I’m going to be purchasing MONSTER HUNTER ALPHA by Larry Correia on Monday. Here’s why.
Reason #1: Correia delivers the goods
I read MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL. I ended my review of MHI saying Correia was going to be a writer to watch. Well, for those of you who haven’t been watching, not only did Correia sell tons of copies of MHI, he also made the New York Times best seller list with his second book AND sold TV rights to the MHI series to a major TV producer.
Why would his books generate such a response? Because they’re so dang fun. That’s why. And Correia isn’t just a flash in the pan one-trick pony. Far from it, as demonstrated by Reason #2 below.
I told you in my review of INTERNATIONAL that I don’t read books that don’t suck me in. I don’t give them 70 pages to warm up and get going. I don’t care who wrote the book. I don’t care if the author is a big lug with guns. I don’t care if he has status and money or friends who can put the hurt on me. I don’t care if the author is my girl’s godmother and brings me Walker Shortbread Rounds (which are evil cookies that exert mind control). If the book bores me, I put it down. That doesn’t mean that books which bore me aren’t wonderful. Sales and numerous reader exclamations of delight and satisfaction attest to the the fact that many are. It’s just that I’m a reader of little patience. I love it when a book starts with a bang and keeps me hooked. And Correia’s books do exactly that.
Reason #2: Correia’s getting better
I read MONSTER HUNTER VENDETTA recently. I should have reviewed it, but I’ve been so freaking busy I barely have time to shave or appear in public because I’ve begun to look like the Unabomber. But here’s the deal with VENDETTA–it’s better than INTERNATIONAL.
Yes. Better.
Well, expect for maybe the opening paragraphs. The quote and first few paragraps that opened INTERNATIONAL are hard to beat. This doesn’t mean the opening of VENDETTA is weak. Heck, no. VENDETTA trounces the openings of most novels and steals their lunch. And then it continues to delight all the rest of the way through. It’s just that it didn’t quite deliver the same jolt as MHI. But 500 or 503 watts, what’s the difference?
So with VENDETTA, are there guns? Yes.
Monsters? Check.
Action? There’s action galore.
It appeals to my testosterone right off the bat (even though Larry reports that a good number of his readers are women). But there are guns, monsters, and action in a lot of stories that stink. What Correia does is not only give us great action, but he also gives us wonderful new situations. For example, you will never see the scene set in the ghetto of Birmingham, Alabama that appears here in any other book. Never. It’s a Correia original. But even more important than great new situations, is that he gives us a first-person narrator who is delightful to be around. I’m talking about Owen Zavasta Pitt, the accountant monster hunter. His responses to the situations he gets in just make me laugh, as do a number of the responses of the other characters. My only wish is that Correia would tone down some of his language just a bit. It is possible even when writing about military characters. But you can’t have everything, and Owen’s such a loveable lug, I overlook it. Hey, maybe Milo will help him out on that as the series progresses.
Furthermore, Pitt isn’t the only character who I find delightful or interesting. In VENDETTA there is also Holly, Agent Franks, and G-Nome, one of Correia’s best yet. Of course, there’s also the Doctors Nelson, the former hunter Carlos, Melvin the troll, and Earl Harbinger who have their own moments to shine. As do Owen’s dad and brother. And Dorcas, MHI’s secretary with the plastic leg. Heck, I even like Susan.
So how many is that–eleven already? How many wonderful characters do most authors give you in one book? Two or three?
And that’s one of the things that is is better with VENDETTA than INTERNATIONAL. In INTERNATIONAL, as good as it was, some of the characters just didn’t get the stage time they needed to shine. But here Correia declutters his scenes so we’re not trying to focus on too many people. The result is that those we do focus on each have the their moments and lines. The other thing I noticed was that Correia deftly orients us to each new situation. For those of you who are writers, let me suggest you look at Correia’s technique in VENDETTA for introducing characters and settings.
Another good thing: he wipes out a Girls Gone Wild camera crew in the first chapter. Anyone who does that gets a few points in my book.
VENDETTA doesn’t attempt to become bigger in scope than INTERNATIONAL (as if it could). Instead, it feels like another episode in a great tale. And I’m happy with that because it promises more to come. I’m back with characters I like and situations that make me laugh and magic crap that evokes some oohs and aahs and every now and again makes me wish I’d come up with it for my own use.
