A few years ago, my brother [a voracious reader] brought my son a book to read called Monster Hunter International, and Michael was totally uninterested in it – but he wasn’t interested in reading, at that point. He had only been in the US a few years and English was still a bit of a struggle.
I had an appointment with a doctor shortly after that and I had nothing to read, so I took the book, and stuck it in my purse. I started reading it. I thought to myself, no way am I going to like this book – it’s got a lot of violence, and guns, and some fantasy elements. Ick. But I hate boredom more than anything. To my shock, I was instantly hooked.
I went on to read all of author Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter books [3 books so far] and his series The Grimnoir Chronicles, beginning with Hard Magic. I liked Hard Magic so much, I read it to Michael. Then we read the next book in the series, Spellbound. Now Michael loves all Larry Correia books.
I do too. My brother promised to give me the latest book for my birthday, after it was released in August of course, and I am impatiently waiting for it.
I am not a big fan of fantasy. I have no particular fondness for guns. I am not into books about killing monsters. So why should I be so fascinated and entertained by Larry’s books?
Well, for starters, his books don’t waste a lot of time describing the landscape. They don’t have literary pretensions. There will likely never be college courses taught on his books. Yet, the man is immensely talented at writing.
I have a master’s degree in Creative Writing, but my one attempt at writing fantasy failed miserably - it's much harder than it looks. I like Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Butler Yeats, Mark Twain, etc. I also like a lot of the books by Anne Rice and Stephen King. Larry Correia falls in that second category – but that’s not a bad thing.
A Larry Correia book tells a compelling and vivid story.
His characters are well drawn, and they have inner lives as well as outer lives – they are not mere cardboard cutouts there to serve the plot.
The action is always advancing the plot. Yes, there are always a lot of weapons, but only occasionally do I have to skim through a lengthy explanation of a weapon. In other books I skim through gratuitous sex scenes. Rarely do I ever read a book and not skim through something now and then, but in a Correia book there’s very little skimming. That’s high praise from me.
The fantasy elements are woven so seamlessly and described so vividly that you can’t help but be drawn in to the world of the book. It’s like the best movie in your head you’ve ever seen, and you become so engrossed in the inner journeys of the characters, you literally cannot stop reading. I have lost sleep trying to finish one of Larry’s books.
Larry was until recently an accountant, but with a passion for firearms. He taught people how to shoot. He was active in online communities of gun enthusiasts, which is where my brother got to know him.
Larry’s output is prolific to the point of being scary. In the past 5 years he has written more than 10 lengthy books. He has become a popular blogger.
One of his blogs, which was about his feelings on gun control, went viral, and he was invited to be on Mike Huckabee’s show on Fox. I watched the show with great enthusiasm. [I am the daughter and sister of hunters so you can guess my feelings.]
Larry became my hero when I realized that he always portrays my people [southerners] fairly in his books. We are not portrayed as redneck idiots in the MHI [Monster Hunter International] world. This is what he says about that in his online bio, talking about when he was a young Mormon missionary:
I did fall in love with the South though. I had one assignment where I spent four months living out of a car and driving from small town to small town across Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, so I saw a lot of country. The South is a wonderful place, and I decided that southerners get a bad rap. People ask me why MHI is set in the South, and that’s why. Southerners get screwed in fiction. They’re portrayed as hicks, racists, and illiterates. In real life they’re proud, heroic, smart, hard working, good people. So I made MHI a Southerncentric organization.
Thank you. Thanks for recognizing that about us, Larry.
Years ago, I was talking to a therapist and she pointed out something which I’ve had a lot of time to think about ever since: smart people recognize each other. We figure that out about each other pretty quickly. I am smart. My brother – who got to know Larry years ago, online - is a genius [actual member of MENSA] and Larry Correia is almost certainly a genius. I love hanging around with smart people. I love reading books by smart people with terrific imaginations.
If you love to read and you've never read any of his books, try one.
Larry Correia writes smart books. They entertain masterfully. Sometimes they even educate. He is an amazing writer, and I am delighted that he agreed to take time out of his busy schedule and answer my 20 Questions.
What is your full name? Lawrence Edward Correia Jr.
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world? Where I am right now, in the mountains of northern Utah.
What is your favorite movie and why? I have no idea. There are too many good ones to pick just one.
What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid? Almost all of them. I hated school. I liked Ag and Shop in high school. That's it.
What was your nickname when you were a kid? Didn't ever really have one that stuck.
Do you believe in God? Yes.
What sound or noise do you love? Gunfire. [interjection - this sounds so much like an answer my brother would have given that I laughed for 5 minutes after I read it.]
If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be? I don't think I'd trade being a writer for anything.
If heaven exists, what do you think it is like? I believe it does. I think mankind lacks the words to explain it.
Do you have siblings? Yes.What is your favorite memory of childhood [something specific]? Goofing off on the farm, shooting stuff.
If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why? I've been to most of the US and I drive around in a car for a month at a time on book tour once a year, so I'd have to go with the Europe trip on this one.
What inspires you? Everything. I'm equally motivated by joy and spite.
Which holiday do you prefer, Christmas or July 4th? Christmas.
What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now? I'm always most passionate about whatever project I'm currently working on, because that is the next thing that I'll get paid for.
Do you know how to cook? Yes. I'm decent at it.
What is your favorite thing to cook/eat? I'm an experimenter. I always like to try new things.What is your favorite book? Favorite as in most important, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Favorite as in it launched my career and paid for my house, Monster Hunter International.
Who do you love the most in the world? My wife and children.
What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer? Don't really have one. I get asked a lot of questions by a lot of very clever people.
