3.5 starsI read this book, because I am starting The Iron Druid Chronicles. So, start at the beginning by book #, right? Hmmmm... maybe not in this case. Unless you're already familiar with Atticus O'Sullivan and his world and its rules, I'd say read my next paragraph before jumping in.I think that I would have been better off skipping directly to the shorts Clan Rothskeller [bc:Clan Rathskeller|10324651|Clan Rathskeller (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #0.5)|Kevin Hearne|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1323223194s/10324651.jpg|15227090] and Kaibab Unbound [bc:Kaibab Unbound|11950840|Kaibab Unbound (The Iron Druid Chronicles , #0.6)|Kevin Hearne|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1323225105s/11950840.jpg|16912742] OR going directly to book #1 Hounded [bc:Hounded|9533378|Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)|Kevin Hearne|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327883998s/9533378.jpg|14419515]. Any of these choices would have provided me with a better 1st impression and picture of Kevin Hearne's world of Atticus O'Sullivan, the Iron Druid.However, this short was amusing, scary, and gory. It's full of mythology, mostly Egyptian. And it cracks me up how many men truly are NOT cat people - LOL! Why is beyond me, but Atticus and his Irish wolfhound Oberon have an encounter with the Egyptian Goddess Bast and her "people" that is as funny as it is frightening. And Atticus' stolen book that he calls "Nice Kitty!" is hilarious.Regardless, for a Druid who's over 2,000 years old, Atticus seems impetuous and sloppy to me. He doesn't attempt to plan very much, relying more on his powers and the seat-of-his-pants.This story is about an old book that Atticus liberated from the fabled library in Alexandria before it burned. Atticus calls it The Grimoire of the Lamb and refers to it as a cookbook, because it seems to contain recipes for lamb. Out of the blue, he receives a phone call from a man in Egypt, who wants to purchase the Grimoire of the Lamb. He has a rudimentary knowledge of who Atticus is - no mean feat, since he'd have to have magical connections for that one - and he some knowledge of the book. Again, no mean feat, since even Atticus doesn't really know what the book is or means.Atticus tells the man, Mr. Nkosi Elkhashab from Eqypt that he must show up IN PERSON to negotiate the purchase of the book, which doesn't make the Elkhashab happy. And then... Atticus simply seems to forget about the whole thing.So when Elkhashab DOES show up in person, suddenly Atticus is calling in favors from his werewolf lawyer to do a background check on this guy. Really? Like Atticus couldn't do that after the 1st phone call, just in case? I'm not well-enough acquainted with Atticus at this point to know if this is being frugal on his part (not paying for something he doesn't need until Elkhasahb shows up) or just plain lazy. But from the rest of Atticus' actions in this book and his lack of planning before blundering in, I'd call it lazy.Because despite Atticus' wards to prevent theft, when they can't agree on a price, Elkhashab does manage to steal the book and leave the shop. And despite his binding spells on Elkhashab and his car, the Egyptian handily gets away. Which forces Atticus to take his wolfhound, Oberon, with him and travel through Druid means to Eqypt to track down the book and Elkhashab.What Atticus finds is full of dark magic, ancient warlocks, and ancient Egyptian gods. It's quite a journey, full of adventure and fighting. But in terms of really getting to know Atticus - really setting the scene on this world and its rules, this book doesn't do it.The book did, however incent me to keep reading to find out if I can figure out what I'm missing here and/or if this is indicative of the author's style. Because I'm writing this review after reading the 2 shorts and being well into the 1st book mentioned above, I'd say that the Grimoire of the Lamb might fit chronologically as the 1st in this series, but it shouldn't be read in that order.