Finally, VENDETTA leavens the humor and action with a couple of poignant moments. I’m thinking of a chapter with Carlos, another scene with Owen’s dad, and one with G-Nome.
As you can see, VENDETTA’S packed with goodness.
With ALPHA, I’m expecting to hook up with at least one of the gang for more exploits and laffs. Will Correia get even better? I have no doubt he will. But who cares–he’s already delivering great stuff.
Reason #3 Did I mention that Correia makes me laugh?
Just didn’t want to forget that. Furthermore, I swear I read somewhere that laughter increases your health and makes you live longer. So not only am I getting a great read, I’m extending my days upon the land.
Reason #4 Monday is a special day
Not any old Monday. But the 25th of July.
Why is this special?
Because it’s the first day of the first week of the book’s release.
Now I know I’m going to buy this book sometime. But buying it in the first week lets me do something I might not be able to do at some other time.
Because Correia has given me hours of pleasure, I figure I can tip him for his good service by helping him make the best seller list again. And a book has the best chance of making that list in the first week of release. (For those of you interested in how that works, Larry gives a good explaination here.) Making a best seller list does all sorts of good things for an author, and, as a result, that author’s readers.
So Monday’s my day to leave the tip on the table and tell the owner to keep up the good work.
The New York Times list is a good one. But I’d like to see him on the USA Today list, which measures sales so much better than any other list out there. My fingers are crossed.
For those of you who are Correia fans or who have been putting off giving his stuff a go, now’s the time to either get MHI and begin the series or ALPHA and continue the delight.
EDIT: After I posted, I couldn’t wait and just went ahead and processed my order. Pre-orders will count in that first week, and after writing this I couldn’t resist. Looking forward to more hours of laughter and some great characters.
No Kindle editions = NO SALE
Don’t talk to me about it 🙂 go over to Correia’s site and post it there. I have absolutely no idea why Baen does what they do with ebooks. Seems to me that they’re missing out on boatloads of cash. Still, you can get an edition for your Kindle from the Baen site somewhere that’s non DRM.
Yup, all of Baen’s stuff is available in just about every format DRM-free, for cheaper than Amazon would sell it. And you can even mail it straight to your Kindle after purchasing.
I suspect, but don’t know for sure, that the reason the Baen books aren’t on Amazon directly in e-editions is that Amazon insists on getting the lowest price available and paying a particular percentage of that, and the fact that the books are also offered in the monthly Webscription complicates things. Because with that you get 6-7 books, usually 3-4 new ones and 3-4 back-catalog ones for $18, so they want it at, effectively, $3 or so. But I’ve seen notes off and on in Baen’s fora that they’re in negotiations, so it may happen sooner or later.
I bought all of Correia’s books for my Kindle from Baen’s website. It’s cheaper than what Amazon normally charges (especially for new releases), it doesn’t have DRM, and the electronic version is usually out a week earlier than the paperback. I’m more than happy to pay Baen directly instead of Amazon.
JohnW: there IS a Kindle e-book & I have it. You can purchase & download it direct from Baen’s website.
Here are directions for getting Baen ebooks on a Kindle:
http://www.webscription.net/t-kindle.aspx
JohnW-
Monster Hunter Alpha is available as an e-book here:
http://www.webscription.net/p-1416-monster-hunter-alpha.aspx
for the princely sum of $6.00. It comes in multiple formats and has no DRM.
As an aside, other mass market releases, some of which have been out for several years, generally run about $8.99 on your kindle.
Give it a shot, its a really good book.
JohnW,
Here’s the link on how to get baen books on your kindle
http://www.webscription.net/t-kindle.aspx
Great post John. I love Larry’s books. Hard Magic really shows off Larry’s versatility. It has a totally different feel than MHI, MHA, and MHV but it’s still a great read
Well, actually the Baen business model for ebooks, in my opinion is better. You get the book for cheaper (6.00 for MHA) than Amazon and sans DRM in just about any format you can imagine. The only downside is that their site (www.webscriptions.net) isn’t as well known as the Amazon juggernaut.
I read the second Monster Hunter on my Kindle. So it is available. I’m just curious if my purchases through Baen’s Webscription store count toward Correia getting on the Bestsellers lists. It’s such an obscure store it worries me. I’ve already bought Alpha but since I’ve passed it on in digital form to pretty much everyone in my family I’m planning on just purchasing about 20 more copies digitally on Monday so that all my readers count towards his book sales. I want this man to write forever.
