Audible had a sale not long ago and I got an E-mail saying that some of the items on my wish list were part of the sale. Hard Magic is the first book in the Grimnoir Chronicles, one of my favorite trilogies written by one of my favorite authors. I've owned a physical copy for years. I had never planned on using a credit on it, but when it was available for $4... It was too tempting. Interestingly enough, Hard Magic is the current after program book that the Bean Free Radio Hour podcast is featuring. Every week after they have their interview with their guest they play a fifteen or twenty minute section of the complete, unabridged audio book. As of this writing they are on part 20 something out of a whole lot more, but it was this podcast that convinced me that I really wanted to own the audio book. The narration is done by Bronson Pinchot who does a wonderful, incredible job with it. I like his narrations as his voice talent is almost like a full cast reading the material. Listening to him in 15 minute sections was wonderful enough that I wanted to be able to enjoy one of my favorite stories read by an amazing narrator any time I wanted. Here is a link to Audible's page for the book. I previously reviewed Warbound, the conclusion of the trilogy, when it came out last year. I figured that even though I had already read this book, the fact that I now own two copies of it in different formats was enough to warrant a review here.
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Plot: In the 1850s people from all walks of life started to exhibit magical powers. These powers varied by their intensity but fell into easily defined limits. Brutes - who could magnify their strength, Torches and Cracklers - who could control fire and lightning, Gravity Spikers - who could manipulate gravity, and many more with powers over mind, body, and spirits began to change the history of the world. Jake Sullivan is a Great War veteran war hero, former convict, and an Active Gravity Spiker. Working as a private investigator in Detroit he finds himself drafted by the Bureau of Investigation to help arrest a dangerous Brute who Jake just happen to know. However, during the arrest Jake finds himself against an entire gang of Actives - and not just actives, but the best, most powerful actives he's ever heard of. When they get way Sullivan can't give up the chase. In the process however, Jake learns that the there is still a war going on and that the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Sally Faye Vierra is enjoying working on her adopted grandfather's dairy farm. Purchased from her Dust Bowl displaced family for $10 by the Portuguese man, Faye has grown up learning about hard work and teleportation, an ability she shares with "Traveler Joe." She loves life and doesn't see anything in the future but the same when Her grandfather is murdered for a strange device that she's never seen before. With Traveler Joe's last request for her to seek out a former friend she leaves the destroyed farm and ends us discovering that her grandfather belonged to something a lot bigger than anything she could have imagined. And it turns out that that device her murder took could spell the end of the world.
My personal favorites: Some may hear of Larry Corriea's books being described as "action" and assume that action is all they contain. While there is no shortage of action in the Grimnoir Chronicles Corriea demonstrates that he is capable of so much more than awesome action. One thing that I like about his action is that it translates very, very well non-printed media. As for the characters, their motivations are firm, their abilities and limitations are clear and their personalities are distinct. I particularly like the diversity to the cast. You have Jake, who might be described as the all American hero fighting along side Faye, an unpredictable hick, John Browning, the Mormon gun maker, Jane, the Eastern European Healer, and Heinrich Koenig, a former resident of Berlin who survived the post war catastrophe that got it renamed Dead City. The villains are also well done. The Chairman, the Iron Guard, and Mr. Madi are all more than just megalomaniacs looking for world domination. The story is complex with twists and turns that never take it off the rails, but lets you come along on the ride.
Considerations: It is important to note that there is strong language and some graphic descriptions of violence in this book. Nothing is gratuitous, and it is not as bad as the Monster Hunter books, but it is there. It is a solid action story so while it does have great story and suspense some may feel overwhelmed by the action scenes. My older sister confessed to skipping many of Corriea's action scenes, but I think that was more out of a sense of "Okay, this Larry getting his quick fix and then the story will continue." There are no sexual scenes and only a small handful of scenes with implied sensuality.
I'm already planning on picking up the next two books of the Grimnoir Chronicles at some point because I enjoyed the audio version of Hard Magic so much. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll go on sale soon. The total length was one minute under 16 hours.
Plot: In the 1850s people from all walks of life started to exhibit magical powers. These powers varied by their intensity but fell into easily defined limits. Brutes - who could magnify their strength, Torches and Cracklers - who could control fire and lightning, Gravity Spikers - who could manipulate gravity, and many more with powers over mind, body, and spirits began to change the history of the world. Jake Sullivan is a Great War veteran war hero, former convict, and an Active Gravity Spiker. Working as a private investigator in Detroit he finds himself drafted by the Bureau of Investigation to help arrest a dangerous Brute who Jake just happen to know. However, during the arrest Jake finds himself against an entire gang of Actives - and not just actives, but the best, most powerful actives he's ever heard of. When they get way Sullivan can't give up the chase. In the process however, Jake learns that the there is still a war going on and that the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Sally Faye Vierra is enjoying working on her adopted grandfather's dairy farm. Purchased from her Dust Bowl displaced family for $10 by the Portuguese man, Faye has grown up learning about hard work and teleportation, an ability she shares with "Traveler Joe." She loves life and doesn't see anything in the future but the same when Her grandfather is murdered for a strange device that she's never seen before. With Traveler Joe's last request for her to seek out a former friend she leaves the destroyed farm and ends us discovering that her grandfather belonged to something a lot bigger than anything she could have imagined. And it turns out that that device her murder took could spell the end of the world.My personal favorites: Some may hear of Larry Corriea's books being described as "action" and assume that action is all they contain. While there is no shortage of action in the Grimnoir Chronicles Corriea demonstrates that he is capable of so much more than awesome action. One thing that I like about his action is that it translates very, very well non-printed media. As for the characters, their motivations are firm, their abilities and limitations are clear and their personalities are distinct. I particularly like the diversity to the cast. You have Jake, who might be described as the all American hero fighting along side Faye, an unpredictable hick, John Browning, the Mormon gun maker, Jane, the Eastern European Healer, and Heinrich Koenig, a former resident of Berlin who survived the post war catastrophe that got it renamed Dead City. The villains are also well done. The Chairman, the Iron Guard, and Mr. Madi are all more than just megalomaniacs looking for world domination. The story is complex with twists and turns that never take it off the rails, but lets you come along on the ride.
Considerations: It is important to note that there is strong language and some graphic descriptions of violence in this book. Nothing is gratuitous, and it is not as bad as the Monster Hunter books, but it is there. It is a solid action story so while it does have great story and suspense some may feel overwhelmed by the action scenes. My older sister confessed to skipping many of Corriea's action scenes, but I think that was more out of a sense of "Okay, this Larry getting his quick fix and then the story will continue." There are no sexual scenes and only a small handful of scenes with implied sensuality.
I'm already planning on picking up the next two books of the Grimnoir Chronicles at some point because I enjoyed the audio version of Hard Magic so much. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll go on sale soon. The total length was one minute under 16 hours.
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