Monster Hunter International: Review thread with SPOILERS!!!

[SoCalShooter]

Book is great, well put together...now if I could just get some reading time in.

 

[dzimmerm]

Loved it

Larry,

Thanks for the book. Yeah, I paid for it and the nifty patch, but what I paid was small in comparison to what I got.

Things I liked about the book.

1) Big guy does good
2) Cute girl who knows how to defend herself
3) Monsters, monsters, and more monsters
4) A real plot.
5) Gun, lots of guns.
6) Nuking an ancient old one.

Things that I did not like so well.

1) Not enough info on what makes the various monsters tick, motivation, etc.
2) It was too short, .

It did move a bit slowly after the initial chapter. In justice to you the character development was needed and really helped me bond with the characters. It was the slowest part of the novel though. A similar chapter getting into monster motivation might have slowed the pace down too much.

I have put up a review on Amazon and am pitching your book to those I work with and anyone else who knows how to read.

Have you considered any kind of audio book deal? I like to listen to my books as well as read them.

dzimmerm

 

[flynlr]

saw you at the gun show today . glad to hear that amazon has sold out twice.
I am now wondering which person in your life is Grant. not sure but I want to beat the heck out of him. not finished with the book yet but did get further this evening. oh and I need another patch. when do they go on sale?

 

[Red Tornado]

Finished it this weekend and loved it! It was everything I expected, and a whole lot more.

The Orcs were the coolest thing ever. Didn't see that coming. Edward on a Warg finishing off the blasted masters was a great visualization in my head. I never liked Orcs before, but now I want more.

I was dying to figure out what Earl was, and for some reason I couldn't stop picturing Tommy Lee Jones every time he spoke. Owen I sort of saw as a bigger Tex Cobb from Uncommon Valor. Big, sloppy, and bad to the bone.

All-in-all I had a blast reading it. As far as seeing the prophecy coming and all, I'd say D'uh! It's a fantasy novel. Anybody who's read hundreds of fantasy/scifi should see it coming. You don't pick a random character and see what happens in life. You pick the ultimate (champion/badass/chosen one) and see where he came from.

When you get a preorder list together for MHI II, I want on it.
RT

 

[Phelptwan]

Just excellent

 

[G36-UK]

Great story. I liked the fighting on the ship, when Owen got his sweet revenge on his rival.

I'm only sad that in the UK, I probably couldn't build my own "Abomination".

Love the patch too - I'm thinking of doing a MHI kitout for Airsoft, to go with the STARS one.

 

[txgho1911]

So in MHI 2 will Holly get to lead her own team. Patch to include a pole?
How about a few diff team patches. A new one for every cover. You have enough story line here to create more than a doz wild and hairy pre-quills.
Owen used the box for a 5 minute bump. Does he get another shot with it that doesn't open a bad gate?

 

[tinygnat219]

Ordered one from Amazon.com, said delivery would be 1-3 weeks. I take that as a good thing!

From Chapter 1, I was hooked. Keep up the good work.

 

[Echo Tango]

Amazon is sold out...... Im not good at patience , or spelling patience ( i actually had to look it up sad sad.)

 

[RexDart]

I'm still reading it... in fact only about 1/3 of the way in. A rollicking good read so far.

If Amazon is out, order direct from Larry's blog using Paypal. Got it direct, autographed and with a patch faster than I typically get Amazon orders.

 

[sixgunner455]

I called and ordered it directly from Larry. Got a signed copy, w/the patch. Patch makes me giggle just looking at it.

Then, I dropped it, and I was looking at it up side down, and now I can't stop laughing. Turn the book or patch so the monster's horns are pointing down -- it's a PENGUIN!!

Love the book. Giggles all through, movie references all through, "maybe the prophecy fits Z, too" thoughts going. Readers like to be able to figure out a book, or parts of a book at least, before they get to the "revelation". Makes 'em feel smart. That makes it a more enjoyable read. I like the whole thing.

 

[Correia]

1) Not enough info on what makes the various monsters tick, motivation, etc.

