Monster Hunter International Book Review, Larry Correia
Five Stars
Monster Hunter International is one of the cleverest, funniest books I have read in years. I am not a regular reader of horror stories, but was lent this book by someone who insisted I read it. I did, and was hooked by the end of the second page. Turns out it isn't really a horror novel at all, in spite of the werewolves and vampires galore.
The hero is an accountant who has an encounter with a werewolf (his boss) and not only survives but manages to kill the werewolf. He is recruited by a secret society of monster hunters, and goes on to save the world.
Okay, that is a pretty poor review of the story, but I really really don't want to give away a bit of the plot. It is all so much funnier if you uncover the twists and turns yourself. The book has romance, heroism and betrayal, surprising but logical plot twists, lots of monsters, and lots and lots of gunfire.
I'd rather talk a bit about the author, Larry Correia, and his involvement in the American firearms sub-culture. There are some great authors, like Stephen King, who use guns as props in their novels, but don't know beans about them. Knowledgeable people always complain about King's frequent errors. It simply spoils the story if some simple, easily obtained fact is flat wrong. The author doesn't care enough about his story to do ten minutes of research. It is as if someone said they turned on their computer by turning the key and giving it gas. It just doesn't make sense.
With Larry Correia, there is none of this. The whole book is one, long, humorous insider's joke on the gun culture. Larry knows his guns, knows gun people and how they think, and weaves it all into a great plot with great characters. He pokes fun at their attitudes and prejudices, but because he is an insider himself, it comes off not as an attack, but as friendly joshing.
International is nearly unique in that it was originally self-published, but became a wildly popular best seller. Larry couldn't find an agent or traditional publisher who was interested, so he went ahead and published it himself. Eventually, after he had racked up enough sales, SF and Fantasy publisher Baen Books picked it up and published it.
Larry has since gone on to write and have Baen publish several more books, including the sequel to Monster Hunter International, Monster Hunter Vendetta. That one is just as good as the first, and the series is still going strong.
Check out Larry Coriea's web site, Monster Hunter Nation: http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/
If you like Fantasy, Horror or Science Fiction, you'll like Larry Correia's books. If you read and enjoy the type of action-filled books Baen Books publishes, you'll LOVE Monster Hunter International.
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