Monster Hunter Nemesis by Larry Correia - Book Review

Monster Hunter Nemesis

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts—parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He’s nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself.

Monsters are out there, or that is at least what Larry Correia wants us to believe. With installment number five of his hit Monster Hunter series he gives us a look into one of the series most deadly and mysterious characters; Monster Control Bureau agent Franks aka Frankenstein’s Monster.

In Monster Hunter Nemesis agent Franks has been framed for attacking the MCB headquarters in Washington by the power grabbing, extremely clever, Mr. Stricken. With Franks disgraced Stricken can push the government into a program of creating super soldiers just like Franks, something that Franks had sworn he would not allow. It comes down to Franks and a few loyal MCB agents against to stop Stricken before he can inadvertently cause the destruction of the world.

In each of Correia’s books his characters are sent to fight against specific enemies. Either master vampires, dragons, or living nightmares they focus on one major threat all while having a greater danger hinted at in the background. In Nemesis we get a better insight into the massive war that has been brewing since book 2. Names are spoken and factions are explained this time around, though towards the end it’s hard to say who is an enemy and who is an ally.

Correia’s writing is as fast paced as ever and peppered with his usual sarcastic humor and wit. Gun enthusiasts will have a clear picture of the weapons being used thanks to Correia’s vivid descriptions and own experience as a part-time firearm instructor. Explosions, massive destruction, brawls, and more are in plenty of supply.

As fun as the book is it does suffer from a few minor flaws. There are plenty of characters that have already been established that show up in this book, but their roles are very minor and seem to only matter when the story needs them to. In one point a regular human goes against an enemy that has already slaughtered numerous other characters and has been shown as being a major threat. The regular man miraculously beats this monster even when he was at the disadvantage.

Whether this talks about the character’s own skill or a case of deus ex machina it seems random and unexpected. This can be said for several other characters and instances that show up randomly, say a few lines, and then shuffle off or are ignored all together after a certain point.

Correia also developed a nasty habit in this book of repeating a character’s dialogue and exposition several times to drive certain points home. Among problems though these ones are easy to overlook as the story is as fresh as ever, the characters are true to form, and the dialogue flows naturally from each character.

This book is great for the ongoing series and still leaves plenty of room for questions to be answered in the final two books. If you haven’t already picked up the series then know that it’s a fun story full of action and humor as good as any triple A action film.

Reviewed by Jacob Conflitti