Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: Urban Fantasy

Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts

Friday, May 08, 2026

Warbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #3) 5Stars

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Title: Warbound
Series: Grimnoir Chronicles #3
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 385
Words: 149K
Publish: 2013

Ahhh, a big ol’ grand finale that wraps everything up in climactic showdown, In Space, hahahahaa.

I had forgotten how this ended, so as the threats kept ramping up, I kept wondering how Correia was going to wrap everything up in this one book. I knew he was going to (because I’d read the book before, silly!) but I just had no idea of how I was going to get from A to Z.

He does it in such a way that this trilogy is more than adequately wrapped up but has just enough hanging threads that he has openings to write more in this universe should he choose. Sadly, for me, he has not chosen too so far. He has made claims that he might write another sequel trilogy, but given how he operates, I’m not holding my breath.

The reason I like this trilogy so much is because of the characters. The story is great, the almost-cosmic horror (there are “empty men” in this book, suits of former men being controlled by an alien symbiote now) is top notch, the action is wonderful and the fighting is wicked cool. But Jake Sullivan and Faye Veirra give this a heart and soul and as important (to me anyway), brains. They are both smart cookies and do not react like 21^st century idiots online. They think, they plan, they have contingencies and when things inevitably go wrong, they do no panic. They are scared, worried, lonely, afraid but they do not allow their emotions to control them. The older I get, the more I see of people in our world today, the more I appreciate people who keep emotions in their proper place. This book is just chockful of that :-D

Reading Hard Magic, Spellbound and now Warbound all within two weeks of each other has really made me appreciate how much of one overall story they are but at the same time each novel is it’s own story. This trilogy is not one big story chunked up into three books but three distinct stories within one overarching story.

Highly recommended if you already like Correia’s stuff and highly recommended if you want to check out his style of writing without committing to a 6book fantasy series (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior) or a 10+book urban fantasy series (Monster Hunter International).

★★★★★

From the Publisher

Gritty urban fantasy set in an alternate noir 1930s. A tough P.I. battles an interdimensional monster that wants to suck magic power out of the world. Sequel to Hard Magic and Spellbound. Book Three in the Grimnoir Chronicles.Only a handful of people in the world know that mankind’s magic comes from a living creature, and it is a refugee from another universe. The Power showed up here in the 1850s because it was running from something. Now it is 1933, and the Power’s hiding place has been discovered by a killer.It is a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Earth is next.Former private eye, Jake Sullivan, knows the score. The problem is hardly anyone believes him. The world’s most capable Active, Faye Vierra, could back him up, but she is hiding from the forces that think she is too dangerous to let live. So Jake has put together a ragtag crew of airship pirates and Grimnoir knights, and set out on a suicide mission to stop the predator before it is too late.

Friday, May 01, 2026

Spellbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #2) 5Stars

Title: Spellbound
Series: Grimnoir Chronicles #2
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 402
Words: 150K
Publish: 2011

Another home run. This Grimnoir trilogy just hits all my good buttons and I’m as happy as a clam.

There’s threats from a government agency, there’s threats from the Imperium (japanese), there are threats from other Actives (what magical users are called in this trilogy) and finally, you have threats on a cosmic scale.

Correia does a good job of balancing all of the threats, while expanding the cast of characters. We also get a good twist with one of the Imperial Iron Men (the ultimate bad guys in the previous book) helping out the Grimnoir because he knows the cosmic threat is real and only the Grimnoir are taking it seriously.

When I read this back in ‘13 I had an extremely visceral reaction to the first reveal of the major villain of the book, code named Crow. It was so intense that I had to put the book down back then for an entire day. I was extremely interested in how I would react this time. Oh man. I reacted the exact same way. Even down to putting the book down for 24hrs. I knew what was coming, but even so, it hit me like a runaway freight train. It’s good to know that some things about me haven’t changed.

The book ends in such a way that I kind of wondered if Correia had modeled it after The Empire Strikes Back, the second movie in the Star Wars trilogy. The good guys strike a dramatic blow but in the end are still scattered and on their own. That didn’t stand out to me last time and even now, I wonder if I’m reaching, but boy, it really had that feeling. In all fairness, it might also just be Correia using that kind of trope and not necessarily aping ESB directly. But he’s a couple of years older than me and could have seen ESB in the theatres and it would have struck him deeper than it did me. Who knows. It’s vague and baseless speculations like this that make re-reading so much fun :-D

The final battle was awesome. The Grimnoir, the cops, the airforce, all fighting against a demon god of a previously devoured world. And it all comes down to little ol’ Faye to stop it. Jake Sullivan the smart heavy can’t do it. Toru the renegade Iron Man can’t do it. Not even a full squadron of the American Airforce/Navy can do it. But Faye does it and she does it smart. That’s what I like about these books so much, the characters might make mistakes, but they aren’t obvious author created mistakes just to create hardship or drama. Or because the author is a stupid twit who can’t write themselves out of a brown paper bag. So go Correia, keep those smart characters coming!

