Book Review: Grimoire of the Lamb by Kevin Hearne

Interested in reading the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne?  This is a good place to start.

Grimoire of the Lamb (Iron Druid Chronicles #0.4) by Kevin Hearne

There's nothing like an impromptu holiday to explore the birthplace of modern civilization, but when Atticus and Oberon pursue a book-stealing Egyptian wizard - with a penchant for lamb - to the land of the pharaohs, they find themselves in hot, crocodile-infested water.

The trip takes an even nastier turn when they discover the true nature of the nefarious plot they've been drawn into. On the wrong side of the vengeful cat goddess Bast and chased by an unfathomable number of her yowling four-legged disciples, Atticus must find a way to appease or defeat Egypt's deadliest gods - before his grimoire-grabbing quarry uses them to turn him into mincemeat.

Release Date: May 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Add to Goodreads.

Review

Grimoire of the Lamb takes place before Hounded, the first full length novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles.  This means that many of the characters that fans of the series have come to love are not present, but this is not necessarily a bad thing for a novella.  Grimoire and the Lamb is distilled down to the heart of the Iron Druid Chronicles--Atticus and Oberon.

Grimoire of the Lamb is a fantastic prequel novella in the Iron Druid Chronicles series.  This novella may be short, but it contains all of the quirkiness I've come to expect from Kevin Hearne.  Atticus and his Irish Wolfhound Oberon are both adorable and hilarious together as always, and the bad guys are Evil with a capital E.

While most of the later Iron Druid Chronicles books deal primarily with the Norse and Celtic pantheons (with the occasional nod to Native American myth with the trickster Coyote), Grimoire of the Lamb gives a dark and somewhat twisted glimpse into Kevin Hearne's version of the Egyptian gods and goddesses.  Some of these descriptions had me cringing and laughing in equal turns (Bast is goddess of a cat sex cult with a Kama Sutra-like book printed on cat skin pages)--you've been warned--and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. 

If you haven't yet read any of the Iron Druid novels, this is a good place to start.  These books are an entertaining blend of action and humor, with different elements of world myth deftly woven into a modern day urban fantasy world.  Highly recommend.  5 stars.

My favorite quote:

It was creepy being chased by that many cats.  Their feet made no noise, but I knew they were there, because a good number of the house cats had little bells around their necks, and those become damn menacing when there are more than two on your heels.

*Warning: If violence against animals bothers you, you may want to give this novella a pass, and start the series with Hounded.*

Recommended for fans of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and for readers who are curious about this series, but don't want to commit to a full length novel.