|
Renegret posted:I'm not much of a gun person but I'm guessing that the love interest in this book will be the Glock that Frank's holding. Pitt will run into the Glock on the street downtown without her business attire (the silencer) on and it'll kick off an initially tense but sexually charged professional relationship that will eventually turn into something more. still a better love story than RPO etc etc
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 14:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
So not only did a Kickstarter get set up for making a Monster Hunter tabletop RPG in the Savage Worlds system, it got funded almost 10 times over.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 14:41
|
|
|
chitoryu12 posted:So not only did a Kickstarter get set up for making a Monster Hunter tabletop RPG in the Savage Worlds system, it got funded almost 10 times over. Imagine backing this because you're a huge Monster Hunter fan but couldn't be bothered to read two words into the pitch to realize this isn't based on the Capcom game series.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 14:42
|
|
|
To be fair, a tabletop set in the modern world where you're a covert organization hunting monsters in secret is still a pretty fun idea. I'm patiently waiting for when the book setting milkshake ducks us.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 16:00
|
|
|
Choco1980 posted:To be fair, a tabletop set in the modern world where you're a covert organization hunting monsters in secret is still a pretty fun idea. I'm sure that won't be long.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 16:00
|
|
|
chitoryu12 posted:He seems to be one of those conservative guys that is absolutely convinced that the only reason society is bowing to those darn SJWs and their "give human rights to people" advocacy is because of the liberal media propaganda, so when the Hugo Awards started awarding progressive authors he lost his mind and started trying to get people to nominate the dumbest pulp ever (which coincidentally often included his own books) in protest. Close. It started when someone told him he sucked and wasn't a real author because he hadn't won a Hugo, so he said they are all a sham and basically just awarded to progressive authors because message and to Tor authors blah blah blah instead of cool things people actually like (such as what he writes). Actually both Grimnoir and Son of the Black Sword were both started because people told him well you arn't a REAL FANTASY author. He is a man that often gets his motivation from spite.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 16:23
|
|
|
To be fair, spite is a pretty great motivator historically.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 16:38
|
|
|
Who the gently caress has time for a quip when your boss is turning into a werewolf in front of you EDIT: Also, I get that he kept a concealed pistol but he also carried spare ammo? Mel Mudkiper fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Apr 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 16:51
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:Who the gently caress has time for a quip when your boss is turning into a werewolf in front of you You actually always want to carry at least one reload if you've got a concealed weapon. Not because you might get into a huge gunfight with five dudes and need to John Wick your way out, but because: 1. You might miss a bunch and still be in danger, so you reload instead of just trying to beat the attacking person or animal with your gun. 2. You suffer some kind of problem with your ammo or magazine that can only be quickly solved by reloading. Choco1980 posted:To be fair, a tabletop set in the modern world where you're a covert organization hunting monsters in secret is still a pretty fun idea. There's a GURPS tabletop campaign I'm writing that's basically like this, only more in the Supernatural style where there's no real organization, just a bunch of independent people who are aware of what lurks in the shadows and have a loose-knit alliance between each other to exorcise ghosts and kill vampires. It's a road trip series and I based a lot of the quests on real haunts and locations, like Bela Kiss being a vampire instead of just a serial killer and living in NYC or digging up buried treasure in Salton Sea, CA and taking it back to where it was stolen from the Aztecs in Mexico to get rid of a haunting.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 17:09
|
|
|
He's already doing the Government Incompetent And Bad, Private Industry Cool And Good thing (which is stuff LC actually believes) so I expect two or three chapters before the bad really kicks in.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 17:21
|
|
|
chitoryu12 posted:You actually always want to carry at least one reload if you've got a concealed weapon. Not because you might get into a huge gunfight with five dudes and need to John Wick your way out, but because: Like I get that but I mean literally where was he carrying it if he was sneaking his gun in on an ankle holster in the first place
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 17:45
|
|
|
ShinsoBEAM! posted:Close. It started when someone told him he sucked and wasn't a real author because he hadn't won a Hugo, so he said they are all a sham and basically just awarded to progressive authors because message and to Tor authors blah blah blah instead of cool things people actually like (such as what he writes). In addition to that, I recall one of the complaints being that the Hugos only cared about "literary fiction that nobody has actually read" (which is probably vacuous - I have no idea what kind of books win Hugos) and these pulp action novels like his own were unfairly shut out even though they're what people "really want to read" etc. Of course, they rather undermined themselves by pushing hard for that one guy whose name I can't remember who lost his poo poo and threw a wobbler on his blog when he saw the last episode of Korra and was HORRIFIED to see TWO GIRLS on a CHILDREN'S cartoon (which he had previously followed avidly) HOLDING HANDS (!!!!) because that guy's work is or at least aspires to be "literary".
