Monster Hunter International

A while back, I did a sort-of preview post for a novel called Monster Hunter International, written by a gentleman named Larry Correia. At that time, Baen Books, had released the first seven chapters of the book free online. I liked what I read back then, and was eagerly anticipating the book's full release. Well, it hit shelves this past weekend, and I purchased a copy on Monday night. Finished it very early (read: 2:00 AM) this morning, and figured I'd write a brief review.

First of all, MHI is something of an action thriller. I am not easily impressed by action thrillers, having read multiple works by authors considered to be tops in that field; Clancy, Hunter, Flynn, Ludlum, and Cussler to name a few, along with countless wannabees whose books barely deserved to be on store shelves

Second, MHI delves deeply into the fantasy-horror genre. Vampires, zombies, werewolves, orcs, elves, that sort of thing. With the exception of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, I'm not that into fantasy. And I extremely dislike the horror genre. That just doesn't float my boat at all. I've no interest in having the crap scared of me at all.

So, in light of all that, I can only come up with one word to describe Monster Hunter International: Excellent.

Actually, Excellent doesn't really cut it. Truth be told, I can't really come up with words to describe what I think about Correia's work, at least not without sounding like a raving, foaming-at-the-mouth fanboy. Which, truth be told, I kind of am.

Correia is, in my opinion, an excellent writer, especially considering that this is the first novel he has ever written. (I think; Larry, if you're reading this and I'm wrong, please let me know. At any rate, it's his first published work.) He does an excellent job at writing the requisite action scenes, but even more so at creating the multitude of unique - and quirky - characters in the book. Each central character, and even most of the secondaries, has a fully fleshed-out background and history; it's obvious that Correia didn't just say "oh, I need a new character for this bit," and whip one up and five minutes like so many other authors - even the big names - are prone to doing.

The story is also excellent, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and surprised throughout the entire 710 pages. Granted, there are a handful cliches and worn plot devices (none of which I will mention lest I ruin the plot), but those are few, far-between, and forgivable considering the otherwise-unpredictable nature of the plot. It is also a highly-engaging plot. Actually, maddeningly addictive might be a better description; I had to physically force myself to put the book down during the wee hours of the morning so that I could get a few hours of sleep before picking it up again.

Oh, and I before I forget, MHI is funny! Again, can't really give specifics lest I ruin it for you, but suffice to say that Correia's dry, deadpan wit had me almost fall out off my chair at more than a few points.

In summary, I can say with certainty that Larry Correia's Monster Hunter Intentional is without a doubt the best book I have read this year. You can find it on both Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble's website, as well as at your local bookstore. However, I recommend buying online, as many stores are selling out of copies as soon as they order them. (no lie: the clerk at the B&N where I bought mine had to dig through the storage room to find a copy!) Also, I recommend buying a second copy to loan to your friends, as they won't want to give it back!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to start re-reading my copy. Yes, I know I just finished reading it the first time: it is just that damn good.

HOLY $#!^ !!!!!

Train vs. Tornado. Guess who wins?

MC Vader

Courtesy of Today's Big Thing. Actually, it's Yesterday's Big Thing, but whatever.

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Dunno if I'm ever gonna be able to watch Star Wars again and keep a straight face.

Thanks to nerdjedi for showing me the video.

Out With The Old, In With The New. Sorta.

You know my novel I'm writing that I'm always blabbing on here, Save Grace? Well, it's being put on hold. Truth be told, I'd become too emotionally invested in the characters, and as a result was taking the story in a direction that I really didn't like. So I'm suspending work on it for a while. Still plan to have it done before I graduate, but that's a ways away, so I don't worry.

In the meantime, I've started work on a new story, called Ten Millimeter. It's based on the series of oneshots I wrote a few years back for The Hitman Chronicles. I don't have any serious plans to have this published, so I'm posting it up on WeTheArmed. The first two "installments" (for lack of a better word) are already up: you can read them here.

Independence Day

233 years ago today, the 56 members of the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, formally signifying our secession from the British Empire. These 56 men did not see themselves as extraordinary, nor did they expect to be hailed for their actions. They were ordinary men; farmers, businessmen, even smugglers. They were brothers, husbands, fathers. Men just like you and me. Yet they knew their action would be considered high treason, and that should their efforts fail, they would most likely be executed for their crimes. And yet they believed so strongly in the idea of a free nation, that they were willing to risk death to preserve that idea.

