Fresh off of Monster Hunter International’s heroic defeat of the Nightmare, Larry Correia once again shakes up the series by giving us a new perspective. But instead of picking any Monster Hunter International employees, he let Agent Franks, Frankenstein’s monster tell the story. Up to this point in the story, Frank’s history has been shrouded in mystery, but we finally get to hear the monster’s history.
The story starts with Franks being interrogated, though he doesn’t quite remember how he got into the room opposite his interrogator. After a quick back and forth the agent instructs Franks to start at the beginning, and he does. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from the interrogation and with each bit we delve deeper into who Franks is and what drives him, aside from just wanting to kill the demons and monsters that inhabit the world.
Back to the story though, we get a report of Frank’s activities in California that was mentioned in Alpha. To the fallout of Legion, which falls right into the main plot of Nemesis. Recall if you will Stricken’s visit to Pitt at the end of Legion, Frank’s situation was exactly what he had been hoping for. Frank’s was on his way out of favor with the administration, but that was only the opening salvo in Stricken’s plan.
With Stricken’s deft maneuvers and even a preemptive strike, Frank’s full character begins to be put on display. We are shown his practical side with his foresight, and we also get to see a hint of his patients, but we are masterfully shown his passion during that strike and his ultimate struggle. He is single-minded, but he is actually very intelligent, calculating ever available option at his disposal before committing to his task at hand. And once he discovers that Nemesis assets were created in violation of the contract he made with the founding fathers, well… “war were declared.”
The unstoppable force (or immovable object depending on how you look at it) is finally in over his head facing the Nemesis assets whose bodies were based on his own body’s design. The significance of these Nemesis monsters is slowly explained through the excerpts preceding each chapter, so pay attention to them. Though it is quickly apparent to the reader that Stricken might not be the one in control of his prized Nemesis killing machines.
During Frank’s mission to destroy the creatures Stricken has brought into the world, we finally get to see the fight that has been teased during the series. Franks against Harbinger, no holds bar the king of the werewolves versus Frankenstein’s monster. The unstoppable force versus the immovable object. And the fight does not disappoint, but I will not spoil that outcome at all.
Of course, Larry Correia continues his effort to educate the masses on weapons. This is yet another good action based novel that is great for a mature audience, and it gives a fantastic insight to the history of Agent Frank’s that lets the readers understand the monster in a new light.