In my very original draft I had more information about Lord Machado and his motivations, as well as a prolog from the events in Poland from WWII. The thing is, it really slowed the story down too much. Doing away with the prolog, enabled me to open a lot faster, and get the reader's attention. The final version was leaner, but I think it came out better. And since so far it looks like the average reader has pounded through a book that is just shy of 200,000 words, in only two-three days, I'd say it worked!

For reference, MHI is actually pretty darn long. An average action/fantasy novel usually clocks in under 150,000 words. In fact, that was my biggest hurdle over the last year while I was trying to get a traditional publishing contract. I had a bunch of agents and publishers tell me that they liked it, but they thought it was too long for a first timer, and that it wouldn't be sellable.

Suckers.

As for figuring out the prophecy, I didn't try too hard to stash that. There were basically three plot points that were alluded to, some more hidden than others. Z (obviously), Earl (which got more pronounced as the book went on), and Susan. There's a bunch of other things in MHI I that won't be explained until book II, but I stuck a TON of things in there for that purpose. There's pretty much nothing that I referenced in I that's not there for a reason, and that includes some minor things in I, that play plot points in II and III.

And yes, it is a trilogy. I hope to have II out by the end of 2008.

 

[Correia]

Holy crap! It is a Penguin! It's swimming right at you! That's awesome. I designed it, but never flipped it over.

 

[Rock_Steady]

Correia, Just finished MHI. I was one of your hundreds of Pre-orders.

Great enjoyable read. I truly hope that you can make this into a movie sometime. You didn't go too crazy witht he gun culture stuff, it was very well done. Abomination is priceless. I really felt for the characters.

Fantastic job. And there's more on the way? I couldn't be happier. I now must ask you to chain yourself to the computer, turn off THR and finish. I hope you have a s good a time writing as I did reading.

 

[Hiaboo]

Guys--- If you are one of those who wants this but have not ordered it yet from amazon or whatever if it is sold out, contact me and I'll send you my copy.. Not that it's a terrible read I like sharing books.

 

[Simms65]

Larry, you are a bad man. Bad, bad, bad! I didn't start reading the book until last night, and I read the whole thing in one sitting. My GF knew better than to interrupt me.
I am sad that this isn't a 6 or 7 book series sitting in my living room waiting to be read!

I expected a lot out of your book. Having read your Nightcrawler writings I knew it would be good. I wasn't prepared for how good. Your skills as a writer to me are right up there with the fantasy/sci-fi greats. It doesn't read like a first book. Very refined, and IMO the flow is just right.
I didn't think the character development was too slow at all. I really enjoyed the many rather intelligent pop culture references, and I bet if I knew the people that you do, I would have seen even more humor in the book.

I think Abomination was a perfect choice for Owen. Parents that are vampires, great grandparents that are werewolves, redneck Elves, Metal loving Orcs, and just overall great characters. I am going to order a couple more copies of your book to give to friends.

As others have asked, are you planning on having more MHI patches run? I would love to buy one or two more to decorate various bags etc. The one I got with my preorder is going to adorn my camera bag. Hopefully a lot of people will ask what it is.


David

 

[bogie]

Suggestion: I like the khaki patches over the dark green subdued patches...

Jen's wondering when she's going to get the next one. Please hurry. My shoulder hurts.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Took me a couple days to read. Knowing Larry well, I had a hard time not ruining the book with spit milk or cookies while reading it. The opening chapter describing life as a worker bee was AWESOME!!

It does what it does perfectly. It entertains. You can tell the author enjoyed writing it, and that he knows his subject matter.

 

[hrgrisso]

Review

Let me start with I LOVED THIS!

I've read all the other reviews so far so I don't want to keep hashing over what's been said as most are spot on. This does read like a much more published author.

I saw parts of the prophesy coming forward but the ending was epic!

I for one loved the story about 95. Very descriptive and it really sucked the reader in. I was a touch (not a lot but a little) disappointed that the scars were gone at the end, a scared hero is much more intriguing.

The little village in the swamp? WTH?

