MArooned Book Review: MHI

Q. What has 18 legs, poison pinchers, and can shoot acid from its antennae?

A. Beats the hell outta me; hit it with the flamethrower just to be safe.

The above passage isn't from Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia, but it might as well be. MHI tells the story of one Owen Z. Pitt from the time he kills his jackass boss until he saves the world from an alien priestess who's channeling the Old Ones. It's a rip-roarin' rocket ride of a good time, with werewolves, vampires, wights, gargoyles, and other assorted things of which nightmares are made all getting what's coming to them at the hands of the Hunters.

You see, in the MHI world, monsters are real. All the various baddies, ghouls, goblins, and other things that go bump in the night roam among us, kept at bay by the Hunters and nefarious governmental secret agents. MHI is a private enterprise, so naturally they're more effective at getting results, with a bounty on all "monsters" that keeps the Hunters in business. We follow "Z" as he is recruited for MHI, through his training and first mission, up until the final confrontation with the Cursed One at the book's climactic finale.

There's a lot to like about MHI if you're a gunnie, or a fan of horror/monster fiction, or just enjoy an action-packed read. It's obvious as hell that Correia knows his stuff, certainly gun-wise, and chances are that if you have even a passing familiarity with firearms, one of your personal favorites is in MHI. I have one minor nit to pick: One of the Hunters favors a Russian VEPR in .308 Win, which I have to call shenanigans on, as there are only 3 or 4 magazines in existence (inside joke; I own a VEPR in .308 and have been completely unable to find magazines anywhere...)

The main characters are well-developed, giving us insight into their pre-hunter lives as well as the events that brought them over. You see, in order to be chosen for consideration as a Hunter, one has to have survived an encounter with a monster. Some, like Pitt, jump at the chance to save the world. Others do it for revenge. Some can't reconcile the fact that monsters are real and go insane - a key attribute of Hunters is that their minds are flexible...

One "complaint" I have - and it's a minor one to be certain - is that the monsters are flat. We're told where Hollywood gets it right - and wrong - but little beyond that. There's a lot of development of the main baddie (the "Cursed One"), which obviously is central to the story; it would have been kickass to get some more background on the other monsters. Of course, the book would then have been 900+ pages long and taken me three days to finish... ;)

I really, really like Monster Hunter International. Of course, I'm a gun nut with a sci-fi/fantasy streak a mile wide, so it's almost like it was written for me. Consider it a Walter Mitty-esque voyage into the land of "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and "What would you use for..." thought questions. It's fun escapist fiction that grabs your attention with the gun talk; holds it with a solid story of good vs. evil; and leads to a satisfying conclusion where the good guys... Well, I won't give it away - read it yourself!

Extra special thanks to my good friend Heath for loaning me his copy in time for my trip to FLA. As I mentioned, MHI kept my mind off the fact that I was hurtling through the air at nearly 500 MPH in a metal tube built by the lowest bidder. That's saying quite a bit right there. Pick up a copy - you will not be disappointed.

Just remember to keep a healthy willing suspension of disbelief handy - because we all know that spare VEPR .308 magazines aren't real...

That is all.