Review: "Monster Hunter Alpha," by Larry Correia

Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series came as a bit of a surprise for me. A quick glance at the covers and description, and I dismissed them as something that probably wasn’t for me. Then I read the first one and was immediately hooked. Now on the third book, “Monster Hunter Alpha” ($7.99, Baen), Correia throws another curve ball.

I’ve gotten used to the voice and attitude of his protagonist Owen Z. Pitt through the first two volumes, but this one switches up on us, instead following the story of the cranky old man of Monster Hunter International, Earl Harbinger.

The MHI leader’s former military commander gives him information that his arch-nemesis Nikolai Petrov has entered the country. Harbinger and Petrov, as we’ll learn through the course of the story, played a legendary and bloody game of cat-and-mouse during the Vietnam War. They’ve had a truce for years, but Harbinger knows that his old enemy’s presence in the U.S. can’t be a good thing.

Petrov’s trail leads him to Copper Lake, a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan, where Harbinger's past and lost memories are destined to come back to haunt them.

Review: "The Ballad of Black Tom" by Victor LaValle

Much has been made in recent years about H.P. Lovecraft’s racism and how it bled into his work, but none of that conversation has been nearly as poignant or entertaining as Victor LaValle’s response “The Ballad of Black Tom” ($12.99, Tor).

I’ll dispense with the elephant first. On the subject of Lovecraft’s racism, I certainly think it’s unfortunate, but I also don’t think you can hold anything from nearly 100 years ago to modern standards. Our heroes in any space are not often what we would like them to be, but does Lovecraft's racism destroy the legacy of his work? I don’t think so, and though he makes his misgivings plain in the dedication, I don’t believe LaValle does either.

"The Ballad of Black Tom” gives us a quite different take on Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook,” which has been singled out as one of his worst offenders when it comes to race. LaValle puts us in the shoes of Charles Thomas Tester, a hustler from Harlem who gets pulled into a strange and dangerous world after he acquires a book of the Supreme Alphabet for a mysterious woman in Queens named Ma Att.

Review: "Monster Hunter Vendetta" by Larry Correia

After facing down the end of the world at the hands of some Lovecraftian aliens, Owen Pitt has settled into a more normal life in Larry Correia’s “Monster Hunter Vendetta” ($7.99, Baen).

That is, if a guy that makes his living killing monsters that most of the world doesn’t think exist can have a normal life.

He’s engaged to monster-hunting partner Julie Shackleford and making a lot of money for Monster Hunter International doing what he does best. He thinks the threat of the Old Ones is behind him, until an assignment in Mexico goes sideways.

While resting after a successful hunt, Owen is attacked in his hotel room by a seemingly unbeatable necromancer. When he escapes, the wizard sends hordes of zombies at the hotel, resulting in an ugly incident and Owen’s arrest.

He soon discovers that the necromancer is working for the Old Ones, and that he has a connection to MHI. Owen must figure out who he is and how to stop him before he brings eternal darkness to the world.

Review: "Monster Hunter International" by Larry Correia

I’ve got a friend who has been trying to get me to pick up Larry Correia’s “Monster Hunter International” ($7.99, Baen) for a while now. Looking at the description, it didn’t seem like the kind of thing I’d like. Boy, was I wrong.

Correia had me from the fantastic first line of the book: “On an otherwise ordinary Tuesday evening, I had the chance to live the American dream. I was able to throw my incompetent jackass of a boss from a fourteenth story window.”

As it turns out, the incompetent jackass in question was a werewolf, and his encounter with the beast earns Owen Pitt, Correia’s main character, an interesting offer.

Owen is a big guy with a penchant for violence. Unable to live up to his war hero father, Owen took up illegal pit fighting to make ends meet until an incident in the ring caused him to do some soul-searching. In response, he took the most boring and plain job that he could think of – accounting. He didn’t count on a werewolf boss, though.

Memory Lane: "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett

With the passing of Sir Terry Pratchett a few weeks ago, I decided that it might be time to revisit some of those early Discworld novels that I haven't read in years. I was tempted to begin my journey with "Sourcery," which was my first Pratchett novel, but after much debate, I decided to start at the beginning with "The Colour of Magic" ($9.99, Harper Collins).

This first volume does a delightful job of introducing the reader to the zany and colorful world of the Disc through the eyes of the inept failed wizard Rincewind and the world's first tourist, Twoflower.

Rincewind, who is much more comfortable running away from trouble than toward it, at first tries to avoid the flamboyant tourist from a strange land and his, umm, interesting luggage. That becomes impossible when Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of the, ahem, "grand" city of Ankh-Morpork charges the wizard with protecting the tourist. As fans of Pratchett know already, no one refuses Vetinari -- at least no one who survives more than a few more sentences.

That sets Rincewind on a path that will take him to the very edge of the disc and beyond, and also serves to introduce readers to a wide swath of the world that we all came to know and love.

Review: "Maplecroft" by Cherie Priest

Do you ever keep slogging through a book that’s not really doing much for you just because you think you should like it?

That’s kind of what Cherie Priest’s “Maplecroft” ($15, Roc) was like for me.

I picked it up on the recommendation of another author I really enjoy and one who has steered me toward several really good books over the past few years. On the surface, it seemed like something I should love. Lizzie Borden fighting Lovecraftian monstrosities. How great a setup is that? Maybe it made my hopes too high.

“Maplecroft” opens a number of years after Borden’s famous murders. She’s been acquitted and is living in Fall River, Massachusetts, serving as caretaker for her ailing older sister Emma. Lizzie lives quietly and stays mostly under the radar, or so it seems.

Review: "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman

It's no surprise that a guy who made his name in the comics world would excel in the short form, and for the most part, his latest short story collection, "Fragile Things" ($26.95, William Morrow), will not disappoint.

Through the course of the stories, Gaiman weaves fairy tale, myth, legend and tributes to writers he idolizes into stories that range from charming to strange to creepy.

The best story here is a tip of the hat to Ray Bradbury, "October in the Chair," which features personifications of the seasons of the month swapping stories at a gathering. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that the ending of the story is incredibly reminiscent of Bradbury and his stories that made readers think and use their imaginations. It wouldn't have been out of place in Bradbury's "The October Country."

Other influences come through on "A Study in Emerald," which reads like a blend of Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, and the observant reader will note references to other writers and works sprinkled liberally throughout the book.

The best stories in "Fragile Things," as with much of Gaiman's work, are those that lean more toward the fantastic and surreal. The story in "October in the Chair," for example is much more disturbing than the stab he takes at a more grisly brand of horror in "Feeders and Eaters."

Of great interest to fans will be the return of Shadow from "American Gods" in the novella "The Monarch of the Glens," which offers a different take on "Beowulf" and also hints that perhaps there's more in store for Shadow in the future.

Gaiman also sprinkles bits of poetry here and there throughout the book, which for the most part, you can skip. A poet he's not, but there is a certain poetry in his stories when they're at their best. Much like his idol Bradbury, Gaiman is at his best when he's at his strangest. The tales that make you think, the stories that open themselves to your own interpretation are the ones you'll remember.