Those men are long gone, but their spirits live on. They live on in the hearts of the thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have served and are serving in our armed forces. These are not heroes, nor do they consider themselves to be heroes. They are ordinary men and women, from all walks of life. They are farmers, mechanics, office workers, salesmen, students. They are husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers. They do not see themselves as heroes. But they believe so strongly in what our great nation stands for that they are ready and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to ensure that you and I remain a free people.

All Gave Some, but Some Gave All.

Never forget their sacrifice.





To all active and veteran military personnel, than you for your service and your sacrifice.

Crusader Weaponry

Yeah, I've been ignoring the blog again, I know. Life's been busy, though not crazy, thank God. The programs I signed up to volunteer at at the library started last week, and I'm spending lots of time practicing German for when the tutor comes. And when I'm not doing that, I'm either reading one of the 2-dozen or so books that I bought at a used book sale last month or else working on writing my own.

So, yeah, I know that not many of you are into guns, but I figured I'd put the word out about this anyway.

I'm a member of this internet forum called WeTheArmed.Com. For the past few months, a couple of the guys over there have been working to start up a company called Crusader Arms (now Crusader Weaponry) to produce high-end AR-15 rifles. Well, their efforts are now coming to fruition. They're still not able to sell completed weapons (.gov is being a PITA, apparently), but they are going to be selling upper recievers very soon. They've got 4 different models, which are going to be retailing from $800* (base model) to $1600* (top-of-the-line models). They'll initually only be offering rifles in 5.56mm/.223 Remington, but plan on introducing models in 6.8mm SPC and 7.62mm/.308 Winchester (and possibly 6.5mm Grendell) down the road.

Knowing what I do about guns, Crusader Weaponry is using some of the best components in the industry in their rifles, and for the prices they're asking, it looks to be a real bargin. If you're in the market for an AR (or any type of EBR for that matter), look these guys up. Their website isn't up yet, but you can find updates at Crusader News, MadOgre.com, and/or WeTheArmed.Com.

*UPDATE* Scratch that. The website is up. It's still a Work In Progress, though. Here's the link.

Guys from Crusader, if you're reading this, once I get back from Europe and find my own apartment, I'll almost certainly be getting a Partisan of my own.

*Note: Prices are for Uppers only. Complete rifles will be more expensive.

Barack Obama: Superhero

Courtesy of JibJab:

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Enjoy.

Did Some Tweaking

Did some minor tweaking to the blog. Just changed around the fonts for the most part. Kinda like it better this way (duh).

Still working on my first-person spontaneous fic (much to the neglect of Save Grace), which I've tenatively titled Raptor's Reckoning. Yes, I'm the hero. Actually, a cooler, more badass version of me is the hero. Believe me, I wish I could do all the things that the story-me can do.

Still not sure whether or not I'm ever gonna publish it, though. Still pretty close to Larry Correia's and Mike Kupari's work over on TheHighRoad, so it'll probably be one of those just-for-me things that I do from time to time. Of course, that's what More Than a Job/Justice Delayed/Save Grace and Codename: White Knight started out as, so who knows what'll happen.

Holy Crap!

Shamelessly "borrowed" from Bayou Renaissance Man.



Do not try that at home, kiddies!

Sometimes I Hate Being A Writer

Okay, so, Sunday into yesterday, I came across and read this work of fiction online that had been written by Larry Correia (same guy who wrote Monster Hunter International [Great book, by the way, and the Baen version's up for pre-order on Amazon. /plug]) and Mike Kupari. Long story short, is was totally amazing, doubly so because it was written spontaniously on an internet forum with practically zero proofreading.

If you want, you can read it here.

Okay, so why does this make me hate being a writer?

Because this fic inspired me to write a similar story. Same method: spontaneously with only a little idea of where I want it to go (only I'm writing mine in MS Word rather than directly online). I planned to post it either in a blog or on another forum. Problem is, my story's plot is turning out to be similar to Larry and Mike's. So similar, in fact, that I'm afraid to publish it anywhere for fear of being called on plageriusm. (Larry, Mike, if by some chance you're reading this, I am really sorry!) And Larry and Mike plan on getting it published eventually. Which they should (it is that epically good!), but that sort of leaves me up a creek with my story. Guess I'm just not creative enough sometimes.

Ahh, what the heck. I need to concentrate on finishing Save Grace before I go to Austria next semester anyway.

