Monster Hunter International: Difference between revisions

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{{work}}
[[File:mhi1 7517.jpg|thumb|350px]]
{{quote|You know what the difference between me and you really is? You look out there and see a horde of evil, brain eating zombies. I look out there and see a target rich environment. |Dillis D. Freeman Jr., as quoted in foreword}}
|Dillis D. Freeman Jr., as quoted in foreword}}
 
''Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable [[Warmup Boss|boss]] out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|scarred]] face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.''
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''Welcome to '''Monster Hunter International'''.''
 
MHI is a contemporary fantasy/horror/GunPorn[[Gun Porn]] novel written by Larry Correia about a group of professional monster hunters. Correia's stated goal was to combine [[B-Movie]] monster tropes, but have the characters not be complete idiots. Consequently, in order to still present a threat, the monsters are much more powerful than in most B-movies, and the Hunters respond in kind. [[Grenade Launcher|Grenade launchers]]? Check. [[Sawed-Off Shotgun|Fully-automatic shotgun]]? Check. [[More Dakka|Claymore mines]]? Check.
 
MHI was originally self-published in 2008, but high sales through word-of-mouth advertising, especially on gun-related forums, attracted the attention of [[Baen Books]], which picked up the series.
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The third book in the series, '''Monster Hunter Alpha''', picks up some time after Vendetta, with a change of protagonist. Earl Harbinger heads to a remote town in Michigan, to settle some old scores with one of his oldest foes, a vicious werewolf who served the KGB, and take him down for good. But there's another force waiting in the darkness, working to bring about a new breed of werewolves, and the only thing in their way are a handful of locals and a Determinator Earl Harbinger who won't die.
 
Following these first 3, which are collected in a hardcover omnibus, the series continued with '''Monster Hunter Legion''', '''Monster Hunter: Nemesis''', '''Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge''', '''Bubba Shackleford’s Professional Monster Killers ''' (A [[prequel]]. Published as part of [[Weird West]] anthology '''Straight Out of Tombstone''') and, '''Monster Hunter Siege'''. The titles, '''Monster Hunter Files''' (a collection of short stories by multiple authors), and ''Monster Hunter Bloodlines''. A spinoff 1980s set [[Prequel]] trilogy titled '''Monster Hunter Memoirs:''' (made up of '''Grunge''', '''Sinners''', areand upcoming'''Saints''') was produced in cooperation with [[John Ringo]].
 
The series has repeatedly reached #1 on Audible, proving popular enough in audio format that Audible's executives have solicited the author to provide advice for writers seeking to make their books better suited for audio release. Sample chapters of his work and several original stories can be found [http://monsterhunternation.com/ on Correia's blog], and a free ebook copy (in most common ebook formats) of the first work can be obtained from [https://www.baen.com/monster-hunter-international.html the publisher's website].
MHV cracked the New York Times Best Sellers list at #27 for mass-market paperbacks and has reached #1 on Audible. Correia has some other series in the works: [[The Grimnoir Chronicles]], an [[Urban Fantasy]] set in an [[Alternate History]] [[Film Noir|1930s]]; [[Dead Six]], a military thriller; and an untitled project co-written with [[John Ringo]]. Sample chapters of his work can be found [https://web.archive.org/web/20131025053125/http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/online-fiction/ on Correia's blog].
 
If you're looking for a completely different Monster Hunter, which is a video game, [[Monster Hunter|check here]]!
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* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: The orcs wear mostly black, have warty green-grey skin, yellow eyes and tusks but are definitely good guys
* [[Dragon with an Agenda]]: {{spoiler|Koriniha, priestess to the Old Ones.}}
* [[Enlistment-Ending Minor Malaise]]: Owen was raised to be a perfect soldier by his decorated veteran father {{spoiler|who knew from his ow encounters with the supernatural that one of his sons was doomed to be central to the battle against [[Eldritch Abomination|the great old ones]]}}. When it came time to enlist, Owen was rejected for childhood asthma (which he no longer has) and flatfoot. Effectively free of his father's [[Training From Hell|harsh training]], Owen decides to become an accountant to get as far as possible from soldiery, until an encounter with his serial killer werewolf boss thrusts him into the world of professional monster hunting. Aside from being a poor runner, which is as much attributable to his massive size and heavy gear as it is his flatfoot, these health problems cause Owen little trouble.
* [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink]]: Pretty much every monster myth known is true. Most can be killed with sufficient application of [[More Dakka|dakka]], [[Stuff Blowing Up|explosives]], [[Kill It with Fire|fire]], or combinations of the above.
* [[Friendly Sniper]]: Being team sharpshooter, and an all-around nice girl, Julie is this.
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* [[Highly-Visible Ninja]] The {{spoiler|Catholic Church's Secret Guard}} are ''very'' good at stealth, even called ninja by observers, but really bad at disguise, still openly being {{spoiler|very religious with lots of crosses and Latin prayers}} even when they're supposed to be disguised as "normal" people.
* [[Intimidating Revenue Service]]: MHI facing an audit is considered only ''slightly'' less vicious than the monsters they deal with.
* [[Interrogation as Framing Device]]: Used in ''Nemesis''. {{spoiler|It's actually Heaven, not the US Government, interrogating Franks.}}
* [[Implacable Man]]: Captain Thrall is very durable.
* [[A Man Is Not a Virgin]]: Subversion with {{spoiler|Trip}}. He is twenty-seven. Holly likes to playfully needle him about this.
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* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: Milo's newborn daughter, named after {{spoiler|Sam Haven}}.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: {{spoiler|One of the Old Ones is killed when the protagonists use a doomsday weapon against it.}}
* [[Die or Fly]]: MHI's preferred method of recruitment is finding those who have survived (and preferably prevailed against) monster attacks already, showing they have the "Flexible Minds" to not be a liability on a hunt. They ''try'' to introduce those who survive but lack this ability to the only pair of mental health professionals that will actually give them care instead of paint them as nuts to protect the [[The Masquerade]], but the nature of the Unearthly Forces Disclosure Act they struggle to find such people.
* [[Ditch the Bodyguards]]: Owen is instructed by the Monster Control Bureau to stay at MHI's compound as bait for the [[Religion of Evil|Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition]]. However he's a pro-active kind of guy, and prefers to take the fight to them.
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: The aforementioned {{spoiler|shoggoth}}, who pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] when ordered to kill the only person who has ever loved it.