Audible Review: Monster Hunter Alpha by Larry Correia

This is a wonderfully fun and entertaining series.
Monster Hunter Alpha
Written by: Larry Correia
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins

Series: Monster Hunter, Book 3

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:07-26-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Dirty Harry meets Twilight. Number 3 in the break-out series and a follow-up to Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta.
Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger's stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.
Track down another Monster Hunter title.
©2011 Larry Correia (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Earl Harbinger has been the director of Monster Hunter International (MHI) for many (many) years. Some, but not all, of the employees know that he is a werewolf who has been around for a century. Even fewer of the employees know his former identity and his histroy.

Earl has headed to a remote community in the cold, remote woods of Michigan due to an anonymous tip that an old foe, Nikolai, another legendary werewolf who was his KGB enemy during WWII, is going to be in town. This is a personal issue so Earl hasn’t advised any one at MHI. He arrives in town during a bad snow storm only to discover that Nikolai is there but there are other werewolves and something else dangerous is going on.

Earl meets a local, young, tough officer who is prepared to protect her town. Heather is stressed because her boss, the Sheriff, has ended up in the hospital after dealing with an animal attack at a resident’s farm. Heather isn’t used to strangers in town and she has already been visited by another man - a European stranger who asked questions about her grandfather. Soon she finds herself pulled into a very bazaar … and bloody… situation and the only man who seems to know what is going on is this Harbinger fellow.

Earl thinks he is there to face off with Nikolai, and vice versa. But there is a third man playing the two enemies as he seeks to take his position as the Alpha werewolf. He has brought Earl and Nikolai together so he can take the soul, of the strongest warrior. Earl doesn’t mind facing monsters but it really angers him to have to face dark magic too.

This is the third book in this fast paced, fun series. The story focuses on the leader of MHI, Earl Harbinger, showing his history through brief entries from his journal at the beginning of each chapter. The chapters then proceed with current events and all the action and danger, plus an added bonus of a developing romance! We learn of Earl's past and also learn more about the state agency, Monster Control Bureau. I may have missed the MHI team but I was completely engaged and loved learning the history of Earl as well as meeting new characters.

Correia did a wonderful job of creating an action story around the primary characters. I enjoyed the plot, character development and action supplied by this author – with a touch of humor too! I will definitely be continuing with the series.

Audio Notes: Oliver Wyman does a great job narrating this series. I had to double check that there was only one narrator because he did such a good job with the voices, including the Russian and the females. The narration carries the excitement of the story and adds to my enjoyment of the series.

This is from my Audible library as a selection in August 2014 so it counts for my TBR shelf. It also qualifies as part of my Audio Challenge.