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The Monster Hunter Files, Volume 2
FROM THE CASE FILES OF MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL
For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats far and wide. Now, join us as we delve some of the wilder stories from the library archives which have never seen the light of day. The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 continues the secret lore and mythical battles against the forces of evil, and the fallout from these conflicts.
Deadly mermaids attacking a small northeastern port village . . . ancient Roman heroes . . . combat exorcists . . . Decision Week . . . ancient Greek muses . . . all these and more within, all revealed with meticulous care and research of Albert Lee, MHI’s archivist.
Featuring stories from New York Times best-selling author Larry Correia, Steve Diamond, Kacey Ezell, Brad R. Torgersen, Marisa Wolf, and more!
Complete list of contributors: Larry Correia, Jason Cordova, Brad R. Torgersen, Robert E. Hampson, Steve Diamond, Jack Wylder, Hinkley Correia, Kacey Ezell, LawDog, Marisa Wolf, Mike Massa, Nick Nethery & Mike Burke, and Melissa Olthoff.
For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats far and wide. Now, join us as we delve some of the wilder stories from the library archives which have never seen the light of day. The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 continues the secret lore and mythical battles against the forces of evil, and the fallout from these conflicts.
Deadly mermaids attacking a small northeastern port village . . . ancient Roman heroes . . . combat exorcists . . . Decision Week . . . ancient Greek muses . . . all these and more within, all revealed with meticulous care and research of Albert Lee, MHI’s archivist.
Featuring stories from New York Times best-selling author Larry Correia, Steve Diamond, Kacey Ezell, Brad R. Torgersen, Marisa Wolf, and more!
Complete list of contributors: Larry Correia, Jason Cordova, Brad R. Torgersen, Robert E. Hampson, Steve Diamond, Jack Wylder, Hinkley Correia, Kacey Ezell, LawDog, Marisa Wolf, Mike Massa, Nick Nethery & Mike Burke, and Melissa Olthoff.
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2026
About the author
Larry Correia
117 books4,451 followersLarry Correia (born 1977) is the New York Times bestselling author of the Monster Hunter International series, the Grimnoir Chronicles, and the thriller Dead Six.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 14, 2026
The second anthology of MHI adjacent type monster hunters
March 17, 2026
Some stories in this book were great. Some were just simply not good. But the amount of typos in this printed book were abhorrent.
March 23, 2026
Monster hunter files volume 2.
Great selection of stories true to the genre.
Thank you to all the authors and editors that make these possible!
Great selection of stories true to the genre.
Thank you to all the authors and editors that make these possible!
April 3, 2026
Yeah! Another Monster Hunter International (hereafter referred to as MHI) short story anthology and while it lacks some of the big names of the prior anthology, I thought this one was actually better (and more canonical). I'm gonna try and do this one story by story, so here we go:
Albert Lee and the Scroll of Doom by Larry Correia - 9/10 stars - Larry Correia's contribution to the anthology follows longtime supporting character librarian/archivist/demolitions expert Albert Lee when he lets curiosity get the better of him and reads a demonic chain letter "Scroll of Doom" hidden in a secret chamber in the MHI library and finds himself "The Ring"-style cursed to death with one week to live unless he passes the letter on. This one is a delightful example of misleading the audience for comic effect. This seems like it's going to be a whole thing and then one jump-cut later it's resolved in such an amusingly anticlimactic lawyer-y way.
Eyes Like Mine by Melissa Olthoff - 9/10 stars - with the rural Indiana setting and grim tone, this feels like an early season (aka good) Supernatural episode. Our protagonist is a girl living with a family curse that gives her eyes that see the supernatural and she and her brother make a living killing small-time monsters, but she chafes at her life and when they catch a whiff of something far more dangerous than their usual prey, they get in over their heads. Most of the stories here have tragic elements, but this is a horror-tragedy in slow motion all because of a single bad choice made out of a desire for adventure and I thought Olthoff knocked it out of the park.
