Monster Hunter International

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 24 hrs

Publisher's summary

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.

It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries-old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way.

With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves. Business is good.... Welcome to Monster Hunter International.

©2009 Larry Correia (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Love this writer.

Where does Monster Hunter International rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have have to say this rates pretty high for this genre. It was a really pleasant surprise.
Narration was great!

A Fun Read You Just Can't Take Seriously

Go into it expecting a good bit of fun and monster-infused violent pulp fiction, and it is possible to really like this book. If you are coming to this from the Grimnoir Chronicles, you may be a little disappointed, but you will recognize the fast pace, shoot-em-up style that works well for Correia. Come looking for literature and you'll probably be traumatized.

Correia serves up action and the supernatural pretty well. If that is why you're reading, you'll be fine. He is great at keeping your interest. It is hard to put down.

It is also hard not to roll your eyes in places. The characters are stock parts bought right off of the shelves. Except the main character who is basically loaded to his eyeballs with every single trait it takes to make a dime novel hero except a soul.

Correia uses the rest of the cast to make the book out to be a manifesto for libertarianism. Every good guy is a government-hating, rugged individualist, gun nut. Every bad guy is a bureaucratic, authoritarian. And there's no depth in the story as to why or a description of personal motivation, the characters are like sandwich boards for "evil bureaucrat" or "gun-toting, freedom-loving hero."

Another thing that some readers may love, and I kind of like to a point (a point, that is, which is exceeded very early), is Correia's in depth - sensual, really - description of gunfights. I feel like it goes way too far and drags on the story, but some readers may love it. Correia's characters do not just draw, aim, and shoot. They will reach for the stained hickory grip of their custom two-tone chrome 1911, pull the well-lubed slide back to chamber a 405 grain .45 caliber bullet, then fall into a standard weaver stance, calm their breathing, focus on the front site post of their, after market, tritium sites, squeeze the trigger to allow the hammer to strike the firing pin which, in turn, strikes the primer at the base of the shell, this primer then ignites the main charge causing the powder to burn and the pressure of that rapid expansion of gasses to propel the led slug down the barrel causing the soft metal of the slug to engage the rifling of the 4" barrel and on, and on, and on. It wouldn't be so bad if it only happened once. Anytime a gun is mentioned it gets the full catalog description. I don't mind guns in real life, and they are certainly appropriate to this story; still, it's like "enough already!" The guns have more personality than the people.

The reader is ok. He seems to be talking through gritted teeth even when not characterizing a voice, but that is not inappropriate as lots of the characters are tough guys. He does some voice characterizations which work well. The overall effort is less than brilliant. A gentleman's 3/5.

Despite my focus on its faults, I like the book. The action is tight and plentiful and I am a sucker for that stuff. Planning on continuing the series.

glad I tried it

This is not my usual selection - in general I avoid the horror genre and find stories characterized by repetitive gun violence tedious. However I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am contemplating buying the next one.

The characters in this story are a delight. The main character who tells the story in first person is funny, interesting, self-deprecating and anti-authoritarian. He's Philip Marlowesque, although more humble and seems more like someone you might actually know. The female characters are fully developed, capable members of the team and protagonists in their own right and not just placed into the story as either romantic interests or vampire fodder. Some of them turn out to have surprising secrets in terms of undead status, but it doesn't seem like the usual horror-story artifice because they are multi-dimensional friends by the time we find out about their history.

The descriptions of claws, fangs, permutations of skin, limb and eye characteristics, slimy oozing, amputated body parts, 'mists' of vaporized bodies both human and non-human, etc, at times went on a little long for my taste, but that's the advantage of listening over active reading, in that I could just let it pass by, and didn't find it a major detractor from my enjoyment. Same with sometimes lengthy descriptions of battles and battle tactics. The overall tone of the storytelling is light and often funny instead of frightening or sickening.

I found myself surprisingly interested in the descriptions of various guns and their advantages/disadvantages as weapons based on the situation confronted. The author is clearly an expert in this topic, and I hadn't realized how interesting it could be having never thought about it before.

The narrator did an amazing job on a range of voices, both human and not - a real accomplishment of vocal modulation.

