Oberon the Irish Wolfhound is quite possibly the most lovable character, ever. (Followed by Tolkien's Samwise Gamgee and Kevin Hearne's own Owen the Archdruid.) Getting to spend an entire novella inside his giant fuzzy head was a treat.

And it is a novella. Don't be disappointed when you realize you're going to blow through it in a single sitting. The mystery is light and easily solved, but you have to remember here, Oberon is a dog. An honest to goodness dog. He's not going to be hacking into foreign databases and rappelling down skyscrapers and getting into crazy Matrix shootouts. A DOG.

Instead, you get hilarious discourses on the trustworthiness of different dogs based on their willingness to let their behinds be sniffed, discussions on the rights of squirrels in the wild, and understandings of when you may pee on certain things, or not. He's quite good at investigative deduction, but struggles with the concept of time. I spent 45 minutes reading this thing and laughing out loud.

You could possibly read and enjoy this without any background in the Iron Druid series, if you're willing to just accept at face value that this dog can talk to one person who seems to have some inexplicable magical powers. But you should read the Iron Druid books anyway, because they're hilarious adventures.

I loved it. Kevin Hearne remains near the top of my "Authors Whom I Will Always Read Every Single Thing Ever" list.

arc received for review