Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters (David Hooper Trilogy) Paperback – April 28, 2015

This book really hit the spot for me ... a modern-era 'urban fantasy' with an anti-hero protagonist who starts out as not some innocent wide-eyed waif coming of age or pure-souled heroic archetype striving to right all the wrongs of the world, but rather a deeply flawed and emotionally dysfunctional everyman that stumbles into hero-ness (is that a word?) through a combination of blind luck and bad planning.Dave is a safety engineer for a deep water oil drilling rig, and when said rig accidentally drills a hole into the underworld and unleashes a horde of orc- and goblin-like inhabitants upon the world, he steps up to risk his neck for his friends and coworkers. He somehow takes out an orc-boss and in the process gains superhuman powers. Dave doesn't understand what happened, and neither does anyone else, and he's hesitant to share his new-found powers and his increasing awareness of impossible knowledge lest he discover that it was in fact all either (a) a dream, (b) a bad acid trip, or (c) he's simply completely lost his mind and none of this is real.The story starts out fairly slow, and paints a very disagreeable picture of who Dave is in the first few pages ... he's not the kind of character that you instantly bond with, and you are definitely lead to consider him to be fairly repulsive as a human being, but if you keep your mind open and a sense of humor about you, you should eventually warm up to him. He has his good parts, but they are usually kept leashed by his drinking/gambling/drugging/whoring habits, and he has to do a lot of soul searching to begin to understand, accept, and hopefully change his wayward ways. Dave is thrust into an unimaginable situation, forced to try to make the best of it, comes to understand that he's changed / is changing, and tries to do some good where he can. He does succeed at that ... doing *some* good.Secondary / tertiary characters are mostly interesting, some quite entertaining, although as this is the first book in a series many of these characters are not yet fully developed. I expect to see many of these people again in future installments, for good or ill. One of the interesting mechanisms of this book is the author lets us see a couple/few events from the viewpoints of different characters ... I don't mean Event A from Our Hero's POV and Even B from Characted B's POV ... I mean we see the same event from two or more different viewpoints, and we get to see how it's understood and interpreted differently by those different characters even though it's the same event. I really like that particular style of storytelling.I started this book about 8 p.m. and finally turned out the light at 2 a.m. having read about 80% of it ... couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, but I seriously did not want to put it down. Finished it the next morning. There are so few books that grab me like that ... so very few books that I can honestly say something like "I couldn't put it down" or "I couldn't tear my eyes away from the story" ... it was that entertaining. Not deep emotional drama, but lots of (small) twists and turns that made you want to find out what happens next, enough actual chuckles at situations or dialogue to keep my brain active so that I hardly noticed the passage of time as I read.If you like urban fantasy stories, dark(ish) humor, and a counter-intuitive anti-hero, you should give this book a chance. You may be quite pleased with it.

Birmingham has done an amazing fete in creating a unique yet plausible world. The characters good and bad are so skillfully developed they seem real. Unlike many readers I really like Dave. He's hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout the book; cried some too. The characters, military and populace realistically portrait how the world would react if monsters were suddenly amongst us. The really amazing thing is that the monster's are given a perspective both individually and collectively. I rarely read descriptions of the environment, not caring what everyone is wearing, but in this series I read every word. I was amazed at how much I learned about these people through the osmosis of the story. Birmingham's analogy's and Dave's voice would be worth reading even if there wasn't a great story, which incredibly there is. I won't waste your time telling you the story because you really will want to read it with fresh eyes. I've read the series and re-read the first book wondering if maybe people are reading Dave too harshly and maybe we were meant to. Dave doesn't shine in the opening pages but if you push past that you'll see a deeply caring man. Empathy/compassion are only 15-20% inherited. The rest, as well as social skills, are taught or not. In Dave's case Not. Dave was raised in both a verbally and physically abusive home. He has no verbal filter. This is not the same as just saying whatever comes to mind. It means the speaker is just as surprised as everyone else because the words are out even before they've become a thought. He often says they weren't even his thoughts, but the echoes of his dad. He claims to 'work hard and play hard'. Being newly released from a troubled marriage(no judgment) this is understandable. He goes from being nearly impotent and paying by the hour to having women inexplicably attracted to him, all consenting adults. I'm a 63 year old female but if I was suddenly unmarried and both looking and feeling 25 with men lusting after me I think I'd take a run at it too.Dave feels at fault and responsible for every casualty, certain that he sees blame in the eyes of everyone around him. He is an educated man having multiple college degrees including a master's in engineering. He is not Bubba Shucks and he'll surprise you. He has never owned a gun yet he steps up to the plate because he can't bear to watch another person die. I've recommended this series to everyone I now.Spoiler Alert:I gave this review 4stars even though I loved it because of the harsh ending of the 3rd book. It remains one of my all time favorite series.

This was an entertaining read about an unredeeming divorcee who happens to be in the right place at the right time... where he kicks booty on some repellant monsters, inherits some superpowers, and is captured by the military-industrial complex for debriefing (which never happens in the first book).The nice thing with having a dirtbag protagonist is that you can have a lot of fun with the character and the reader's opinion will not fall. The titular Dave is snarky, sometimes boorish, intelligent, and irresponsible guy who always makes bad choices.There are some other characters that are introduced- co-workers, soldiers, scientists, even his ex-wife. Quite amusing.This is part of a series- perhaps Dave redeems himself over a few novels.Similar in entertainment to Correia's Monster Hunter series, which I preferred.

