The Iron Druid Chronicles

#1014.21 in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 10 books Status Complete 2011–2018 Reading commitment High Kevin Hearne Last reviewed 2026-08-21

Overview

A complete urban-fantasy sequence following Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the ancient Druids, hiding in modern-day Arizona while pursued by an old enemy from Celtic mythology. In the opening novel, Hounded (2011), Atticus runs an occult bookshop in Tempe under a false identity while secretly guarding the magical sword Fragarach, drawing the attention of the Celtic love-god Aenghus Óg, who has hunted him for centuries to reclaim it, and of the war-goddess the Morrígan, among other figures from Irish myth. Kevin Hearne blends Celtic mythology with a broader modern pantheon -- vampires, werewolves and deities from other traditions all appear across the ten-book series -- set against an otherwise contemporary American Southwest backdrop. Critics praised the debut on release, with Publishers Weekly calling it "a superb urban fantasy debut" and fellow genre authors highlighting its blend of comic tone and genuine mythological grounding, helping establish the series as a long-running fixture of 2010s urban fantasy.

Urban fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (10 works) counts toward ranking

The Iron Druid Chronicles Kevin Hearne

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Hounded	2011	1	core	4.10 (93,740 ratings)
	Hexed	2011	2	core	4.22 (66,320 ratings)
	Hammered	2011	3	core	4.21 (56,980 ratings)
	Tricked	2012	4	core	4.25 (51,257 ratings)
	Trapped	2012	5	core	4.27 (46,645 ratings)
	Hunted	2013	6	core	4.29 (40,185 ratings)
	Shattered	2014	7	core	4.28 (32,928 ratings)
	Besieged	2017	7	core	4.17 (5,798 ratings)
	Staked	2016	8	core	4.25 (24,778 ratings)
	Scourged	2018	9	core	4.02 (16,392 ratings)

Complete 9-novel urban-fantasy sequence starring the last of the Druids, Atticus O'Sullivan, plus the interstitial short-story collection Besieged.

Quick answers

• How many books are in The Iron Druid Chronicles? The Iron Druid Chronicles's Core Canon is 10 books.
• What is the reading order for The Iron Druid Chronicles? Publication order, starting with Hounded. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
• Is The Iron Druid Chronicles finished? Complete (2011–2018).
• How much reading does The Iron Druid Chronicles take? High reading commitment (estimated from 10 Core Canon books · ~3,116 pages).
• How is The Iron Druid Chronicles ranked? #101 in this site's official ranking, based on 435,023 reader ratings across 10 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.

Why is it ranked #101?

Ranked #101 in the official ranking.

• Average reader rating of 4.21 across 10 core books.
• Backed by 435k reader ratings.
• 0.03 behind #100, Hamster Princess.
• Below the top-10 average of 4.45.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Highly rated · 10 books · Complete · 435k ratings · Ranks #101 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

Publication order (10 Core Canon books)

1. Hammered (2011)
2. Hexed (2011)
3. Hounded (2011)
4. Trapped (2012)
5. Tricked (2012)
6. Hunted (2013)
7. Shattered (2014)
8. Staked (2016)
9. Besieged (2017)
10. Scourged (2018)

Documented internal/story order

1. Hounded (2011)
2. Hexed (2011)
3. Hammered (2011)
4. Tricked (2012)
5. Trapped (2012)
6. Hunted (2013)
7. Shattered (2014)
8. Besieged (2017)
9. Staked (2016)
10. Scourged (2018)

Awards (verified)

• No juried award nomination or win could be confirmed for any entry in this sequence.

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• October Daye Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.20

Official resources

• Wikipedia

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.21 across 435,023 ratings on 10 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: The Iron Druid Chronicles admitted accepted 2026-08-21

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Druid_Chronicles
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hounded_(novel)

Last reviewed: 2026-08-21

Rule: Core Canon is the complete 9-novel sequence (2011-2018) plus its interstitial short-story collection, Besieged (2017).

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