★★★★★

From the Publisher

The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so—successfully and in secret—since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir. The knights must become fugitives while they attempt to discover who framed them.

Thing go from bad to worse when Jake Sullivan, former p.i. and knight of the Grimnoir, receives a telephone call from a dead man—a man he helped kill.. Turns out the Power jumped universes because it was fleeing from a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. That predator has just landed on Earth.

Friday, April 24, 2026

Hard Magic (Grimnoir Chronicles #1) 5Stars

Title: Hard Magic
Series: Grimnoir Chronicles #1
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 379
Words: 145K
Publish: 2011

Ahhhh, a re-read that lives up to my memories of it.

I read this while still (originally) on Devilreads (where I used my real name and picture, ohhhh the naivete of a misspent social youth!) and a friend there had recommended it to me. His account is still on Devilreads, but he did make the jump to Booklikes and then he’s sputtered out all over the place, so I don’t know if he’s even online any more. That’s how online friendships (come and) go I guess. I loved this book back then, even more so than Correia’s Monster Hunter International series but once I finished the trilogy in 2013, I hesitated for 13 years before taking this plunge and re-reading it.

But I have re-read this and it is just as good if not better than when I read it back in ‘13. Correia gets the vibe just correct for an Alternate History Urban Fantasy. Normally, I’d hate that subslice of genre bastardization, but Correia makes me like it, a lot.

The story is literally punchy, as Jake Sullivan, one of two main characters, is a “heavy”, someone who can manipulate gravity around himself. But he’s smart and he’s figuring stuff out about how to use his powers that no one else has even thought of. I LIKE that in a main character. Don’t make him stupid because you’re a stupid writer. Correia has never gone down that path and I respect him for that. The other main character is Faye, a teen girl who can teleport. She seems to have unlimited power though and it hints at the greater conflict that is coming, a conflict of cosmic horror’esque proportions. I had not read any cosmic horror before this back then, nor did I even know what it was. Given how I’ve gravitated to that genre over the years, I can understand why I was so attracted to this series without quite knowing why. Correia does cosmic horror in his MHI series too, but it’s not quite as in your face as here. But it isn’t the grim, hopeless, void of despair that Cthulhu type cosmic horror is supposed to be, but a more hopeful, humanity can survive if we just try hard enough (think of the optimism from the original Star Trek show). I like that threat of reality being destroyed but it is skillfully balanced by the hope, which I also like.

In my usual reading rotation, I have 6-8 weeks before cycling back to a series. That gives me time to sample a wide variety of other styles so that one series or author doesn’t overwhelm and I get burnt out on them. I’m going to be making an exception for this trilogy. I’ll be reading and reviewing the rest of the trilogy over the next two weeks. Each Friday I’ll be putting up the next review. Spellbound will go up May 1st and Warbound will go up May 8th. That is very high praise in my estimation.

Also, Wikipedia has NO individual pages for ANY of Correia’s books so there is no indepth synopsis. With how popular Correia is with his fanbase, I cannot fathom why this is the case. I have my suspicions, but no concrete proof, nor do I care enough to try to do one of the books myself just to see it deleted by the damn commies who run wikipedia. There, that rant is out of my system so it shouldn’t show up again in the reviews for the next two books :-D

★★★★★

From Fandom.com

The year is 1930. Opening the story is a chance meeting by a Portuguese cow farmer Active Joe Vierra and a traveling family with a teenage Active named Sally Faye. The farmer realizes she has the same Power as him (Travel) and adopts her. A covert meeting from wealthy blimp business mogul Cornelius Stuyvesant with the Pale Horse, Jonathan Harkness, begins a plot to murder another man through the Power of Plague. As payment for his work, the Pale Horse requests a future favor from Stuyvesant who reluctantly agrees.

Three years later, Jake Sullivan, a former soldier and now ex-convict Active with the Power to manipulate gravity (colloquially called a 'Heavy') is serving off the last of his sentence under the federal government to bring in criminal Actives. Sullivan is a slow-talking, brutish looking man, but is ferociously intelligent and a master at using his seemingly simple Power in clever and creative ways after years of intense practice while in prison at Rockfell. His last job with the feds is to bring in an old friend (and flame) from his criminal days: Delilah Jones, an Active with the 'Brute' ability to imbue her muscles with extraordinary strength. On the run for mass murder, Delilah gives the Feds trouble and is almost captured by Jake when a group of vigilantes appear and assist Delilah's escape on a blimp. Sullivan is left with more questions than the government will answer, and so goes to begin an investigation into Delilah and the group who involved themselves to whisk her away.

