Hard Magic

Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Paranormal, 2012

Jake Sullivan is a licensed private eye with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someone to go after a suspected killer who has been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree.

Problems arise when Jake discovers the bad girl behind the robberies is an old friend, and he happens to know her magic is just as powerful as his. And the Feds have plunged Jake into a secret battle between powerful cartels of magic-users - a cartel whose ruthless leaders have decided that Jake is far too dangerous to live.

©2011 Larry Correia (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

A little bit of everything

Jake Sullivan is not your average Heavy. He spent his jail time honing his skills and improving his mind and now he???s J. Edgar Hoover???s super-weapon, useful for fighting Fades, Torches, Brutes, and any of the other Actives who are using their magic for criminal purposes. Jake doesn???t like being used this way, but it???s his ticket out of prison. When the FBI asks Jake to bring down Delilah Jones, the Brute who used to be his girlfriend, Jake gets caught up in a world-wide battle that involves magic, mobsters, zombies, zeppelins, Ninjas and Nikola Tesla???s peace ray.

Knowing that Larry Correia was into big guns and B movies, I wasn???t planning to pick up Hard Magic, the first of his Grimnoir Chronicles. It doesn???t really sound like my kind of thing. But then I noticed that it was released in audio by Audible Frontiers (who always do a superb production) and narrated by actor Bronson Pinchot. I decided to give it a shot, and I???m glad I did. Even though it is a bit too gory for me, Hard Magic is an exciting story with a fully-developed world, a cool magic system, terrific characters, and some hard-hitting action scenes.

I won???t even try to classify Hard Magic ??? it???s urban, it???s alternate history, it???s paranormal, it???s steampunk, it???s romance, it???s horror, it???s noir ??? it???s a little bit of everything. The story is set in an alternate 20th century between WWI and WWII. Magic talents have evolved in some humans so that each Active has one particular skill. For example, Jake Sullivan can alter gravitational forces, making himself or other objects light or heavy, Torches can set or put out fires, and Brutes have super strength. In addition to these heritable magical skills, the Germans have developed a way to create zombies to keep their soldiers fighting during The Great War, and the Japanese have developed their own nearly indestructible human super-weapons which they call the Iron Guard. And everyone wants to find the missing pieces of the machine that Nikola Tesla built...

Wow Very Original and entertianing

This one of the best books i have listen to in a long time.I can.t wait for the next one. Highly recommended. I like Larry Correia other series Monster Incorporated Which are Excellent .

Hard Magic is an Easy Pick!

I came into this book with little expectation. Having heard the first two Monsters Inc. Books, and enjoying them, I thought I would give this one a go.

I really enjoyed the story, found the concepts intriguing and the characters solid. The voice work of Bronson Pinchot added depth and brought the characters to life, making this a 5 star pick for me.

Looking forward to the next book in this series

Better Than You Think It Will Be...

What if there were people who could do amazing things with their minds and bodies? People who can lift a car with their minds...flit in and out of existance? And what if this series were set in the post WW2 era?

Finally -- what if you layered a little steampunk and dual reality on top of the mix?

That's Hard Magic. Outstandingly easy to listen to. Great narration...fascinating premise. This is a gem of a book.

The characters do come off a little cardboard at times, but you can forgive it...because there are just so many outstanding plot twists.

Great work from an author I'm watching with increasing interest.

Wow. Absolutely outstanding!

Would you listen to Hard Magic again? Why?

I will most certainly listen to the entire series again. The concepts, the characters, the plot are all developed with such depth, I was drawn into the story immediately.

The setting of historic people and events tweaked with the insertion of magic creates an intriguing blend that Correia carries off with a real flair. He creates a world we can easily imagine, so clearly in fact that it's difficult not to be disappointed we're stuck in this reality, instead of that of the Grimnoir.

And of course, Bronson Pinchot is simply superb. He may very well be the best narrator I've heard to date. His performance, particularly the way he interprets the characters and their conversations truly shows his acting chops and he absolutely brings those people to life. Yes. He's that good. The humor, the action, the dialog - his performance enhances them all.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's difficult to pinpoint a favorite. Jake Sullivan is certainly an obvious choice, though Lance Talon is a crack up. And then there's Fay. Her view of the world and the people around her is... unique.

Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?

Though Bronson's accents and inflections for all of the characters are definitive, I think his interpretation of Fay is my favorite. Her almost random, scatter brained genius is truly brought to life by Bronson.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Fay realizes she's shot the wrong Sullivan brother and follows him to the Power, it's a haunting though touching scene. And of course, an exciting, action packed ending is always fun. Actually, one of my favorite parts of the book isn't something you can point to, so much as it's an overall tone. The witty banter and plot twists make for some laugh-out-loud moments and a few minutes later, you can't help but be touched by the way these characters work and sacrifice together to beat the bad guys.

Any additional comments?

Buy it. Listen to it. You'll be getting the rest of the series and writing a rave review yourself, I guarantee it. (Though not in a legally binding way, of course.)

Wow

I was a little iffy by the cover art but this series is great! A bit like Heroes the TV show. Characters are engaging and have show great personality especially though this narrator. I'll definitely be getting the next book in the series.

Not what I expected

This was really fun alternative history with power/magic altering the past. Great narration. Well worth a credit.

Wow! Great "Read".

Great book. Good action. Story flows well. Kept my interest from the start to the end. Just became one of my favorite series.

Very similar to Monster Hunters Intl

A good book but I kinda felt I was re-reading Monster Hunter Intl. Big strong guy who loves guns and gets power from a big octopus thing in another dimension. The steam punk aspects were good, using real history and modifying in to fit the story.

Magic Systems are for Chumps

Would you consider the audio edition of Hard Magic to be better than the print version?

I would consider it to be because of the excellent narration of Mr. Pinchot and the absence of the amateurish illustrations of some of the characters seen in the actual book.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I was just ready for it to be over by the end, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy the story before then.

Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?

Jake Sully has a very distinct drawl that I don't think I would have imagined myself reading the book but really fleshes the character out for me. It's a bit cartoonish at times, but fits in with the story well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Except that I despised that little girl throughout much of the book, but that maybe because of the narrator's voice he used for her. Even so, I felt she was totally superfluous and was meant only to appeal to some extra demographic and conveniently move the plot along at times.

Any additional comments?

One of my biggest problems with this book is little extras added in between chapters in which we learn Babe Ruth was a heavy and Einstein was a cog. To me, attributing their amazing feats of humanity to magic is near insulting. It's a neat idea that that's neat for about one minute until you realize the implications, but obviously Mr. Correia doesn't really care about those implications so neither do I, I guess. And neither do I care to finish this series. Noir and superpowers are cool, but this is really just a magic system and a story about a magical society and the noir gets lost way back in the middle somewhere. If you like urban fantasy this is for you.