounded (2011)
- Hexed (2011)
- Hammered (2011)
- Tricked (2012)
- Trapped (2012)
- Hunted (2013)
- Shattered (2014)
- Staked (2016)
- Scourged (2018)
Similar authors
- The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka features Alex Verus, a mage. He is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London.
- Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files series follows private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden. It tells stories of investigations into otherworldly events in modern-day Chicago.
See also: Robin Hobb Books in Order.
Most recommended books of the series
- The Squirrel on the Train (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8.4) (4.38 Goodreads score)
- The Purloined Poodle (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8.3) (4.30 Goodreads score)
- Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #6) (4.29 Goodreads score)
- Shattered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #7) (4.28 Goodreads score)
- Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5) (4.27 Goodreads score)
Latest releases in the series
The final book of the series, Scourged, was released on April 3rd, 2018.
Book summaries
Hounded (2011)
Atticus O’Sullivan is the last of the ancient druids. He has been on the run for more than two thousand years and he’s tired of it. The Irish gods who want to kill him are after an enchanted sword he stole in a first-century battle, and when they find him managing an occult bookshop in Tempe, Arizona, Atticus doesn’t want to uproot his life again. He just wants everything to end one way or another, but preferably the way in which he can continue to enjoy fish and chips.He does have some small hope of survival: The Morrigan, the Irish Chooser of the Slain, is on his side, and so is Brighid, First Among the Fae. His lawyer is literally a bloodsucking vampire, and he has a loyal Irish wolfhound with opinions about poodles.But he’s facing down some mighty enemies: Aenghus Óg, a vengeful Irish god, plus a coven of witches and even the local police. On top of all that, Aenghus has a direct line to the firepower of hell. Atticus will need all the luck of the Irish and more if he’s going to stay alive.
Hexed (2011)
Atticus O’Sullivan has had cause to mistrust witches in his storied past, but he’s willing to live and let live with the Sisters of the Three Auroras, a legendary local coven, even going so far as to sign a non-aggression treaty with them. But that treaty is tested immediately when a deadly new coven sweeps into town seeking to take over, along with some Bacchants from Las Vegas and a fallen angel who’s decided to snack on high school students like they were trail mix.It’s more than Atticus can handle alone and he must enlist the trickster Coyote, the headhopping abilities of the witch Laksha Kulesekaran, and his neighbor’s illegal arsenal if he wants to keep the city safe from diabolical takeover. He must also exchange favors with his vampire attorney, Leif Helgarson, in a deal that might prove to be the worst of his long life—for Leif doesn’t want to be paid by the hour.To defeat the mortal hexes of this new coven and keep his apprentice—and his city—safe, Atticus must think fast, make promises, keep his sword handy, and hope he’ll survive to fight another day.
Hammered (2011)
When the naysayers say, “Nay, don’t mess with the man who wields the lightning bolts,” ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan would nod along and agree. But when multiple people convince him that Thor, the Norse god of thunder, needs to get got, he thinks maybe this is the one time he should ignore the advice of the wise—even if those sages include deities who tend not to be wrong about very much.Because Thor has undeniably done somebody wrong—many somebodies, in fact, and Atticus doesn’t think he can simply dismiss it as someone else’s problem. Plus he has made promises that he doesn’t feel he can break, promises that will take him away from Midgard to the planes of the Norse, where his actions will create ripples throughout the nine realms.On top of that there’s a turf war brewing amongst the vampires, a zealous group of mystic hunters called the Hammers of God running rampant, and a pack of werewolves who very much don’t wish to see their leader taken off to Valhalla.In order to avoid being the nail underneath the hammer Mjöllnir, Atticus will need every ounce of Irish luck he can muster, and maybe the help of a few deities in his corner.
Tricked (2012)
Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.
Trapped (2012)
After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.
Hunted (2013)
For a two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt—Artemis and Diana—for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound Oberon are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is . . . run like hell.Crashing the pantheon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok—AKA the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living—and still have a world to live in.
Shattered (2014)
Atticus’s apprentice Granuaile is at last a full Druid herself. What’s more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern equivalent of his old Irish name: Owen Kennedy.And Owen has some catching up to do.Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus’s chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury’s still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki—or merely a pain in the arse.But Atticus isn’t the only one with daddy issues. Granuaile faces a great challenge: to exorcise a sorcerer’s spirit that is possessing her father in India. Even with the help of the witch Laksha, Granuaile may be facing a crushing defeat.As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they’re hoping that this time, three’s a charm.
Staked (2016)
When a Druid has lived for two thousand years like Atticus, he’s bound to run afoul of a few vampires. Make that legions of them. Even his former friend and legal counsel turned out to be a bloodsucking backstabber. Now the toothy troublemakers—led by power-mad pain-in-the-neck Theophilus—have become a huge problem requiring a solution. It’s time to make a stand.As always, Atticus wouldn’t mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ornery archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll trouble: Turns out when you stiff a troll, it’s not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki’s mark and elude his powers of divination—a quest that will bring her face-to-face with several Slavic nightmares.As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won’t come without a price: In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.
Scourged (2018)
Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They’ve made allies on the darker side of many pantheons, and there’s a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan will be hard-pressed to survive, much less win. Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry. And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they’ll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all.
