I just finished Larry Correia‘s book, Monster Hunter International.

My early feel on the book bears out to the end. It’s a monster/sci-fi sort of thing, and while I can enjoy that stuff it’s not 100% up my alley. And yes, lead character Owen Pitt is the uber-hero. But by the time you get to the end, you see how it all fits together. I do see that Owen is given slightly more faults, he isn’t indestructible (sorta), but he’s still uber-hero. Then again, this also isn’t the deepest of books. Does there have to be any real character development here? There really isn’t and no it’s not really necessary. The book takes place over a short span of time and is pretty directed in what it’s trying to accomplish. That’s not really a bad thing… this isn’t high literature, but it’s decently written and sure damn fun.

And really, that’s the thing that surprised me the most in reading this book: how much fun I had in reading it. I did not expect it to be as much fun as it was. I found myself smiling a great deal. I found many nights where I’d be reading before bed and not wanting to put it down, only having to because my Wife found me falling asleep (not due to the book, just a long day and my body said it was bedtime). It was an enjoyable read. You can’t take it too seriously, you just suspend disbelief (and oddly, the whole “keep an open mind” thing is part of the story itself), and enjoy it.

I repeat what I said before. If this was made into a movie, I’d pay money to see it. It’d be a lot of fun. Get Julie Strain (NB: her website is NSFW) to play the role of Julie Shackleford. In fact, due to the events during the climax and given the book is told in the first person, I wondered if shooting the entire movie through Owen’s eyes (first person perspective, like a first person shooter game, which in so many ways fits) would be an interesting way to do it. Might be annoying to have it filmed that way, but the thought popped in my head that it could make for a way to do this. For reference, while I was reading the climactic scene I was thinking how Owen’s eyes were crusted shut… you would see what he sees: darkness, black, nothing. But you hear everything. Then when his eyes are opened, well, you’ll see it all again through those eyes. *shrug* I am not a movie maker.

Yes, Larry Correia is a gun nut. It’s so evident. Little gunny gems throughout the book.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. I thank TXGunGeek for lending me his copy of the book. Now I suppose I need to enter the songwriting contest. 🙂