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 17:46
|
|
|
Wheat Loaf posted:In addition to that, I recall one of the complaints being that the Hugos only cared about "literary fiction that nobody has actually read" (which is probably vacuous - I have no idea what kind of books win Hugos) and these pulp action novels like his own were unfairly shut out even though they're what people "really want to read" etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 18:31
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:Like I get that but I mean literally where was he carrying it if he was sneaking his gun in on an ankle holster in the first place It was in his coat pocket. Please note that Mr. 300 Pounds was in a suit during this.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 18:46
|
|
|
This guy's writing is fascinating because I have never experienced a text so dense with cliche every event and description and thought is written in the most obvious way possible
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 19:45
|
|
|
It's baffling that somehow for-profit monster hunters are the good guys rather than the government employees providing a public service.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 20:02
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:It's baffling that somehow for-profit monster hunters are the good guys rather than the government employees providing a public service. No see, the government has all these rules and regulations that end up helping the monsters more than innocent people! How many books will it take to find out the government is directly helping the monsters or are literal monsters or what-have-you?
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 20:05
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:No see, the government has all these rules and regulations that end up helping the monsters more than innocent people! Well they already said the ban on firearms in federal parks allowed a chain of events that ended with chapter one happening.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 20:14
|
|
|
I meant directly like I dunno, supplying them with people for food or inventing an anti-silver forcefield.
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 20:20
|
|
|
Vampires pushing for universal healthcare to drain blood from our poor womenfolk. edit: This might sound offensive, but it feels like the most American book I've ever seen. He just ticks off all the redneck stereotypes. Well, except Confederacy apologism and televangelism, but that's bound to come up later. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Apr 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 20:27
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:No see, the government has all these rules and regulations that end up helping the monsters more than innocent people! Man, wait until you find out about Agent Franks
|
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2018 21:30
|
|
|
No spoilers.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 00:22
|
|
|
quote:Physical therapy sucks. Recuperation sucks. And the never-ending itching that comes from under a cast has to possibly be the worst form of torture known to man. The worst, unless you happen to have your parents invade your home in an attempt to comfort you. My folks had flown in when they had been informed of the "incident," and had immediately set about being a huge nuisance. As Pitt slowly recovers in the hospital, he's interviewed by the Dallas PD. They've apparently been informed that Huffman was a deranged serial killer on PCP with a 14-inch Bowie knife. They quickly inform him that it'll likely be deemed justifiable homicide in self-defense and arrange to have his revolver returned to him once the prosecutor's office clears it. quote:The local papers had run stories about my heroic defense against the crazed serial killer Cecil Huffman. In an amusing note the cover story featured both of our employee pictures. I'm sure that most casual readers would conclude that my picture showed the insane murderer, since I was big, young, muscular, swarthy, generally ugly, and beady-eyed. Mr. Huffman looked more like the victim type, a fat, middle-aged, middle manager, with big sad eyes and triple chins. Looks could be deceiving. During my hospital stay I had repeatedly turned away reporters. The last thing I wanted to do was to make up a story, or screw something up and draw the ire of the FBI. I had even turned down a potential guest spot on Oprah. My mom had been royally ticked when she found out about that. This dude is so loving redneck. His mom isn't anything special. She's the emotional one, all hugs and kisses and cooking. After Pitt gets discharged, they take him back to his apartment and settle in to help him recuperate over the coming weeks. His dad mostly just watches golf on TV, while his mom bugs him about still being single and rents movies for him to watch. One night he gets a call from his brother, David "Mosh" Pitt. His band, Cabbage Point Killing Machine, is getting ready to release their newest album Hold the Pig Steady