Showing results by author "Larry Correia" in All Categories

Ashok Vadal was chosen by a powerful weapon to be its bearer. As a Protector, an elite roving law-enforcer, his path to leader of the Sons of the Black Sword has been anything but straight. Thera Vane, a child of privilege, has become the reluctant prophet of an illegal and forgotten god—whose prophecies are proving all too correct, if frustratingly unclear about the war between demon and man.

For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats far and wide. Now, join us as we delve some of the wilder stories from the library archives which have never seen the light of day. The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 continues the secret lore and mythical battles against the forces of evil, and the fallout from these conflicts.

After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since, the land has belonged to man, and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated.

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts - parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He's nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself. Good thing he’s on our side. More or less.

When Monster Hunter International's top hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, was given a tip about some hunters who had gone missing in action, he didn't realize their rescue mission would snowball into the single biggest operation in MHI's history. Their men are being held prisoner in a horrific nightmare dimension, and the only way to reach them is through the radioactive ruins of a monster-infested war zone. As if that wasn't bad enough, it's also the home base of the powerful creature behind the devastating attacks on the Last Dragon and Copper Lake.

When marine private Oliver Chadwick Gardenier is killed in the marine barrack bombing in Beirut, somebody who might be Saint Peter gives him a choice: Go to heaven, which, while nice, might be a little boring, or return to earth. The Boss has a mission for him, and he's to look for a sign. He's a marine: He'll choose the mission. Unfortunately, the sign he's to look for is "57". Which, given the food services contract in Bethesda Hospital, creates some difficulty. Eventually it appears that God's will is for Chad to join a group called Monster Hunters International.

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.

Ozwald Carnavon used to be a lowly rank-one nobody mining "Red" on a plane of fire. Now, he’s the acting head of the officially sanctioned (but totally broke) Academy of Outcasts. Situated in "The Tube"—a mile-tall wizard tower that fell over fifty years ago and is now an obnoxiously haunted ruin—the school is the talk of the Under Slump, mostly because they’ll accept anyone with a pulse and a single spell to share.

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old Ones' invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats small and large - and, in some cases, very, very large. Now, join us as MHI opens their archives for the first time. From experienced hunters on their toughest cases, to total newbies' initial encounters with the supernatural, The Monster Hunter Files reveals the secret history of the world's most elite monster fighting force.

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

The assassination of the chief judge has pushed the Capitol to the edge. The Great Extermination has spread to all the land. The casteless must be annihilated. Their only hope is the fallen Protector Ashok Vadal. But Vadal is being held prisoner on the island of Fortress. In order to save those who need him most, he must escape and find his way across the demon-infested sea and return to Thera, the prophet of an illegal and forgotten god. It is she who has sent the Sons of the Black Sword to war against the warrior caste, hoping to buy time until Vadal’s return.

The Great Extermination has begun. In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is farther from the truth.

When hunters from around the world gather in Las Vegas for a conference, a creature left over from a World War Two weapons experiment wakes up and goes on a rampage across the desert. A not-so-friendly wager between the rival companies turns into a race to see who can bag the mysterious creature first. Only there is far more to this particular case than meets the eye, and as Hunters fall prey to their worst nightmares, Owen Zastava Pitt and the staff of Monster Hunter International have to stop an ancient god from turning Sin City into a literal hell on earth.

The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International know that he is still out there, somewhere - plotting, waiting for his chance to unravel reality. When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton's Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican's Secret Guard.

All Oz Carnavon ever wanted was to become a master mage. Except, to do so requires the natural gifts or wealth necessary to secure an appointment to one of the prestigious magical academies in the Core City at the center of the seven realms. Oz had neither. He was born without magical talent, serving in the elemental plane of fire, a nightmarish hellscape of treacherous lava and vicious monsters, where life is cheap, and escape is rare. But Carnavons never give up.

Once a Protector enforcing the Capitol’s strict laws with an iron fist, Ashok Vadal discovers his entire life is built on lies. The ancient black steel sword chose him not for his bloodline but for his spirit, thrusting him into a destiny fraught with peril and glory. The Capitol is in chaos, teetering on the brink of collapse as the Great Extermination spreads its dark shadow across the land. The casteless, descendants of the once-great kings, are hunted to extinction. Their only hope lies in Ashok Vadal, now a fugitive, and Thera, the prophet of the forgotten gods.

Ashok Vadal was once a member of the highest caste in all of Lok. As a Protector, he devoted his life to upholding the Law, rooting out those who still practiced the old ways and delivering justice with his ancestor blade Angruvadal. None was more merciless than he in stamping out the lingering belief in gods and demons among the casteless. His brutality was legendary and celebrated. But soon Ashok learned that his life to that point had been a lie. He himself, senior member of the Protector Order, was casteless. He had been nothing more than an unwitting pawn in a political game.

A larval Great Old One is growing day by day in power and just about ready to pop. If Chad Gadenier can't convince "the powers that be" to get involved, not only New Orleans, but the entire world, is going to fall under the power of the nastiest of nasties. Now on the outs with the US government and in exile from his usual job of saving the world, Chad must rally the forces of light against the coming darkness. The problem is one guy with a sword and a sub-gun isn't going to solve this one.

When Owen Pitt and the rest of the Monster Hunter International crew are called away to mount a month’s-long rescue mission in a monster-infested nightmare dimension, Julie Shackleford - Owen’s wife and descendant of MHI founder Bubba Shackleford - is left behind. Her task: hold down the fort and take care of her new baby son Ray. The slow pace of office work and maternity leave are starting to get to her. But when a routine field call brings her face-to-face with an unspeakable evil calling itself Brother Death, she’ll get more excitement than she ever hoped for.