Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge

By: John Ringo, Larry Correia

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Two multiple New York Times best-selling authors team up to expand Larry Correia's Monster Hunter universe!

When marine private Oliver Chadwick Gardenier is killed in the marine barrack bombing in Beirut, somebody who might be Saint Peter gives him a choice: Go to heaven, which, while nice, might be a little boring, or return to earth. The Boss has a mission for him, and he's to look for a sign. He's a marine: He'll choose the mission.

Unfortunately, the sign he's to look for is "57". Which, given the food services contract in Bethesda Hospital, creates some difficulty. Eventually it appears that God's will is for Chad to join a group called Monster Hunters International and protect people from things that go bump in the night. From there, things trend downhill.

Monster Hunter Memoirs is the (mostly) true story of the life and times of one of MHI's most effective - and flamboyant - hunters. Protips for up-and-coming hunters range from how to dress appropriately for jogging (low-profile body armor and multiple weapons) to how to develop contacts among the Japanese yakuza to why it's not a good idea to make billy goat jokes to trolls.

Grunge harkens back to the Golden Days of Monster Hunting, when Reagan was in office, Ray and Susan Shackleford were top hunters, and Seattle sushi was authentic.

©2016 Larry Correia and John Ringo (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Suckered punched

I honestly listened to Grunge to fill the void that was left after finishing Monster Hunter: Nemesis. I was not expecting anything special since it was a side story. But leave it to this series to keep true to it's action, comedy, and sense of duty. MHM:Grunge is surprisingly very entertaining. It literally felt like I got punched in the face while I wasn't looking. I hope there are more memoirs in the immediate future.

Flat, one dimensional, but entertaining.

The truth is that this is what I expected when I bought the first MHI book. What I got with the MHI series instead was a rich set of characters and a deep and complex mythology. MHI books are just wonderful. Ringo's first MHI Memoirs installment is still entertaining and a bit fun, but it is flat. True boiler plate supermarket rack paperback fiction. It's the monster laden action story equivalent to a romance novel with Fabio on the cover. it serves its purpose, but nothing more. Consider this fan fiction.

What makes this audio book four stars is the exceptional narration by Oliver Wyman. He took this sub par book and polished until it shined. He's the only reason I would pick up any more MHI Memoirs sequels.

A great spin off of the MHI series!

I loved every second of it.
MHN a must read.
I can't wait for the next!

Wow a great collaboration!!!

This is the best book I've read in awhile ! Take the best two writers of modern times, combine , lather , rinse ; repeat ! Hurry with the next book ,
" like , totally" and then " GRUNGE " R O F L !!!

laugh out loud funny

sarcastic, irreverent, and a great surprise. awesome!
I am off to listen to the next one
well worth the credit.

Loved it. Still waiting.

Thank you for more MHI. AWESOME memoire/ back story. Really hoping this means you're bringing MHI back into your writing life. I like your other stuff, but I found you through MHI. My kids love Monster Hunters and guns so it's something we can talk about. That crap they watch on YouTube does nothing for me... So I need more great books. Thank you

Loved it!!!

This was a great book!!! It's a great way to get your MHI fix while we wait for the main story to continue. This story also gives more insight some side characters you may know and love.

fun but not great

interesting story with a really good narrator. My Wyman does a great job of making a so so book fun and interesting. not sure why Ringo' name here, if he helped write this I'm surprised. I bought because his name was there. while not completely disappointed, far from thrilled with book.

Wyman is perfect for these titles.

When I first started listening to the MHI series, I thought the narrator, Oliver Wyman, was a bit over the top....as I progressed through them, however, I find that his style is perfect for these over the top stories.

He's really come into his own on the series, and I could not imagine a better fit for it. He's improved with each title, and this is no exception.

This title, co-authored by John Ringo, is a fun romp through the world of Corriea's MHI. I don't think it's quite a strong as previous entries, but delivers on what I am looking for. Comic book style action, cool monsters, and fun characters.

The main character, Chad, however is a bit too 'perfect' on most things, I'd like to see him struggle more, as that would have added more tension. It seems he is a infallible hero.

This is mostly a set of short stories, interconnected by the 'memoirs' idea. I think the Yakuza storylines were the most entertaining, and wish more of that was weaved into the overall plot.

The Villains of the story, which is a strong suit in the other MHI storylines, fall short here. Our hero doesn't really seem to struggle much to dispatch them. There were some storylines left hanging, and I'm not sure if that means a sequel, or just loose ends.

Overall, this is a fun adventure into the MHI world, but I kind of feel it's more or less filler until the next installment comes. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Even a feminist can come to appreciate Chad

I am devoted to correia's monster hunters and Hard Magic series, so was glad for this new prequel fix.
I'm not sure why the authors made this one so political. It lessened my enjoyment a bit because i read these kind of books to escape our polarized American politics. Also not sure why the main character hates his mother so much or is such a womanizer. In your face sexism sucks and also lessens this reader's enjoyment of the book.
That said, if you can get past these issues, this book delivers a lot of the great adventures and glorious violence you expect from the MHI series. Chad has a strong narrative voice, and I came to appreciate him as a character. Love the Sasquatch adventures!
The fairy story lines seemed very indebted to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, but nonetheless entertaining for that. I look forward to the New Orleans installment and to further MHI and Hard Magic books.