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The Hunt #1
The Hunt
Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2012
297 people are currently reading
17.7k people want to read
About the author
Andrew Fukuda
18 books571 followersBorn in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. His second novel, The Hunt, the first in a new series, was bought at auction by St. Martin's Press and will be published in May 2012. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.
From the author's website.
From the author's website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,905 reviews
March 1, 2020
so this book is kind of fun, but full of problematic holes and "huh's?"
vampires.
vampires rule the day here. nearly everyone has become a vampire, and the humans who remain must camouflage their human characteristics to be able to survive and blend in. all the concessions are made to vampire-life: school is held at night, lighting is kept low, and meat is served very very rare. and remaining "hepers" or "humans" are periodically released into an arena for vampires to hunt and eat, in a morale-boosting extravaganza.
for a high school boy whose parents have both died/been turned, life can be complicated.all human impulses must be suppressed, otherwise, the vampires will know he is huuuuman, and will be unable to control themselves.. he cannot sneeze, he cannot widen his eyes in surprise, he cannot sweat, he must shave his body every day and never ever smell like a human boy. no coughing, no getting sick, no pimples, no papercuts... i mean, it boggles the mind. this would never be possible, even in a well-constructed fantasy. and this one is not well-constructed. authors, again, build your worlds!! i do not understand these vampires.
so they don't breed? but they age, they eat meat... do they excrete? they have bathrooms in the school, right? i thought i remembered a scene taking place in a school bathroom or locker room...(and i wish i wasn't writing this in the middle of the anaheim convention center and i had the book with me) what makes them different? how did they take over the country - and what will they do when there are no more humans??
i suppose instead of world-building, we are given little social quirks. vampires do not laugh - instead they scratch their forearms. instead of making out, they perform some sort of elbow-into-armpit configuration. and seriously, unless we are talking about this:
do not even expect me to be interested in elbow sex.
who is maintaining the electricity here, and why?? why do vampires drool uncontrollably when they see a picture of a heper, but when there is one in their midst, they do not even realize it?? why can't they go underwater? so many weird vampirisms here, so underexplained.
and for humans - why would you stay?? why wouldn't you just move to the wilderness away from the freaking vampires? why continue to go to school for goodness' sake? what could you possibly be learning in vampire high-school, and what career path could this high school possibly be preparing anyone for? or alternatively - why not just become a vampire? i mean, you continue to live in these communities where a hangnail could redefine you as dinner; once you start suppressing that many human impulses, you are already distancing yourself from "human" so why not just give in at that point? path of least resistance. you can't go through your whole life without ever sneezing - without ever getting a fever. and how the hell do girl hepers deal with menstruation? answer my questions, book!
if i felt that this was some kind of cleverly-done extended metaphor in the "it gets better" tradition, exhibiting just how hard it is to suppress natural feelings and behaviors and how quick to bully people are when they are confronted with something they do not understand, that would be one thing. but this is another thing. this is just another attempt to blend the trends: vampire meets dystopia, hunger games style...
cash in now, honey..."
shit - my laptop is almost out of battery... TO BE CONTINUED MOMENTARILY
okay. so anyway, our hero gets chosen as one of the vampires to hunt the hepers in the next frenzy. naturally. because he is so good at passing.
and there are a few hepers living in a dome, and they are the next victims of this hunt. but they don't know it. all they know is they live in a dome that retracts in the daylight and they an go out and hunt and do whatever things they need to do. they can read, they are articulate, they know how to use weapons. and so why do they stay in the dome? do they think they are pets? i know they say they cannot get far enough away from the dome in the daylight hours to escape, but that sounds a little suspect to me. also suspect is our boy's reaction to them. he is surprised that they are as socially advanced as they are, but he shows them no loyalty; he still sees them as "other." so who is he, really? not vampire, not heper - he is just... nothing.
and considering it took him five times of mentioning the lake and how thirsty he was "but noooo the vampires cannot see me driiiink" before he combined those two thoughts and realized "oh, i can drink the WATER from the LAKE!! maybe he would be better off becoming a vampire. dummy.
i don' know - that whole "hepers in a dome" thing was weird, to me. like it was some kind of museum of natural history exhibit. they knew who their captors were, they knew they were in danger - they knew the dome could be retracted at any time and they could be eaten, but they get a note from their enemies and they just go traipsing off into the wilderness, no questions asked?
dumb.
but this book wasn't the worst. there were some good scenes, and the last line alone was enough to keep me interested in where this will go.
this probably needs major editing - i am on an unfamiliar computer in an unfamiliar town and everything is strange....maybe i will revise when i get home. until then...endure...
come to my blog!
vampires.
vampires rule the day here. nearly everyone has become a vampire, and the humans who remain must camouflage their human characteristics to be able to survive and blend in. all the concessions are made to vampire-life: school is held at night, lighting is kept low, and meat is served very very rare. and remaining "hepers" or "humans" are periodically released into an arena for vampires to hunt and eat, in a morale-boosting extravaganza.
for a high school boy whose parents have both died/been turned, life can be complicated.all human impulses must be suppressed, otherwise, the vampires will know he is huuuuman, and will be unable to control themselves.. he cannot sneeze, he cannot widen his eyes in surprise, he cannot sweat, he must shave his body every day and never ever smell like a human boy. no coughing, no getting sick, no pimples, no papercuts... i mean, it boggles the mind. this would never be possible, even in a well-constructed fantasy. and this one is not well-constructed. authors, again, build your worlds!! i do not understand these vampires.
so they don't breed? but they age, they eat meat... do they excrete? they have bathrooms in the school, right? i thought i remembered a scene taking place in a school bathroom or locker room...(and i wish i wasn't writing this in the middle of the anaheim convention center and i had the book with me) what makes them different? how did they take over the country - and what will they do when there are no more humans??
