Books - Warbound

Larry Correia is one of my favorite authors. Correia is around 9 feet tall, a Mormon, family man and self-proclaimed conservative and gun nut. And I would add fantastic writer. I first became aware of his work through word of mouth regarding his mind-blowing Monster Hunter International books. The latest, Monster Hunter Nemesis, is out in July and I can’t wait.

 

As much as I love MHI, Larry’s Grimnoir Chronicles series may be even better. Then again, chocolate pie, peanut butter pie, you win either way. Warbound is the last book for now in the Grimnoir series. These books take place in the pre-Great Depression years of the 1930s, where magic exists and is a real thing. It’s an ensemble story, but one of the main protagonists is hard-boiled Jake Sullivan, a “Heavy.” Jake can use magic to control the weight or density of people or objects around him. Country girl Faye Vierra is a teleporter, called an “Active.” Faye is an absolute favorite character and probably the most powerful person in the Grimnoir universe. The universe is populated with thousands of folks gifted with diverse magical powers, such as healing, super engineering, transmitting disease, telepathy, and just about every super power you can think of. Sullivan and Vierra are members of the Knights of the Grimnoir, who help protect the world from magical bad people. *Slight spoiler* In the previous book, Spellbound, Jake dispatched the evil Japanese “Chairman,” the former most powerful magic user in the world. Now an imposter has taken his place, and Jake must work with the Chairman’s reluctant son Toru to dispose of the new guy and save the world.

Correia is an incredible action writer and world-builder. From sending Faye into a bombed out, desolate area of Germany to gather intelligence to dropping Sullivan from a plane into the climactic battle, our heroes go from one bombastic adventure to another. Correia still saves room for character development and getting fan-favorite characters together romantically. He has developed a fine sense of pacing that keeps the reader riveted to the story to see what happens next. There is an especially good subplot about Faye becoming so powerful she is destined to turn evil, and the group trying to assassinate her before that happens. Good luck with that.

The resolution ties up the story and is a natural ending for the characters who survive. Correia has promised more books set in this universe, perhaps jumping ahead to the 1950s to see where everyone is. I’ll follow him wherever he goes, but this is excellent news.

Check out all books in this series: Hard Magic, Spellbound and Warbound. Larry Correia also runs one of the most interesting sites on the web, dealing with political correctness in modern publishing, direct, no-nonsense writing tips and honest and enthusiastic interaction with fans. Find him at Monster Hunter Nation.

 

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars