Into the Wild: Book Two of The Malcontents

In July I picked up “Into the Storm” and “Into the Wild” in both e-book and audiobook forms. I decided I’d make them my driving books - not that I drive distances on a regular basis these days. So it took a while to get through.Into the Storm started by introducing an awesome character with wonderful flaws. Lots of fights and action. Lots of conflicts. And wartime politics. But ILoH fooled me. That first guy was a setup to build stories for other characters. And we discover the Malcontents. So there were a lot of people I had an interest in. And fun action. And cool weapons. And ummm explosions. And a pugnacious mecha.And character and plot resolutions that were great but also a bit tough emotionally. That’s the closest I’ll get to spoilers.When I finished that book I instantly loaded up Into the Wild.Into the Wild takes place maybe a year later. The Malcontents are given a mission to go well...into the wild are of the country as a protective escort for archeologists of a sort. And then magical bad stuff be happening. Actually it happened at the beginning. And a good story was told with all kinds of world building hooks for future stories and/or anthologies (PLEASE!!!)But I’m not posting about that. The voice actor for these books did an incredible job. Ray Porter is his name. Through the first and part of the second I was thinking “wow, this guy is pretty good giving every character a unique voice” then I was gobsmacked.During a fight scene one of the main characters got heavily concussed. What Larry wrote is - exactly what I’ve felt the few times I’ve done silly things like hit the planet with my head. And Ray, well, he took what Larry wrote and since it was narration it was in that voice. He was able to exactly and properly sound how a concussion just slows the world down and makes it seems far away and a little fuzzy and odd.That one bit was amazing. So then I paid more attention to what Ray was doing.I counted somewhere around twenty voices that he had to manage for the book. I’m no judge of voice actors but that seems insane. And he gave life to each voice.It’s been a week since I finished Into the Wild and I can still hear Acosta and Pangborn’s voices making their own remarks in my previously concussed skull.Short version: I strongly recommend the Malcontents audio books

It is easily a 5 star story for me, but I deducted a star because of how often I was jerked out of the narrative by too many typographical errors. Sadly most books these days have at least a couple, but I found 8 or so in this book. A good novel needs to be immersive, and typos can wreck that experience by rubbing your nose in the fact that you're looking at words on a page. Having said that, I still look forward to the further adventures of Lieutenant Cleasby and the Malcontents, but hope for better proofing of future novels.

Well, Larry, you've brought the Iron Kingdoms to life AGAIN.The preceding book, also by Larry Corriea,  Into the Storm  was GREAT. It was what finally broke down my elitist aversion to tie-in fiction. Granted, I'd read plenty of really crappy tie-in fiction for nerdy things I love (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) and you can only get burned so many times before you say enough's enough, I'm done throwing money at this stuff.These two books are, by far and away, my favorite tie-in fiction ever. Because they aren't about being tie-in. They're about telling great stories that I would read even if I didn't love the setting. The setting DOESN'T sell these books. The story does.'Into the Wild' is exactly what you're looking for if you want a yarn that is not only fast-paced and entertaining, but clever. I read a lot of books, more than most, and usually I can see reversals and plot twists coming a mile away. Guess what? 'Into the Wild' got me so sucked in I stopped looking. There were MULTIPLE twists I couldn't see coming. Do you know how badly I miss a good twist in my literary life? How bored I've been with the same tired cliches? There was one reversal so brilliant, so smack-you-upside-the-head PERFECT that I laughed out loud with pleasure. I hardly ever get to laugh out loud anymore!Funny? Yup. Adventure? Yup. True to the source material? Yup. Characters with very real motivations and actions? But of course.Buy it. And buy the first book too. Among the best dollars I've spent on entertainment in a long time.

Succinct and entertaining story. Gotta love Acosta. It certainly could have used some more dwarven flavor, but couldn't every story.

Few other authors could do this with the characters as written and make it work and be mostly believable. It is fiction after all. But it does work, and it's fantastic.

Great characters, great action, and a well-told story. I really enjoyed it. Such a shame that the last quarter of the book averages two typos, missing text, or punctuation errors per page. I can ignore a few here or there, but that volume of errors jolts me out of the story.

From the villains, to the heroes, to the characters in between, the depth of this tale will thrill you. The action is written so clear you’ll think it was a movie the next time you think about it. Correia’s plots are always bigger and fuller than you can imagine and this book shows he keeps getting better. If you like Larry’s books, this one is for you. If you’ve never heard of him, go read Into the Storm, and then this one before you start reading yhe Monster Hunter series.

I really enjoyed this, it's well written with good dialog and the action flows. The length is just about right for an extended episode in a shared universe and it's all good fun with bits Correia's trademark humor. This is the second book in a series, but reading the first book isn't necessary, although it does fill in the back story of the characters and explains some of the references.

This is not so much a review of the book, but of the author. No matter how bloody the action is, Larry Correia always develops the characters in a way that does not disrupt the story. When first reading his books I was convinced he was John Ringo, their styles are so similar. If you are not a Luvie (who cannot understand the concepts) these books are hugely entertaining and fast moving. I will buy any Larry Correia book that comes into stock. Some will be better than others, but all will be good reading

A worthy continuation of the first book and almost as good as its predecessor. Obviously, Madigan is sorely missed, but the other characters you loved in the first book are still there and their adventures will satisfy your craving for more stories about Madigan's Malcontents.

This is the second book in the Malcontents series, and Larry wants to write a 3rd one at some time. I can only hope that it's sooner rather than later, because I want to know how it's going to top this book.Cleasby, the lieutenant from the first book, is now the leader of the Malcontants, after Mad Madigan died at the end of the previous book. He's been tasked with providing security for a University professor and his team of archaeologists as they investigate a ruin thats been discovered in the mountains.Unfortunately for the Malcontents, there is a tribe of skinwalkers who consider the mountain and ruins sacred, and they are determined to kill ALL of the interlopers. In a series of battles, Cleasby, Acosta, Pangborn, Thornbury, and Headhunter, the homicidal stormjack must find a way to survive, and save the lives of the civilians under their protection.It's a great read, and Larry certainly knows how to write an action sequence in such a way you feel like you are there right in the middle of the action.

Another fantastic adventure from the Malcontents, the characters are as engaging and fun to read as when we first met them with seeds for great stories to come littered through out.

A great tale. Fast paced with plenty of action. One of Larry's strengths is to create characters who are not only believable but sympathetic. The Skinwalker tribe could have been presented as a cardboard baddy or the noble savage wronged by civilisation but in this story we get a fully fleshed out people with a history who's motivations make sence. Plenty of violence but the consiquences for those involved are not overlooked, truly great leaders care about those they lead. I hope we get more in this series.