i suppose instead of world-building, we are given little social quirks. vampires do not laugh - instead they scratch their forearms. instead of making out, they perform some sort of elbow-into-armpit configuration. and seriously, unless we are talking about this:
do not even expect me to be interested in elbow sex.
who is maintaining the electricity here, and why?? why do vampires drool uncontrollably when they see a picture of a heper, but when there is one in their midst, they do not even realize it?? why can't they go underwater? so many weird vampirisms here, so underexplained.
and for humans - why would you stay?? why wouldn't you just move to the wilderness away from the freaking vampires? why continue to go to school for goodness' sake? what could you possibly be learning in vampire high-school, and what career path could this high school possibly be preparing anyone for? or alternatively - why not just become a vampire? i mean, you continue to live in these communities where a hangnail could redefine you as dinner; once you start suppressing that many human impulses, you are already distancing yourself from "human" so why not just give in at that point? path of least resistance. you can't go through your whole life without ever sneezing - without ever getting a fever. and how the hell do girl hepers deal with menstruation? answer my questions, book!
if i felt that this was some kind of cleverly-done extended metaphor in the "it gets better" tradition, exhibiting just how hard it is to suppress natural feelings and behaviors and how quick to bully people are when they are confronted with something they do not understand, that would be one thing. but this is another thing. this is just another attempt to blend the trends: vampire meets dystopia, hunger games style...
cash in now, honey..."
shit - my laptop is almost out of battery... TO BE CONTINUED MOMENTARILY
okay. so anyway, our hero gets chosen as one of the vampires to hunt the hepers in the next frenzy. naturally. because he is so good at passing.
and there are a few hepers living in a dome, and they are the next victims of this hunt. but they don't know it. all they know is they live in a dome that retracts in the daylight and they an go out and hunt and do whatever things they need to do. they can read, they are articulate, they know how to use weapons. and so why do they stay in the dome? do they think they are pets? i know they say they cannot get far enough away from the dome in the daylight hours to escape, but that sounds a little suspect to me. also suspect is our boy's reaction to them. he is surprised that they are as socially advanced as they are, but he shows them no loyalty; he still sees them as "other." so who is he, really? not vampire, not heper - he is just... nothing.
and considering it took him five times of mentioning the lake and how thirsty he was "but noooo the vampires cannot see me driiiink" before he combined those two thoughts and realized "oh, i can drink the WATER from the LAKE!! maybe he would be better off becoming a vampire. dummy.
i don' know - that whole "hepers in a dome" thing was weird, to me. like it was some kind of museum of natural history exhibit. they knew who their captors were, they knew they were in danger - they knew the dome could be retracted at any time and they could be eaten, but they get a note from their enemies and they just go traipsing off into the wilderness, no questions asked?
dumb.
but this book wasn't the worst. there were some good scenes, and the last line alone was enough to keep me interested in where this will go.
this probably needs major editing - i am on an unfamiliar computer in an unfamiliar town and everything is strange....maybe i will revise when i get home. until then...endure...
come to my blog!
May 9, 2012
If there is anything good coming from the newer crops of dystopian fiction these days it's one thing: Evil, ravenous vampires are back. With books like The Immortal Rules and now The Hunt, YA thiller fans are sure to be pleased by this turn of events. I know I am. Unfortunately, The Hunt failed to WOW me on that factor alone.
In a nutshell, The Hunt is like an inverted Immortal Rules with a Hunger Games-esque twist. Instead of our young, male protagonist, Gene, being the only vampire among humans, he is one of the only humans living in the lion's den. In order to pull this off he must shave off all his body hair, clip his nails, polish his fake fangs, and bathe rigorously every single day. In addition to the intense grooming, he must suppress his basic human mannerisms such as laughing, sweating, singing, flinching, clearing his throat, ect. when in contact with "people." All of this is done because Gene lives in a world where he is considered a "heper," barely a step above a farm animal. In order to survive he has to hide who he truly is or risk being eaten. So when he is chosen for the Heper Hunt (think Hunger Games arena), you can only imagine his uneasiness. "Awkward" is an understatement.
The Hunt has a lot of potential because regardless of how I feel about it I can't deny that it's creative. It features an entirely different spin on vampires that both intrigued me and weirded me out. It's also very readable and easily holds a reader's attention. I also felt myself enjoying Fukuda's prose as well, especially when Gene thought of his past memories of his family. That's the main reason why I ended up giving the book two stars instead of one. But like I said earlier, that alone won't win anyone points with me.
World Building:
*sigh* I feel like a broken record saying this, but if we are going to write a dystopian novel, please supply some background info. I don't need to know everything under the sun, but I'd at least like to know how your world ended up in its current cesspit state. Is that too much to ask? How did the vampires come to take over the world (literally)? Where did they come from? They managed to eat almost ALL the humans? Why did Gene even bother to try to blend in with vampire society? Why not run away? Have vampires taken over the entire world or did only the U.S. go to hell?
Characters:
I think I hated almost all the characters in The Hunt, but Gene? He takes the number one spot on this here shit list. My biggest issue of the book resides with him because he was an idiot. A very selfish idiot. At the Heper Institute (where the hunters stayed and "trained" for the Heper Hunt) he begins to go thirsty since vampires don't need water, but there was a lake right in front of him the entire time. He talks about it and never thinks to go drink from it when the vampires are sleeping during the day. *facepalm* The plot twist - if you can even call it that - was so easy to guess, but guess who was incredibly shocked? Ding, ding, ding! Gene. And no, this was not a case in dramatic irony because everything that was revealed to the reader, Gene already knew. Hell, he's the one who narrates the story!