The young Sally Faye has grown into her power, able to Travel with ease and beginning to ask Joe questions about the limits of the power and possible ways of using it. Their lives are interrupted when a group of men arrive at the farm looking for something Joe had been tasked to guard years prior. Refusing to give up the item, a firefight erupts. Joe is able to evade the enemy for just long enough to give the device to Sally before being killed by a big man with a terribly scarred face and a white eye called 'Mr Madi'. Telling Sally to flee, Joe gives her instructions to find the Grimnoir.

Turning up a few leads from an old mafia acquaintance unfortunately puts Jake on the radar for the Red Imperium: a foreign Japanese shadow organization that seeks to obtain world dominance. The Red Imperium sends members of the elite Iron Guard to kill Sullivan, but are stopped by the very same party that assisted Delilah: The Grimnoir. Another secret organization, their purpose is to uphold justice and protect the world with their Grimnoir Knights.

Dark forces are at work to gather components of a deadly Tesla device, and it becomes a race to recover the missing pieces before the enemy can put the device back together.

Thursday, March 05, 2026

Grunge (Monster Hunter Memoirs #1) 2Stars

Title: Grunge
Series: Monster Hunter Memoirs #1
Author: John Ringo
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 299
Words: 113K
Publish: 2016

This was a carbon copy read of my 2017 read. I enjoyed the story tremendously but hated the main character’s philandering, his Gary Stu’ness and his terribly horribly no-good theology.

If I hadn’t read this trilogy before, I’d read the rest of the trilogy by Ringo (Correia’s name is on the cover but that’s because he edited these books to keep them inline with official MHI history). But having read this again, I’ve decided that since I know how the trilogy ends, I’m good with hopping off the bus now. I’m not a fan of Ringo so I don’t feel the need to persevere on a re-read.

I did want to talk about the cover to end this review. It is actually a very accurate portrayal of one of the monster hunts in the book. There is a “new” computer company called Microtell that uses magic to make their software work. The problem is that sometimes that magic goes off and monsters climb out of the computer screens and eat the techs, at which point MHI is called in to kill the monsters and clean the situation up. I just love it when a book cover is actually semi-accurate about the book :-)

★★☆☆☆

From the Publisher

When Marine Private Oliver Chadwick Gardenier is killed in the Marine barrack bombing in Beirut, somebody who might be Saint Peter gives him a choice: Go to Heaven, which while nice might be a little boring, or return to Earth. The Boss has a mission for him and he's to look for a sign. He's a Marine: He'll choose the mission.

Unfortunately, the sign he's to look for is "57." Which, given the food services contract in Bethesda Hospital, creates some difficulty. Eventually, it appears that God's will is for Chad to join a group called "Monster Hunters International" and protect people from things that go bump in the night. From there, things trend downhill.

Monster Hunter Memoirs is the (mostly) true story of the life and times of one of MHI's most effective—and flamboyant—hunters. Pro-tips for up and coming hunters range from how to dress appropriately for jogging (low-profile body armor and multiple weapons) to how to develop contacts among the Japanese yakuza, to why it's not a good idea to make billy goat jokes to trolls.

Grunge harkens back to the Golden Days of Monster Hunting when Reagan was in office, Ray and Susan Shackleford were top hunters and Seattle sushi was authentic.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Bloodlines (MHI #9) 4.5Stars

Title: Bloodlines
Series: MHI #9
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 307
Words: 118K
Publish: 2021

Owen Pitt has made it back from the Nightmare Dimension, Julie Pitt has rescued their son and now life goes on. Only they both know Asag the god of chaos is still out there, just waiting to destroy them in some way. Because they aren’t damned woke pansies, they decide to get proactive. They know that a wardstone, a creation of Isaac Newton, will destroy such a being and they set out to find one. They do, only to find out that a LOT of other people are also interested in it, and not just other monster hunters either. The stone is stolen and Stricken gets involved. He makes a deal with the MCB and Agent Franks, only to shaft EVERYONE. So the MCB and MHI team up to, only for Stricken to still trick them all, again. That man is pure evil. The book ends with Pitt, Chad Gardener’s daughter and Agent Franks working with Stricken in a Court of the Fay to prevent two other cosmic entities from swallowing up Earth.

Oh my goodness.

Stricken is pure evil. Even with him knowing what he knows, somebody should have just put a bullet through his head. You do not work with evil, you destroy it.

The thing I enjoyed most about this story was the supernatural bounty hunter (the Drekavac) hired to retrieve the wardstone when it was stolen. He was a Puritan judge who sold his soul to the devil to do evil, for immortality. He rides a demon horse motorcycle and uses a plasma blunderbuss. How cool is that. He has 13 lives and each time he gets stronger. On his 12^th incarnation he was 30feet tall and shrugging off missiles. The battle between him and MHI and Agent Franks was fantastic. It epitomized why I enjoy the battles in MHI so much. What I enjoyed EVEN MORE was right at the end. Stricken thinks he has blackmailed the Drekavac into doing his will only for it to say it would rather suffer the worst fires of hell than submit to such a person as Stricken. It turns its back on Stricken and walks away. Not “quite” as good as a bullet to the head, but the next best thing :-D

I originally read this in 2022 and at the time thought MHI was just going to keep on going. Since then Larry Correia has announced there will be 2 or 3 more books in the main MHI series and then the story surrounding Owen Zastava Pitt will be over. That means the main MHI story franchise will be done with. I’m ok with that. I’d much rather Correia end things on a high note than keep on going until it becomes total garbage. I’m sure there will be more standalone MHI books or trilogies, co-authored. That should keep me in the good stuff for years to come :-D

★★★★✬

From the Publisher

In a business like monster hunting, it's all about setting priorities.

