---
product_id: 19815850
title: "Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters (David Hooper Trilogy) Paperback – April 28, 2015"
brand: "john birmingham"
price: "₪69"
currency: ILS
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/19815850-emergence-dave-vs-the-monsters-david-hooper-trilogy-paperback-april
store_origin: IL
region: Israel
---

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

**Brand:** john birmingham
**Price:** ₪69
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters (David Hooper Trilogy) Paperback – April 28, 2015 by john birmingham
- **How much does it cost?** ₪69 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.il](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/19815850-emergence-dave-vs-the-monsters-david-hooper-trilogy-paperback-april)

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- john birmingham enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Images

![Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters (David Hooper Trilogy) Paperback – April 28, 2015 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71IGCO9eN3L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Darkly humorous urban fantasy with a counter-intuitive anti-hero
  

*by J***D on Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2016*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    An absolute must read!
  

*by D***E on Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2016*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Entertaining, but main character is a mess
  

*by A***S on Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2015*

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.

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*Product available on Desertcart Israel*
*Store origin: IL*
*Last updated: 2026-03-08*