But that's not even the half of that. I could deal with a slow main character, but what I couldn't deal with was his "I'm better than these dirty hepers!" attitude. When Gene first arrives to the Heper institute and finds out the heper can talk, read, write, comprehend things, he is blown away. Shocked! This does not compute. I just wanted to yell at him, "YOU ARE A HEPER! If you can bloody do it, uh duh, so can they, genius." But it gets worse. Gene knows the hepers will be hunted, but they don't. Does he tell them? Attempt to help his people? NO. He just goes on business as usual, thinking that once the hepers are sent out to their deaths he can sneak away. That made me so angry. These are your people - perhaps the last humans alive - and you are going to sit and let them be eaten without doing anything about it? No, instead, you drink their water, eat their food and work their deaths into your escape plan. Cast him out of the human race. He is not one of us.
I mean, what did he expect he would do after the Heper Hunt? Go on living in his fake life where he could die at any moment? Who would want that kind of life? That makes not sense. If the world happens to end with vampires devouring humans and I'm left with an idiot like Gene, I'm tripping him as I run from the vamps. And don't get me started on Ashley June. She was just as bad as Gene and can die in a fire for all I care.
Believability:
The Hunt reminds me a lot of another book I've read called Glimmerglass. Not because they are similar in plot or anything, but because the reader must abandon a certain amount of logic and "just go with it." If anyone is familiar with me, they will know that it takes a lot for a book to convince me to "just go with it."
A list of things Fukuda expected me to buy:
-Vampires only eat bloody meat and can't stomach other foods except for ice cream. Wait, what?
-Gene never got sick from eating raw bloody meat.
-Gene has learned to suppress basic human instincts like smiling, laughing, coughing, squinting, flinching? How the hell is that possible? So what happens when Gene gets sick? He stays home? And what would be his excuse for not being in school? The vampires don't appear to fall ill in this world.
-Sex by armpits? I'm sorry, that one, while creative, was a little too hard to swallow. Or were they making out?
Before she could regain her footing, I shoved my elbow into the socket of her armpit. The way I had read about in books, seen in movies. I had her. Her body tensed in anticipation as my elbow locked into her armpit. And just like that, her body lost all tension and softened. I swiveled my elbow in long, luxurious circles, and her body moved in rhythm. Salivary wetness slivered between and around her snarling teeth. I concentrated hard after that, keeping up with appearances, making sure that the snarls came out in the right fevered pitch, that my body oscillated with enough passion and frenzy.
I'll say!
-
-Vampires couldn't tell Gene was a heper just because he shaved all his body hair off. Really? He still had hair on his head. Does that somehow smell different than facial, leg and arm hair? If they could smell the hepers in the dome even when they weren't sweaty, then they should have been able to always smell Gene is school.
The Ending:
It left me dangling of the edge of a cliff with three words.
*tries to repress a very human sigh* *doesn't work* *LE SIGH*
I'm sure there are a lot of people who will love The Hunt. It's different, interesting, creative and action packed. And while it didn't really work out for me here, I'm tempted to check out book two to see where the story goes. But as I say in the rest of my two star reviews, the next book can hang out on my "You're on Probation" shelf.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!
More reviews and other fantastical things at my blog Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.
May 10, 2012
Definitely creative, but awfully bizarre to the point of being cheesy, The Hunt is perfect if you're looking for a mindless read with an interesting concept. However, if you sit for a minute and think about it, this whole plot has no justification. Why? Because there's absolutely nothing that makes me root for the humans. Why stay human? Why not simply become a vampire, and live your life amongst everyone else, free of burden. Sure you crave blood and you can't go out in the sunlight, but how does that remotely compare to being imprisoned in a human body with a constant fear of being eaten alive? Especially when the constraints are extreme and in no way convincing that any human could get away with it for as long as our protagonist did.
-No smiling/laughing
-No sweating
-No coughing
-No clearing your throat
-Making sure you have no body hair at all, ever
-No slouching
-Having to eat raw meat
-No shivering
-No widening of the eyes - or any other reaction - when surprised
-Having to clip your nails daily
-Needing to goop up your skin to not smell human
-And more, lots more.
Wow! How can someone honestly be this robotic for years? Going to school every day with these people without ever showing any of these signs? Moreover, why would you want to? Living as a vampire doesn't seem bad at all. They live satisfactory lives; they're educated, they have friends, parties - a normal life, really, with the only disadvantages being the sun and craving blood (and ok, they drool a lot). I didn't buy it. This is the main reason why I couldn't enjoy this book. Everything the protagonist went through, every fear of being found out, every obstacle thrown at him, I simply didn't care as there is no convincing argument for staying human. This, to me, was a huge plot hole that I just couldn't let go throughout the whole book. It also brought on world building questions: how hard would it be to get turned without being eaten entirely? How could he make that happen? And if he can't, how did the others get turned? Were they born? Can vampires procreate (with elbow sex)? So many questions! These may have helped me understand why he's not one of them. Maybe it's not even possible; nothing is clear.
I get that vampire lore has gotten to a point where you have to get very creative to make it original. But there is a line between imaginative and just plain silly. Quirks in this lore, especially armpit/elbow sex, went too far. These are way too weird to be taken seriously. The dialogue is also awkward at times with cheesy expressions. What I did like, though, was the ominous vibe from start to finish. I constantly felt like something was amiss. The gory scenes are also pretty awesome (aka: highly disgusting). And despite having a lot of similarities with the Hunger Games, in the end the plot easily stands out in its originality.
The Hepers: Us, mere humans. They're all rounded up and put into a dome to get them ready for the Hunt. I found this really interesting and quite a bit frightening. Sadly though, this hunt takes a very long time to begin giving the book a fairly slow pace until the very end. I found myself simply wanting to get it over with. I wish that time would have been spent expanding the world building instead of wandering around figuring out how to stay hidden. A bigger understanding of their world, especially their knowledge of the past, would have been great way to get a better grasp on this book. In particular, why they believe Hepers are uneducated, uncivilized savages who can't speak, and are basically completely unevolved. This is especially hard when one thinking this is, in actuality, a Heper himself.