The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International knows that he is still out there somewhere—plotting, waiting for his chance to unravel reality.

When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton's Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican's Secret Guard.

It's a race against time, the Secret Guard, a spectral bounty hunter, and a whole bunch of monsters to acquire the Ward Stone and use it against Asag. For as dangerous as the chaos god is, there is something much older—and infinitely more evil—awakening deep in the jungles of South America.

Thursday, September 04, 2025

Monster Hunter Guardian (MHI #8) 4Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Guardian
Series: MHI #8
Author: Larry Correia & Sarah Hoyt
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 313
Words: 119K
Publish: 2019

I re-read this and THEN read my review from 2020 (link at the end of the post).

The only thing I would really change this time around is that I didn’t notice the “emotional” side of things like I did then. No idea why, but I never even noticed it and hadn’t remembered that aspect at all until I re-read my old review.

A marathon of a story about a mother saving her kidnapped son first from a demon who wants to auction him off to other demons and then second, from her own mother who is a superpowerful vampire. The action is almost non-stop and I loved it.

When I read this in 2020 I gave serious though to searching out Sarah Hoyt’s other works and seeing how her stuff compared to this collaboration. Unfortunately, most of her stuff seemed to be ongoing, abandoned or, according to reviews, “have that romance vibe”. Yeah, no thanks to all three of those. So I never investigated any more of her works and I’m still ok with that decision five years later.

★★★★☆

From MHI.Fandom.com & Bookstooge

While Owen and the other Monster Hunters are off in Russia fighting the big baddies, Julie (Own’s wife and former Shackleford) is in charge of running the skeleton crew of MHI. She’s also taking care of her dying grandfather and her newborn son.

She has a recruitment possibility but it goes sideways and turns out to be just a lure so a malevolent being can kill her grandfather and kidnap her son. Brother Death then contacts Julie and says he’ll trade her son for a powerful artifact he knows Julie is guarding, even though she told MHI it was destroyed. She reluctantly agrees but creates a backup plan to recover the item and her son if Brother Death double crosses her. He does. Julie ends up in Germany alone and with almost no weapons. She tracks down the group of cultists who took possession of the artifact only to find out that the kidnapping of her son and artifact were unrelated. In the process of recovering the artifact, Julie breaks about a bajillion german laws and the german version of MCB makes MCB look like a kind and benevolent grandfather.

Julie goes on the run. With the help of Management (the last dragon in existence), she finds a man who is a European Monster Advocate. She needs his help to track down a monster known for kidnapping children, who will hopefully then lead her to Brother Death. Turns out the Monster Advocate was killed years ago and his body taken over by the child killer monster. Julie kills it and lets Management into its computer system. This gets her an invite to an auction that Mr Death is holding, with her son being the main item on the agenda.

Julie heads out with a lawyer from Management. At the auction she becomes aware that her mother is there and wants Julie’s son to raise as her own (Julie’s mom is a nutjob of a super vampire). The auction goes bad and Julie shoots her way out. She rescues her son only to see him taken from her by her mother. With the lawyer’s help she escapes Brother Death.

Julie tracks her mom down and calls all the dregs of MHI to assault the mansion, along with the local branch of government monster hunters. They succeed against all odds and Julie has her son back. She also finds out that MHI is back from the Island.

With help from Owen and some of the other MHI Crew Julie finds out Brother Death’s real name and uses that to kill him. During all of this her Guardian marks have grown and she finds out that as the marks grow, her humanity will shrink until she ceases to be human. At which point she will become a monster herself.

Friday, July 18, 2025

Monster Hunter Files (MHI #7) 4Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Files
Series: MHI #7
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 300
Words: 117K
Publish: 2017

When I originally read this back in ‘17, I gave it 4stars. I was hoping that maybe I could inch this up a halfstar, but sadly, the Jane Yellowrock story ("She Bitch, Killer of Kits") still kept that from happening, again. I just dislike Jane Yellowrock, period. I did skip the John Ringo story, as it was just a chapter from the final Monster Hunter Memoirs book and I’ve since read that trilogy.

