Grimoire of the Lamb: An Iron Druid Chronicles Novella

Written by Kevin Hearne

Narrated by Luke Daniels

From the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles comes a rollicking, all-new urban-fantasy adventure featuring Atticus O’Sullivan. Atticus has a history of messing with the gods, and in this eBook original novella, he’ll have to outfox a deity at her own deadly cat-and-mouse game.
 
When he’s not vanquishing villainous gods or dodging demons, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan can be found behind the counter of Third Eye Books and Herbs in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, literally minding his own business. But when an evil sorcerer—and amateur shoplifter—snatches an ancient Egyptian tome of black magic, The Grimoire of the Lamb, Atticus is not sheepish about pursuing him to the ends of the earth . . . or at least to the Land of the Pharaohs.
 
Unfortunatel,y Atticus already has enemies in Egypt—including cat goddess Bast, who wants her own book of mischief back from the Druid. In the streets of Cairo, she sends a feline phalanx after Atticus and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. With fur still flying, Atticus must locate the sorcerer’s secret lair—where he will face killer crocodiles, spooky sarcophagi, and an ancient evil Egyptian who’s determined to order the sacrificial lamb special tonight.
 
Includes a bonus recording of the short story Clan Rathskellar!
 
Praise for Kevin Hearne and The Iron Druid Chronicles
 
“Celtic mythology and an ancient Druid with modern attitude mix it up in the Arizona desert in this witty new fantasy series.”—Kelly Meding, author of Three Days to Dead
 
“[Atticus is] a strong modern hero with a long history and the wit to survive in the twenty-first century. . . . A snappy narrative voice . . . a savvy urban fantasy adventure.”—Library Journal, on Hounded

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: May 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9780804128827

Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne is a high school teacher with a passion for world religion and mythology. His primary agent, Evan Goldfried at Grinberg Literary Management, pulled HOUNDED out of the slush pile and sold it to Del Rey in the US. Del Rey are publishing in May, June, July 2011.

Reviews for Grimoire of the Lamb

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A book draws Atticus back to Egypt where he is very much not welcome, and into a confrontation with followers of crocodile god Sobek in a secret lair. The ease with which everything is accomplished is thinly disguised by a "close" fight at the end. Now why did I read this?

[mamzel_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A pleasant brief plunge into the Iron Druid series.

Atticus O'Sullivan runs an antique book store when he's not out battling gods from all different pantheons. On this occasion he is approached about an ancient Egyptian book which he thought was just a book with lamb recipes but, of course, turns out to be much more sinister.

Together with his trusty Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, he goes to Egypt after this mysterious customer snatches the book and runs off with it.

I listened to the audio version and was not enamored with the narrator, Luke Daniels. Luckily it was a novella and not a full length book.

[bookjunkie777 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As always Kevin Hearne has written a great short story with action, suspense, and mystery.

[jmkemp-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice easy to read short story that kept me going in between a couple of other books when I should have been studying.

[jshillingford_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love when authors offer novellas or short stories related to a main series, but also separate from it. Since such tales are unrestricted by the overarching storyline, there’s more opportunity to expand the mythology and build characters. The Grimoire of the Lamb is fantastic example of why this works so well.

In the Chronicles, all religions/mythologies/belief systems are manifest. So, along with the irish gods and goddesses of Atticus’ culture, we have Norse gods, Indian gods and more also running amok. With so many pantheons, it’s nearly impossible to give them all a chance to take center stage. In this novella, Egyptian gods are given their time in the limelight in an exciting tale of Atticus’ before the events of Hounded launch the series.

Atticus keeps a trove of rare magical books and when a dark wizard manages to steal one, he has to face the wrath of Bast to get it back. This story was very well constructed, with lots of planning by Atticus to accomplish his goal – material I find more interesting than the action scenes (though they are also excellent!) Atticus’ enemy is far more dangerous than he first supposed.

Overall, this was a fantastic read. It isn’t necessary to understand events in the novels, but fans should not miss it. Highly recommended.

[theyodamom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Atticus heads to Egypt with Oberon for an adventure filled with ancient gods and mysteries. I love his interaction with the tales of long ago. His interaction with one catty god is purrfect.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick, short but self-contained novella that takes place before the events of Hunted. O'Sullivan and Oberon are after an ancient Egyptian "cookbook" stolen out from under, literally, O'Sullivan's nose.

Events are fast paced and the story is excellent; my only complaint is the graphic consequences of the fates of animals involved in the story. I know this is not out of the ordinary in some of the more 'serious' UF books, and it's the reason I tend to stay away from a lot of them, opting instead for the lighter UF series. Still, I really like O'Sullivan and Oberon and I enjoyed the first full-length book, so I'm not ready to walk away just yet. Hopefully the cute and furry will fare better in future books.

[ronincats · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Grimoire of the Lamb and The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne (97 pp.)

These are stories set before the Iron Druid series that tell some of the backstory of Atticus. The novella is worth it totally because of these two quotes in the first two paragraphs:

People today think ancient Egypt was ineffably cool. I blame this misconception on hieroglyphics and (to a lesser extent) on the Bangles.

The truth is that the ancient Egyptians regarded most people as chattel for the ruling class and practiced some of the blackest magic history has ever seen--or, rather, hasn't seen, because they were deadly secret about keeping their secrets. But they wrote such happy tomes as The Book of the Dead and illustrated joyful kids' books like Little Scarab Shat Blood and

That and the pursuit of Atticus and Oberon through the streets of Cairo by all the resident house and alley cats at the behest of Bast are the high points. The problem with a novella is that there's not much room for a lot of character or plot development, but fans of Atticus will enjoy it nonetheless.

[laneliterati · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent short story that introduces our favorite urban fantasy heroes, Atticus and Oberon. When Atticus is contacted about the purchasing of an ancient Egyptian script, he knows there is more to the buyer than he leads on. Atticus journeys to Egypt to find out more, but finds that it's raining cats and now has to confront an old enemy to accomplish his short mission. Loved it.

[richardderus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rating: 3.6* of five

The Publisher Says: 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.

My Review: Set before the events of [Hounded], this 30-ish thousand word novella is a treat. Bast the cat goddess gets Atticus and Oberon in a pile of scary trouble; Sobek the crocodile god is a complete nightmare; and Atticus isn't meeting them for the first time. It's stuff like this that makes the series such fun, this long memory of cool, scary stuff that, in another writer's sweaty paws, would be Utterly Portentous and Hypercharged with Meaning. Hearne, middle aged himself, writes the stuff like it's a middle-aged 2000-year-old Druid's bar stories. I like that.

The $2.99 the ebook costs is fine for entertainment received. At $1.99, I'd be insisting everyone buy it immediately. As it is, don't read this first but equally don't miss it. Atticus and Oberon (scandalously underutilized here!) are good value for money.

[hoosgracie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Atticus going to Egypt to track down a book that could be used to destroy the world. A very good novella in the series.

[teckelvik · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a novella that takes place about six months before the first book of the series. It's OK. It doesn't really fit into the series or give useful background, it's just a story in the same universe with the same lead. I didn't think the story was particularly interesting. Atticus gets to travel to Egypt and deal a little with that mythos, but the story was very straightforward. It's not bad, it just isn't anything special. Recommended for completists like me.