Psalm of Vengeance by Steve Diamond - 7/10 stars - the Vatican's secret monster-hunting order militant has been infiltrated by evil cultists and it's up to a couple of their surviving heavy-hitter semi-monstrous agents to clean house before a Lovecraftian horror is summoned. It's ok, but this one has a bunch of half-developed ideas and is a very generic "Olympus Has Fallen"-style action movie setup without the page count to make that fun.
Teddy and the She-Beast by Brad R. Torgerson - 8/10 stars - shortly after the end of the Spanish-American War, Colonel Roosevelt is asked by General Wood to look into why the local Cubans have suddenly become very insular and agitated. With the help of a rather singular lady, he and his men uncover an ancient boogieman come to life. Not only is this a fun little story (if not exactly breaking the mold) but it ties in with (and fleshes out) a bunch of prior in-universe elements.
Friday Night Wights by LawDog - 9/10 stars - a pair of newbies are assigned to MHI's Team Very Large Mammals hunting down a vampire who's been cutting a swath through high school parties in the Great Plains and northern Texas. I was really impressed with this, it feels like something Correia would've written, manages to introduce a slew of new characters, builds team tension (as one of the new guys doesn't know about his new team) and has a disturbing villain, has some enjoyably unhinged action scenes, and a nicely satisfying conclusion, all in a rather modest short story.
The Ghost of Bogota by Jason Cordova - 7/10 stars - the pieces are all there for this one, it's follows a Special Task Force Unicorn (the government's secret monster spec ops kill-team) on a mission to send a message by messily eliminating a Colombian drug lord. This is basically Clear and Present Danger meets Monster Squad. It ties in with Cordova's in-universe novel Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever, which I liked, but the character isn't all that likeable and the whole thing is kinda paint by numbers in terms of its plot so all in all its just okay.
Land's End by Marisa Wolf - 7/10 stars - gosh, I wanted to like this one but ended up thinking it was just ok, it has a great setup, a college girl who barely survived a monster attack which killed her friends goes home to a rural New England fishing village, but a perfect storm is brewing and when that happens things come up from the deeps and people go missing. The problem with this one is that the heroine is in a fugue for basically the whole story, so it's kinda stream of consciousness and the monster scenes are really chaotic and unclear. On the other hand, the bits with the old salts in the bar sharing stories are really good.
Inspiration by Kacey Ezell - 8/10 stars - an ex-MCB (aka Monster Control Bureau, the government's agency to deal with and suppress knowledge of monster attacks) agent turned insurance adjuster in Boston happens across a situation that screams "something is not right" to her and suspects that a monster is feeding on artists but her former colleagues won't take her seriously so she begrudgingly turns to MHI for help. This one was a lot of fun, in a sort of silly espionage action rom-com sort of way.
The Hard Earth by Jack Wylder - 7/10 stars - when the king of the Bull-Men (NOT minotaurs) dies, the succession threatens to end the tentative peace between bull-men and humans requiring a representative of MHI to head down into the Hard Earth to try and influence the election of the new king. On the one hand, pretty predictable story which feels kind of like the Star Wars Solo movie: obsessing with a small detail of the lore to a ridiculous degree. On the other hand, Wylder's "Hard Earth" idea, of a sort of fringe semi-chaotic dimension where constant observation is required to keep things from fluctuating is a very cool concept.
Carnage at the Carnival by Hinkley Correia - 8/10 stars - set in the early days of MHI when they were Bubba Shackleford's Monster Killers, this story follows their travails cleaning up the Loveland, Ohio Frog-men, only to have their payment denied when they fail to produce a particularly large specimen, only to find that it's been grabbed up by a carnival for the freak show. The Annie Oakley-esque protagonist and Ohio setting (WOOH!) were certainly plusses for me, and the story also has the advantage of having some amusing absurdist comedy, but the monsters were so easy to kill that the story lacked pretty much anything in the way of dramatic tension.