When I went to read this, this time, I saw Schmidt’s name on the cover and thought “huh, that name sounds familiar”. Turns out he had compiled and edited a couple of Predator collections that I had read, namely Eyes of the Demon and If It Bleeds. Eyes was just a horrible collection of modern writers who didn’t know diddly squat about the Predators and Schmidt should have been ashamed of himself for allowing such a collection. That is the reason he’s not getting a spot in the “Authors” part of the info block from me this time around. He’s a dink.

And on to the positive.

I think that A Knight of the Enchanted Forest was once again my favorite story. I never thought about dipping pepperoni pizza in ranch dressing before this story and to be honest, while it does sound yummy (in an excess kind of way), I still haven’t worked up the courage to actually try it. Maybe 2025 will be the year! (actually, make that exclamation point a question mark, I’m still not brave enough)

Mr Natural by Jody Nye was the story about a group of hippies who raised a demon that enhanced nature, but at the cost of human sacrifice. That was the story that I talked about shooting hippies and commies and ended up getting in trouble in a group over on Librarything about it. Ahhh, good memories, that’s what that is :-)

"Huffman Strikes Back" was a surprise, in a good way. Of course, it was coauthored by The Dink, so I’m giving ALL the credit to the co-author, Julie Frost. This story was about the brother of the werewolf that Owen Zastava Pitt (the main character in the MHI series) threw out of a skyscraper in the first book. Huffman was just as insane and twisted as his brother. He was also just as petty and small minded. It was good to see him get his!

Another good re-read in the MHI universe and I am happy to report that the series is holding strong. Onward!

★★★★☆

Publishers Blurb and Table of Contents

For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats small and large—and in some cases very, very large. Now, join us as MHI opens their archives for the first time. From experienced Hunters on their toughest cases, to total newbies' initial encounters with the supernatural, The Monster Hunter Files reveals the secret history of the world's most elite monster fighting force.

Discover what happened when Agent Franks took on the Nazis in World War Two. Uncover how the Vatican’s Combat Exorcists deal with Old Ones in Mexico. And find out exactly what takes place in a turf war between trailer park elves and gnomes. From the most powerful of mystical beings to MHI’s humble janitor, see the world of professional monster hunting like never before.

Introduction by Albert Lee

"Thistle" by Larry Correia

"Small Problems" by Jim Butcher

"Darkness Under the Mountain" by Mike Kupari

"A Knight of the Enchanted Forest" by Jessica Day George

"The Manticore Sanction" by John C. Wright

"The Dead Yard" by Maurice Broaddus

"The Bride" by Brad R. Torgersen

"She Bitch, Killer of Kits" by Faith Hunter

"Mr. Natural" by Jody Lynn Nye

"Sons of the Father" by Quincey J. Allen

"The Troll Factory" by Alex Shvartsman

"Keep Kaiju Weird" by Kim May

"The Gift" by Steve Diamond

"The Case of the Ghastly Spectre" by John Ringo

"Huffman Strikes Back" by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Julie Frost

"Hunter Born" by Sarah A. Hoyt

"Hitler's Dog" by Jonathan Maberry

Afterword

Biographies

Tuesday, June 03, 2025

Monster Hunter Siege (MHI #6) 4Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Siege
Series: MHI #6
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 348
Words: 137K
Publish: 2017

A couple of books ago (Alpha) we were introduced to a character named Jason Lococo. He was a big ol’ brute who had a heart of gold and helped the boss of Monster Hunter International stop a werewolf invasion from taking over the United States. He got sucked into the Nightmare Dimension in Legion and was making the main character, Own Pitt, feel really guilty. So Owen sets off to rescue him and some other survivors. It snowballs into a massive multi-Hunter Company taskforce and they basically attack a Russian island with US military level power. Then Owen has to go through the gate to the Nightmare Dimension and save everyone. He has to fight off a High Hunt and he does so with Lococo’s help. He rescues the other guys and Lococo disappears. Only in the end to find out that Lococo was just a meat suit for a super demon named Asag who wants to destroy our world and that Asag needed a meat suit to get back to our dimension. Just like the Smoke Monster in LOST.

So this whole book was a longcon game by Asag, who was manipulating Owen the entire time. How cool is that?

All the fighting monsters was cool too. But I liked getting to the end and realizing that Owen, the Chosen One, was fooled like everyone else. I love this series but I don’t love Owen. Almost everybody else I enjoy reading about. But Owen, while I don’t hate him, I don’t actively enjoy him as a character at all. It’s too bad, since he IS the main character, hahahahaa.

Reading this MHI series months apart (as opposed to the years between initial releases) makes the overall big picture storyline much clearer. I can put pieces together now that I didn’t even realize were pieces back on my first read. I like that, a lot. It’s fun, it’s engaging and it is good writing. Also makes me realize that I could never BE a series writer. Not that I want to be an author mind you (I’d rather poke your eyes out than become an author), but knowing I don’t have that skillset is reassuring. No accidentally becoming an author for me! (crisis averted)

★★★★☆

From MHI.Fandom.com & Bookstooge

GO BIG OR GO HOME

When Monster Hunter International's top hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, was given a tip about some hunters who had gone missing in action, he didn’t realize their rescue mission would snowball into the single biggest operation in MHI's history. Their men are being held prisoner in a horrific nightmare dimension, and the only way to reach them is through the radioactive ruins of a monster-infested war zone.