Honestly, I wanted to love this. I was sure I was going to. I love dystopians and the premise is incredibly enticing, so I'm truly disappointed that it wasn't as good as I expected. I'm the type of reader who needs to be convinced. Realism is always a huge aspect for me and sadly this one had me staggering more than once. This made not only the reasoning for the plot, but the characters themselves, fall flat. I could easily see a lot of readers enjoy the alarming nature of the story; underneath it all it is interesting so don't let this discourage you if you were looking forward to it, hopefully you can have a better experience than I did.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
-No smiling/laughing
-No sweating
-No coughing
-No clearing your throat
-Making sure you have no body hair at all, ever
-No slouching
-Having to eat raw meat
-No shivering
-No widening of the eyes - or any other reaction - when surprised
-Having to clip your nails daily
-Needing to goop up your skin to not smell human
-And more, lots more.
Wow! How can someone honestly be this robotic for years? Going to school every day with these people without ever showing any of these signs? Moreover, why would you want to? Living as a vampire doesn't seem bad at all. They live satisfactory lives; they're educated, they have friends, parties - a normal life, really, with the only disadvantages being the sun and craving blood (and ok, they drool a lot). I didn't buy it. This is the main reason why I couldn't enjoy this book. Everything the protagonist went through, every fear of being found out, every obstacle thrown at him, I simply didn't care as there is no convincing argument for staying human. This, to me, was a huge plot hole that I just couldn't let go throughout the whole book. It also brought on world building questions: how hard would it be to get turned without being eaten entirely? How could he make that happen? And if he can't, how did the others get turned? Were they born? Can vampires procreate (with elbow sex)? So many questions! These may have helped me understand why he's not one of them. Maybe it's not even possible; nothing is clear.
I get that vampire lore has gotten to a point where you have to get very creative to make it original. But there is a line between imaginative and just plain silly. Quirks in this lore, especially armpit/elbow sex, went too far. These are way too weird to be taken seriously. The dialogue is also awkward at times with cheesy expressions. What I did like, though, was the ominous vibe from start to finish. I constantly felt like something was amiss. The gory scenes are also pretty awesome (aka: highly disgusting). And despite having a lot of similarities with the Hunger Games, in the end the plot easily stands out in its originality.
The Hepers: Us, mere humans. They're all rounded up and put into a dome to get them ready for the Hunt. I found this really interesting and quite a bit frightening. Sadly though, this hunt takes a very long time to begin giving the book a fairly slow pace until the very end. I found myself simply wanting to get it over with. I wish that time would have been spent expanding the world building instead of wandering around figuring out how to stay hidden. A bigger understanding of their world, especially their knowledge of the past, would have been great way to get a better grasp on this book. In particular, why they believe Hepers are uneducated, uncivilized savages who can't speak, and are basically completely unevolved. This is especially hard when one thinking this is, in actuality, a Heper himself.
Honestly, I wanted to love this. I was sure I was going to. I love dystopians and the premise is incredibly enticing, so I'm truly disappointed that it wasn't as good as I expected. I'm the type of reader who needs to be convinced. Realism is always a huge aspect for me and sadly this one had me staggering more than once. This made not only the reasoning for the plot, but the characters themselves, fall flat. I could easily see a lot of readers enjoy the alarming nature of the story; underneath it all it is interesting so don't let this discourage you if you were looking forward to it, hopefully you can have a better experience than I did.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
December 6, 2014
"He's testing me. Sizing me up."
Funny. That's what I was going to say about The Hunt.
I don't think I've ever encountered a book that felt like such a waste of space as this one. It's mindless, meaningless stuffing.
And you know what? I was enjoying it in the beginning. The writing was decent; the main character was male, a welcome change in the usual sea of female protagonists; and the concept was relatively creative: a human living among vampires as one of them. I tore through the first 18% like it was Pop Rox, thinking how ingenious the world-building was (vampires scratch their wrists in place of laughing), and how clever the MC Gene is (he purposefully vomited in a pool to distract the vampires from noticing his goosebumps).
But somewhere down the line, my brain kicked in and I realized what The Hunt really is: a cliche, kiddie pool version of a dystopian.
The Immortal Rules would kick its ass.
The world-building is non-existent. Vampires came to power in The Immortal Rules because of a disease that turned most of humankind into vampiric zombies. The real vampires, to protect their food source, locked humans up in fortified cities in exchange for the real vampires' protection.
In The Hunt, vampires rule the earth and humans are near extinct—just because. There's no plausible explanation for how it got this way. And the vampires here are really stupid too. Just the scent of a herper (that's what they call humans) send them into a drooling, zombie-like feeding frenzy. How on earth did our ancestors not wipe them out using a bait-and-sunlight trap? They may be quicker, but we got brains, man.
Gene is a Gary-Stu. He's not only exceptionally intelligent:
"Ah, yes, that yours was a stupendous and prodigious intelligence not fully tapped."
He's hot, has a sad past (his family became vampires), and has loads of girls chasing after him, even though he never so much as smiles at them.
"He might be a bit on the shy, quiet side," Ashley June continues, "but even that's a plus: it's a quietness that's compelling and attractive. Girls love it."
Jeez, Gene. You sure you didn't cross genes with Bella Swan on the way to the post-apocalyptic vampire future?
The plot is incredibly convenient. Buttons, safety procedures, and verbal blueprints are conveniently provided for the love interest, Ashley June and she, of course, conveniently shares her secrets with Mr. Gary Stu.
There's a map inside the library where Gene is conveniently moved to because the sleeping quarters for the Herper Hunt contestants are full. A sunbeam conveniently falls on a book containing said map that directs Gene to a place I like to call Herper Wonderland, where you can drink spring water and eat well-done steaks for the rest of your human lives.
