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.

Delightful mix of hardboiled fiction and magic

I'm a big fan of Butcher's The Dresden Files, which mixes the noir detective genre with contemporary magic/urban fantasy. I was looking for something similar when I came across Correia's Grimnoir series. My first impression of this book from looking at the cover and from the first chapter or so was that it looked like a really hammy alternative fiction with superpowers, but as I listened it opened up into an exciting, imaginative, highly-engaging adventure. In Correia's world, magical powers manifest themselves within individuals as superpowers around 1860, and Correia opens his chapters with fictionalized excerpts from famous people from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Woodrow Wilson as they comment on the influence of these powers on history. Each of these powers have specific uses and limitations that made me think of magic in Sanderson's Mistborn saga in that they are well defined and have their limitations, which allows Correia to show how the characters are being clever with their abilities.

The book follows two central characters in the early 1930s. Faye is an "Okie," part of a poor family from Oklahoma who was traveling west in the hopes of finding work and food. Her family ostracized her for being different, for having the power to "travel" in the blink of an eye, and sold her for $10 to a Portuguese farmer with a similar talent. Her new "grandfather," Joe, taught her how to harness her ability and taught her the value of hard work, but when his past catches up to him she finds herself on the road looking for revenge. Sullivan was a WWI hero and now is an ex-con working off his parole by helping J. Edgar Hoover and the new FBI track down dangerous "Actives" (people with powers). Sullivan may look like a big, brutish idiot, but he's sharper than he looks, and it's that intelligence that helped him discover the depth and breadth of his gravity-altering abilities while quarrying rock in the government's special prison for Actives. Faye and Sullivan become unwillingly embroiled in a conspiracy involving the battle between the menacing Japanese Imperium and a secret society of Actives all clamoring for a mysterious device of immense power.

The plot was very well paced with plenty of action AND character development. The story is told form a third-person limited point of view but Correia added enough voice to the prose and Pinchot's narration added enough flavor to keep Faye's and Sullivan's sections distinct and interesting, reflecting the inferiority of each character. Correia might have expanded on how individual magical superpowers are linked (or not) to the kind of magic in spells and writing a bit earlier as early on in the book I was wondering why we are calling it "magic" and why we wouldn't just treat it like superpowers a la X-Men. It was developed later on, but if you find yourself wondering the same thing, just wait a while and it'll be dealt with. I enjoyed the inventiveness applied in the alternate history of the late 19th, early 20th century as it didn't throw things too out of whack and played with the historical tensions that were already there including the growing concern of Japanese imperialism and the general relaxing of tension in America following World War I. I did, however, feel that the characterization Japanese was flat overall. While the only Japanese we see are soldiers of the Imperium and their terrifyingly powerful Chairman Tokugawa, as a people they did feel very "Othered" in this story: they come across as just part of a big, bad, conquering war machine and not much else. While this may be how they would have been seen by contemporary Americans since there was not a lot of cross-cultural understanding between those two cultures at the time, still it irked me a bit.

Overall, however, the characters feel vibrant and interesting, even the Japanese Chairman. I very much enjoyed this audiobook as it was a fun ride with inventive use of magic, thrilling action and adventure, and very affective characters. The book sets up the challenges and mysteries awaiting the characters in future installments well and left me hungry for more, so I look forward to downloading Spellbound soon. Pinchot's narration was very engaging and he has a good range for different voices. I would describe his narration as somewhere between James Marsters and Scott Brick (but maybe a Scott Brick who spoke in a quicker, more animated fashion).

Manfredi meets Merlin.

I picked this up on a 4.95 sale, and was happily surprised. It's a unique hard boiled alternate history 1920's crime fiction. Bootlegging, bank robbery, Model T's, the Great Depression, Okies, Portuguese pride, helium derigibles. Larry Correia really covers his bases. It's like getting a window into the past, with magic. Famous quotes by Einstein, Tesla, Hoover, and many other notables are altered to make them appear to be Actives. The main character is an Active which reminds me of Marv from Frank Miller's Sin City, or Shadow from Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I would gladly have paid the regular price to hear this book.
Bronson Pinchot has a very VERY masterful range of character voices. I mean this is a guy that can convincingly manage an Okie country drawl, and an aged Portuguese rancher, and make it sound easy.
The only thing I could possibly dislike, is that his version of a certain slow speaking character is so convincingly hypnotic I have trouble staying awake, and catch myself holding my breath for the next word. He was probably intending that response. It's like listening to my history teacher on a warm day.

