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Hard Magic
- Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
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Hard Magic
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Editorial reviews
Larry Correia has already made a name for himself in the sci-fi/fantasy world with his Monster Hunter books, but now he's written the first in new series that takes place in New York in the 1930s, filled with dubious federal agents, hardboiled detectives, and dames with a whole lotta chutzpah. Except this isn't quite the New York you might expect, but an alternate universe where zeppelins moor at the top of the Empire State Building, the Titanic never sank, and mad scientist Nikola Tesla has created a devastating weapon called the Geo-Tel. Oh, and people have magical powers. They are known as Actives. It's become commonplace for some people to defy gravity, teleport, manipulate animals, and heal by touch. The hero here is Jake Sullivan, a detective and ex-con who is set free by the FBI to track criminal Actives, which J. Edgar Hoover (yeah, he's still around) would like to eradicate.
Actor Bronson Pinchot has become a regular go-to for audiobooks and the reason is obvious - the guy knows how to bring a story to life. Far from his manic days as Balki on Perfect Strangers, Pinchot is a warm, imminently listenable narrator. He's obviously having a ball with Hard Magic, gruffing up his voice for the hardboiled Jake and the various G-men and employing a countrified voice for Faye, a young farm girl who can teleport across great distances and becomes vital to saving the world from destruction by the Geo-Tel. Pinchot gives each character a different voice, so it's easy to keep up with the big cast. Correia writes long, colorful descriptions of his characters and their situations, but those passages never become boring and never get in the way of the action, thanks to Pinchot.
Steampunk lovers will find much to love about Hard Magic, but listeners who love big guns and explosions will be in hog heaven. There are epic, cinematic battles including one over-the-top of a dirigible that is audaciously impossible. Hard Magic almost defies categorization, because Correia has no problem blending science fiction with more fanciful fantasy, even managing to slip in double-headed dragons and imps. The second book in the Grimnoir Chronicles, Spellbound, is coming and let's hope Pinchot has signed on for the audio version. (Collin Kelley)
Publisher's Summary
Audie Award, Paranormal, 2012
Jake Sullivan is a licensed private eye with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someone to go after a suspected killer who has been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree.
Problems arise when Jake discovers the bad girl behind the robberies is an old friend, and he happens to know her magic is just as powerful as his. And the Feds have plunged Jake into a secret battle between powerful cartels of magic-users - a cartel whose ruthless leaders have decided that Jake is far too dangerous to live.
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What listeners say about Hard Magic
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jarryd
- 27-11-2015
Succesfully combines Sci-Fi with Fantasy.
If you could sum up Hard Magic in three words, what would they be?
D&D, X-men, Sandbox
What was one of the most memorable moments of Hard Magic?
A "wizard" with the ability to teleport is given a shotgun. She proceeds to wreak absolute havoc, instead of being prevented (as one would expect). She taunts the enemy the whole time in her southern drawl, like Bruce Lee would have.Absolutely delightful.
Have you listened to any of Bronson Pinchot’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Great voices. You can hear him really get into the character Faye which means he tends to use her southern drawl a little in other scenes. The Pale Horse's voices is incredibly consistent, and allows the reader to EASILY follow his story line, so when he intermingles among other storylines, Bronson Pinchot fixes all the confusion that is caused.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It took 5 sittings.
Any additional comments?
Magic is explained in complete depth, just like how Biology and Chemistry can be explained. This is immensely satisfying.The story is complex, and almost sandbox is nature. People screw up in basic ways, complex plots take a lot of work, and the scenes are easy to visualize despite how crazy they become.If you are familiar with Shadowrun, then this is the book for you.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kat Catte
- 29-03-2016
Lots of gore, but interesting characters
This is an alternate history set in the thirties. What if magic really existed?
The characters are well drawn and I really wanted to know what happened to them. Great story Good against evil.
There are several different kinds of magic. Most 'actives' only have one skill. I really enjoyed the way they had to use brains to make their skills effective totally approved that brains won over brawn every time. I want to be Fay when I grow up. 😊
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jenny Taylor
- 26-02-2021
little odd but has potential
let's see what book 2 has in store
not sure about the setting for book 1
I prefer my sci-fi to be set in the future or another world and my fantasy in the middle ages or another world.
This 1920's setting just made it seem a little peculiar.
but I'll perservere regardless
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mira
- 10-12-2016
Great story
A slow build up at the beginning of seemingly unrelated random stories which open the doors to a great adventure!!
A lot of great characters with humor and a few clever twists.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bradley
- 05-02-2015
Damn good book
Whilst the Bronson Pinchot made most people at the beginning sound like dumb brutes, once the story got going it DID NOT let me go and Bronson really started to shine. I'm going to go get the next book NOW!
Read this book!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jeremy
- 30-04-2015
Loads of fun!
This book was really enjoyable, combining people with super-powers, lots of action and excellent narration!
It has great characters, original ideas, wry humour, and is very listenable.
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