It's Frozen all over again. How could the Scientist, previous owner of the library, be sure no one would move his notes? How could he be sure that a herper would somehow stumble into this room and find said map? Why does Herper Wonderland exist anyway? Use some blood and a big rock and squish those nest-stealing vampires into oblivion! What are you waiting for? The author get-go?
The lovely romantic interest, Ashley June, is Teresa from The Maze Runner through and through. Gorgeous and without an ounce of personality.
The book seems to fear that we'll forget how beautiful Ashley June is, so every ten pages or so, we get this:
"Her slender arms flow gracefully out if her gown, the gleam of silvery light along her arm like the reflection of moonlight along a river. She gathers her hair from the back and with expert sweep of one hand brushes it over her shoulder, exposing the sinuous nape of her neck."
The only thing missing from this scene is the pungent smell of blue cheese.
To top it off, there's a Mysterious Person who warns Gene that Ashley June is Not All She Appears To Be. Oh, the intrigue! Oh, the subtlety! You might as well stab a red bedsheet on that page to remind readers that this is a Very Important Clue.
Sadly, this Very Important Clue does not come to fruition in this installment and will possibly function as a tension point for Gene and Ashley June's relationship in the sequel. This will provide Gene an opportunity to bond with Sissy, the other corner of the predictable love triangle.
Fortunately, I will not be sticking around to witness their inevitable relationship drama. Ciao, Gene.
March 6, 2012
I'm struggling as to whether I should give this a 2.5 or a 3.
I know. What a horrible rating for a book I'm sure you expected a lot more from.
It started off decent enough. The middle was quite shaky. But the last 50 pages or so just went more and more downhill.
When you get down to it (to be blunt). It's a case of one dimensional characters and not that much of a well-written book. It was entertaining at points. But something would always pop up that would let me down. World building wasn't on point and nor did I feel that it was nearly explained as it should have been. We know the basics. But that's it. I didn't find it believable and I also did not feel like I was being attempted at being convinced. When the characters aren't doing it for you, you at least need to believe in the premise (especially in this genre). I found neither with this book.
Our protagonist is a boy who tends to act modest, but behind that little facade of his, he truly thinks he is the shit. When it's not the most popular girl in school: Ashley June fawning over him, every other girl is. Of course it's hardly his fault that he's so good looking, charming, intelligent and brilliant. I mean, he tries so very hard to hide his brilliance, so very hard in fact that everyone sees him as the loner, good looking guy who holds back when it comes to work.
I mean he tries to hide it so much that it shocks him when he realises that people have somehow noticed his amazing intelligence! *gasps* However could such a thing have happened. *cricket*
You have this Heper (human) who is surrounded by these Vampire peepz. Humans are apparently now extinct. Or close to extinct anyway. When it is announced that there will be one last Hunt where the winner Hunters will be set loose to capture, kill and eat the Hepers. Everyone in the whole Institute can't wait. No seriously, they really can't. As soon as they hear the name Hepers, and god forbid, see the FACES ON SCREEN, they start to shake their heads, drool splashing everywhere, mesmerised and very, very hungry.
It's not an easy life living among the predators. Every day he shoves in those fake fangs, applies ointment and hand-sanitisers all over his body( to take away all body odour so that they don't smell him), eat raw meat and follow all their rituals to basically blend in. It's very, very tough when he can't smile, laugh, run or eat the food that he enjoys. He doesn't even remember his own name, bless him. It's pretty much hell to keep up this facade every day for the rest of your life. In fact, I don't know how he manages to for as long as he does, and truthfully, I think it's pulling itself a bit of a stretch there. No way would any human be able to pull off and blend in as long as he does, no way.
Oh, these are no hot vamps, guys. First off all, just ew. They sleep hanging upside-down on ceilings (like freaking bats), drool all the facking time. And I'm serious. In every page, someone is drooling(and let me tell you, it is bloody annoying). When they're not drooling you have out protagonist doing this weird mating ritual shit where he's knocking elbows with a certain someone (I mean come on, elbows, is this supposed to be sexy) when it's not the elbows, it's freaking armpits. Oh please, I thought I would die from all the cringing and elbow/armpit mating.
But get this. He thinks that the Heper are savages. Pathetic, uneducated etc, etc. But somehow, he is superior. Even though you are also a Heper you facking idiot! I get that he's been brought up to blend in, to follow their rules. But his father never barred him from the truth. He was always very clear about who they were. So I don't care what his excuse is. His tendency to be utterly arrogant in comments like these pissed me off. Not to mention, when it comes down to it, he is a bit of a coward, not very interesting, oh, and a douche. I also didn't find him very interesting. Booooooooo.
Also, I think Gene has a thing with arms. Maybe he finds them kinky or something.
And then at one point there was this song. I read the lyrics and I think they were supposed to be pretty and beautiful, but they were kind of lame. Of course then I felt guilty for thinking they were lame. But, you know, they just really were. Lame that is.
I did have higher hopes for it. I thought it would be a lot better. Instead I got a very Hunger Games -esque novel, without the awesomeness :( If I try to look at this book character wise, it still fails quite bad. I did not connect with even one, simply because there was not enough depth to them. The only character that intrigued me a bit was Ashley. And we all know what happened with that one. Eh.
Did I mention the cheesy bits. Oh boy does it get cheesy. So the 'hot chick' who is in love with our protag, is in a group called 'The Desirables'. Yes guys, I kid you not. *blinks* Towards the end this cheesiness goes on to this whole other level. So much so that I had a huge urge to look away because I was so embarrassed for this poor book. It was all quite traumatising.
When it wasn't the un-sexy times, it was the knocking of not very sexy elbows and armpits *winces*. Then there was hissing, scratching their elbows when they found something funny (I know, WTF'?) or the drooling that had the tendency to slobber all over our protags head, OR it was the cheesy dialogue. *flails*
Too much freaking weirdness in one book. Fair enough, it's refreshing to see these different habits of these vamps, I just wish they were habits that weren't so silly. Oh,oh! I remember something! The author had a habit of repeating dialogue- which really did not make me love it more.