Legacy by Robert Hampson - 5/10 stars - honestly, this one confused me more than anything and was easily my least favorite in the collection, it's about a neuroscientist who gets roped into reviewing some old case files from Decision Week (an in-universe set of magical/occult alternatives to the atomic bomb from World War 2 which was ultimately deemed "too inhumane") and gradually goes mad. It sort of ties into Monster Hunter Legion but also seems to contradict canon (as I remember it in MHL, alps are described as a common bottom-feeder monster which is mostly a nuisance rather than a threat whereas in this the Alp from MHL is referred to as "the last alp"). It's very stream of consciousness and honestly it never really does a good job of explaining WHY the MCB wants someone to open said case files. I'm also not a fan of "descent into madness" stories, so all around didn't care for this one.
Monsterkommando by Spearman Burke and Nick Nethery - 9/10 stars - when people start disappearing from a Ukrainian refugee camp near Stuttgart, German monster hunters from MHI rivals/allies Grimm Berlin are called into root out the infestation. Much like Friday Night Wights, this is a "new guy" on his first mission story, but the abandoned former military base setting is suitably creepy, and the monster is vicious, intelligent, unpleasant, and suitably horrific. Similarly, I liked the characters. Wouldn't say no to a side novel following this crew.
Pater Nostrum by Mike Massa - 7/10 stars - this one ties closely to Monster Hunter Siege with the whole "the nasty evil god is trying to open a door into our reality" thing... but the last time he tried it back in Roman times with a cohort of Roman monster hunters, aided by some supernatural allies, who stumble upon the threat in the nick of time. Not a bad story, Sextus and Estella were interesting characters, but the villains were kind of boring and grenades in 1st century are definitely anachronistic (by like 6 centuries) which bugged me.
All in all, a really solid and enjoyable collection of MHI stories written by people who clearly are invested in the universe and canon (unlike some of the entries from the previous collection) and aren't half-bad writers neither (even if you likely won't have heard of many of them).
Albert Lee and the Scroll of Doom by Larry Correia - 9/10 stars - Larry Correia's contribution to the anthology follows longtime supporting character librarian/archivist/demolitions expert Albert Lee when he lets curiosity get the better of him and reads a demonic chain letter "Scroll of Doom" hidden in a secret chamber in the MHI library and finds himself "The Ring"-style cursed to death with one week to live unless he passes the letter on. This one is a delightful example of misleading the audience for comic effect. This seems like it's going to be a whole thing and then one jump-cut later it's resolved in such an amusingly anticlimactic lawyer-y way.
Eyes Like Mine by Melissa Olthoff - 9/10 stars - with the rural Indiana setting and grim tone, this feels like an early season (aka good) Supernatural episode. Our protagonist is a girl living with a family curse that gives her eyes that see the supernatural and she and her brother make a living killing small-time monsters, but she chafes at her life and when they catch a whiff of something far more dangerous than their usual prey, they get in over their heads. Most of the stories here have tragic elements, but this is a horror-tragedy in slow motion all because of a single bad choice made out of a desire for adventure and I thought Olthoff knocked it out of the park.
Psalm of Vengeance by Steve Diamond - 7/10 stars - the Vatican's secret monster-hunting order militant has been infiltrated by evil cultists and it's up to a couple of their surviving heavy-hitter semi-monstrous agents to clean house before a Lovecraftian horror is summoned. It's ok, but this one has a bunch of half-developed ideas and is a very generic "Olympus Has Fallen"-style action movie setup without the page count to make that fun.
Teddy and the She-Beast by Brad R. Torgerson - 8/10 stars - shortly after the end of the Spanish-American War, Colonel Roosevelt is asked by General Wood to look into why the local Cubans have suddenly become very insular and agitated. With the help of a rather singular lady, he and his men uncover an ancient boogieman come to life. Not only is this a fun little story (if not exactly breaking the mold) but it ties in with (and fleshes out) a bunch of prior in-universe elements.
Friday Night Wights by LawDog - 9/10 stars - a pair of newbies are assigned to MHI's Team Very Large Mammals hunting down a vampire who's been cutting a swath through high school parties in the Great Plains and northern Texas. I was really impressed with this, it feels like something Correia would've written, manages to introduce a slew of new characters, builds team tension (as one of the new guys doesn't know about his new team) and has a disturbing villain, has some enjoyably unhinged action scenes, and a nicely satisfying conclusion, all in a rather modest short story.
