Monster Hunter International

By: Larry Correia

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

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.

Killin’s my business and business is fine

This audiobook has monsters of impossible, mind-bending proportions. The main villain, the “Cursed One,” is not just a mwahaha villain – we also get inside his head through his memories in Owen’s ghost-guided dream/nightmares that recall C.O.’s journey from a “mean son-of-a-bitch” conquistador to one very megalomaniacal, unearthly, tentacled, flesh-wriggling being who is intent of stopping time itself. I think I’m in love with Owen Z. Pitt, who’s inherently epic, but it’s hard to let the listener know how epic Owen is through first-person narration without it sounding over-the-top or silly. Like when a master vampire tells Owen he has the strongest will of any mortal she’s ever met, or when one guys says to the other that he shouldn’t mess with Owen because he has “one hundred pounds of muscle” on him. Or worse yet, when Julie reads his file and we find out Owen’s a marksman/genius. This book is cliché in the best way possible. It's like 1 part monsterish gore, 1 part comedy, and 1 part all sorts of artillery. It's like Hot Fuzz.

Oliver Wyman is great. This is the first time I heard him read, and his style is perfect for Monster Hunter International. He has a rather macho tone with just a bit of immaturity, and again, the term “epic” comes to mind to describe his style. His reading of female voices didn’t make me burst out laughing, which is what usually happens when I listen to male narrators read girls’ voices. The only thing that jarred me was how seriously Oliver Wyman took those vocal direction. I usually comment on whether narrators do a good or bad job at distinguishing internal monologue with external speak when audiobooks are in first-person, like this one. The listener has no problem with distinguishing the two in Monster Hunter International, because Oliver Wyman reads the directions in a rather calm soft voice, while reading the actual words with the proper emphasis, instead of splitting the two.

over the top in a good way

Any additional comments?

bruce campbell meets arnold schwarzenegger in a b-movie loaded with big guns, big baddies, and one-liners with a love story to boot.* i didn't even mention the lovecraftian slant!

yes, this book is over the top but in a good way! there are huge battle scenes reminiscent of the lord of the rings movies, full of rampaging zombies, vampires, and werewolves.

if you're a zombie lover like me, there are cool zombies in this book, called whites.

i haven't read many books about werewolves or vampires, but both are well done here. the author does a good job of conveying their power and their fearsome nature.

even though, i didn't really like the star wars reboot (george lucas wasn't dark enough. christopher nolan of batman fame should've directed the rise of darth vader and the fall of anakin skywalker), i thought of it while listening to monster hunter international. why? let me explain. another aspect of the book i enjoyed was seeing the rise of the bad guy, seeing how he was utterly corrupted by his lust for power.

yes, this is a long book, but you never get bogged down nor lose interest. there's a large cast of characters, but you don't get lost in who's who. larry correia does a good job creating unique and memorable characters.

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this book. i liked it enough to snap up the next 2 books in the series and am eagerly awaiting the release of the 4th book in the series.

* NOTE: I am a 30 something male so younger readers may only know bruce campbell from his cameos in the spiderman reboot. sam raimi directed the spiderman reboot, but before that, he directed a trilogy of evil dead movies, which are classic for their slapstick and gore, provided by bruce campbell. also, younger readers may only know arnold schwarzenegger as the "governator" of california and from his latest movies. arney cut his chops in the 1980's making ultra-violent movies with big guns and clever one-liners. imho, those were his best movies.

A lot of fun to listen to!

This was a great story for those who love a good combination of humor, drama, action with some differant kinds of super heroes thrown in. Love the narrator too!

Great Fun

A must for any horror fan the book contains equal parts horror, action and humor. Mr. Wyman is superb in his narration. Highly recommended.

Terrible Title for an awesome book

Yeah its got too much gun porn, but it is really fun and totally action packed.

decent story, uninspiring characters.

Interesting premise, characters were pretty bland and a bit forced on "charm." Annoying heavy handed political views peppered through out. Narrator was a bit too dramatic and long on the pauses. played better at 1.3 speed

A difficult one to review

The issue here for me is that while I like the writing, plotting, world building, and a lot of the other things that go into crafting a good story, I didn't like the protagonist. At all. And that made finishing the book into a chore.

Narrator was solid. No complaints.

Think I might take a break before trying book 2.

Well traveled genera.…New twists!

I have just finished the 3rd book. Correia put together a good tale, some well traveled monster material, some new ideas…a good mix. A bit longer than some, but enjoyed the detail. Wyman was a perfect fit for narration. Good mix of horror and military kept on the lighter side. Corriea loves his weapons! Thank you Audible for narration review...I think they can make or break a good story.

A new favorite UF series

I think I just added a new urban fantasy series to my favorites list. Monster Hunters International was gritty, high action, and full of things that go boom. The jury is still out as to whether the series will be Dresden Files good, but I it had many of the elements that make Dresden great.

The biggest stand-out factor for this book was the incredible world-building. Correia gave just enough to define this alternate reality, yet left the door wide open for future discovery. It was easy to see so much potential for future books.

There was an interesting cast of characters with which I look forward to visiting in future books. The main character, Owen, was a tank-type character; a big guy with lots of muscle and even more guns. You know, if you were playing D&D, he would be the kick open the door guy. However, it was totally refreshing that the author gave him a brain and hilarious to imagine this type of guy as an accountant.

Correia’s love of firearms and weaponry was readily apparent throughout the book. This has the potential to get a little old, but in this case, the gun talk legitimized the story. After all, we are talking about a private militia that hunts monsters.

As much as I love battle scenes, I felt in this book they maybe went a little long or got bogged down. That could have been related to info dump scenes where Owen was receiving information from a dead guy living in his dreams. Also, I was not a fan of the love at first sight thing. Oddly, though, the love triangle did not bother me quite as much in comparison.

Obviously, by my rating, I really enjoyed this book, but I have one last criticism. For the love Tolkien, Mr. Correia, please talk your publisher into getting your better book covers. Sometimes I start a new series and think, “Why have I not yet read this???” In this case, I can tell you. I kept being put off by the cover, even after I purchased the audiobook. Now, fingers crossed that book two will be as enjoyable.

Not bad if you like guns.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The overall story is not bad, but it gets almost "preachy". We get it. Correia loves guns. Guns can solve any problem. The bigger the gun the better. Also, the American government is evil and out to get you.

His portrayal of women is also cliche at best.

On the other hand, Oliver Wyman is magnificent as a narrator.

Would you be willing to try another book from Larry Correia? Why or why not?

Probably not. Like I said the story is not bad, but the politics become overwhelming.

Do you think Monster Hunter International needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It already has 2 or 3.