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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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Editor 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)
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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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bobbi1002
- 08-05-18
slow to get going
when I first started listening to this story I dipped out several times thinking I had made a mistake buying it. it was so slow to get into the story and my initial reaction was that it was not as entertaining as Larry Correia' other books. I had really enjoyed all the monster hunter books and hoped this was going to be of the same ilk. To be honest the only reason I finished the book was because I had nothing else in my library to listen to. But once I got over the dreadfully slow start and the slow speaking of the main character I started to really enjoy it - I may even get the second in the series whilst I await the next MHI book due in July I believe.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Richard L
- 25-06-16
Outstanding
Great story, creative narrator who voiced each characters differently and made the characters come a live and each their own personality. Loved it. Already got next book in series.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael Letley
- 20-08-18
Good world, not very well executed
I liked the characters, that's worth a few stars.
the story was pretty good, I liked the motivations of both factions, and the main character and his counterpart were entertaining.
look forward to listening to the rest if the series.
The voice acting was a little clunky, and the writing is OK, but its the characters that save it from a less than flattering review
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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
- Shane
- 11-06-19
Fantastic
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and many are great but let down by the climax. No such problem here. The story twists and turns, the narrator's performance is incredible and the climax was gripping. I stumbled across this book when browsing through an Audible sale but I am so glad I did.
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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
- JON
- 22-06-20
Great Noir story fine narration
As the title says this creative alternate Noir universe is superb with a well read narration. one of my favourites.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Craig D
- 24-07-18
Something a bit different
I have to say I was actually very impressed with this, a very unique concept that was really well put together! I really liked the little paragraphs at the start of each chapter where magic was inserted into real life historic events, that was a nice touch!
My only gripe - the narration! The way he read the pale horse character was so irritating, and he's half the dialogue in the first chapter so I was really close to turning it off it annoyed me that much! but push through it, after that first chapter he only appears a couple of other times briefly, the rest of the story is worth putting up with it!
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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
- Anonymous User
- 25-10-19
slow start great once it gets going
Slow start great once it gets going. I loved the feel of the universe the story is set in.
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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
- InActionMan64
- 13-03-15
A good start
Once you get past the first few chapters things settle down and start getting good. As this is the first book in a series you can see just how much world building the author is doing and how much of a slog it's going to be getting through it all but it's worth it. The world is full and fun, the characters are wide and varied, in style and abilities, and the story is simple enough not to confuse while your dealing with the origin story
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Landesshutzen
- 02-02-22
Tricky one to review this...
Well first up I have to say this is very imaginative, better written than much of the genre and much darker than I expected. I thought the performance was pretty good too.
However, I got about 11 hours in and realised that I couldn't care less how it ended or whether any of the "good guys" made it through or not - so I just stopped listening and don't feel like I've missed very much.
Also, although I won't put any spoilers in, there are aspects of the basic premise of the plot which didn't sit comfortably with me even in a "period" setting and it felt a bit like a retelling of the Fu Manchu stories.
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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
- Kev
- 08-01-17
fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable
I went through this book in no time, listening at every opportunity. it was great fun, almost like a comic book. performed brilliantly. I've already bought book II
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7 people found this helpful