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sleepygirlreads_'s review against another edition
3.0
Not sure how I feel about this? Like I love this world that Hearne has created but at the same time I can’t help but think, “what was the point of this story?”
nemerith's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jscarpa14's review against another edition
4.0
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
First of all I received this short story as a bonus feature to my kindle version of Hounded. I decided to review it separately because I don't like the idea of trying to mesh two stories into the same review.
In this short story Atticus and Oberon, the 2100 Druid and his dog from Hounded are shopping at an outdoor mall where they encounter a group of gnomes and get drawn into the gnomes issues with a kobold. The story is set to occur approximately 10 months before the plot of Hounded.
For a short story this was an excellent read, both entertaining and fast paced. If I was a fan of short stories I'd have probably given this a five stars, I'm more of a novel reader so this was sort of missing the bulk and substance of the novels I prefer. The short story however does include a full story arc, but being a short story, the arc doesn't have the same kind of weight that a novel would. It doesn't have nearly the same importance to the reader compared to the plot in Hounded.
The first person narrative was well written, and considering it's length Hearne did an excellent job of still creating well-rounded and likable characters. In a matter of only a few pages he manages to introduce to the reader a druid, a mind-talking dog, a family of gnomes, a fairy, a god and a kobold. He explains what each being is and kind of where they fit in the magical world quickly, giving the reader enough information to understand the story without burdening the story with too much background. As with Hounded I was enamored with Atticus's smartass voice and Oberon's quick humor.
If you enjoy urban fantasy and like to read short stories, I highly recommend this read.
First of all I received this short story as a bonus feature to my kindle version of Hounded. I decided to review it separately because I don't like the idea of trying to mesh two stories into the same review.
In this short story Atticus and Oberon, the 2100 Druid and his dog from Hounded are shopping at an outdoor mall where they encounter a group of gnomes and get drawn into the gnomes issues with a kobold. The story is set to occur approximately 10 months before the plot of Hounded.
For a short story this was an excellent read, both entertaining and fast paced. If I was a fan of short stories I'd have probably given this a five stars, I'm more of a novel reader so this was sort of missing the bulk and substance of the novels I prefer. The short story however does include a full story arc, but being a short story, the arc doesn't have the same kind of weight that a novel would. It doesn't have nearly the same importance to the reader compared to the plot in Hounded.
The first person narrative was well written, and considering it's length Hearne did an excellent job of still creating well-rounded and likable characters. In a matter of only a few pages he manages to introduce to the reader a druid, a mind-talking dog, a family of gnomes, a fairy, a god and a kobold. He explains what each being is and kind of where they fit in the magical world quickly, giving the reader enough information to understand the story without burdening the story with too much background. As with Hounded I was enamored with Atticus's smartass voice and Oberon's quick humor.
If you enjoy urban fantasy and like to read short stories, I highly recommend this read.
shaekin's review against another edition
4.0
If you skip this short story you won't be missing out on any of the inside jokes or references that are made throughout the novels, but it's still a good little story, and worth a read.
berls's review
3.25
This was a smidge better (for me) than The Grimoire of the Lamb. It also leaned a bit more into the ridiculous than I prefer. But I did like that we learned a bit more about the world in this book -- there are gnomes for example -- and if you read it prior to Hounded (I did not), you learn a bit about some of the issues that come up in much more detail. And you get to know Atticus a bit better, which is also nice.
narumon's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
5elementknitr's review
3.0
This is the second short story I've listened to from this series. Both land before the first full book.
Both are... very similar. A lot of running and fighting and I hope there's more variety when I get to that first full book.
Both are... very similar. A lot of running and fighting and I hope there's more variety when I get to that first full book.