Fun Book

This was a fun book. I would say its a mix of Sam Spade, Indiana Jones, the A-team, and and odd Alt-history. It might not be the best book I have ever read, but it was a great read.

Well worth my time and credit!

For me, this book was a "Hey, why not take a chance" selection from audible.com. And, I liked it a LOT! Bronson Pinchot did an EXCELLENT job of narrating. And, as for the material itself - well, it was fun, creative, action-filled, and clever. The characters were, for the most part, unique and memorable (either as good-guys/gals or bad-guys/gals). What I found interesting - and not a little bit odd - was that I was reading Brandon Sanderson's "Alloy of Law" at the same time as I was listening to this audiobook. There was an interesting overlap in general (and I mean GENERAL) theme. One is not a derivative of the other - but I just found it interesting (serendipitous?) that two books I'd be working on at the same time would have characters who can manipulate their weight (either by pushing/pulling on metal, or by just altering gravity), and that both books would have such a rich panoply of magical characters. But, back to this book.... I really enjoyed the storyline, and the hint of a magical being (and it's predator) that over-arches this plot. The fight scenes were BRILLIANTLY filled with unique and clever uses of the character's particular magic in ways that just defied second-guessing. That was refreshing! I especially liked the use of Japanese kanji as power elements that could strengthen individuals - but only if they were meticulously inscribed! Nice! All in all, this was a delightful experience - especially with Bronson Pinchot reading (his breadth of characterized voices was impressive and enjoyable). I will definitely listen to the next book in this series, and will almost certainly read something else by this author (Larry Correia has a "Monster Hunter" series that has me intrigued.) Oh, and this was a "quasi-alternative historical fiction noir" story, as well - with perhaps a little steam-punk thrown in for good measures. Talk about cross-genre writing! Anyway, we get to meet some familiar historical folks along the way, but in slightly altered positions. And, watch for the uber-subtle shout-out to Raymond Chandler near the end! I may need to go back and look for more such "Easter Eggs" now.

Alternative history meets sci-fi-fantasy...

It is better written than the Monster Hunter books - or perhaps just better edited. For the most part, the story is all forward motion and the fights have the right pacing (in Monster Hunter, the battling was over-proportionate to the story). Well, if I think about it, maybe some of the battles were a bit too long, but for the most part they didn't feel excessive.

It does take a bit of time to settle into the world Correia created since it is very different from our own. It is an alternate history where 'real' places, names and events are used, but which had different results. The world here is one that we *could* envision as being possible, if things happened differently.

Well, and if aliens arrived.

There is a bit of jumping from one character/location to another, which takes awhile to get used to since we aren't familiar with the characters and their abilities - or the point of them in the story - until a ways into the book.

There is no cliff-hanger, but I am going to read the rest in the series - I think the future books should be even better now that the world and characters are clearer. The narration is good. There is non-gory violence, no sex and no swearing.

Cool fun.

I think I could listen to Bronson Pinchot read the phone book. I particularly enjoyed his performance of the character Faye, who seems to take over the story despite the synopsis focusing on the main character and tough guy, Jake. But this book repeatedly surprised me, in the best way. It was nothing I expected, creating its own ninjas and zombies and zinging one-liners from nowhere. Hard Magic is an excellent read. It was just plain fun, and I think I could recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or action or ... books. Five stars. I'm already downloading the next one.

Fantastic Story With Strong, Right Wing Tones

Where does Hard Magic rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Somewhere in the middle

What did you like best about this story?