The Ghost of Bogota by Jason Cordova - 7/10 stars - the pieces are all there for this one, it's follows a Special Task Force Unicorn (the government's secret monster spec ops kill-team) on a mission to send a message by messily eliminating a Colombian drug lord. This is basically Clear and Present Danger meets Monster Squad. It ties in with Cordova's in-universe novel Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever, which I liked, but the character isn't all that likeable and the whole thing is kinda paint by numbers in terms of its plot so all in all its just okay.
Land's End by Marisa Wolf - 7/10 stars - gosh, I wanted to like this one but ended up thinking it was just ok, it has a great setup, a college girl who barely survived a monster attack which killed her friends goes home to a rural New England fishing village, but a perfect storm is brewing and when that happens things come up from the deeps and people go missing. The problem with this one is that the heroine is in a fugue for basically the whole story, so it's kinda stream of consciousness and the monster scenes are really chaotic and unclear. On the other hand, the bits with the old salts in the bar sharing stories are really good.
Inspiration by Kacey Ezell - 8/10 stars - an ex-MCB (aka Monster Control Bureau, the government's agency to deal with and suppress knowledge of monster attacks) agent turned insurance adjuster in Boston happens across a situation that screams "something is not right" to her and suspects that a monster is feeding on artists but her former colleagues won't take her seriously so she begrudgingly turns to MHI for help. This one was a lot of fun, in a sort of silly espionage action rom-com sort of way.
The Hard Earth by Jack Wylder - 7/10 stars - when the king of the Bull-Men (NOT minotaurs) dies, the succession threatens to end the tentative peace between bull-men and humans requiring a representative of MHI to head down into the Hard Earth to try and influence the election of the new king. On the one hand, pretty predictable story which feels kind of like the Star Wars Solo movie: obsessing with a small detail of the lore to a ridiculous degree. On the other hand, Wylder's "Hard Earth" idea, of a sort of fringe semi-chaotic dimension where constant observation is required to keep things from fluctuating is a very cool concept.
Carnage at the Carnival by Hinkley Correia - 8/10 stars - set in the early days of MHI when they were Bubba Shackleford's Monster Killers, this story follows their travails cleaning up the Loveland, Ohio Frog-men, only to have their payment denied when they fail to produce a particularly large specimen, only to find that it's been grabbed up by a carnival for the freak show. The Annie Oakley-esque protagonist and Ohio setting (WOOH!) were certainly plusses for me, and the story also has the advantage of having some amusing absurdist comedy, but the monsters were so easy to kill that the story lacked pretty much anything in the way of dramatic tension.
Legacy by Robert Hampson - 5/10 stars - honestly, this one confused me more than anything and was easily my least favorite in the collection, it's about a neuroscientist who gets roped into reviewing some old case files from Decision Week (an in-universe set of magical/occult alternatives to the atomic bomb from World War 2 which was ultimately deemed "too inhumane") and gradually goes mad. It sort of ties into Monster Hunter Legion but also seems to contradict canon (as I remember it in MHL, alps are described as a common bottom-feeder monster which is mostly a nuisance rather than a threat whereas in this the Alp from MHL is referred to as "the last alp"). It's very stream of consciousness and honestly it never really does a good job of explaining WHY the MCB wants someone to open said case files. I'm also not a fan of "descent into madness" stories, so all around didn't care for this one.
Monsterkommando by Spearman Burke and Nick Nethery - 9/10 stars - when people start disappearing from a Ukrainian refugee camp near Stuttgart, German monster hunters from MHI rivals/allies Grimm Berlin are called into root out the infestation. Much like Friday Night Wights, this is a "new guy" on his first mission story, but the abandoned former military base setting is suitably creepy, and the monster is vicious, intelligent, unpleasant, and suitably horrific. Similarly, I liked the characters. Wouldn't say no to a side novel following this crew.
Pater Nostrum by Mike Massa - 7/10 stars - this one ties closely to Monster Hunter Siege with the whole "the nasty evil god is trying to open a door into our reality" thing... but the last time he tried it back in Roman times with a cohort of Roman monster hunters, aided by some supernatural allies, who stumble upon the threat in the nick of time. Not a bad story, Sextus and Estella were interesting characters, but the villains were kind of boring and grenades in 1st century are definitely anachronistic (by like 6 centuries) which bugged me.
