Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge

Sometimes I just want a balls-to-the-wall, kick the ever-lovin'crap out of everybody and laugh your ass off while you're doing it kind of novel. No kidding! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Jim Butcher's: Harry Dresden, Cherryh's: Foreigner novels and BOTH series by Patricia Briggs. But I also loved the "March" series that J. Ringo did with David Webber… although I'm not so big on troop placement, military strategy and the application of mapping out battle sequences. Oh, and EVERYTHING by John Scalzi… but I digress. I find, as I'm getting older, that I really want to learn more about weapons training and I want to start hitting the gun range. For some reason, target shooting is starting to sound like a great way to let out my inner demons (who are clapping with glee at the very thought of it) and blow off some emotional steam. And hey, there is ALWAYS something to be said for acquiring a new skill! ; - )But in the meantime, there is this book by Ringo & Correia: Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge… and it seems to be getting the job done nicely without my ever having to take a gun class or hit the range; and YES, I'm going to go after the second book as well. The first one is genuinely THAT GOOD. In fact, to my way of thinking, it's actually better than LC's MHI series in which universe it is set. Ringo is just more adept at balancing character development with action sequences and honestly, this is a read it "word-for-word" book whereas I found myself skipping entire sections of the original MHI books and never feeling like I'd lost anything that really mattered. In all honesty, I ordered this book BEFORE I read any of the MHI series and specifically because Ringo's name was on it and I have that much respect for his work. Which I am now going to have to acquire more of… IMMEDIATELY. But about THIS book in particular….First, you should know that I live in the Seattle area where much of the action takes place AND that I was born at the end of "The Boomer Age" so while I may not agree with all of the protagonist's views on "great presidents" I am VERY comfortable in the era in which the story takes place and the attitudes on which he bases the behavior of the lead character…. and, oh yeah, my husband was in the Navy and would have been on one of the ships that ferried Chad to Beirut (read the book, I'm NOT telling). Not too mention the fact that, given my age would have been about the same as Chad's during all his adventures, I would probably have been more than happy to let him flirt me shamelessly into his bed… because truthfully, he's just that likable. Which ultimately still isn't the only reason I love this book so much.I love this book because Chad's family was batshit crazy dysfunctional and I can relate completely. I love this book because I WISH I had been smart enough to have thought up the notion "to take any career path my parents would have been opposed to". I love that he's brilliant (and YES, it takes a hell of a lot more work to pull perfect straight C's through school than it would to get straight A's if you're genuinely intelligent). I LOVE that everything he says and does manages to convey wit, style, intelligence and wicked-crazy sarcasm. Frankly, Chad is probably too good to be true but it appears that he MAY have exaggerated SOME of what's in his memoirs although I for one am perfectly content to believe every word! I love this book because it's got heart, soul, boatloads of smashing and bashing bad guys and bad beings of all kinds and mostly I love it because although it's incredibly well-written and well thought-out. It's an easy, fun read that requires nothing more than the best action movies… sit back and enjoy the ride because it's worth every penny and you'll probably want to turn around and get right back on once you've finished! What can I say? It's a wicked smart book about killing monsters… whooda thunk it? But then, who would have thought Buffy the Vampire Slayer would have gone 9 whole seasons? Yeah, do it! Then go get your ass on a gun range and smile! WE all need to get our ya-ya's out somehow and this book has enough bone crunching, head, arms, hands and leg slashings along with multiple ways of blowing monsters into dust to satisfy us all… just don't forget to get proof of your kill! NO PROOF, NO PUFF! (and yeah, you're going to have to read it for that one too!)J. Ringo said in the preface that this book screamed in his head: "WRITE ME WRITE ME WRITE ME"! And it shows in every passage on every page. So the most important thing to add… maybe the only thing to add is: READ IT READ IT READ IT!And yes, I know LC did some "editing" and added some of the backstory and canon but I've read some MHI and this book is genuinely Ringo's…IMO… and much to my relief… although, to be fair, if I had one complaint about the novel it would be that most of his teammates at the Seattle branch of MHI are not as well fleshed out as many of the other characters Chad has relationships with. Which didn't get in the way of my enjoyment but is enough of an issue to be worth mentioning.

I love the Monster Hunters universe. It's gun porn, of course, but it also has obvious heart. The belief in everyday heroes and worship of strong women (though none has been from a woman's POV, sadly) makes it fun reading. I never liked the politics of the series, though - the author presents the government as the bad guy (except by accident or when someone is about to retire) and that only companies can save us.(I see good and bad in both, but my experience with the federal government has by and large been uniformly positive - people don't work for the government because they want to make tons of money. They either work there because it's a steady paycheck (same reason people work for Comcast or Exxon or Dell) or because they believe they can do good there.) (And no, I am not an employee of the government.) (Though I do the DC area, so I have met a lot of people who do.)This book, though, has a much more nuanced approach. Bureaucrats are sometimes actually interested in doing the right thing. Elected officials aren't on the take, they sincerely want to do right by their constituents. They all enjoy a good story and know how to laugh. Getting involved in governing and with those who govern is the best way to change the system. It's certainly not Correia's standard fare. My favorite part I think was when the authors acknowledged that MHI makes all its PUFF money from the government. It always bothered me that the characters all hate the government but are happy to make their money as government contractors. Talk about biting the hand that feeds!I am very very sad that the book was only 300 pages. It seems to have ended prematurely. I know it's part of a series but I bet it would have been better as one double priced book instead of two. And, insanely, I'd have paid full price to read it. I'm a sucker. Take my money! Give me more MHI!

It was a long time since I read the Monster Hunter International series. I was therefore quite happy when I found something new had Larry Correia’s stamp on it and took place in the Monster Hunter International universe. This is a fun book to read but, sadly, I do not think it is as good as the original Monster Hunter International series. It is good, even very good, but not WOW good.The book is obviously co-written by Larry Correia and John Ringo although I get the impression that there is more John Ringo than Larry Correia in the book. It is a fun book to read. I like both Larry’s and John’s no BS style of writing. If you are offended by grown up language, womanizing or are a social justice warrior then this book is not for you. Stay far, far away from it. I am not plagued by any of these issues myself so, consequently, I quite liked the book.The book essentially follows Oliver Chadwick Gardenier, or Chad for short, from the events where he is resurrected and sent back to Earth to fight evil and through his career as a Monster Hunter. Naturally this means lots and lots of action against various supernatural creatures and monsters. As usual with these two authors the action is quite violent and guns, explosives as well as various sharp instruments are plentiful.However the book feels a bit lighter than the Monster Hunter International books. As the name of the series indicate it is a memoire so it is essentially the main character himself that recites the story and the way it is done is by telling various memorable events from his life. This also means that, in my opinion, the book feels a bit chopped up. Sure, there is a red thread going through it but sometimes I felt like I was reading a collection of short stories strung together.As I wrote above, this is a good and enjoyable book but a notch below the books in the original series.

Un mix vincente ... il background inventato dal contabile americano appassioanto di armi e di film horror ("Se i protagonisti della maggior parte dei film horror avessere abbastanza pistole, il film sarebbe finito dopo i primi dieci minuti") e un protagonista inventato dal famoso RIngo, l'autore che trasforma in oro qualunque filone fantascientifico/fantasy tocchi ... le memorie di un ex-Marine destinato a dare la caccia ai mostri negli anni '80, senza mai risparmiare prese in giro e insulti conto la sinistra e i sinisrti ... Da non perderer!!!

Had it been possible to give this book a negative star, I would have done so. This was, undoubtedly, the worst piece of writing that I encountered in 2018. Forget about it being basically a redneck wet dream thinly veiled by apparent efforts to tell a story. Even the writing was utterly awful! Characters were not even two-dimensional. Plot was non-existent. The entire book seemingly originated from a singular desire: to scratch the equally obnoxious, but more sophisticated lib-dem lobby as badly as possible.If you are a redneck, or a Trump-supporter, intent on killing everything or everybody deemed un-American or anti-Christian, this is THE book for you.If you are a member of aforementioned lib-dem lobby intent on showcasing the worst aspects of redneck writing, this is THE book for you.If you want to read a clean, fast and sharp story of monster-hunting, this is NOT the book for you.'Nuff said.

I had to give it three stars. Could not give more. The book is very well written, great rough style, typically John Ringo. It is full of big, brutal monsters and even bigger guns. So far so good. However, three essential ingredients are lacking.First is humor. There is nearly nothing in this book that even came near to make me smirk. The hero takes himself too seriously.Second is a lack of flaws in the main character. Oliver Chadwick "Chad" Gardenier is just what I European peacenik imagine a hardcore US redneck's perfect self-image would be. A super-intelligent, brutal rebel who learns languages within days, masters all weapons with ease, outthinks and kills all monsters, masters the violin so he is offered a position at a professional orchestra and enchants a royal Fey household and gets laid by all women who come near him. It is just impossible to a) identify with and b) feel with the main character. It is even not possible to fear for him or to fear that he might make mistakes and get himself and others in trouble, because he is so perfect that it is clear he will succeed whatever he does.Third is a lack of an arc of suspense in the story line. The story is a sequence of battles with different kinds of monsters. I completely missed the feeling that the story builds towards a culmination point. So I actually just kept reading because Larry Coreia's next monster hunter book has not yet been published and I really want to read about monster hunters.That said, the book's not all bad. It is full of monsters and big guns. It is just not as good as the original.

A very good read - as usual with these authors.I love the "Monster Hunter" series of books and this one doesn't disappoint - engaging characters, suspense, and that difficult to pull of "feeling of reality" in a very unreal situation. The world building is top notch, the humour on the dark side and done well without impacting on the action or the interactions between the characters.You will genuinely be invested in the main character (and some of the side ones) - and will find yourself reluctant to put this one away until every page is read. For the second or third time.

Only the title layout makes it a pain to find on Amazon, you know all about the MHI, cool get this its great.Never heard of MHI or Monster Hunter International, well lucky you having stumbled onto this review.The MHI series by Larry Correia starts with book 1 titled "Monster Hunter International".They are slam bang, military meets Hollywood horrors, which it turns out are real, and all the movies and TV boxsets are part of a huge and very clever cover up, to keep us mere mortals happy and mushroom like, you know kept in the dark and fed bull****.This volume has the added spice of a certain J. Ringo.I'll say no more go find em.