I loved this book. What really got me was how flawed the character was. He's a person you really wouldn't mind having a drink with, but just to talk about the sports with. Because as soon as he starts talking about his personal life, you think 'oh dear, what a berk.' But that's what makes this a great story. It isn't just about good guys against monsters, it's about flawed people against monsters, and when push comes to shove, they sometimes just aren't as good as you hoped they were.And all of that is great, but what ties it all together, is that it is a darkly funny book. I bought it and went to an all-day dance-concert. I got home at about 10pm and couldn't put it down. So after completing the all-day festival, which included according to my fit-bit 50,000 steps, I settled back into bed, and ended up not sleeping a wink until I finished it. It's that type of book.

The first of the trilogy. This is the third trilogy I read from John Birmingham, the first two being more in the genre of Alternate History. I love this author, every book is a page-turner.For this series, you need to suspend your disbeleif but once you have done that it is a smashing good ride.

John Birmingham has created a new level of positively derivative awesome.As The Dave, our classic fucked-up antihero, blunders his way through this book, we see so many classic tropes (yes I know that's a tautology) grabbed and mangled and turned into great fun.There are Monsters that look like Orcs, and are referenced thus, and it works.There's a classic accidental (think spiderman, The Hulk, or whoever) superhero.There are Dragons, there is faux-Elvish/Norse lore and Warspeak.The Dave has a Warhammer, and has seen The Avengers.His SEAL companions are straight out of Blackhawk Down or Zero Dark Thirty.The scientists are straight from Agents Of SHIELD or Pacific Rim.But Birmo has made them all new and fresh and fun, and created a whole new world of fun and awesome.The Bad Guys are truly bad and hateful, and yet likeable in their own way. I can't recommend this book and the next ones highly enough.GET ON BOARD WITH THE DAVE.

Raw and visceral fiction - a boy's own adventure brought into the modern era. Our flawed protagonist is a deadbeat Dad, working hard and playing hard and regretting it in the morning. That is, until he is thrown into the middle of a battle between worlds - a bizarre encounter between suburban life, modern military types and, strangest of all, demons and monsters spawning from an ancient Underworld, unwittingly unleashed on the world.Like a mix-up on a movie set - the cast of the Hobbit movie wandering accidentally onto the set of a modern military drama- the book is filled with strange anachronisms and cultural clashes. And The Dave, life teetering on the edge of disaster, suddenly find himself in a position of authority (of a sort) on the front lines of this mess. A position that he is almost wholly unsuited - or that would be the case if he was the old Dave. But something is happening to him... just as these Lovecraftian nightmare monsters burst out from the depths, something happens to Dave too...Fair warning, the book features uncomfortable discussions about orc boners (of course they don't wear pants!) and is likely to offend a good few people who won't like the Dave at all, as he doesn't go for any PC bullshit and hardly thinks twice about spending the kids maintenance money on hookers and blow. He's not nice by any stretch of the imagination, but he's sure there's a heart of gold in there somewhere. But despite that, it's fun to ride along in his head and see how he copes (or doesn't) with this new scenario.The book also has some startlingly good scenes from the viewpoint of the enemy, which I really enjoyed. I hope JB ventures further into science-fiction waters, because he could probably create some wonderful aliens (as he has pretty much done with this book).All up, I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, because I really enjoyed it, even though as a lady who certainly does care a bit about some of that PC bullshit, I'm really not much like Dave at all, but he's a great anti-hero and the scenario is fascinating.

This book is a disappointment. But a good read.It has a really good theme-thread, and a very good plot, but I feel is grossly let down by the purile, grossly-overdone behaviour of the hero who reminds me of sex-starved, utterly irresponsible, male nymphomaniac injected with an overdose of Spanish Fly.It just ruins the book, which is a great shame.The plot and plan have huge potential, but the unbelievably hedonistic behaviour of the hero just are, quite sickening, and I am no prude.For cryin' out loud, the hero is supposed to be a middle-aged engineer with a background of oil rigs!! And he is portrayed as a hyper-sexed junkie!!It is a good read. I kept reading as it had really good parts, very good, but the rubbish tarnishes what is a very good read.I'd recommend it, as the hero seems to improve at the end of book two, which has a good tone at the end. Hopefully by book three the author has straightened our hero out so that book three is a good read. Book three should be a 5/5 if the author can get his act together.

Mr Birmingham does it again!The blood and gore depicted in the early chapters nearly convinced me to turn off my book and get to bed. Given I'm plague-ridden, it's where I should have been. (Un)fortunately? I persevered, and didn't stop reading until the words literally swam before my eyes. (@ 87% and 1:09 am).I'm still not sure how I feel about Dave, an endearing mix of human and hero. I suppose I must be charitable and forgive him his human failings. Hookers and blow? Seriously JB??Magicks and Daemons, and firefights abound. Military strategies, a hint of tenderness, and betrayal, combine to make this a rollicking good tale, it leaves enough questions to entice me to buy the next in the series ASAP!!