Finding an eleectronic version of the books is not hard: http://www.webscription.net/p-1416-monster-hunter-alpha.aspx
There is a Kindle Edition but not on Amazon.
Larry is a author with Baen books and all Baen ebooks are sold on their website http://www.webscription.net/default.aspx . All new ebooks are $6 unless you go for the pre release E-ARC.
When you find the one you want it gives you the choice to download it in whatever format you want DRM free. I have a nook so I get the Epub.
Flip, should of finished reading your post John lol.
Sadly, I must wait till Friday when I get paid. But then, oh yessss. Alpha will be mine.
I hope things are going well with YOUR book 2. I can hardly wait.
Using the Amazon Kindle
with WebScriptions
http://www.webscription.net/default.aspx
With the introduction of the Amazon Kindle wireless eBook reader, WebScription users have a new device for reading eBooks. All of the WebScription eBooks are available in a Kindle format for direct use. To download them, follow these steps:
Download the WebScription Ebook in the Mobipocket/Palm/Kindle Format. If you download the Zipped version, unzip the file to a directory of your choice.
Connect the Kindle reader to your computer using the USB cable supplied with the Kindle. The Kindle device will appear as a new drive attached to your computer.
Copy the Ebook file into the Documents directory on the Kindle.
Disconnect the USB cable. The new Ebook should appear in the Kindle’s directory.
Emailing books directly to your Kindle
Note: Amazon charges you 15 cents per megabyte sent to your Kindle by email.
On the WebScription download page for a book, click the Email book to My Kindle link and follow the directions. Note that you must authorize Amazon to receive email from WebScription first (ebooks@webscription.net).
Alternatively, you can email books to your Kindle for free through a Wi-Fi connection by emailing the .Mobi file format to youraccount@free.kindle.com (replacing youraccount with your actual kindle account name).
Using Kindle for PC
Kindle for PC is Amazon’s free application that enables you to read Kindle books on Windows computers.
To use a Baen Kindle file with Kindle for PC, download the file to your computer and place it in the directory Amazon sets up for storing your Kindle files. This is typically the Documents/My Kindle Content directory. You will need to restart your Kindle for PC program after moving the file before Kindle for PC will recognize the new file. Amazon does not let you email files to your Kindle for PC program.
Using Kindle for Mac
Kindle for Mac is Amazon’s free application that enables you to read Kindle books on Apple computers.
To use a Baen Kindle file with Kindle for Mac, download the file to your computer and place it in the directory Amazon sets up for storing your Kindle files. Click on the file you downloaded and wish to read, and Kindle for Mac will open the file automatically.
The Mobipocket/Palm/Kindle format uses several file extensions: .PRC, .PalmDOC, .DOC, and the newest extension, .MOBI.
If the software for moving the file from your PC to the Palm doesn’t recognize the new .MOBI extension, rename the file with a .PRC extension and it will load properly. This only applies to Palm devices. The Kindle accepts either extension.
You can get any eBook format you want of Momster Hunter Alpha – without DRM.
http://www.webscription.net/p-1416-monster-hunter-alpha.aspx
$6 and read itonline, download, send to your kindle – whatever. baen has the best eBook policies of any publisher as you not locked to a proprietarty DRM or format. Give Baen a try.
Look at the love and Baen-fu in the Monster Hunter Nation come out.
WEKM @ 15, Just passed the 50% mark on this draft of CURSE and loving it.
Josh @ 11, I doubt it will count. The New York Times samples books stores. Some indies, some B&N stores, etc. I doubt they include the Baen site. USA Today does a much much better job. You can see what they include here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/2011-05-11-about-usa-todays-top-150-books-list_n.htm. But again, the Baen area isn’t part of it. But I wouldn’t stress. I’m sure Larry wants you to read it in what ever format you prefer. However, for those of us who do read it in other formats, this is a great way to leave a tip.
Bought the paperback from Amazon yesterday and looking forward to it. I actually haven’t read Vendetta yet, but based on the first book I’m sure all 3 will be awesome.
I bought the e-ARC of Larry’s book in preparation for a trip to Denver. Couldn’t have been happier. I wish that more authors were allowed to put their books out earlier for those that wanted them. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of Baen’s authors, but I do love their business model. John, Any news on the possibility of putting some of your short stuff out in ebook? I remember we talked about it on here a long while back, but I never followed up. 🙂
Send me an email and tell me more what you’re thinking.