Overall Rating: 5 stars (Loved It!)
This book blew me away.
In a world that suddenly got magic in the mid-1800s, we follow a group of magical heroes led by General Pershing against the Immortal Emperor Tokugawa. We follow Jake Sullivan, and ex-convict and a “Heavy” who can spike gravity. There’s also Faye, a teleporting country bumpkin girl who seeks to avenge her grandfather. Some people sport super strength, telekinesis, healing, or the ability to influence others’ minds… the list of powers goes on.
If MHI was an homage to B monster movies, this might have begun as an homage to those 30s and 40s noir films, with the smart-mouth Private Eye in his black fedora. Seriously, I read Monster Hunter International and liked it, but this book was on a whole other level. Correia’s writing style has become more smooth and complex. In addition, the wide cast of characters were all very deep and convincing.
This is where I believe artists live to contradict themselves. I’ve met Larry, and Correia spouts long and hard about being a “Pulp Writer”, claiming that his books will win no award for literary quality. He may be right about that, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t DESERVE an award. Somewhere along the line, focused entirely on entertaining people, Larry Correia touched my soul.
I read the audio version, and I started looking for excuses to do chores around the house so I could keep listening. I went for walks, runs, washed dishes, cleaned floors that were already sparkling, cooked meals for a week ahead of time, and unpacked boxes that had hitherto been condemned to the closet. I found myself laughing, choking up, and getting adrenaline pumped along with the book.
And yet what other book can make you cry, at the same time as having a teleporting ninja-fight aboard a flying dirigible? Probably something else by Larry Correia.
I’m calling your bluff, Correia, on being merely a “pulp writer”. Literary critics can go to hell. This is the kind of thing I read for.
Content
Age: Marketed to Adults
Language: Yep, expect a few SOBs and F-bombs.
Violence: I did mention this is a book by Larry Correia, right?
Sex: Mentioned, but not written.
Samuel Loveland 