Best Movie Quote Ever!

Bob Hope is The Man!

Saab Aquired by Koenigsegg? For Real?

I recently came across a rumor which claims that Koenigsegg, a Swedish car manufacturer, has recently annouced plans to purchase Saab from General Motors.

Not familiar with Koenigsegg (pronounced Cur-nig-zeg)? Not surprising, seeing as how they're one of the hidden gems of the supercar community. Yep, you read that right: Supercar. They've been producing the CC-series of supercar (actually, it's more of a hypercar) since 1998

This is their latest model, the CCX:



If this is true, than it's really incredible. It's like Porsche buying Volkswagen. Oh, wait, nevermind, that already happened. Okay, so it's like Lamborghini buying out Volvo. Average-joe, everyday cars, only now with the genes of the fastest, most powerful machines on the road. Sweetness!

Important News from the Raptor

I just realized that I haven't mentioned this before!

Okay, big news here. I'm going to be studying in Austria next semester! w00t!

The program is a joint program between 5 universities, and is based out of Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia. I'll be staying in a historic Bed & Breakfast (I forget the name, sorry) in the heart of historic Salzburg. Yes, I know all about The Sound of Music, and yes, I will be watching the film before I leave.

In addition to Salzburg, we'll be spending a week in London, and 3-4 days travelling around Italy.

The best part of this program is that we only take classes for four days a week, and from noon on Thursdays until 10:00 PM Sundays, we're free to travel pretty much wherever we want in Europe. We're even given a 90-day EuroRail pass as part of the program! I'm already coming up with a list of places I want to visit!

I'll be driving down to Alderson-Broaddus on September 5, and we all fly to Salzburg on September 7. The program ends on December 3, which is when I'll be flying home. Can't wait!

I'm aiming to have Save Grace finished before I leave. I'm figuring it will be about 100,000 to 120,000 words long before I'm finished. Right now, I have just over 23,000 words down, so I gotta get crackin'!



Oh, and don't worry, I'll be blogging about all the places I visit, and there will be pictures! So stay tuned!

Never Smile

The wildebeest stand by the waters’ edge, filling their parched throats with the river’s cool, refreshing water. They have no reason to be afraid; they don’t see or smell any predators nearby. No, all they see is just some tall grass and half-submerged logs floating down the river.

And me.

Of course, they don’t think they see me; to them, I’m just another log making my way downstream. Too bad for them I’m something far more sinister and dangerous than a simple piece of wood. Such simpletons, these wildebeest are, little more than walking sacks of meat. Nice, fat, juicy sacks of meat, just waiting to be feasted upon.


I’ve been drifting closer and closer to the heard for minutes now, though the painfully slow current makes it seem like an eternity. Fortunately, the wildebeest seem to be especially parched, and there are still many, many more of the beasts waiting to take a drink. There’s no hurry, though the pangs in my stomach make me wish the river was flowing faster.

I close to twenty lengths to the shore. The wildebeest still have no idea that I’m even in the same river that they’re drinking from, much less that I’ll soon be right on top of them. I’ve been scanning the herd, deciding which of the wildebeest will have the unlucky pleasure of becoming my lunch. I think I’ve spotted the perfect candidate; a rather large specimen still waiting for its turn to drink. This one obviously is lacking in brains, even for a wildebeest; it’s been passed by at least three of his fellow herd-mates while waiting ever-so-patiently for its turn. Even if the stupid thing does detect me, it will be far too late. Perfect; if this pathetic animal ever gets enough brain cells working together to get itself down to the river, it will be the one I snatch.

I close the distance to ten lengths. My quarry finally realizes it’s been passed over and makes several whines and grunts in protest. The rest of the herd ignores it, waiting for it to just take its turn already. Finally realizing that its complaints won’t get it anywhere, the stupid thing shakily walks over to the riverbank and begins to drink. Perfect.

I slowly move my tail back and forth, moving to within five lengths of my prey. Then I go dead still, letting the current push me the rest of the way to the bank while I tense my entire body in anticipation of the coming strike.

Some of the herd begins to sense that something is not right, and they begin to nervously back away from the river. My quarry ignores them, either too thirsty to leave or just too stupid to sense the danger; I’ll bet on the latter. The herd begins to moan nervous warnings, but the simpleton ignores them. My eyes are locked onto it, not wavering for so much as an instant. I draw closer and closer to him, seconds away from the kill.

