AmySea

The Monster Hunter series isn't for everyone.  Essentially, it's a Quentin Tarantino kinda book.  It's full of ridiculously over-the-top blood-bath violence, it sports the liberal use of all kinds of weapons, it's full of men who are basically good at heart, but who aren't in the least bit opposed to killing stuff when necessary, and the women!  Tarantino's The Bride, O-Ren Ishii, and Jackie Brown would all be totally at home in a Monster Hunter book.  In other words, this series is awesome if you can just let yourself get caught up in it and let go.

I enjoyed Monster Hunter Alpha, but it wasn't as fun as Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta.  I really missed some of the brilliantly hilarious characters that were featured in those two books, but I did enjoy getting to hear Harbinger's life story.  I found him to be a very compelling character in the first two books, and was very pleased to see him featured in Monster Hunter Alpha.  I also liked that Correia toned down all of the minutiae regarding guns, and just got right into the monster battles, because honestly, that's why I read these books.  I see a Tarantino movie for a specific reason, I read Monster Hunter for a specific reason.

This is the first time I've listened to a Monster Hunter book rather than reading it, and my friend Whispers from the Curmudgeon's Ghost is right--the audio performance is very good, and well worth listening to.  Now I think I need to go read something featuring fluffy bunnies and little daisies just to counterbalance all that werewolf gore.