Finished American Paladin by Larry Correia last night. I backed the title on Kickstarter because the premise intrigued me. An outlaw traveling around the midwest searching for the supernatural threat that ruined his life so he can take revenge while writing the kinds of wrongs the legal system is inadequate to address.
I'm familiar with Correia's Monster Hunter series, having read most of that series. So, I was expecting an "Old West" twist on the same but what I got was much more grounded and realistic. The protagonist, Mike Spears, isn't the physical powerhouse that Owen Pitt is. And he doesn't have the same charisma either.
Spears is a likeable character but he's also basically a murder hobo. Unlike a Dexter character or even Owen Pitt, Spears makes not attempt at even maintaining the facade of a normal life. As the "Paladin," everything he does is for his calling: punish evil. While this refreshingly streamlines the story, it also leaves Mike feeling a little flat. When he pairs up with another character in the story, I expected him to open up a little more but that didn't happen.
Spears exists to kill bad guys, specifically the supernatural ones from another dimension. That's the story. Correia handles the gunplay and grappling as well as always but also walks through Mike's tactical planning, when he had a chance to plan.
In all, it was a fun read and I see a lot of potential for a sequel. The story really reminds me of the sci-fi TV show First Wave, where a guy has his life upturned by aliens and he embarks on a quest to stop their plans. If the character Kate returns, she'd fulfill the same buddy conspiracy theorist role that Crazy Eddie played. But I also hope we see the introduction of a Nemesis for Spears, a lawman of some sort, who's after him.
So, definitely check out the book and Correia's Monster Hunter series if you haven't.