It's all so negative. *sighs* I know. It was OK the the beginning, though. Just went downhill I'm afraid :/
I know. What a horrible rating for a book I'm sure you expected a lot more from.
It started off decent enough. The middle was quite shaky. But the last 50 pages or so just went more and more downhill.
When you get down to it (to be blunt). It's a case of one dimensional characters and not that much of a well-written book. It was entertaining at points. But something would always pop up that would let me down. World building wasn't on point and nor did I feel that it was nearly explained as it should have been. We know the basics. But that's it. I didn't find it believable and I also did not feel like I was being attempted at being convinced. When the characters aren't doing it for you, you at least need to believe in the premise (especially in this genre). I found neither with this book.
Our protagonist is a boy who tends to act modest, but behind that little facade of his, he truly thinks he is the shit. When it's not the most popular girl in school: Ashley June fawning over him, every other girl is. Of course it's hardly his fault that he's so good looking, charming, intelligent and brilliant. I mean, he tries so very hard to hide his brilliance, so very hard in fact that everyone sees him as the loner, good looking guy who holds back when it comes to work.
I mean he tries to hide it so much that it shocks him when he realises that people have somehow noticed his amazing intelligence! *gasps* However could such a thing have happened. *cricket*
You have this Heper (human) who is surrounded by these Vampire peepz. Humans are apparently now extinct. Or close to extinct anyway. When it is announced that there will be one last Hunt where the winner Hunters will be set loose to capture, kill and eat the Hepers. Everyone in the whole Institute can't wait. No seriously, they really can't. As soon as they hear the name Hepers, and god forbid, see the FACES ON SCREEN, they start to shake their heads, drool splashing everywhere, mesmerised and very, very hungry.
It's not an easy life living among the predators. Every day he shoves in those fake fangs, applies ointment and hand-sanitisers all over his body( to take away all body odour so that they don't smell him), eat raw meat and follow all their rituals to basically blend in. It's very, very tough when he can't smile, laugh, run or eat the food that he enjoys. He doesn't even remember his own name, bless him. It's pretty much hell to keep up this facade every day for the rest of your life. In fact, I don't know how he manages to for as long as he does, and truthfully, I think it's pulling itself a bit of a stretch there. No way would any human be able to pull off and blend in as long as he does, no way.
Oh, these are no hot vamps, guys. First off all, just ew. They sleep hanging upside-down on ceilings (like freaking bats), drool all the facking time. And I'm serious. In every page, someone is drooling(and let me tell you, it is bloody annoying). When they're not drooling you have out protagonist doing this weird mating ritual shit where he's knocking elbows with a certain someone (I mean come on, elbows, is this supposed to be sexy) when it's not the elbows, it's freaking armpits. Oh please, I thought I would die from all the cringing and elbow/armpit mating.
But get this. He thinks that the Heper are savages. Pathetic, uneducated etc, etc. But somehow, he is superior. Even though you are also a Heper you facking idiot! I get that he's been brought up to blend in, to follow their rules. But his father never barred him from the truth. He was always very clear about who they were. So I don't care what his excuse is. His tendency to be utterly arrogant in comments like these pissed me off. Not to mention, when it comes down to it, he is a bit of a coward, not very interesting, oh, and a douche. I also didn't find him very interesting. Booooooooo.
Also, I think Gene has a thing with arms. Maybe he finds them kinky or something.
And then at one point there was this song. I read the lyrics and I think they were supposed to be pretty and beautiful, but they were kind of lame. Of course then I felt guilty for thinking they were lame. But, you know, they just really were. Lame that is.
I did have higher hopes for it. I thought it would be a lot better. Instead I got a very Hunger Games -esque novel, without the awesomeness :( If I try to look at this book character wise, it still fails quite bad. I did not connect with even one, simply because there was not enough depth to them. The only character that intrigued me a bit was Ashley. And we all know what happened with that one. Eh.
Did I mention the cheesy bits. Oh boy does it get cheesy. So the 'hot chick' who is in love with our protag, is in a group called 'The Desirables'. Yes guys, I kid you not. *blinks* Towards the end this cheesiness goes on to this whole other level. So much so that I had a huge urge to look away because I was so embarrassed for this poor book. It was all quite traumatising.
When it wasn't the un-sexy times, it was the knocking of not very sexy elbows and armpits *winces*. Then there was hissing, scratching their elbows when they found something funny (I know, WTF'?) or the drooling that had the tendency to slobber all over our protags head, OR it was the cheesy dialogue. *flails*
Too much freaking weirdness in one book. Fair enough, it's refreshing to see these different habits of these vamps, I just wish they were habits that weren't so silly. Oh,oh! I remember something! The author had a habit of repeating dialogue- which really did not make me love it more.
It's all so negative. *sighs* I know. It was OK the the beginning, though. Just went downhill I'm afraid :/
October 12, 2013
More questions than answers.
So the concept is that Gene is a human living in a world taken over by these creatures...I'm not sure if they're vampires or some other monsters, but they act somewhat like vampires. They sleep hanging upside down (how the hell do the hidden humans fake that? That's never entirely explained), they eat flesh, not just drink blood, they don't have body hair, they don't show emotions except to scratch the inside of their wrist when they find something amusing, they don't sweat...etc.
Poor Gene is trying to survive as a lone human in a world filled with monsters. In order to do this, he has to shave daily, use deodorant religiously in order NOT to stink (not an easy task, being a teenage boy and not stinking to high heavens) or sweat (again, teenage boy), try not to blink with so much emotion (an exaggeration, but not so much).
Really, it's easier to just go on the freaking run. It's like the equivalent of being a black police officer going undercover in a KKK commune. IT'S A BAD IDEA.
