Into the Wild

Book Two of The Malcontents

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Malcontents are back in action!

Into the Wild, the new novel by acclaimed author Larry Correia, picks up the story begun in Correia's previous entry in the series, Into the Storm.

Now under the leadership of the reluctant Lieutenant Kelvan Cleasby, the Sixth Platoon of Storm Knights has been ordered to accompany an archeological expedition from the Royal Cygnaran University deep into the Wyrmwall Mountains to investigate an ancient site of potentially great historical value. But what seems a simple enough assignment will rapidly turn into a test of the platoon's survival skills - an abandoned fort, the lone survivor of a horrifying attack, and a ferociously territorial tribe may be more than even the Malcontents can handle.

©2016 Skull Island eXpeditions, an imprint of Privateer Press Inc. (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

You don’t bring a knife to a war-jack fight

Sadly, other than a few good one liners and the introduction of a lady ranger, the was a rather dull listen. Whereas book 1 was a faster moving, medieval Dirty Dozen war story with a dash of steampunk, this was a slow building monster flick that felt like a made for TV movie inspired from a video game. Warhammer? Resident Evil? Mortal Kombat? There’s shades of all of these, but with equally shallow backstory. Also, whereas book 1 had more suspense, with the listener not knowing which of The Malcontents would survive, this book features an endless series of redshirts and a few, barely fleshed out new characters to sacrifice against the howling.

The first two hours of this book is assembling an archeological team and The Malcontents to protect them. Then it’s The Malcontents vs. The Howling in a third-world style back-country. Then a final segment aboard a train, ala Resident Evil, with an evil lightning Druid whose plan is never satisfactorily explained. Like book 1, there’s still a lack of detail in setting, characters, or well, anything, and random magical beings like an orc, dwarf, or rock golem appearing out of nowhere, only to disappear after the briefest cameo. The magic system, lightning weapons, and war-jack robots also remain barely sketched. And the returning characters haven’t grown at all. Aside from Acosta, war-jack Headhunter still has the most personality- and he’s a mute robot.

How can an author giving us the stellar Hard Magic series have written this? Glad I got both books on sale. For better monster mayhem with a military vibe, I recommend Harper’s 10, currently free in Audible Plus. It’s Pitch Black meets Aliens. Or try Nicholas Sansbury Smith’s Extinction Cycle for pulpy horror, or his Hell Divers series for outstanding apocalyptic monster fare offering both human and inhuman monsters.

Another thrilling adventure from Larry Correia!

Lt Cleasby returns, leading Madigan's Malcontents into the wild to escort a university expedition. What could possibly go wrong?
Lots. A thrilling ride with Headhunter the Warjack and the return of Acosta, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Correia rules

love Correia, just good story telling no matter what. strikes a good balance with moving the plot along and developing the characters. you care about the protagonist.

Not Larry's best work

it was only ok. not really that engaging of a story line or performance. I'm a big fan of monster hunters international and his No or novels. check those out

The Correia Continuation Magic Continues

What with the death of Lieutenant Madigan in Book 1 and the subsequent promotion and replacement of him by Lieutenant Cleasby (from Sergeant), I had feared that Book 2 would suffer. While Cleasby had proven himself on the battlefield as a capable platoon leader, he lacked the flair and dashing boldness of Madigan. Also, since this is a military novel, the expectation that it would simply be a repeat of the previous type of battle engagements.

I should have known better.

I had these same misgivings after Book 1 of his Monster Hunters, International. After all, just a chicken wings can be basted and baked in different styles, when you get down to it, they're still, essentially, chicken wings. However, what I failed to realize is that individual chicken wings don't have interesting backstories associated with them and that Larry has a way to make what seemingly should be a predictable continuation into an interesting unpredictable story. What with new character elements along with unexpected new and more deadly antagonists, this was most rewarding.

Again, the book is made even more enjoyable through the excellent narration by Ray Porter.

Well done!

I am a fan of Larry Corrieas work in general and this did not disappoint. The narrator did a great job of making the characters interesting and bringing them to life. Even the best written story can be dull with a narrator that brings no emotion to the voices, but Ray Porter does an excellent job in that regard. The story is an excellent foray into the world of the Iron Kingdoms and has great pacing. The characters are fleshed out and memorable, and the antagonists have understandable motives. All in all, well worth the read.

Solid Iron Kingdoms action, Inconsistent narration

What did you love best about Into the Wild?

Everything involving Headhunter, the rebellious warjack was fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a split between Acosta and Headhunter. Savio is such a unapologetically amoral presence. They are like two sides of the same extremely violent coin, with Savio being the coldly rational perfection of violence and Headhunter representing the brutal, raging complement.

What three words best describe Ray Porter’s performance?

Solid. Emotive. Inconsistent

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I was very disappointed that Raines and Pangborn's voices from the first book were not carried through into this one. I seem to remember their voices even fluctuating during the course of this book

Great book two.

I really liked the story. I have to say though, it really could almost be a stand alone book not requiring someone listening/reading book one. However, book one was awesome, so don't skip, read both. Larry is a very talented writer.

Great story

Great story. The narration was done extremely well. it was surprisingly well done and was very enjoyable from beginning to end.

so very good

I've thought both books have been fantastic. of course Ray Porter did excellent. the bad is it appears to be the end. they work well enough on there own, but it definitely leaves you wanting more.

Very enjoyable

very enjoyable and it can stand on it's own as a good fantasy novella. I really liked the narrator, he has a nice accent, delivery and drawl.