and Owen demands VIP passes to see him play in Dallas. David asks his brother for details on what happened, and Owen reluctantly gives the FBI-approved version about Huffman being a serial killer. The night before his parents fly out, Pitt's dad pulls him aside. He seems agitated. quote:"Look, son, let me just come right out and say it. I know you aren't telling us everything." Pitt says the pay was good, but he lies and says he only did it to pay for school. He's got some kind of secret about why he really left the fight club scene, but he can't tell his dad yet. His dad recognizes that those wounds are nothing like what a knife would cause, and knows that his son could easily handle a guy with a knife without getting smashed all over the room like that. He compares the wounds to those of a guy he saw get mauled by a tiger in Southeast Asia, a gory bedtime story Pitt heard when he was 6. He encourages his son to come clean and promises not to tell anyone if he reveals something strange, but he doesn't budge. His dad scowls, but doesn't press further. quote:I cursed and swore as I hobbled through my apartment, crutch banging randomly into objects as I tried to make my way to the entrance. The doorbell rang again, and this time they held it down, and wouldn't let up. It was a very shrill doorbell. Pitt lets them in. He sees that Harbinger has brought a woman, and you can probably guess where this is going next: quote:She was beautiful. In fact she was possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was tall, with dark black hair, light skin, and big brown eyes. Her face was beautiful, not fake beautiful like a model or an actress, because she was obviously a real person, but rather Helen of Troy, launch-a-thousand-ships kind of good-looking. She wore glasses, and I was a sucker for a girl in corrective eyewear. Since I was ugly it was probably some sort of subconscious reaction in the hope that I might have a chance with a cute girl who couldn't see very well. She was dressed in a conservative business suit, but unlike most women I knew, she made it look good. If I were to guess I would have said that she was in her mid-twenties. Oh yeah, and she also has a small Southern accent like Harbinger. I think I know Larry's type. I like that he specifies that her hair is "dark black", as opposed to the other kind of black? The trio sit down (in Pitt's case, more like falling into a chair with his crutch) and Harbinger checks on how he's healing up. He's not quite at the level of benching 400 pounds like he used to, but he'll get there. Harbinger and Julie explain that they work for Monster Hunter International. quote:"MHI is a private organization, and we handle monster-related problems. I guess you could say that we are in fact Monster Hunters." Man, with capital letters and everything! quote:"As you now are aware, monsters are very real. They're out there, and are a serious threat to the world. Our company specializes in neutralizing monster threats," she said. Note to self when writing: never make a silly acronym just so you can have one. Also, this is probably the second or third time I've seen a setting where monster hunting in America was started by Teddy Roosevelt. Either that or I saw something about MHI a long time ago and just never remembered it. The bounties change depending on the circumstances. Since lycanthrope attacks are at an all time high and Huffman had killed a few people already, he was a valuable kill. Pitt asks about what other kinds of "unnaturals" there are, and Julie refuses to tell him more unless he joins up. quote:I cut her off. "Zombies? Are there really zombies?" This motherfucker is like a kid in a candy shop, except the candy is murder. Julie pulls out a DVD and puts it into Pitt's DVD player. It's the security camera footage of his fight with Huffman, apparently from hidden cameras Pitt didn't even know they had installed. As they watch the video, Harbinger explains that Pitt was different because not only did he put up a fight when confronted with a monster instead of freezing, he won. They also pull out his secret Department of Homeland Security file, where they cover his middle name (his mother is Czech and Serbian). quote:"Black belt in two martial arts. You wrestled in high school and took the state championship heavyweight division two years in a row. Homeland Security has you flagged because you're considered a militant right-wing gun nut. You became involved in competitive shooting at eight years old, and have a master rating in International Practical Shooting. You've placed in the top five in several different national level three-gun tactical competitions. You were ranked as one of the top young shooters in the country, though you've slipped over the last few years." Oh yeah, that's the kind of protagonist you want: someone who was flagged by the federal government as right-wing militia. Frankly the most unrealistic part of the book for me is that the government even bothers flagging white right-wingers. Pitt tried to join the Army, but was turned down for minor health problems. He instead turned to illegal gambling and