Monster Hunter: Siege by Larry Correia
Monster Hunter: Siege is the sixth novel in Larry Correia’s MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL (MHI) series. If you’re a fan of Correia but haven’t read MHI, I can tell you that you’ll love it, so go back to Monster Hunter International and start there. If you’re totally new to Larry Correia and you’re not sure if MHI is for you, please read my review of Monster Hunter International — I think it’ll give you a good feel for whether or not you’ll like the series. I called it “entertaining dude-lit,” if that’s any help.
Monster Hunter: Siege is a sequel to the fourth MHI book, Monster Hunter: Legion. Recall that there was a huge monster-hunter convention in Las Vegas and that, at the end of Legion, several monster hunters from different parts of the world were sucked into another dimension. Owen Zastava Pitt (MHI’s best hunter) feels guilty about this and wants to save them, but his friends think that will be impossible.
As they begin to study the problem and collect intelligence, Owen comes up with a crazy idea that just might work. It involves collecting and training a thousand monster hunters from across the globe, travelling to a frozen radioactive monster-infested island off the coast of Russia, and laying siege to the ancient god’s nightmare world. It’s not fun for the monster hunters, or for Owen, but it’s plenty of fun for the reader.
Fans of MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL (a group which, surprisingly, includes me) will be pleased with Monster Hunter: Siege. It’s got everything we’ve come to expect from Correia — tough but loveable characters, humor, snappy dialog, grotesque monsters, warring cosmic factions, a biker death cult, head-banging orcs, trailer park elves, a breakneck pace, and plenty of gun porn (that’s the part I have trouble appreciating). I especially liked the frigid and remote settings in Siege.
We learn more about Owen and his family in this novel, too, especially his dad. Things are starting to fall into place for Owen (and the reader) as he begins to put the pieces together and figure out how he got where he is. Owen doesn’t know what the future holds, but he does know that it looks grim. I look forward to finding out what happens to him next.
I keep mentioning the audio versions of MHI which are produced by Audible Studios. The performance of the narrator, Oliver Wyman, is spot-on and spectacular. I wouldn’t think of reading this series in print. If you think you’re not an audio reader, please give these audiobooks a try. I guarantee that you will enjoy them! Monster Hunter: Siege is 15.5 hours long in audio format.
“Recall that there was a huge monster-hunter convention in Las Vegas and that, at the end of Legion, several monster hunters from different parts of the world were sucked into another dimension.”
I have always thought that Las Vegas WAS another dimension. I’ve never wanted to go there but just recently I (belatedly) learned that is has a Neon Museum with lots of the retired classic casino signs. Now I want to see that.
Cool! My husband will be at a convention in Las Vegas this week, so I’ll mention that to him.