I absolutely love the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne, and I am not alone. If you haven’t read the series, then start at the beginning and read them in order. Staked, the next one is coming out soon-ish. Here’s a link to Kevin’s page. Go and buy his stuff. http://kevinhearne.com/
I’m thinking of going to Phoenix next year for the con just to meet him and some of the other writers that go there…and hey! Those writers have novellas in Three Slices, Delilah Dawson and Chuck Wendig. What a coinky-dink.
I have not read Dawson or Wendig’s novellas yet, but I did just finish A Prelude to War, Hearne’s novella leading up to Staked, which is book 8. And I am sad. So sad. Because I don’t know if I can ever, ever write dialogue as well as he does. The dialogue between Atticus and his Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, is just soooooo good. Here’s a snippet. Oberon’s part is in the little <> signs. They are on the plains in Africa, being stalked by something.
< Oh yeah. The fortune-teller. I have a question about that. What if she wakes up at dawn and sees in her magic runes or whatever that she’s going to tell our fortune today except that we get eaten before we get there so that means her schedule is free and then her runes don’t know what to say except “Hey, how about those Broncos?” >
What? Oberon, that is the most bizarre hypothetical ever. She doesn’t even use runes.
< Well, you made me nervous. And you didn’t answer my question. >
The answer is divination doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t tell you that a certain future got canceled and it doesn’t make small talk. If it reveals anything, it reveals the most likely of futures, and that’s always up to interpretation. Even if you get the interpretation right, it can still change due to circumstances. You remember what Master Yoda said about the future?
< It’s always in motion. Difficult to see. >
That’s right. Come on, let’s keep moving, but keep an eye out and your nose in the wind.
< All right, but I still think you should cheat. I don’t want to be a part of the circle of life here. Hey, speaking of which, is this the stretch of Africa where meerkats hang out with warthogs and sing cheerful songs about stress-free living? >
Tell you what. If you see them, I’ll let you join in.
< Aces. >
This is what Hearne does best. He writes laugh-out-loud dialogue and keeps the story moving. It is just so great…and so disheartening.
I even forgive him for coming to Cleveland, but only on the West Side. East Side, Kevin, East! We need visas and shots to go from one side of the city to the other.
(I have writer friends who know Kevin. Please feel free to share…)
Hearne, Kevin; Dawson, Delilah S.; Wendig, Chuck (2015-05-05). Three Slices (Kindle Locations 170-184). . Kindle Edition.