As if that wasn't bad enough, it's also the home base of the powerful creature behind the devastating attacks on the Last Dragon and Copper Lake. It turns out ancient gods of chaos really hate trespassers. But this god picked a fight with the wrong crew, and now MHI wants payback. Calling on their allies, a massive expedition is formed, and with the odds stacked against them, a legion of hunters goes to war.

It's D-Day at the City of Monsters.

Pitt rescues the survivors and even makes it back himself, against all odds. But just like in LOST, Asag needed a dead meat suit to escape the Nightmare Dimension and now he’s in our world, free to cause chaos and destruction to his heart’s content.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Monster Hunter Nemesis (MHI #5) 4Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Nemesis
Series: MHI #5
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 336
Words: 133K

I made the mistake of reading my review from 2014. Boy, everything I was going to say now, I said it a decade ago.

The only difference is that I gave a bit more weight to the theological side of things and thus removed yet another half star. God is presented as the Ruler of just our universe and just one amongst the multiverse, which while perfectly fine within Mormon theology goes directly against what the Bible says. Which is one more reason Mormonism is accounted a cult instead of just another denomination.

A good time reading and lots of fun. I think most people would just read this and enjoy it. I recommend you try that.

★★★★☆

From MHI.Fandom.com & Bookstooge

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts—parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He's nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself.

Good thing he’s on our side. More or less.

Sworn to serve and protect the United States of America from all monsters by one of the country’s founding fathers, Franks has only one condition to the agreement: no matter what the government learns of him, no matter what is discovered concerning his odd physiology or the alchemy behind the elixir that made him, the government is never, ever allowed to try and make more like him. Such is absolutely forbidden and should the powers-that-be do so, then the agreement is null and void.

Project Nemesis: in a secret location, using sophisticated technology and advanced genetic engineering, the director of the very agency Franks works for is making more like him. And the director is not content with making one. Nope, he’s making thirteen.

Now all bets are off, and Hell hath no fury like a monster betrayed. Particularly if that monster happens to be an undying killing machine capable of taking out vampires and werewolves with one hand tied behind his back.

Agent Franks is center stage in a Special Task Force Unicorn vendetta. Franks is on the run while he must clear his name, destroy a whole set of bodies based upon him AND prevent an invasion of the original fallen angels.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Monster Hunter Legion (MHI #4) 5Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Legion
Series: MHI #4
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 361
Words: 139K

Aaaaaaand we’re back to Owen Z Pitt, sigh. I’d really prefer somebody else be the main character, but I know that isn’t the case for the series over all and so I just need to accept it. But I won’t, because that’s how I roll.

I sure have forgotten a LOT of this story in the last 12-13 years. I vaguely remembered it taking place in Las Vegas, Special Task Force Unicorn manipulating everyone and the dragon. This time around, the references that are made about Project Nemesis make total sense instead of being a big fat mystery like on my original read. I actually found knowing to make for a more enriching read. Which is yet another reason why RE-READING is so important!

Thankfully, there is enough gun toting action to keep any MHI fan happy. And we get real good look at STFU and just how despicable they are. They make for a wonderful bad guy/s and are just despicable enough that they make even the Government MCB (Monster Control Bureau) people look like angels. It’s awesome!

I just had fun reading this, even with “Z” being front and center. We also get a good look at other Monster Hunter companies and how they operate and under what parameters. We’ve only seen monster hunting through the lens of MHI and it’s good to reminded that while they are considered some of the best, they are not the only game in town. It helps us as readers not to get tunnel vision.

If you like big guns, good good guys and evil evil monsters, then this is the series for you. I recommend it without hesitation with those caveats.

★★★★★

From MHI.Fandom.com

When hunters from around the world gather in Las Vegas for a conference, a creature left over from a World War Two weapons experiment wakes up and goes on a rampage across the desert. A not-so-friendly wager between the rival companies turns into a race to see who can bag the mysterious creature first.

Only there is far more to this particular case than meets the eye, and as Hunters fall prey to their worst nightmares, Owen Zastava Pitt and the staff of Monster Hunter International have to stop an ancient god from turning Sin City into a literal hell on earth.

Plot

When the International Conference of Monster Hunting Professionals is targeted by a nightmare demon, MHI and the other hunters at the ICMHP conference must work together to protect the innocents trapped in the Last Dragon Casino while Owen Pitt takes on the Nachtmar.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Monster Hunter Alpha (MHI #3) 5Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Alpha
Series: MHI #3
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 402
Words: 148K

When I originally read this back in 2012, I remember loving it. Nothing changed in the intervening 12 years 😀

This was non-stop werewolf action. The main badguy werewolf ends up with a magic doohickey that allows him to become a 20foot tall werewolf. How awesome is that? It’s pretty awesome, that’s how awesome it is. Throw in the snow shredder scene (where Earl and one of the Good Town Folk literally harvest a crop of werewolves with it) and man, this was just awesome. Are you getting the idea that maybe I really liked this book? Good. Because I did!

