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.

Read it, love it, then get the next one

What did you love best about Monster Hunter International?

Blew through this fast paced and entertaining series in no time. I loved the characters and never knew what to expect. Give this one a shot!

Amazing story

loved it! this book grabs you right out the gate. the monsters feel terrifying and the action is first class. and for gun lovers the details on the weapons are spot on.

10/10

great voice over, story prog, and genuinely captivating....loved it all from start to end ...

Just Okay

I got this book looking for action packed adventure. The idea behind the book was very good and the characters very likable, but the book moved way too slow for me. I can't decide if that's the author's fault or the narrator. I still recommend this book and will be listening to the second in the series.

Much better than I anticipated!

Honestly, I really wasn't sure when I purchased this book that I would like it. I don't care for "light" fantasy type stuff at all but the reviews just raved about it so I gave it a shot. I am so glad I did... what a great series. This is one of those books that make you enjoy traffic because you're able to listen longer. It's honestly one of the most entertaining books I've listened to since the last Joe Ledger novel (if you enjoy the Joe Ledger series by Mayberry you'll love this).

The author never takes this book too seriously... there's plenty of humor throughout and the man knows how to pace a novel. The action starts within a few pages and never lets up. This is not meant to be a work of literary genius, it's a summer action book and the author understands this. Don't get me wrong, he can actually write too... but he understands that the pacing and action is first and foremost and does this very well. It also helps that the author is a firearms expert and it shows with his detail to the firearms throughout the book.

Narration is well done for the most part. He loses a star because he sometimes make the main character sound too much like a stoned surfer, but most of the other voices he does very well. While he does "act" out the book, it's usually not over the top.

Highly recommended series.

Story, good. Narator, bad.

The story was great for the most part. Eyerolling and maybe groan worthy once ir twice but it was good and theast quarter of the book really sells it. The narrator sucked and used terrible accents that really ruined the immersion. Not to mention his skills at story telling were lacking given that he used the same monotone voice for nearly everything. There was no sense of urgency and yes, sometimes it fit, but not the entire story. And his voice for the main bad guy just made me want to skip over important story bits cause it was just this terrible, god awful british(????) accent when, minor spoiler, he's not fucking British. I'm going to do my best to avoid this narrator but I definitely want to read more of this story.

Fun

If you liked Ashe from Evil Dead I, & II, and Army of Darkness, you'll like this.

Wasn't sure, but a very worthy series

Any additional comments?

I've been into various sci fi/fantasy series for awhile now. The Dresden Files and Destroyermen were the first to keep me company on my way to and from work. Then on to the likes of Sandman Slim and the Druid Chronicles. I eventually found my way to Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles.

I really enjoyed the latter and through that became aware of the Monster Hunter series. But for the longest time avoided it. Simply due to the name. It seemed appropriate for a teenager's series. And I never gave it a chance. Finally, waiting for the next entries in all the other series, I was short of listening material. And I gave Monster Hunter a shot.

I am glad I did. The legacy of Owen Zastava Pitt is a good listen. A very good listen. If you are a fan of the Grimnoir Chronicles, or any of the others of this genre by all means give the Monster Hunter series a chance. You won't be sorry.

Going in I confess that I was a bit disappointed that Bronson Pinchot from Corriea's Grimnoir Chronicles was not the storyteller. But any reservations quickly faded. Oliver Wyman does an excellent job here. His character readings have great range. And are very effective.

And Correia does an excellent job in this opening salvo of the Monster Hunter series in regards to story and character introduction and setup. We get a good start with "Z" (as Owen is often referred to) and his pre-Monster Hunter days. His background. His family. And his upbringing. We are introduced to the government's Monster Control Bureau (MCB). It's leader Agent Myers. And Agent Franks, with whom Owen will build a love/hate (OK. maybe grudgingly like/hate) relationship throughout the series. Agent Franks may be my favorite character in the series.

We meet the Shackleford family and their Monster Hunter International Organization. Earl and Julie of the Shacklefords themselves. MHI stalwarts like Sam and Milo. And other newbies that progress through MHI training with Owen. Holley, Tripp and Arthur Lee.

Yeah. Yeah. There are bad guys too. Zombies. Vampires. And the Cursed One. But this book is very much more. It is a setup for a series and a mythology that Correia starts to build here and continues to build through the books that follow.

I enjoyed this listen immensely. And what I think Correia does best, here and in subsequent entries in the MHI series, is build a world and set of characters - paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, book by book - that leaves you fulfilled while expectently waiting for the next story to come out.

MHI is the best franchise that remains unexploited

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

The Monster hunter series is a fun ride with plenty of folklore and history tied in. It mixes may subcategories of horror and Comic book into one awesome story.

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

The classic fish out of water with one bad mammer jammer of a fish and a whole lot of bad fish in the water. A scene on a ship with a jealous coworker helps to cement the character to appeal to your inner nerd.

Which scene was your favorite?

Training

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

I could get behind the relentless pursuit of right though not your classic hero.

Good -But be warned

Any additional comments?

I enjoy the Monster hunter books. But be Warned -Apparently The Author is some kind of right wing nut Job. He portrays The Feds(US Government) as Jack Booted Nazi Storm trooper who are Stupid/Corrupt and will do anything up to and including torture of Innocent and the Murder of Innocent people to keep the secret. If this just a minor part of the plot it would be one thing. But it is so prevalent in his writing even as a fictitious/fantasy /paranormal novel it is kind of disturbing.