The monsters in this world are caricatures. I get the image of Count Dracula in a kitschy black & white film going "I VAAAAAAAAANT TO SUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUR BLOOOOOOOD." They start slavering and drooling at any hint of an impending meal of delicious humans (known as hepers)...they literally start drooling. Not very scary.
Then there's the background. What background? How did the world come to be as it was? How did the vampire/monster hierarchy with the head master come about? How did Gene and his family manage to survive or even get to the vampire city...what about his grandparents? And the heper dome/farm? Give the surviving humans more credit than that.
This book feels like a poorly written farce of the dystopian genre.
So the concept is that Gene is a human living in a world taken over by these creatures...I'm not sure if they're vampires or some other monsters, but they act somewhat like vampires. They sleep hanging upside down (how the hell do the hidden humans fake that? That's never entirely explained), they eat flesh, not just drink blood, they don't have body hair, they don't show emotions except to scratch the inside of their wrist when they find something amusing, they don't sweat...etc.
Poor Gene is trying to survive as a lone human in a world filled with monsters. In order to do this, he has to shave daily, use deodorant religiously in order NOT to stink (not an easy task, being a teenage boy and not stinking to high heavens) or sweat (again, teenage boy), try not to blink with so much emotion (an exaggeration, but not so much).
Really, it's easier to just go on the freaking run. It's like the equivalent of being a black police officer going undercover in a KKK commune. IT'S A BAD IDEA.
The monsters in this world are caricatures. I get the image of Count Dracula in a kitschy black & white film going "I VAAAAAAAAANT TO SUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOUR BLOOOOOOOD." They start slavering and drooling at any hint of an impending meal of delicious humans (known as hepers)...they literally start drooling. Not very scary.
Then there's the background. What background? How did the world come to be as it was? How did the vampire/monster hierarchy with the head master come about? How did Gene and his family manage to survive or even get to the vampire city...what about his grandparents? And the heper dome/farm? Give the surviving humans more credit than that.
This book feels like a poorly written farce of the dystopian genre.
April 4, 2016
When I started this book, I knew its theme was vampire-creatures. What I liked the most of it was that the main character was not among them;he was a human being disguised as one of them. I wasn't expecting the plot to be anything like it. I enjoyed it and going for the second one right away.
May 17, 2012
The Hunt's one of those books with a rather straightforward plot on the surface but a massive conspiracy underneath, tossing out hints as easily as setting up the action, all leading up to a cliffhanger ending that just teases at the bottom of the mystery. I really wanted to rate it higher too but I'm annoyed because I got the contours of the conspiracy down, but I just can't seem to see the full picture, figure it out before the sequel gives it all away (or at least more pieces of the puzzle). I'll try to keep the two parts separate, a review based just on the plot (which I liked) and then some discussion of the underlying conspiracy with spoiler tags.
Plotwise, this is one of the better dystopians I've read. I say that generously because I'm not a big fan of them, ever since the one, authors have been trying to outdo each other coming up with the most contrived worlds to 'challenge' their characters, social science and common sense be damned. But this one I liked, Gene having to survive in a society where he'd be instantly devoured if he's ever found out to be a human, because Fukuda's writing makes Gene very easy to relate to. The urgency of Gene's situation's done extremely well, there's nervousness, paranoia, fear, anticipation of being discovered, but not too much that it becomes overwhelming or repetitive. And the best part? Gene's father, reminding him what it means to be human, what it means to be one of the vampires, because even though there are so many outs, stabbing himself in full view of everyone for example, Gene's survival instincts are stronger, enough that he never more than briefly considers going through with it.
The world building is excellent too. Another one of my typical complaints with dystopians is that they can easily get away if authors aren't careful, become too bogged down in technobabble or futuristic speech, but this was extremely easy to follow. All the stuff Gene does to stay hidden? I can easily imagine doing myself. Are some of the details a little strange? Sure, but they're memorable and help distinguish this book over the pack *scratches wrist*. Finally a book where the vampires drool over red meat like they're supposed to instead of sparkle in the sun! And the chapters of setup building up to the Hunt really add to the pressing mood. The actual event doesn't start until well near the end of the book, but the setup's never dull, like unraveling a mystery, and just like Gene tells the Director it really does build up the tension, raise the stakes, make the ending all that more engaging. And the last few chapters, wow is it action packed. I kept thinking Gene would get eaten - right up to the cliffhanger.
Now for the stuff I didn't like, more like couldn't really figure out. If you haven't finished the book and don't want to be spoiled, look away now. In addition to the basic plot of survival, there's also a deeper conspiracy in this book. A major character is not who you think he or she is. Thinking about it, I didn't like this reveal at first, felt kind of contrived, but depending on the way it works into the bigger mystery, I might be ok with it. Reading the sequel will tell.
Then, the cliffhanger ending. But beyond what's in the spoiler, I'm sure there's an even bigger picture, some big secret dealing with vampire and/or human history, but I'm just not seeing it. Or maybe it's just that simple.
Anyway, I liked this book alot, there's a simple plot that's quite enjoyable, but the deeper mystery is just driving me nuts. I've reread The Hunt twice now looking for more clues, but until I figure out the big picture, I'm not quite sure what to make of this book.
Plotwise, this is one of the better dystopians I've read. I say that generously because I'm not a big fan of them, ever since the one, authors have been trying to outdo each other coming up with the most contrived worlds to 'challenge' their characters, social science and common sense be damned. But this one I liked, Gene having to survive in a society where he'd be instantly devoured if he's ever found out to be a human, because Fukuda's writing makes Gene very easy to relate to. The urgency of Gene's situation's done extremely well, there's nervousness, paranoia, fear, anticipation of being discovered, but not too much that it becomes overwhelming or repetitive. And the best part? Gene's father, reminding him what it means to be human, what it means to be one of the vampires, because even though there are so many outs, stabbing himself in full view of everyone for example, Gene's survival instincts are stronger, enough that he never more than briefly considers going through with it.