underground fighting rings, earning a bachelor's and master's degree in only 6 years and passing his CPA exam on the first try. He finally ended the fight club thing because he came extremely close to accidentally killing another fighter. He even speaks 5 languages fluently and is passable in a few others, which they handwave as a "varied family background" because I guess that makes you fluent in all the languages you're related to. quote:"Your psychological profile says that you're a pathological overachiever with severe overcompensating tendencies as a result of your relationship with your father, and the fact that you were always the picked-on fat kid while growing up." They mention the pay again, specifically that they have a problem with their best agents retiring to buy small countries. It's incredibly dangerous and he's liable to die young, but it's something that he can be good at while helping protect people and making a ton of money. He remembers what the mysterious Eastern European Not-God said to him while he was dead about finding his calling. He says he'll go down to the bank and cash the check. If it's real, he'll join on two conditions: the first is that if he ever thinks the job is too crazy, he can quit whenever. And the second... quote:"You, uh . . . need to have dinner with me tonight," I stammered, surprising myself with my own courage. There you go, Casanova. I had no idea why I had said that, it had just kind of popped out. You goony gently caress. Julie is perplexed by him asking her out during a job interview, but Harbinger encourages it because he has some mysterious business alone tonight anyway. quote:Julie Shackleford sat on my bargain basement furniture in my rundown apartment in a bad part of town and examined me quizzically. I had no idea what she was thinking. It was an awkward moment.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 00:39
|
|
|
so his dad is frank dux Seriously though I will never understand the appeal to crazy right wing people about being like "I fought in a war THAT NEVER EXISTED" Like, congrats, you're a war criminal. Not sure why you're bragging about that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 00:48
|
|
|
Man this was so much more fun when it was silly action scenes. The "and then Ares himself came and told everyone I was real good at fighting but then I killed him because he wasn't Jesus" is getting pretty old.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 00:57
|
|
|
So when does he mention his 12-inch penis Or is that spoiler territory
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 01:05
|
|
|
Yep okay wow the awful right-wing poo poo came faster than I expected. I'm not too surprised by the existence of an emotionally-abusive right wing war crime dad who can barely show pride in his child (I'm just gonna go out on a limb and just guess with the emotional abusive part what with telling your six year old horrible stories about people getting ate by tigers), I'm not too surprised about the incompetent government who is losing money to rando Industry Disruptors who are poaching government money by being really good with guns, I'm not too surprised by the Tex Avery stammering awoooooga hey lady poo poo. What's surprising me is the rock-star brother and the fact that the author is addressing him needing to actually take time to heal, that's pretty unexpected for this genre.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 01:06
|
|
|
I'm rolling my eyes so hard at Pitt's backstory that I think I may have damaged something. I will say this, when his dad cornered him asking what really happened, it almost felt like he already knew what sort of "something strange" he might be into. Or is that subtle foreshadowing?
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 01:26
|
|
|
The most telling part of this is that he totally would have joined the army, you guys, definitely for sure he would have, except for those pesky ol' medical issues (that will no doubt never come into play in a way that would hinder him later in the book). But don't worry, dear reader! Larry Correia's self insert is still a super badass who was awesome in underground fight clubs and is the best shot ever. Do you think Correia himself uses the flat feet explanation, or did he poo poo himself in the recruiter's office like Ted Nugent?
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 01:27
|
|
|
Grenrow posted:The most telling part of this is that he totally would have joined the army, you guys, definitely for sure he would have, except for those pesky ol' medical issues (that will no doubt never come into play in a way that would hinder him later in the book). But don't worry, dear reader! Larry Correia's self insert is still a super badass who was awesome in underground fight clubs and is the best shot ever. I actually can't find any evidence that Larry tried to join the military or had any plans to. He is an accountant in addition to owning a gun store. He also complained in an interview that he can't relax by reading any more because "I use the same part of my brain for writing as I do for reading".