Pinchot's narration was absolutely golden.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book, but it felt odd to me the entire time. I enjoyed that the heroes didn't fall into stereotypical roles (that much) - but the "get 'er done" nature of one of the main characters (Sullivan) was a bit too much. I don't want to give anything away, but the military love and MY GOD THE GUNS was a bit much. With Browning being a semi god-like figure... it was kind of ridiculous.

And then I read a bio of Larry Correia and things started to fall into place. Former gun shop owner, moved to Utah to join the Mormon church, etc. Which started to explain the "magic" that began to show up on Earth in the middle of the 1800s... what a coincidence...

Authors push their views into books all the time. One of my favorites (Dan Simmons) is well-known for sprinkling (fire-hosing) his books with conservative themes. I'm generally OK with this. I don't want to think I'm so entrenched in my world view that I can't go on a trip into someone else's.

Guns and "just blow it all up" mixed with magical cultism just made me feel like I sat through a visit from the annoying people that show up on your door step in their black ties. I want to see this book as a work of fiction... but the philosophy behind it is just flat-out scary.

Very glad I picked up this one.

And also very glad the next book in the series is also available. I'll be downloading it right after finishing this review.

I just saw this book is on sale for $5. If that sale brought you here, don't hesitate and buy it now. Really. Stop reading this review and click Add to Cart.

There was never a dull moment in this book. I usually only listen to my audiobooks on my commute, but I had this one playing on the speakers of my phone while doing work around the house. Strong plot with good twists and sub-stories.

The characters are easy to relate to, despite their enhanced abilities. The sense of learning of their abilities at the same time as some of them were was quite engaging.

Many reviews of this book discuss Pinchot's narration. The adolation spewed in his direction is almost laughable, until you experience it. All praise thrown upon him is well deserved. Add my name to the list of those who will look for books narrated by him as a way to find new titles and authors to try.

Awesome story!

What made the experience of listening to Hard Magic the most enjoyable?

The narrator does a great job of giving each character personality. The each sound different and fit the character.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hard Magic?

I don't want to give anything away.

Which scene was your favorite?

The fight on the dirigible.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I love the way the author brings out real people (Hoover, General Pershing) in an alternate world. I could actually imagine myself back in the 1930's.

Wow! awesome book & the BEST narrator ever!

Overall this is an awesome book. I thought the first chapter was VERY slow but man am I glad I stuck it out. I finished it and immediately downloaded the second book. I'm a big fan of Correia but have never had the pleasure of listening to Bronson before. Now I know what all the fuss is about. This man doesn't just "read" the book he ACTS it out! If he narrated the telephone book I'd buy it. Between the author & the narrator this series is definitely in my top three. Great character development (though it took me a bit to get everyone straight) and Pinchot does an amazing job. He even manages to have brothers sound like brothers but still slightly different. Women sound like women & geez the animation really brings the story to life. I can't say enough about Pinchot. Best there is. I typically steer away from stories about "magic" and fantasy and lean more towards zombies but this was really good. Great steampunk story. It's what "might have been". Jake Sullivan is our hero and like many others has a specific magic ability. There's a secret society - the Grimnoir that strives to protect those that cannot protect themselves. The supporting characters are just as colorful and developed as our hero. Also, each of them has a unique and interesting story. I swear Correia could take any one of them and create a new series. The bad guys aren't just evil men/monsters out to destroy the world but complex characters with many levels of evil! Multiple bad guys as well! I've never caught myself envisioning a book as the narrator reads it before. I've always listened and enjoyed but couldn't "visualize" what was happening. Not so with this book. Just as colorful as if I was watching a movie. Pinchot is THAT good and L.C.'s writing that creative. In one "scene" an "active (someone with magical abilities) can persuade people with his voice and a southern colleague asked if he tawked to him or taawwwked to him. Another cute scene was about a dirigible when an active appeared out of nowhere and can be seen by bad guys from another ship. He waves and one tentatively raises his hand (during battle) to wave back in confusion. Pinchot delivers that scene so well I laughed hysterically for five minutes. There's two more planned in the series and I will purchase them without even reading a review. No need. They will be wonderful (and hopefully my new favorite narrator will be my guide!) Don't hesitate to purchase this book - you will NOT regret it!