All in all, a really solid and enjoyable collection of MHI stories written by people who clearly are invested in the universe and canon (unlike some of the entries from the previous collection) and aren't half-bad writers neither (even if you likely won't have heard of many of them).
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I would like to thank Baen Publishing and Larry Correia & Jason Cordova [the editors] for an eARC of The Monster Hunter Files, Volume 2 with an expected publication date of March 3, 2026, in return for an honest review. This volume includes 13 stories in the Monster Hunter International universe, with some stories tied to previous short stories. By this time I have read most of these authors, if not in Baen publications, often Raconteur Press anthologies. As a group, these authors know how to write military science fiction/fantasy! The series is recommended, and I rate this volume 5 stars [acknowledging that as in any collection, stories vary by approach and quality.
The three feral ladies of fantasy [Melissa Olthoff, Marisa Wolf, and Kacey Ezell] are each represented by individual stories. I have read stories by Law Dog, Steve Diamond, Brad Togerson, and Jason Cordova and they don’t disappoint here. Hinkley Correia continues the family business with her story, Carnage at the Carnival. The remaining authors were new to me, but still fit into the universe.
If you like kick ass military action taking down supernatural horrors, this is the book for you.
The three feral ladies of fantasy [Melissa Olthoff, Marisa Wolf, and Kacey Ezell] are each represented by individual stories. I have read stories by Law Dog, Steve Diamond, Brad Togerson, and Jason Cordova and they don’t disappoint here. Hinkley Correia continues the family business with her story, Carnage at the Carnival. The remaining authors were new to me, but still fit into the universe.
If you like kick ass military action taking down supernatural horrors, this is the book for you.
May 12, 2026
⭐⭐⭐✨ — 3.5 Stars
A solid second helping for MHI fans — The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 brings together a fun, varied roster of authors who each bring their own flavor to monster hunting. That's what makes anthologies like this work: no two stories feel the same.
The range here is genuinely impressive. One story follows an outsider dealing with a curse, another goes full Lovecraftian, and several shine a spotlight on beloved side characters from the main series who rarely get their moment. Some land better than others, but the highs are real highs.
Standouts: "Albert Lee and the Scroll of Doom" (Correia doing what he does best), "Eyes Like Mine" (Olthoff), "Psalm of Vengeance" (Diamond), "Teddy and the She-Beast" (Torgersen), "The Ghost of Bogotá" (Cordova), "Inspiration" (Ezell), "The Hard Earth" (Wylder), "Legacy" (Hampson), and "Pater Monstrum" (Massa) — that's a lot of favorites for a 3.5-star read, which tells you the good stuff is genuinely good.
Recommended for MHI fans looking to spend more time in this universe.
A solid second helping for MHI fans — The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 brings together a fun, varied roster of authors who each bring their own flavor to monster hunting. That's what makes anthologies like this work: no two stories feel the same.
The range here is genuinely impressive. One story follows an outsider dealing with a curse, another goes full Lovecraftian, and several shine a spotlight on beloved side characters from the main series who rarely get their moment. Some land better than others, but the highs are real highs.
Standouts: "Albert Lee and the Scroll of Doom" (Correia doing what he does best), "Eyes Like Mine" (Olthoff), "Psalm of Vengeance" (Diamond), "Teddy and the She-Beast" (Torgersen), "The Ghost of Bogotá" (Cordova), "Inspiration" (Ezell), "The Hard Earth" (Wylder), "Legacy" (Hampson), and "Pater Monstrum" (Massa) — that's a lot of favorites for a 3.5-star read, which tells you the good stuff is genuinely good.
Recommended for MHI fans looking to spend more time in this universe.