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 02:21
|
|
|
Grenrow posted:The most telling part of this is that he totally would have joined the army, you guys, definitely for sure he would have, except for those pesky ol' medical issues (that will no doubt never come into play in a way that would hinder him later in the book). But don't worry, dear reader! Larry Correia's self insert is still a super badass who was awesome in underground fight clubs and is the best shot ever. Also if I had to guess what Pitt's medical conditions were, speaking as a fat dude myself it's probably that he can do muscle training just fine but has no stamina for cardio or he has high blood pressure.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 02:22
|
|
|
TheGreatEvilKing posted:Man this was so much more fun when it was silly action scenes. The "and then Ares himself came and told everyone I was real good at fighting but then I killed him because he wasn't Jesus" is getting pretty old. Nah, the right-wing dick-waving is part of the appeal of this sorta crap. You can learn a lot about someone through their wish-fulfillment stories. This is pretty tame as this poo poo goes. Also I'd be totally into a band called Cabbage Point Killing Machine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 02:25
|
|
|
Hostile V posted:Dude was born in 77, he's only 41. He grew up in a post-draft post-Vietnam America. According to his backstory where he's talking about his dad, it was asthma and flat feet. Owen Pitt is that muscular hot dude on the cover of the book, with Julie behind him.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 02:55
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:so his dad is frank dux Because they're ~true patriots~ but the government can never praise them for the heroes they are, which makes their sacrifice even more noble.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 03:43
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:It's baffling that somehow for-profit monster hunters are the good guys rather than the government employees providing a public service. Why? We have private contractors doing pretty much everything for the government these days, from intelligence gathering & analysis to direct action missions overseas to providing security to cooking meals. Later books show that the private groups are filled with their share of shitheads too, just like there's assholes in the Monster Control Bureau.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 07:34
|
|
|
ShinsoBEAM! posted:Close. It started when someone told him he sucked and wasn't a real author because he hadn't won a Hugo, so he said they are all a sham and basically just awarded to progressive authors because message and to Tor authors blah blah blah instead of cool things people actually like (such as what he writes). Actually he invents fake reasons to be spiteful. Whether this is a conscious process I have no idea, but there's little doubt that he's telling tall tales. Back when he started the Puppy campaigns he was pushing this story about how he went to a Worldcon as a new author and was treated so, so horribly by the evil SJWs. People who were at that con started chatting amongst themselves and nobody could remember him actually being treated badly, in no small part because at the time he was just a new author who had yet to piss everyone off by trying to steal a Hugo. Folks even found old blog posts by him where he talked about what a great time he had at the con, without even a shadow of a hint that anyone had been mean to him. IIRC the only thing from that con which makes sense as the kernel of his resentment was that he was up for the John W. Campbell award (for best new SF author of the year), and didn't win it, and the sting slowly warped his memories of the con until, to hear him now, people were practically spitting in his face for being a rightwing guntoter.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 08:31
|
|
|
Karia posted:Nah, the right-wing dick-waving is part of the appeal of this sorta crap. You can learn a lot about someone through their wish-fulfillment stories. This is pretty tame as this poo poo goes. Contrast with Baen stablemates like Tom Kratman. Grenrow posted:Do you think Correia himself uses the flat feet explanation, or did he poo poo himself in the recruiter's office like Ted Nugent? The funniest part of Nugent's story is that, after admitting he got high for the only time in his life and shat himself to avoid the draft, he boasts that he totally would've been a full-on Rambo-style badass leading a team of badasses if he actually had gone to Vietnam.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 08:37
|
|
|
sky shark posted:Why? We have private contractors doing pretty much everything for the government these days, from intelligence gathering & analysis to direct action missions overseas to providing security to cooking meals. Later books show that the private groups are filled with their share of shitheads too, just like there's assholes in the Monster Control Bureau. Yeah PMCs probably aren’t the best example to use when trying to say privatization is a good thing. Also I meant specifically more how gross and predatory it is to demand payment from somebody before killing a monster threatening their very lives. Like if animal control refused to deal with human-aggressive cougars until they got paid off, but worse.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 14:00
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:Yeah PMCs probably aren’t the best example to use when trying to say privatization is a good thing. The government pays them, and other companies like them, a bounty based on some actuarial tables or something and/or get hired like exterminators by businesses. They don't go charging around negotiating up front fees with regular folk like they're a group of Witchers.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 14:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:The government pays them, and other companies like them, a bounty based on some actuarial tables or something and/or get hired like exterminators by businesses. "We make the rest in contracts set up with various municipalities, organizations, and private individuals with monster problems." sure gives that impression.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 14:11
|
|