At the last second, it senses that something is wrong. But by then it is far too late. I’m right next to him.

I explode out of the water. It shrieks in terror and tries desperately to get away, but my jaws clamp down around its throat like a vise. My heavy body throws it off balance, brining him to the ground. I hear the sound of leg bones snapping. It struggles wildly against me, too scared or too stupid to realize that death is inevitable. I’m not in the mood for games and violently jerk my body around into the death roll. I feel its neck snap like a dry twig. Immediately, it stops resisting, and I drag it under the water to finish the job.

By now, the rest of the herd has fled, stampeding away in terror. Doesn’t matter to me, I got what I came for. This meal will quickly be consumed, and just as easily forgotten, but there will be another herd. There always is, and with it will come another meal. One always does.

<><><><><><><><><>

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This was written about a year ago for my Advanced Writing: Short Fiction course. Got a B+.

Tricky Murder Mystery

Watch Tricky Who Done It Murder Mystery on CollegeHumor

Thanks to nerdjedi for sending me this.









Now, how many changes did you guys spot? I must confess, I didn't see any!

Well, That's Good To Know

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Not like I'm gonna be going into space any time soon, but you never know...

D-Day

65 years ago today, over 150,000 Americans, British, Canadian, and Free French landed on the shores of Normandy, France. Over 10,000 of them, most of them Americans, were either killed or wounded. It was the largest amphibious invasion in history.

WARNING: The following video clips contain graphic material.








Every man who set foot on those beaches was a hero. Thanks to them, the Allied Forces were able to liberate Europe from the tyranny of Nazi Germany. Never forget their sacrifice.

WARNING: Watch Your Email: Potential Virus Going Around!

If you get an email from anyone, even people you know very well, saying that they've sent you pictures from something called :Tagged, DO NOT OPEN IT! It activates a program, possibly a virus, that goes through your address book and sends duplicate emails to everyone in your address book. My mother got hit by this today and I almost did as well. We don't yet know what, if anything, the email/program/virus does. I'll post back with updates if/when we do. In the meantime, if anyone gets an email remotely like the ones we got, DO NOT OPEN THEM!!!!!!

UPDATE:

Okay, courtesy of Thernlund over at WeTheArmed.com I've just learned that the emails are not malicious. Well, not really. It's a viral invite to join a social networking group called Tagged. All it does is send invite emails to everyone in your address book. You can read more here. So it's nothing to worry about, just really annoying.

T, if you're reading this, thanks again.

Life is Kinda Nuts Right Now

Normally, I don't do personal posts, but I really feel I need to get this off my chest.

The reason I haven't been posting much recently is because, well, life has been pretty crazy. My grandmother, as some of you may know, had a car accident about six months ago in which she suffered a brain bleed. She's been living with us ever since. The accident and resulting injury really exacerbated the dementia - we think it's Alzheimer's - that she'd already been suffering from. Adding to the situation, my grandmother's always had a really stubborn personality. Not a great combination.

I don't really want to go into details, but the week or so before last was really, really rough. Kinda blew up on Memorial Day. Everybody just reached their limits at the same time. It was bad.

I've been spending most of the past week out of the house, running "errands" and writing my novel. I'm over 22,000 words now, and the plot's really starting to pick up, so that's good, I guess. I know it's not the best way of dealing with the situation (it's like a grieving process that never ends), but I've been having a really hard time with the whole situation since it started back in November, and I was a complete wreck the week before Memorial Day. Honestly, I think I was close to cracking up. Getting away is the only thing I've found that lets me relax.

The whole thing's affected my blogging, as you've no doubt noticed. I have to be in the right "mood," if you will, in order to blog, and I haven't really been feeling it lately. When I am in the blogging mood, I'm usually hopelessly behind on current events, so there's really no point in posting.

I don't know how long this is gonna last, but I'll try to stay on top of things blog-wise. Right now, if you all could keep me and my family in your prayers, I'd really appreciate that. Thank you all.

Later,

Raptor

Prolonged Detention: The Constitution's Death Blow

Watch this.



Preventative Detention. A separate "legal regime" to ensure the new system works.

Under this new "law" (and I use that word in the absolute very, very loosely), you can be imprisoned solely on the theory that you might commit a crimes. There will be no trial, because there has been no crime committed. You can remain incarcerated indefinitely, for having done nothing. Only because some bureaucrat somewhere feels that you might be a threat.

Are you scared yet? I'm terrified.