I loved the ship scene with swarming wights and then vamps in the dark. I especially loved the french man (just kidding I feel no ill will to the french) inside waiting to ambush his rescuers.

Larry I was torn on the super powers.

I loved that Earl swaggered in and kicked SUPER BIG A and part of me loved that Z got through much of the story on sheer firepower and balls alone, human. But part of me didn't like to see him get smacked around. I guess part of me liked the AHNULD school of thought, be bigger AND Badder than your enemies and beat them down. I liked it but...

I've been telling EVERYONE about this book! I even told guys at church (I'm so going to hell...) Do you still have inventory? As Amazon is saying sold out...???

Oh and can you tell us how many copies you have sold? That'd be cool, like tracking a guy we've listened to getting on the NYT Bestsellers list or the like.

 

[Correia]

Harm, I won't know how many copies I've sold until I get my royalty statement in a month. So Amazon has sold out 3 times, but I don't really know what that means. Do they order 4 copies at a time? 12? 1000? Beats me.

Personally, I ordered 250. I used up most of those in the preorder. I've been selling them onsie twosie out of my shop, and I've got like 30 left (I think).

And don't worry, Owen will have plenty of new scars by the end of the Trilogy. It goes MHI 1-3 from Owen's perspective, then I have plans for two other books told from other character's perspectives, Monster Hunter Alpha and Monster Hunter Nemesis.

Thanks guys, the feedback is priceless and much appreciated.

 

[kentucky_smith]

Mine doesn't ship til the 23rd.

 

[Trebor]

Larry,

I really enjoyed MHI. I thought it was generally well put together and entertaining. I kept reading because I kept wanting to know "what happens next." Always a good sign. I liked the characters and the universe and the surprises like the Elves and Orcs.

I do have a criticism. I wasn't going to bring it up, but you mentioned it first.

For reference, MHI is actually pretty darn long. An average action/fantasy novel usually clocks in under 150,000 words. In fact, that was my biggest hurdle over the last year while I was trying to get a traditional publishing contract

I'm with the group that thought the book was a bit too long. I thought the narrative flow, and the internal tension, would have worked better if the book would have been about 20% to 30% shorter.

At the length it is know there are times where the story loses momentum. It never quite *totally* stops, but it sure slows down in a few places.

In my very original draft I had more information about Lord Machado and his motivations, as well as a prolog from the events in Poland from WWII. The thing is, it really slowed the story down too much. Doing away with the prolog, enabled me to open a lot faster, and get the reader's attention.

Excellent decision. One of the areas where I wish it was shorter was the backstory with Lord Machado. I wanted to read more about the heros and the backstory was tedious to go through.

Do you ever read any Elmore Leonard? He gives a great piece of advice, "Leave out the parts that the reader's skip." For me, that would be the Lord Machado backstory. Less exposition, more action.

Actually, I have one more criticism. For a fantasy/horror/action novel, I think you like your characters too much. Too many of them survive the final apocolyptic battle at the end.

When the heros started to die in the swamp I thought, "Wow, I can't believe he killed *that* character. Gutsy move." Then, when they pretty much *all* died, I knew there'd be a reset in there soon.

At the end I thought too many of the main characters were left standing and I got the feeling it was because of how much you liked them as opposed to what worked for the story. Heck, Susan died *twice* and lived in the end. Too much of that and you undercut the tension.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to the sequal. I just figured you could handle some honest criticism as well. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Apple a Day]

Larry,
Since you cut out parts of the book could you please, pretty please with sprinkles on top post them on your website/blog or somewhere and give us a link. I'd like to read the "deleted scenes".

 

[xds&gsps]

great book, bought it Saturday at the gun show w/a patch, got to meet Larry, really enjoyed it. I didn't think it was too long, I couldn't put it down, even my non gun nut wife loved it & finished it a day before me.

Thanks for the great work

Jay

 

[The Viking]

A truly awesome book! Guns, Hind-flying ogres, redneck elves, and monsters to kill in truly gruesome ways.
A question arises: Did Owen get back stage passes for Skippy?