For those of you who might not know what a snow shredder is, I’m including a picture so you can visualize it chewing through a whole pack of evil, insane and psychopathic werewolves.

I had forgotten this is where we are introduced to the werewolf who is supposedly now the love of Earl’s life. I can’t remember if she makes any more appearances after she’s whisked away by Special Task Force Unicorn at the end of this book. Another reason to do re-reads.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun reading this and it was even better than my previous read and everything here only firmed up my resolve to keep up this re-read. The series is fun monster killing and I thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.

★★★★★

From MHI.Fandom.com

Synopsis – click to open

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he’s also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger’s stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.

Plot

Earl Harbinger lost some of his memories during his encounter with the demon he nicknamed “Rocky” at the end of Monster Hunter Vendetta so he started writing them down in the form of journals in order to learn the extent of his loss. This book contains the third of the journals which focuses on his experiences as a werewolf. We also learn more about how the Alpha is designated and what it means to be the Alpha werewolf. Monster Hunter Alpha opens with Earl going off on his own to take care of personal business with Earl’s backstory interspersed.

Earl meets with an old handler from his time in Vietnam and learns of the presence of an old enemy, Nikolai Petrov, in Northern Michigan. It turns out that Nikolai is not the only issue in Copper Lake, MI however. There is another person who is angling to be the Alpha and he has some extra help in the form of a magic amulet and then some.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Monster Hunter Vendetta (MHI #2) 4.5Stars

Title: Monster Hunter Vendetta
Series: MHI #2
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 412
Words: 169K

I read my review from 2012 before starting to write this one. Honestly, I felt almost exactly the same as 12 years ago. Ballz to the Wallz action that never let up and shooting and blowing stuff up that just didn’t quit. It was exactly what I wanted this time around from this read. I did laugh at my old review saying how I was looking forward to the wrap up of this “trilogy”. Ahhh, to still think that authors have moral rectitude.

This had a TON of cosmic horror elements in it. I didn’t pick up on them last time because I was of the uninitiated, but now that I have taken the first steps towards becoming the Chartreuse Emperor, I understand. But unlike the Harrison Peel books, which tried to BE cosmic horror and still have a surviving hero, MHI (Monster Hunter International) simply takes the pieces that it wants and does its own Urban Fantasy thing. I think it works out great because I get a Hero and some terrible things but they are able to co-exist without me spluttering and ranting like I did with that goober Harrison Peel. For goodness, I get a story where some gun junkie accountant goes to the Other Side, along with Frankenstein (Agent Franks) and they kill an equal of Cthulhu with a magic stone. It. Was. Awesome! So while it had the elements of Cosmic Horror (Shoggoths anyone?) Correia was able to stay this side of that line quite admirably.

On the negative side, and I suspect I’ll be dealing with this in each book, and it will be why these won’t go above 4.5stars, I also saw a lot more Mormon philosophy behind the story. I didn’t know about that stuff when I originally read this book and not knowing didn’t detract from the story. But now that I do know, and since I disagree with it just like I would with a story based on Islamic or Hindu theology, I can’t unsee it, as it were. False religions aren’t something to treat lightly.

Overall, I am once again quite pleased with how this re-read went. It has all the action and guns and horrible bad guys that my little heart could ask for and that just makes me happy.

★★★★✬

From MHI.Fandom.com

Synopsis – click to open

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.

With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don’t need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous…

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Dragon’s Den (The Metaframe War #3) 2Stars

Title: The Dragon’s Den
Series: The Metaframe War #3
Author: Graeme Rodaughan
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 219
Words: 85K

This is where I DNF the series and add Rodaughan to my list of Authors to Avoid

This read exactly like some mindless action video game, with “missions” and “side missions” that don’t make ANY sense if you give them more than a cursory examination.

In the previous book the Leader of the Order of Thoth (one faction of super humans who are fighting against the Vampires) was kidnapped by the Vampires and this book was all about the main characters trying to rescue him.

Once again, the author just doesn’t know how to write effective, mature leaders. The guy who Anton (the main character, The Chosen One) is following is as effective a leader as one of the Minions from the Despicable Me movies.

The Minion in the middle is the “Leader”…

He doesn’t lead, he doesn’t plan, he doesn’t do anything other than say obvious things like “Ok, we have to rescue the boss” or “Ok, we have to attack the vampires”. When Anton goes off the rails, he doesn’t corral him in any way. At the end, when his wife dies, he just gives up and Anton takes over as leader. We’re not talking about some jamoke with an office job here. This is supposed to be a guy who has successfully fought vampires for possibly decades. And he is a complete and utter joke.

