Final count: 20 books
Monster Hunter International by Larry Correira
"Grandpa was offered what was for the time princely sums of money to travel and dispatch other monsters. As time passed he assembled a group of strong men to assist him. They learned from their mistakes and they improved their methods. In December of 1895 they formed Bubba Shackleford's Professional Monster Killers."
"We were an odd collection. Ages ranged from mid-forties all the way down to barely old enough to drink. We had people from all parts of the country and all walks of life...Despite our differences, we all had a few things in common. Every single one of us had come face to face with something from mankind's darkest imagination, and every single one of us was a survivor."
"'I've got a chainsaw with my name on it in my workshop,' Milo told us happily. 'If I'm ever killed by undead, I want you guys to chop me up with it. It's a good chainsaw.'
'I reckon it is, Milo. I would be honored to chop your head off," Sam said. I worked with some interesting folks."
Staying late at his boring 9-5 accounting job, Owen Pitt is attacked by his newly-turned werewolf boss. Surviving the ordeal and killing the monster gets Pitt and invitation to try out for Monster Hunter International, the best for-profit monster hunting company in the US. It turns out that not only are monsters real, but the US government pays a bounty for killing them. Owen joins up and trains to become a professional monster hunter. When a group of master vampires appear in North America protecting something even older and eviler, it's up to Monster Hunter International to put them down.
A much longer read than I expected especially for this particular sub-genre of fantasy. At the length of something I'd typically expect for High Fantasy (your typical Dungeons and Dragons fantasy), I think it took over a month to get through, while I usually get through this type of fantasy (I want to say wainscotting, a world within ours just hidden from regular eyes) in about 2-3 weeks. It was definitely a different pace. At times, the story kind of reminds me of a fanboy's field guide to hunting monsters in the modern era. Certain parts went in-depth into looking at different monsters as well as some of the weapons, guns mostly, used by the hunters. All real, by the way, if you were interested, which of course I was so I actually looked them up whenever guns were mentioned. I'm looking forward to continuing this series.
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
"He took things exactly as they came, for exactly what they were. Therefore he heard the slide rack back and felt no disabling shock. No panic. No stab of disbelief. It seemed entirely natural and reasonable to him that he should be walking down a street at night and listening to a man preparing to shoot him in the back."
Jack Reacher is minding his own business when he receives an encrypted code from his military days - a code requesting assistance. Someone out there threw his old squadmate from a helicopter to his death. Scarier still, someone out there got the upper hand on one of Reacher's old teammates, a group of men and women who were all just as good as Reacher was. Reacher gathers up the remaining members of his old unit and and goes hunting for the ones responsible, determined to repay the favor.
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child
"'No, I'm a man with a rule. People leave me alone, I leave them alone. If they don't, I don't'"
"Overwhelming force.
Hit early, hit hard.
Reacher called it: Get your retaliation in first.'"
Set in the neighboring towns of Hope and Despair, separated by just several miles of road. On a whim, Jack Reacher makes his way from Hope to Despair. He wanders into a diner for a cup of coffee and instead is run out of town. Reacher isn't a man who likes to be pushed and will dismantle the entire town to get to the truth of what is really happening in Despair. The entire town of Despair on edge led by an End of Times preacher, young women in Hope looking for their lost husbands and boyfriends, and a military base guarding nothing. Reacher will connect them all.
I feel like I don't even need to write my own opinions about these books anymore. By now you know the formula, Reacher gets into trouble, he'll solve the problem, beat up the bad guys, get the girl, wander on. I mean, if I didn't like them, would I really read ... these two make 12 and 13 ... of these books?
Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop
"The goods manufactured by humans were the only reason the terra indigene on the continent of Thaisia tolerated the continued existence of those invasive monkeys. If goods were no longer supplied, humans had value as only one thing: meat."
"Damn monkeys kept chattering about the Humans First and Last movement on the radio and in the newspaper. Humans were an upstart species compared to the terra indigene, who, in one form or another, had been walking in the world long before the dinosaurs."
Not to sound bored, but honestly, not much happens in this book in terms of overall plot and action. Instead, it feels more like a set-up to something bigger to follow in the next book, which I've yet to pick up. The Others of the Lakeside Courtyard and the humans both part of Lakeside and around the globe are dealing with the aftermath of rescuing the blood prophets held captive by The Controller, and destroying the facilities which housed them. On a larger scale, The Others are looking for answers on how to deal with the rescued young girls that they've hidden to keep from being captured by humans again. Around the world, the Humans First and Last movement is picking up amongst the human population, possibly leading them toward a war with The Others. Locally, The Others of Lakeside begin their own investigation into the HFL movement, especially when Officer Montgomery's daughter arrives in Lakeside and his ex-wife is found murdered.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
"The Chequy Group is composed of hundreds of individuals. Some are like me - they possess powers beyond the normal population."
"People are more likely to to cope with the appearance of an animated corpse in a graveyard than one in an ice cream parlor or the changing room of a boutique. They won't be happy with the appearance of the animated corpse in the graveyard, but they tend to be less outraged."
What I didn't know was that all the students at the Estate received extensive training and indoctrination that was designed to make them as efficient as humanly possible. This included becoming 'a morning person.'"
Myfanwy Thomas awakens surrounded by dead men in gloves and no memory. In a letter left behind by her former self, Thomas explains that she works for The Checquy, an organization protecting England from supernatural threats, and that someone within the organization betrayed her. With letters from her predecessor to guide her (as well as her own unique powers), Myfanwy seeks out to uncover the mole and unravel the conspiracy threatening England.
I picked this one up from Barnes and Nobles after remembering about commercials I saw for a tv show of the same name on a station I don't have. I imagine this as a sort of British-style "Hellboy" if the BPRD was more like MI-6, more governmental and less loose cannon than the movies portrayed it. The writing flows smoothly and makes this an easy read and not bogging the reader down with any technical terms that might typically appear in spy novels. The letters from Thomas spliced within the main story to provide background information were both a blessing and a curse. At times, they were interesting and insightful to giving not only background information on The Checquy, but also to provide another, experienced voice in dealing with these situations just to show what an actual agent of The Checquy is capable of. At other times though, the letters feel like it's just filler slowing the story down, especially when they appeared at high-tension points within the story. Just to add one final note, if you were curious, yes, there is a section that details The Checquy's American counterparts as well as their creation as a result of the American Revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment