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.

Awesome standout book and narrator! What a pearl!

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

I've listened to quite a few audiobooks at this point. Okay okay. I'm an audiobook-addict! This narrator is outstanding. His command of voices and delivery of the dry, sarcastic wit the author has written into the main character is perfect. I've not heard better. The title put me off a bit but I am really happy I tried this one. Even if this isn't your favorite genre, you won't be disappointed!

After M.H.I. you'll need C.P.R. *----^--- Clear !

Would you consider the audio edition of Monster Hunter International to be better than the print version?

have not read the book

What did you like best about this story?

A great and interesting take on the monster world.

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

A first for me and it makes me more interested in other books he has done

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

Still trying to finish the first book when my sound chip went out on me. 2 hours left. Darn it! Jim.

Any additional comments?

Where on earth did this guy come from he's great! and you could not have pick a better reader other than Frank Muller himself. There is a hint of him in this I have to say.
Well done Dr. Watson. Well done.

Good Mindless Fun

Narrator is awesome. The story is a fun ride, especially if you like action, but there are plenty of cringe-worthy parts. The authors prose is functional, with some pretty good one liners (the one mushroom line was pretty good). The protagonist is so annoying that it almost ruins the fun. He is a neckbeard caricature, that somehow saves the world despite being a happy meal away from a myocardial infarction.

That said, I would still recommend this story, despite the serious eye rolling. Just expect to laugh at the sheer cheesiness, but I think the action-sequences are worth viewing the world through a Marty Stu.

PS. The protagonist could hop on an elliptical. Having some cardiovascular conditioning would probably help, especially if you are going to be shooting at paranormal entities.

Evil looms, cowboy up, kill it, get paid.

I'm pretty sure at this point I've listened to this series, in it's entirety, ten times, within the last month. There are some small parts of the writing itself that I take issue with, HOWEVER, Oliver Wyman's performance, the characters and the over all story are completely binge worthy. If you're a fan of modern paranormal fiction, this is definitely for you. Though, it's more along the lines of the Valducan series by Seth Skorkowsky, than Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (which are both also excellent if you're in the market). If you're a fan of amazing reading performances - he has given EVERY character a distinct (and not annoying) voice of their own, he nails accents, emotions, inferences...all of it. Oliver Wyman is incredible.

Lots of action

Pretty good story. Enjoyed the listen and found the main characters were interesting. He made an old take on what a vamp should new. Looking forward to next book.

If you Like Fantasy and Horror

This is the book for you. Themes similar to other great books like the Dresden Files and HP Lovecraft, you need to read the book for a great story.

Freaking love this book!!!

I've listened to this at least a dozen times. One of my favorite series for sure. keep up the good work.

Entertaining

Lovely introduction into the world of the monster hunters. Very enjoyable, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Action packed with fun engaging characters

This book got me hooked on Correia’s writing style and this entire series. I’ll admit I’m quite the gun nut and Correia’s detail in that arena tickled my fancy tremendously, but that’s far from the best this series has to offer. There’s a lot of passion you can feel in his character and world building, and this book really takes the time to not only introduce us to our cast in great detail, but really make you love and understand the band of Monster Hunters you’re following. Owen Pitt’s goofy nature and inability to not get his butt kicked by every monster he goes up against is always fun. You know he wins in the end, but it’s nice to feel all the struggles and pain he has to endure to get to the payoff, win the day and secure that bounty. Scarred, bloody, and always sore he trudges on and kicks evils fangs in. He has a twisted ability to be cocky, pessimistic, brave, and a just bit dense for a guy with a genius level IQ that just make him into an interesting protagonist with a lot more depth than you’d expect of you just looked at the cover. The icing on the cake is Oliver Wyman’s delivery. Reading these books yourself is still incredibly enjoyable but once Wyman brings these characters and their world to life you’d be hard pressed not to read the books in his voices afterwards, and he only gets better as the series progresses. Every character has their own unique voice and tone that lets you know who is talking without even needing to be told. One of my top recommendations for my friends who also enjoy audiobooks, even if they aren’t the gun nut I am, I still think there’s a lot to enjoy

Surprisingly Great

If you could sum up Monster Hunter International in three words, what would they be?

Fast-paced, action, entertaining.

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

He really does a great job sounding like the characters are described if that makes sense. No irritating mannerisms, easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Based on the title of this book I was prepared for it to be really awful. I was pleasantly surprised that it was one of the best I've listened to recently. I'm now on the next book in the series.