April 9, 2026
another good collection of MH Files
I have enjoyed all the Monster Hunter books, but I have to confess I like Memoirs best. I know I know there are people that don't like Oliver Chadwick Gardenier because of his "Chad" characterization, but that was the point of his character. Which leads me to my short review of this anthology. With the exception of Fantom (I can't get past the "Hey hey" story at all so haven't finished it, I just like the stories of other hunters and events in the MH universe better than the main story. This is no exception. The writers each had their own voices but they fit very well and kept the tone of Monster Hunter. To be fair I would like to get more of the actual MH teams than some of the rest, but still enjoyable. I found the Grimm Berlin story hit the spot, followed by the team that fought the vampire and what happened there was pretty tight. My least favorite may have been with Teddy Roosevelt - come on, him and Abraham Lincoln?
I have enjoyed all the Monster Hunter books, but I have to confess I like Memoirs best. I know I know there are people that don't like Oliver Chadwick Gardenier because of his "Chad" characterization, but that was the point of his character. Which leads me to my short review of this anthology. With the exception of Fantom (I can't get past the "Hey hey" story at all so haven't finished it, I just like the stories of other hunters and events in the MH universe better than the main story. This is no exception. The writers each had their own voices but they fit very well and kept the tone of Monster Hunter. To be fair I would like to get more of the actual MH teams than some of the rest, but still enjoyable. I found the Grimm Berlin story hit the spot, followed by the team that fought the vampire and what happened there was pretty tight. My least favorite may have been with Teddy Roosevelt - come on, him and Abraham Lincoln?
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A solid entry in the Monster Hunter series, this is a collection of short stories about hunters from various eras (from ancient Rome to the near future) doing what they do best - handling supposedly mythical beings and unearthly forces, preferably while taking home a decent paycheck. Danger beckons constantly, and happy endings for all characters are not assured!
Each author brings a new perspective and fresh take on the basic theme, making this a good, diverse read. While it can stand on its own merits, those who have already dipped a toe into the world of MHI and the MCB will get more out of it.
Each author brings a new perspective and fresh take on the basic theme, making this a good, diverse read. While it can stand on its own merits, those who have already dipped a toe into the world of MHI and the MCB will get more out of it.
March 7, 2026
Absolutely Reccomended
Not every stoey in this bunch blew me away. But none disappointed. From amazing concepts to cool creatures, we get a little bit of everyrhing and even some sequels.
Not every stoey in this bunch blew me away. But none disappointed. From amazing concepts to cool creatures, we get a little bit of everyrhing and even some sequels.
March 9, 2026
Excellent!
Each story brought its own brand of “mayhem“ and monsters. Kudos to the authors for their ability to write in the MHI world and add a depth and breadth to the world Larry created.
Each story brought its own brand of “mayhem“ and monsters. Kudos to the authors for their ability to write in the MHI world and add a depth and breadth to the world Larry created.
April 1, 2026
More monster mayhem!
This is a fascinating dive into the Monster Hunter case study archive. Newbie or veteran hunter – monsters are equal opportunity. It fills in the backstory of many of my favorite MHI characters. I received an advance copy, but my review is honest and voluntary.
This is a fascinating dive into the Monster Hunter case study archive. Newbie or veteran hunter – monsters are equal opportunity. It fills in the backstory of many of my favorite MHI characters. I received an advance copy, but my review is honest and voluntary.
March 10, 2026
Excellent work!
Larry Correia never disappoints! Love the MHI universe! Always look forward to what Mr. Correia’s imagination can come up with!
Larry Correia never disappoints! Love the MHI universe! Always look forward to what Mr. Correia’s imagination can come up with!
March 25, 2026
3.5 for the short story Albert Lee and the Scroll of Doom.
April 11, 2026
The Monster Hunters are always entertaining and dangerous. My favorite selection was Pater Monstrum (Massa).
April 20, 2026
Good addition to the lore
Good read with great story telling. If war a good bedtime read. I hunger for a new mainline MHI book
Good read with great story telling. If war a good bedtime read. I hunger for a new mainline MHI book
May 5, 2026
Remind me never to buy another anthology.
May 6, 2026
Fun
I needed a light read and this delivered. Fun stories about a world where monsters loom and heroes rise up to fight them.
I needed a light read and this delivered. Fun stories about a world where monsters loom and heroes rise up to fight them.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews