[zespectre]

Just finished "Hard Magic", the first book of the "Grimnoir Chronicles" by Larry Correia (Author of the Monster Hunter International series).

Well now, as much fun as the MHI books have been I have to say that it really felt like Larry was truly at home in Hard Magic.

My biggest complaint was a tendency to bounce the first-person perspective around far too much (especially when the characters were present in the same room) but eventually I was able to get used to that somewhat idiosyncratic style so that it wasn't quite so distracting to me.

On the whole, the book was fantastic and though I'd have liked to see the "gumshoe" character figure out a few more clues, ultimately the book was a very satisfying adventure that did a good job of being self-contained (with a beginning, middle, and end) while still leaving a good opening for the next book.

I would call this one a strongly recommended "summer read" if you like blending alternate history with magic and a touch of "film Noir".

If you like "Hard Magic" you might also like "Bitter Seeds" by Ian Tregillis