Hard Magic

Book Blurb:
Jake Sullivan is a war hero, a private eye—and an ex-con. He’s free because he has a magical talent, being able to alter the force of gravity in himself and objects in his vicinity, and the Bureau of Investigation calls on him when they need his help in apprehending criminals with their own magical talents. But the last operation he was sent along to help with went completely wrong, and Delilah Jones, the woman the G-men were after, who just happened to be an old friend of Jake’s in happier times, had a lot of magical muscle with her, too much muscle for the cops to handle, even with Jake’s help.

It got worse. Jake found out that the Feds had lied to him about Delilah being a murderer as well as a bank robber, and they had lied about this being his last job for them—he was too valuable for them to let him go. And things were even worse than Jake imagined. There was a secret war being waged by opposing forces of magic-users, and Jake had no idea that he had just attracted the attention of one side, whose ruthless leaders were of the opinion that Jake was far too dangerous to be permitted to live . . .

First off, you should know that I've loved everything that I've read from Larry Correia. Not because he's a brilliant linguist, not because his stories have the most intricate plots I've ever had the privilege of reading, and not because I'm a huge fan of monsters, guns or magic. I love his stuff because it's cool. (Oh, and I don't mind the monsters, guns or magic)

The characters in this book made me laugh. I cried. I cheered. I winced a few times in sympathy. The plot isn't anything spectacular, but there were enough twists to keep me happy. I loved the witty banter and all of the action. I also really liked how he used so many points of view. It's not standard to jump back and forth between ten or fifteen people's thoughts, but it let me get to know a lot of the characters. Once in a while it got confusing, but by the middle of story I had the hang of it.

Is the book well written? Naw, not really. I know he got pushed pretty hard to get this one out in an expedited fashion, and it's apparent. (Granted, if I wasn't trying to become a published author myself, I probably wouldn't have noticed much of it.) However, I didn't care.

Kudos for Larry Correia. Fun book. Great characters. Guns, monsters, magic, action, pirates, a dirigible fight . . . just what some of us are looking for in the entertainment category.