Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles

In the wild, so much fun it should be illegal HARD MAGIC, the first book in the Grimnoir Chronicles, Larry Correia ropes in historical figures and proceeds to take more liberties than sailors during Fleet Week. Urban rumor whispers that Larry Correia was once a panelist with three other established fantasy writers at Life, The Universe, & Everything, a speculative fiction convention at BYU. A student in the audience had a question to which Correia was about to respond but then was abruptly cut off. To quote the student (or, rather, Ed Gorman's blog quoting Correia quoting the student): "You're just a contemporary fantasy author. I want to hear what the epic fantasy authors have to say." Oh, snap.An outraged (or at least snippy) Larry Correia went away for a time, did bits of copious research, formulated a plan, all the while thinking, probably in caps: "NOBODY TELLS LARRY CORREIA WHAT GENRE HE'S IN!" And here's HARD MAGIC, gestated in choler, born out of ill will. It's Correia's best book yet, yes, better than his Monster Hunter International series. So, thanks, rude student, you asshat.In his own words Correia describes HARD MAGIC as a "hard boiled/epic fantasy/adventure/alternative history/super hero novel," and I'm only disappointed that he hadn't managed to inject bits of Harlequin romance or medical mystery in there. Then you really could've labeled it a kitchen sink effort. Correia has rapidly garnered a rep for staging hellacious action sequences and his accuracy with describing modern-day firearms is well established by now. But he's also demonstrated a knack for laying down some solid character work. In HARD MAGIC, he really rolls up his sleeves in that department, because these are some of the most realized characters I've read about in a while in urban fantasy.Used to be war hero, used to be convict Jake Sullivan is making ends meet, having hung his private eye shingle. As part of a bargain with the Feds that got him an early parole from Rockville Penitentiary, Jake would assist the G-Men in apprehending some of the most dangerous criminals at large. But let's backtrack some.Larry Correia doesn't mess around when he's in a snit. His world building here is absolutely comprehensive and immersive. In this alternate reality, sometime back in the 1850s, magic knocked on the door and randomly bestowed extraordinary abilities onto a tiny percentage of human population, that is, one amazing knack per person. Only one person was able to demonstrate multiple powers. In the 1930s, there's still the Depression, there's still the Prohibition, there's still J. Edgar Hoover, who proves to be an even bigger asshat than that student. In 1932, the Magicals are an accepted (if worrying) presence. Jake Sullivan is down to his last ops with the FBI, one last mission to nab felonious Magicals; he's in the clear after this one. Unless the FBI had been lying to him, unless J. Edgar Hoover, a notorious Magicalphobe, had other plans... Jake finds himself going after Delilah Jones, an old friend and a super-strong Brute now accused of murder.Big, lumbering Jake Sullivan is a Heavy, able to manipulate gravity, and one of the strongest of his sort. Heavies are reputed to be dimbulbs, and yet Jake exhibits more intelligence than Owen Z. Pitt, Correia's main hero in the Monster Hunter International books. Jake's brutish looks belie the man's smarts and innate curiousity. While in stir, he's had ample time to contemplate many aspects of his power. He's conducted his own experiments. I did say he's one of the strongest Heavies around, right?A secret war is being waged. In this reality, a frustrated Austrian painter never had a chance to make waves. As such, the Japanese Imperium rose to prominence under the guidance of the Chairman, he who is endowed with multiple Magical talents. The Chairman has at his beck and call a Magical army of Iron and Shadow Guards, one of whom is the Madi who, thru his actions and because of who he is, becomes Jake's nemesis. Opposing the Imperium is the Grimnoir Society, dedicated to protecting Magicals and as well policing its own. Both sides are after the apocalyptic Geo-Tel device, the world's most devastating weapon. It seems that, in whatever reality he inhabits, Nikola Tesla - who created the Geo-Tel device - is a walking loose cannon.Larry Correia just elbowed Turtledove and Stirling aside for a seat at the table. Correia makes his own brand of alternate history more inviting and more fun, complements the magic bits with plenty of smoky gin joints and tough talking gangsters and a bunch of other stuff befitting the zeitgeist of the 1930s. Correia injects strong elements of noir and pulp, transporting me to nostalgia heaven. If you're a history buff of the 1930s era, then your head may spin at Correia's reimagining of certain historical events and figures (baseball contemplating banning a magical Babe Ruth, a slightly different recounting of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the Titanic saved by a Magical, etc.). Goes without saying, the action sequences are big and glorious. We're treated to some of the best writing of "superhero" smackdowns to come down the pipe. Jake, for example, because of his deep knowledge of his talent, does some very clever things with gravity.Jake is an engrossing character and a baaaad mother, but my favorite, hands down (in a room full of intriguing characters), is Sally Faye Vierra, a teenaged farm girl who endures several harrowing experiences. Faye is pure rustic and splendidly blunt and she's a Traveler. She can teleport, and the fate of the world may rest on her shoulders even more so than on Jake's. Faye is the best female character Correia has written so far. She is the most moxie-having girl and she had me steady big grinning and jaw dropping with the stuff she said and the derring-do in which she engaged.And just to whet the appetite, the writer introduces an extinction level menace just waiting in the wings. Compared to that thing, the Madi and the Chairman are posies. Maybe J. Edgar Hoover was right to be paranoid.