This book ranks high in terms of pure entertainment, with a fairly simple and somewhat predictable story line, but engagingly complex characters and a lighthearted attitude.

You really can't judge a book by its cover!

I bought this book on sale when I didn't have anything else to listen to. The premise was interesting sounding but the cover made me think twice, because it was so comic bookish and action adventure-ish looking. I put off listening to it for a while longer. I finally got around to it and am kicking myself for waiting for so long. I like sci-fi and paranormal books but this has a lot of "Die Hard" and "Terminator" action mixed in. The action-adventure stuff is not normally something I like but this was surprisingly great. I like that the hunters are (for the most part) vanilla humans (not witches, vampires and so on). The writing and story are classic sci-fi awesomeness. Wyman is an excellent narrator. He does male and female well as well as southern and northern and all the monster voices too. Great book!

Pretty good for self-published

I liked this story - but there were a lot of spots where an editor could have improved the pacing and the dialog.

The narrator really kept it going and did a fantastic job conveying the alpha-male machismo that the story needed, and the story itself was a really good story, the action had a perfect mix of detail and mood.

The non-action parts tended to drag a bit, and the ending felt like the end of Peter Jackson's lord of the rings trilogy - just ending after ending after ending... but honestly - I enjoyed it enough that I'm looking forward to the next one.

Loved the narrator!

This book is so funny. It has long descriptions of the battles that take place with action so over the top it will make you laugh till you cry. I loved the characters, who are over the top as well. The narrator is so good, he gives the characters more life than just the book alone could. I really enjoyed the narration more than the story itself, which at times got really into their guns. I would recommend this to my friends.

One of my all time favorites

I love Monster Hunter International series. I have listened to them all at least once. I don't want to read the books because Oliver Wyman does a fantastic job with the narration - he is the voice of the characters to me. And speaking of characters - this book is loaded with great characters. Correla, in my opinion, is expert at creating interesting believable and outstanding characters. He also is an expert at writing snappy and interesting dialog. And he is one fantastic storyteller. I also loved his Grimnoir series, which is totally different from MHI, but is also an outstanding series.

MHI is exactly what it's title states - it is a group of people who are adept at hunting and killing monsters. A federal agency oversees monster hunting and pays a bounty, or puff, for each monster killed. At the same time this federal agency is trying to keep the existence of monsters hidden from the public knowledge. The monster hunters from the MHI team are tough men and women who train intensively with the greatest Team of all time hunters. They have special skills and are tough as nails. Also brave and true. Just a plain ole master storyteller at work with a great imagination and sense of humor. Don't miss this!!!

Great Story!

I enjoyed the audio book. The details about shooting and guns are great! Being a student of the gun I appreciate when a writer knows his stuff.

WOW Who'd of thunk!

Where does Monster Hunter International rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am thoroughly impressed! If you are a Odd Thomas (Dean Koontz) and Christopher Moore fan, you will be as delighted as I am. . I find myself smiling and or laughing at comments in the writing that remind me of both of them. Yes it is long... but no minute wasted, You will be hooked from the beginning thoroughly to the end. I am so looking forward to starting part two.

What other book might you compare Monster Hunter International to and why?

Dean Koonts with the Odd Thomas series and the relaxed humor of Christopher Moore.

Have you listened to any of Oliver Wyman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have heard her voice in past but comparison is not nescessary.

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

I was thoroughly taken with the book when "Z " listenened in on the conversation in the sub levels that were so secret

Any additional comments?

This is an awesome book to listen to.

Supernatural has gone tactical

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would have to say, that this book was a complete thrill and action packed and funny. Right from the start of the book to the end it was just fast paced and action pack! My kind of monster book! I'm starting on the second book and can't wait!

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character had to be Owen z Pitt not just because he was the main character but also because he was a gun nut, didn't take crap from no one and that he sticks up for what he believed in!!

What does Oliver Wyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think Oliver wyman did an outstanding job with narrating the book! Made it an absolute joy and made it hard to put down!

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

I laughed multiple times throughout this book! Very enjoyable!

Any additional comments?

Just starting being an audible guy and won't go back!