Resistance: Dave vs. the Monsters by John Birmingham Published by Random House Publishing Group on June 2nd 2015
Pages: 402
Format: Paperback
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For fans of Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne comes a heart-pounding new urban fantasy series featuring monster slayer Dave Hooper and his magical splitting maul. When you drop a monster-killer on the Strip, all bets are off. Holed up in Las Vegas after the tumultuous Battle of New Orleans, Dave is enjoying the VIP perks afforded a champion monster-slayer. He may be a superhero of swag and the toast of the town, but if some fire-breathing dragons have their way, odds are everyone will soon be toast. As the hordes from the UnderRealms regroup for their next attack, Dave parties with celebrities, lunches with A-listers, and gets his ass lawyered up—because his hellacious ex is looking for a piece of that sweet, sweet action. It’s all good, until new monsters roll in, looking to parley with “the Dave.” WTF, monsters. Do you think the Dave can’t spot a trap before he falls into it? And when things go to hell at warp 10, a suit from a shadow operation swoops in to offer Dave a deal he can’t refuse. Now Dave’s about to face off against an opponent who makes battling bloodthirsty behemoths look like child’s play—a ravishing Russian spy with a few superpowers of her own.
From the Paperback edition.
Following the same satirical path as Emergence, we return to Dave and the end of the world via Orc-creatures. We return to find Dave, drunk on his new found hero status, in Los Vegas and making a complete fool of himself. He can have all the women he wants, VIP perks he can handle and there’s even live television interviews! Of course, Dave’s sweet ride in life gets more complicated when dragons appear and the Orcs return demanding to see The Champion Dave. for a chat. Unfortunately, things get even worse when a shadow government operation recruits Dave, a super spy kicks his ass and the creditors want their dues. All in the life of Super Dave, America’s only hope against Orcs and Super Humans.
Dave returns to the written word as an even bigger douche than book one. He has complete disregard for private property, no shame and even less of a soul through completely abandoning his family financially. I assume it’ s Birmingham’s plan to make Dave look even more despicable and disgusting than the first book and he succeeds. I hated Dave by the end of the book. Dave goes from being a complete screw up to a jack ass in the first three chapters and continues to hit new lows through out the book. I’m entirely certain if you look up Anti-hero in the dictionary you’d see Dave’s face leering back at you. What a beautiful disaster.
Captain Heath and his crew continue to try to clean up and deal with the vortex of shameful behaviour that is Dave. They mop up all his screw ups, continue to feed his voracious appetites and attempt to steer him towards proper behaviours. Heath’s crew just wants Dave to provide the intel necessary in defeating mankind’s biggest threat, but is babysitting Dave worth the risks he poses? It’s not until Dave goes completely off the reservation and straight into self-righteousness that the team realizes that Dave is too big of a security risk. It was fantastic to experience Dave hitting rock bottom and continuing to consistently stick his foot in his mouth even when he should be shutting up.
The best aspects of this book is undoubtedly the UnderRealms where the Grymm and the Thresh continue to work towards their goal of defeating humanity. The Thresh is able to reveal the source of humanity’s magic and the Grymm learns important information about Dave’s role in The Battle of New Orleans. I’m a little sad to see my favourite underling transforming into something completely unlike the creature I’d enjoyed – nevertheless, I can’t wait to see where he ends up in book three.
On the whole, Resistance is a novel about a man without hope for redemption who is better suited to the under dregs of society rather than in a position of heroism. Dave vs The Monsters is a completely violent, shocking novel based on mockery and continues to delivery a story that is both otherworldly and deeply disturbing in a delightful way. Although not as enjoyable as Emergence, the world of Dave continues to deliver thrilling action, frightening monsters and humour.
This book would appeal to readers who enjoy the satirical, fantasy, military fiction, action, adventure and lots of adult content. Emergence is not for the feint of heart.
About John Birmingham
John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother’s College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.
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