• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023

Monster Hunter International (#1 & #2) by Larry Correia

October 24, 2021 by Bender Leave a Comment

Rating: 7.0/10

Synopsis

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth 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.

Review

Monsters are real. But Monster Hunting is [semi] privatized. Enter Monster Hunter International (MHI)!

This was first introduced to me as ‘pulp fantasy’. I was immediately intrigued, but took me some time to get around to reading it. Oh, it was so much fun and I now kick myself for not getting around to this earlier. Not all plots need to be complex. Not all worlds need to be rich and fancy. Sometimes the solution is as simplistically elegant as picking up a gun and shooting a monster in the head. Simple yet such a exciting premise! The author describes this as “a conglomeration of B-Movie stereotypes but tackled from the perspective tactical realism” and it’s just that. Cracking read!

The book is told mostly from the PoV of the MC, Owen Z Pitt, who starts off working a standard 9-to-5 job in a accounting firm. His boss is a d*ck but Owen manages to surviving by blending into the woodwork….till that fateful night, when he finds out his boss is a werewolf. After a scrap which Own survives, he learns that monsters are real. Government as usual has a secret department which tries to put a lid on all of this, since it’s a huge menace, they also offer bounties for private individuals/parties who help. Owen joins up with the titular MHI and there starts his roller coaster of a career!

Owen is such as easy character to get behind. Nothing particularly heroic stands out with him and his whole take on the monster hunting seems to be “work that needs to be done”. He has enough humor and sarcasm to lighten up the read without sounding too cringe-y. His actions and reactions feel thought out and real (with one exception of his romantic overtures which were cringe-y). Even though there’s not many other characters in the limelight, every character who features has a niche part and stands out despite lack of pace time.

The world expands organically and as we go into second book, we get fed more information on MHI and it’s origins, backstory from other characters and more on the overarching plot. The sheer amount of monsters and villains keep the book refreshing and enjoyable to read all through.

There’s a lot of things I liked in the book. for one, it keeps the concept simple. You have monsters, you have guns and you have people who are very good in using those guns to shoot the monsters. Simple as. Brilliant! The book picks you up from the get go and it’s a non stop thrill ride till the end. The pacing is excellent and I just binge reading till the finish. The author is a self declared gun-geek and it shows. We are treated to a buffet of arms and ammo stuff. it is done tastefully that you don’t really see them as infodumps and they don’t overwhelm the story. Balance is just right.

Having said that, this is a book I’d gladly recommend to everyone who’s looking for a fun action fantasy.

Filed Under: Action Fantasy, Fantasy, Monsters, Reviews, Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, Zombies Tagged With: Larry Correia, Self Published

About Bender

Bender loves over the top action, overpowered MCs, epic battles and happily ever after endings! The Michael Bay fan of book world. Reads various subgenres including GameLit, LitRPG, Progression, Superhero, Cultivation and whatnot’s….with a soft spot for Western & Steampunk. Extra points for snarky/dark humour. Doesn’t favor romance and grimdark that much. Lives in Garden State. Follow me @jackclaver

Other Reviews You Might Like

Review: The Mountain In The Sea by Ray Nayler

Team Review: The Given Day by Dennis Lehane ft. Krystle Matar & C.M. Caplan

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. James on Review: Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven EriksonMarch 25, 2023
  2. Adrian M. Gibson on Author Roundtable: Indie Marketing (with Kian N. Ardalan, Ryan Cahill, Aparna Verma & Gourav Mohanty)March 23, 2023
  3. zidane on Review: A Fractured Infinity by Nathan TavaresMarch 14, 2023
  4. Gary Weston on Bender’s Top 10 Fights in Fantasy BooksMarch 14, 2023
  5. David S on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 13, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In