Murder on the Orient Elite by Larry Correia
For fans who just can’t wait for the next installment in Larry Correia’s GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES, you can get a quick fix by reading Murder on the Orient Elite. In this short story (only 1 hour and 15 minutes on audio) which is set in an alternate 1937, not too long after the events of Warbound, Jake Sullivan is contacted by Dr. Wells to do an undercover job on Wells’ dirigible, The Orient Elite. Wells, the psychopathic (and maybe also paranoid) psychologist, suspects that one of his passengers is planning to blow up the luxury airship on its maiden voyage and he wants Jake to figure out who the saboteur is. When Jake comes aboard, he realizes the ship is full of his usual enemies — Russian, German, and Japanese agents. Jake must uncover the plot (if there is one) and stop the vandal before he and the passengers and crew are blown to bits.
As usual, readers should expect political intrigue, snappy dialogue, gun porn, and brutal fight scenes enhanced by cool magical effects. This non-essential story doesn’t really progress the overall story arc, but it does offer some hints and speculations about what might be coming next for Jake and his friends.
Short stories are often a good introduction to a series, so readers who are unfamiliar with THE GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES may wonder if they should try Murder on the Orient Elite. I’d say you can read this story first if you’re trying to get a general feel for the series and for Correia’s style, but you’ll be missing a lot of the background that will make the story more enjoyable.
Murder on the Orient Elite is not as fun and exciting as we’re used to from this series, but that’s because it’s so short. Correia doesn’t really have the space here to flesh out the characters or spend much time in amusing banter, so you’ll be missing those important features. I’d consider Murder on the Orient Elite to be mostly just a nice chance for fans to spend some time with a character we love while waiting for the next novel.
I’ve mentioned many times how much I love Bronson Pinchot’s narration of Larry Correia’s books. These are among the best (top five) audiobook performances I’ve ever heard (which means I’ll probably never pass up a chance to review one of Larry Correia’s books just so I can listen to Pinchot). So, that’s another (and perhaps even the best) reason to pick up Murder on the Orient Elite. At this time it’s available only in audio format. It costs $1.39 at Audible.
I like that title! I haven’t read any of these yet but I think Correia must be having a lot of fun with the noir and the hard-boiled-detective genres.