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.

Excellent Story, Excellent Character Development!

Would you listen to Monster Hunter International again? Why?

This was a great book, very accurate in the details, especially of the firearms and weaponry. The story is quick, gripping, funny, and very well written. I would put Correia in the same class with Butcher, Eddings, Salvatore, and a few others in his ability to get you involved with the characters and the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Monster Hunter International?

Owen's original scuffle with the werewolf was exciting and entertaining.

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

I haven't heard any of Wyman's other narrations, but he did one of the best jobs of any performer for an audiobook that I have ever listened to. Very good with the many different character voices and interactions. Great story teller.

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

I laughed all of the way through this book. I didn't just chuckle, but several times this book elicited a belly laugh.

Any additional comments?

Great audiobook all the way around.

Lots of action. Doesn't take itself too seriously

I've become a fan of Larry Correia. With the Hard Magic books, Into the Storm, and now the Monster Hunter books, he's shown to me to be a versatile and entertaining author. Creative with his different interpretations of fantasy themes, and skilled at developing characters and balancing the human drama amidst the spectacle.

More guns than you can shake a ... well, gun at!

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

My friends enjoy reading action with fantasy and a lot of gratuitous violence.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked the main character, Owen, but I think my favorite was Earl. No-nonsense and stops an argument with a well placed look rather than fist.

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with the voices and the dialog flowed very fluidly.

Any additional comments?

Overall, an AWESOME thing to listen to while stuck in traffic! The gratuitous (and detailed to the level of the serial numbers of the guns) violence really helped diffuse the traffic tension!

Disappointed

Would you try another book from Larry Correia and/or Oliver Wyman?

Yes, but hesitantly for Correia. Wyman is pretty good.

What could Larry Correia have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Employed a good editor and eased up on the adjectives.

What aspect of Oliver Wyman’s performance would you have changed?

Some pronunciation is off. Otherwise pretty good performance.

Did Monster Hunter International inspire you to do anything?

Bang my head against the wall over the dialogue.

Any additional comments?

After finishing the grimnoir series I went into these books with enthusiasm only to be disappointed by the writing. Could have been so much better.

Kept me interested

The narration was really good. The story was well written and interesting. I look forward to the next installment of the series

Decent not great

I don't think this story was pitched to me.

I had trouble believing the love interests would ever fall for her first boyfriend, or that the first boyfriend would ever be hired by MHU. Plus too many people were incompetent who should be competent, which totally made the world unbelievable for me.

I would say this book is very trope-y, (not that thats a bad thing), and simply uses the urban-fantasy/high-fantasy tropes as a vehicle for talking about killing vampires with high-caliber weaponry.

I didn't feel as if the magic system had any depth, which is to say that the author didn't explain why there were werewolves, vamps and demons. This brought me out of things.

Finally, I would have liked more character development out of the main character. I didn't get the sense that he had a perspective shift between the first page and the last page, or even a hero's journey 'comes-full-circle' type of thing. Also, he was supposed to be really smart but I never saw him use his brains to outwit his evil-monster enemies. Not that I objected to solving your problems with guns, but the author deliberately said the main character was smart so I was confused when he didn't out-cunning the evil monsters.

All of this said, I did like their character development for the main villain. It made him really cool.

Fantasy Geek Orgasm with GUNS!!!!!

I'm doing this review on this entire series.. I wasn't a Fantasy Freak when I started this book and I still claim I'm not. But I got hooked with this book. Mainly because Larry has so much fun with all the fantasy/ horror characters. Trailer park Faries..G nome the homeboy..vamps..werewolves..Franks. I can't think of a single Fantasy/Horror monster that isn't used in this series with good humor. Bleeding heart Liberals be forewarned...THERE BE GUNS HERE. Lots of guns. And the descriptions and uses are accurate. Larry knows his weapons. Character development is very good, everybody is believable even Franks. And I would love to have a beer with most of them. The story line is good and consistent through the series, and unlike a lot of series, there is no dead wood. Every book in this series is as good as the first. And after you finish all the Monster Hunters you have got to see what Larry Correia does with Hard Magic. There are very few authors whose works I read more than once. This guy is one worth reading again.

Couldn't put it down!

Very entertaining, great characters and story, can't wait to download the next one! Loved it!

Enjoyed it ;-)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the series in general. I was a little skeptical because of the title and the cover, but the author/narrator combination works. I am pretty sure Larry is a complete gun nut because of his detailed descriptions of everything dealing with weapons, but it is interesting to see how exciting some of the characters become when talking about them :-). In any case, give it a try, definitely worth the credits.

MONSTER SURPRISE

A book I would usually not pick to read but with the narrator giving the characters life, I actually found my MP3 plugged into my ear continuously. Refusing to remove the earphones for more intellectual listening as per family and friends, as I was entertained by the story as regaled by the hero. From any other perspective this tale would have lost a lot of it's impact. The characterisation of the hero by the narrator had just the right amount of arrogance and fear. I couldn't read the book as it would not be as enjoyable, but I plan to listen to it again.