I bought this because of an article I read regarding the author. At first I wasn't sure but after a couple of chapters I was hooked. A really fun alternate spin on post WW I, good story and characters. On to book 2!

This review was posted on Elitist Book Reviews. For more reviews and interviews stop by our blog.***The Review***There are very few authors whose body of work makes us cackle with boyish glee. Chris Wooding is one. Jonathan Maberry another. Recently Sarah Pinborough has joined those ranks. For those of you keeping score, when Larry Correia writes something new we drop everything. You can then find us camped out with a flashlight in the living room under a tent made of sheets and blankets. Never mind we own our own homes.We are just going to come out and say it: Larry Correia's HARD MAGIC, book 1 of the Grimnoir Chronicles, is completely fun and awesome. Everyone knows how much we like his Monster Hunter series. We like this one more. Much more. Everything about HARD MAGIC is positively saturated with style......well, and explosions of course.HARD MAGIC takes place during an alternate USA of the 20' and 30's. Magic has been reintroduced into the world which has obviously changed it dramatically. There is some detective story stuff here and some magic. But apart from those automatic "win buttons" the main thing that Larry's novel has going for it is its epic foundation. This is Epic Alternate Historical Urban Fantasy...with superheroes...kinda. Yeah. Tell us that doesn't sound completely fun and awesome if executed right. And yes, Larry does it right.You may be tempted to dismiss Larry as a pure action author. The style (and `splosions) over substance type. The explosions and violence are there, and they are GLORIOUS! But we've said it before, and we'll say it again. Larry's work is deceptive. No doubt we read his work for the gunplay (one of the best out there) and the B-movie feeling it all invokes. But if we are honest with ourselves--and you readers of course--we would have to admit we read Larry's work for the characters. HARD MAGIC, in our opinion, has the best character work of all Larry's novels so far.To understand the characters, we should probably talk a bit about the main magic system of the novel. Rare individuals have the ability to perform a certain type of magic. Some can alter their own personal gravity. Some can teleport. Some use animals in a borderline possession way. Others can perform miraculous healing feats while their opposites can cause plagues. In the back of the novel you'll find a list and description of them all. They sound a bit like superheroes. You readers of MISTBORN will feel very comfortable picking up the magic of this created world.One of the main characters of the novel is Jake Sullivan. He is one of those individuals that can alter his personal gravity--a Heavy. He's been in wars (we get some awesome history here), he's been a P.I., and he's been in prison. Now he's on loan to the Feds. Simply put, Sullivan is terrific. He is very reminiscent of the Owen Pitt character from the Monster Hunter universe (some would say a tad too similar), but has enough differences to make him his own character. For starters, Sullivan is more intelligent. The sequences in the novel that show the research Sullivan is doing on magic are fantastic and are VERY character building. While there are a ton of characters in the novel--none of with we can point at with dislike--the other main character we want to mention is Faye--a Traveler (aka teleporter). We want to mention this character specifically because Larry does such a great job of keeping her, well, female-ish. So many male authors have such a hard time writing female PoVs (just as female authors have trouble writing male PoVs). Faye goes through some traumatic events early in the novel, and there is a need to balance this "lost youth" and innocence with the incredible power he grows into as the novel progresses...not to mention all from a female's PoV. Tough stuff, yet Larry pulls it off. We don't mean to snub the female characters from his other novels, but Faye is not only the best female character Larry has put on paper, but she is one of his best overall characters, period.We couldn't wrap us this review without mentioning the world-building. It may seem hardly worth mentioning since this takes place in a familiar-ish 1930s USA, but Larry did an amazing job here. Information is never just dumped on you during the course of the story. Rather than killing the pacing, Larry puts all the historical changes and details in the chapter bumps. The chapter bumps (or leads, if you will) in HARD MAGIC are easily on the same level as those in Brandon Sanderson's novels. We've mentioned before that we think Sanderson's chapter leads are some of best in the business (if not THE best). Larry's are THAT good. As you read through the novel, the attention to detail is noticeable. You can tell that a ton of research was done, and then effectively spun into the text.When all is said and done, Larry Correia's HARD MAGIC is one of them most entertaining, fun novels we have read. What's more is that it has all the qualities that make us love Epic Fantasy, only in a Raymond Chandler, noir setting. No one type of reader will enjoy this novel more than another. This is one of the few novels that will capture every reader's imagination and leave them--like us--begging for more.Recommended Age: 16 and up.Language: Yep. It can be strong, but never feels thrown in for shock-value.Violence: It's a Larry Correia novel, of course there is violence. The gun-play is perfect, and the set-piece action sequences are completely over-the-top and awesome.Sex: Nope.

