Book Chop: Monster Hunter Vendetta

Title: MONSTER HUNTER VENDETTA (MHI #2)
Author: Larry Correia
Genre: Urban fantasy

Correia's really making a name for himself. I enjoyed this book tremendously, even though I sat back and scratched my head at the results of a literary analysis.

Lemme explain.

Aficionados of urban fantasy are all aware of the success of the TWILIGHT franchise. (In fact, most anyone will be aware of that.) One of the more common potshots people take at TWILIGHT is that Bella Swan is just an object of projection, a faceless character that the reader can "wear" in order to live out her most extreme romantic fantasy about the "perfect" ideal man.

I bring this up because--to an extent--the first two MONSTER HUNTER books are pretty much the same thing, and I don't say that in a bad way. Because this kind of projection would result in the reader having an extensive daydream about saddling up in Kevlar armor, grabbing a few knives and high-powered firearms, and blowing monsters into red dust for exorbitant amounts of money.

Now. Ask me which fantasy I'd rather project onto.

But the strength of this series thus far doesn't just lie in the satisfaction of the daydream. The story is pretty good too, especially in the sequel.

Brief rundown of book one: main character, Owen Pitt, is an accountant by day, gun nut by night. Finds out his boss is a werewolf. Kills his boss. Gets recruited to a secret group of people that hunt monsters for pay. Works a few jobs, grabs a few bounties, burns through some fun chapters. Then Owen learns he's the product of a prophesy and has to slay some supernatural spirit lord in order to save the world. He does. There's a hot chick in there somewhere. The end.

Well, book two builds on that story and goes deeper. It has that effect where the story doesn't just roll forward; it ripples outward, getting bigger, and pulling on the strength of the first book to make the plot stronger. Owen's family have a more prominent role, and they gain three full dimensions as far as their purpose. He doesn't just have a caring mom, a psycho war-vet dad and a rockstar brother--they become involved in his life and his career as a monster hunter.

I'd say the second book relied a lot more on character than it did on plot, because so much of what happened ended up revealing backstories for everyone, and they were all connected. A very fun book, and not just a mindless read (although there are plenty of good action scenes, and hardly a dull moment.)

Content was pretty much R-rated, so be aware of that.