What Are We Reading - Joe
My current commute book is Monster Hunter International - Vendetta by Larry Correia.
I was introduced to the MHI Universe in 2014 when I attended the Gen Con Writer’s Symposium. I received a bag of freebies at one point that included the first Monster Hunter International book so I read it. It was a fun urban fantasy romp following the adventures of Owen Zastava Pitt. Pitt is an accountant with a monster of a boss. Literally. When his boss turns into a werewolf and tries to eat him, Pitt does his best to survive and just manages to defenestrate his boss right through a fourteenth floor office window. Stuff happens and Pitt becomes a Monster Hunter which leads to more stuff and a pretty epic ending.
As fun as MHI book 1 was, Vendetta is even better. Correia seems to hit his stride as a novelist amping up the tension, the humor, and the fun. I find myself laughing out loud often. His inside jokes and references overlap with my sphere of knowledge. Can we say TROGDOR!!!! anyone? My daughter could when she was just a toddler. (She’s always been pretty awesome). Yes, the Burninator himself is given honor in the book. How can I not love that?
Correia is a gun nut, and his passion is evident in his writing. Just reading his books has increased my knowledge and appreciation of firearms in general. I still have difficulty imagining what some of the guns look like, but when in doubt I can always reference images on the internet and suddenly my immersion is more complete.
The books also are riddled with monsters of all stripes. From classic movie monsters to Cthulhulian elder squid things, monsters and the hunting of them are at the core of the books.
The books include some magic, but magic is not the focus except to be the target of someone with a gun - or as a plot device. This avoids a lot of the issues that can come about with magic, but it is there.
So far I’m enjoying the books. I’ll pick up book three more quickly than I picked up book two. It’s good stuff. I give it an 8000 out of 9739.
Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter International - Vendetta are published by Baen Books. 9739 Publishing has no association with Baen Books or Larry Correia at the time of this posting.