While it’s not Casablanca, it delivered everything I wanted in a fantasy story. It has the feel of all the good pulp aspects you crave from femme fatals to gritty action scenes surrounding a trio of switchbacking emotional mysteries, while delivering on a supercharged magitech-fueled showdown with a high degree of finesse and a very realistic alternate reality world grounded richly in real-world history and events. Love it!

With a distinct nod towards the mutant concept in the X-Men, the author creates a dynamic world that includes WILD mayhem, slews of anti-heroes, & machine-gun dialogue set in an intriguing alternate history with hints of Asian malevolence....all fueled by a parasitic lifeform? Where do I sign up??

I had this book on my wishlist for a while and I was hesitating a while. From the description it did not seem too interesting, but the good reviews were pushing me to buy it. I have just read the whole series of "Ketty Jay" and it was hard to expect something as equally interesting and involving as that.However this book is just great. GREAT! The book starts as several separate stories of the main characters and slowly tangles into one story. The book is packed with action, quick paced, character portraits are bold and vivid. The classic fight against good and evil is not left to one hero, but to a team of people who are united for that one reason.I have just bought the second part of the series and I would recommend this book to people who enjoy fantasy action books.

I went into Hard Magic expecting something like the Dresden Files, but the book is more like prohibition-era X-Men, set in an alternative 1930s where people have started developing mutant- sorry, *magical* powers. It's pulp, but it's good pulp, and I read through all three books in quick succession. It's not a perfect read, but the pacing is good, the world and powers are well fleshed out, and the characters are rather more three-dimensional than his previous, Monster Hunters International series. The main character is admittedly very similar to the one in Monster Hunters, but somehow no longer feels like a blatant self-insert.

I didn't know this author when I bought this book on kindle only returning to SF reading after a few years off. The writing style has similarities to Glen Cook's Garrett, PI stories with a tough (heavy) hero or at least one of the primary characters is.Set in a world where PSI powers have become more prominent in the last hundred years there are international tensions and effectively an undeclared war which the heroes are involved with. Unlike one reviewer I didn't find switching between primary characters a problem as it allowed characters and the story line to develop. I can't wait to start reading the rest of the series.

Great read, I really like the characters, who are everyday people with very extraordinary powers. It reminded me of Eddie Droods world, in the best possible way. I liked the setting in a world not to dissimilar to our own. Very bad villains and heroes that are slightly tainted in their own way. Fab

Came back from reading his MHI works...so a bit of a let down as compared to fast paced action of MHI. However better character building and more importantly multiple POVs. Plausible alternate history and although not technically steampunk.....close enough with the point of divergence being the continued significance of lighter than air flying machines