In this same area, the other leaders are as much a joke as he is. There is a military guy working for the Vampires who totally gets outsmarted by Anton, in a helicopter duel. Then the kidnapped leader, while being corrupt, is also monumentally stupid and every decision he makes is bad. And finally, a group of Super Assassins from the Red Empire (another faction of super humans fighting the Vampires) are led by a guy who decides that keeping his word to a Vampire General is the thing to do even when she turns him and his entire team into vampires. They literally become the thing they were created to destroy and they don’t instantly kill each other in a death pact? That’s stupid. That’s beyond stupid, it’s 100% asinine.

Now we come to the biggest reason that I am stopping the series. Anton Slayde, the main character. He’s reckless, impulsive, anti-authority, selfish, self-centered, ignorant (which I can forgive, because ALL teenagers are ignorant, it’s why they have to be taught) but worst of all, he’s stupid. He’s beyond even asinine stupid. I’m debating whether it’s worth it to list all the things that led me to that conclusion.

1) His best friend is captured while allowing the rest of the group to escape the clutches of Shadowstone (the human military wing of the Vampires). So Anton insists on rescuing him with no real plan and puts everyone in jeopardy all over again.

2) His “plan” to rescue his friend involves hijacking a super tank and driving around the compound shooting stuff while looking for his friend, forcing the group to back him up or risking him being captured as well.

3) When that rescue doesn’t happen, he decides he still needs to rescue the guy, this time from an armored convoy that has four military equipped helicopters attached to it. He jumps out of the tank and onto the prison truck, once again forcing his team mates to follow or risk him being captured too.

4) All of this happens WHILE the leader of the Order is captured and being interrogated by Vampires. What’s the best way for a Vampire to interrogate a human? To turn him into a vampire of course, which then means his loyalty is now to the Vampires. Does Anton consider ANY of that, at all? Nope. Operational security, secrets, codes, it can all go take a flying leap because Anton has to rescue his friend, WHO VOLUNTEERED KNOWING THIS COULD HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!

5) Anton’s real goal is to kill the Vampire, General Armitage because she killed his parents. He can barely face a regular vampire, but fully expects to just waltz in and kill the most talented Vampire ever? He’s seen her in one fight, where she killed his mentor, who was about 100 times a better fighter than Anton. He has no idea of her style of fighting, her weaknesses or disposition. He knows nothing but is convinced by Plot Armor that he will be The Chosen One, to kill her.

6) I’m getting myself worked up, so I’m just going to stop.

I have a strict “No Stupid People” policy when it comes to the characters I read. I don’t mind if a minor side character is stupid, that just makes them fodder and I’m ok with fodder in my books. But for the main character to be like this, that’s only ok for 12-15 year olds. Anton is not in that age bracket.

The series has been toe’ing that Line of Stupid ever since book one, but it crossed it completely in this book. So I am done. I simply don’t care how the story ends because Plot Armor will overcome everything and I won’t read more Stupid.

★★☆☆☆

From the Publisher

Synopsis – click to open

IT’S A TRAP! – Anton Slayne knows it’s a trap. One laid for him by his most powerful opponent – Chloe Armitage, rogue general of the Vampire Dominion.
The chase is on. Agents of the Red Empire and the Vampire Dominion have abducted Ramin Kain, the Head of the Order of Thoth. Anton and the Mirovar force team are the only ones in a position to act. They know Ramin is bait, but have to rescue him before he’s forced to reveal everything he knows to the Order’s sworn enemies.
Will Anton and his friends in the Mirovar force team rescue Ramin Kain, or will Chloe Armitage discover the secrets of the Order of Thoth, destroy the Mirovar force team, and enslave Anton to her will?

Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road

Friday, May 08, 2026

Warbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #3) 5Stars

Friday, May 01, 2026

Spellbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #2) 5Stars

Friday, April 24, 2026

Hard Magic (Grimnoir Chronicles #1) 5Stars

Thursday, March 05, 2026

Grunge (Monster Hunter Memoirs #1) 2Stars

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Bloodlines (MHI #9) 4.5Stars

Thursday, September 04, 2025

Monster Hunter Guardian (MHI #8) 4Stars

Friday, July 18, 2025

Monster Hunter Files (MHI #7) 4Stars

Tuesday, June 03, 2025

Monster Hunter Siege (MHI #6) 4Stars

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Monster Hunter Nemesis (MHI #5) 4Stars

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Monster Hunter Legion (MHI #4) 5Stars

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Monster Hunter Alpha (MHI #3) 5Stars

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Monster Hunter Vendetta (MHI #2) 4.5Stars

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Dragon’s Den (The Metaframe War #3) 2Stars

The Strength of Symbols (Warhammer 40K: Astra Militarum) 3Stars

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