The world building is excellent too. Another one of my typical complaints with dystopians is that they can easily get away if authors aren't careful, become too bogged down in technobabble or futuristic speech, but this was extremely easy to follow. All the stuff Gene does to stay hidden? I can easily imagine doing myself. Are some of the details a little strange? Sure, but they're memorable and help distinguish this book over the pack *scratches wrist*. Finally a book where the vampires drool over red meat like they're supposed to instead of sparkle in the sun! And the chapters of setup building up to the Hunt really add to the pressing mood. The actual event doesn't start until well near the end of the book, but the setup's never dull, like unraveling a mystery, and just like Gene tells the Director it really does build up the tension, raise the stakes, make the ending all that more engaging. And the last few chapters, wow is it action packed. I kept thinking Gene would get eaten - right up to the cliffhanger.
Now for the stuff I didn't like, more like couldn't really figure out. If you haven't finished the book and don't want to be spoiled, look away now. In addition to the basic plot of survival, there's also a deeper conspiracy in this book. A major character is not who you think he or she is. Thinking about it, I didn't like this reveal at first, felt kind of contrived, but depending on the way it works into the bigger mystery, I might be ok with it. Reading the sequel will tell.
Then, the cliffhanger ending. But beyond what's in the spoiler, I'm sure there's an even bigger picture, some big secret dealing with vampire and/or human history, but I'm just not seeing it. Or maybe it's just that simple.
Anyway, I liked this book alot, there's a simple plot that's quite enjoyable, but the deeper mystery is just driving me nuts. I've reread The Hunt twice now looking for more clues, but until I figure out the big picture, I'm not quite sure what to make of this book.
January 17, 2017
Imagine living in a world where everyone is vampiric. And you are not. Where everyone except the lucky you is horribly different.
Where you survive by mimicry and luck and skill to pretent to be something you are not and hope never to be.
Where you are alone. And getting close with anyone would be suicidal.
Where you are considered a craved delicacy.
Where children in kindergarten routinely take naps. Think it easy-peasy? Try doing that on a ceiling. Still easy?
Where you can't squint, laugh (remember scratching your hands instead), you can' be perceived smart (obviously vampire diets don't do miracles for braincells), sweat (only swimming for you, nonervous sweating either).
And that's just a beginning.
Where you survive by mimicry and luck and skill to pretent to be something you are not and hope never to be.
Where you are alone. And getting close with anyone would be suicidal.
Where you are considered a craved delicacy.
Where children in kindergarten routinely take naps. Think it easy-peasy? Try doing that on a ceiling. Still easy?
Where you can't squint, laugh (remember scratching your hands instead), you can' be perceived smart (obviously vampire diets don't do miracles for braincells), sweat (only swimming for you, nonervous sweating either).
And that's just a beginning.
June 20, 2017
Διαβάζω τις τελευταίες λέξεις και αναρωτιέμαι τι έγραψε ο άνθρωπος...!!! Μου πήρε κάποιες στιγμές να επανέλθω πλήρως στην πραγματικότητα...
May 8, 2012
4.5 stars.
If you’re not scratching your wrists or frothing from the mouth when you finish the book, if not halfway through, then there’s something wrong with you. Period. There’s no zombies. There’s no vampires. Just humans – hepers: vulnerable, near extinct, scared… civil. And the infested population that hunts them, kills them, feeds on them/cannibalises… and studies them. They’re strange and unhuman, like nothing you have ever seen or read. They perish in sunlight – who cares? At least there’s something natural to kill them with. Get ready for your mind to be slaughtered. You’re in for a thrilling ride along with Gene (a heper living among the infested and pretending to be one of them – I wouldn’t survive like he has with half my heritage being Mediterranean and of hairiness.
With his writing, Andrew Fukuda will seem like a veteran. The correct words are used at the most appropriate times and you’ll be enthralled with his imagination, both in words and vision. What I loved the most was the descriptions used: for the horror/gorey parts (e.g., decapitation, cannibalism) and those to describe the behaviours of the infested (wrist scratching, mouth frothing, drooling etc). Also all the fighting and actions scenes was great to be immersed in. I loved everything about it. It was different, unusual… and fun to picture. But I did notice A LOT of ‘;’ and ‘:’ which was fine by me.
If anything, The Hunt is The Hunger Games for boys: a male protagonist, more gore, more excitement for them. I dislike comparing anything to The Hunger Games but I’m really not comparing – I’m just saying what it is. However, I was anticipating the actual ‘Hunt’ to come earlier but it didn’t begin until the last 40 or so pages. Despite that, the anticipated was built and you’re left hanging to discover what would happen next and how Gene would get out of the predicament he is in. Yes, so you can say there is a The Hunger Games feel to it, but it’s different. Familiar yet distinctly different.
So pick up The Hunt and be immersed in Gene’s world, but just take precautions to not become an infested as occurred to me – my wrist is raw; I see bone. I should’ve written this review over two weeks ago but what can you do? Like it matter anyway – The Hunt is released today!
If you’re not scratching your wrists or frothing from the mouth when you finish the book, if not halfway through, then there’s something wrong with you. Period. There’s no zombies. There’s no vampires. Just humans – hepers: vulnerable, near extinct, scared… civil. And the infested population that hunts them, kills them, feeds on them/cannibalises… and studies them. They’re strange and unhuman, like nothing you have ever seen or read. They perish in sunlight – who cares? At least there’s something natural to kill them with. Get ready for your mind to be slaughtered. You’re in for a thrilling ride along with Gene (a heper living among the infested and pretending to be one of them – I wouldn’t survive like he has with half my heritage being Mediterranean and of hairiness.
With his writing, Andrew Fukuda will seem like a veteran. The correct words are used at the most appropriate times and you’ll be enthralled with his imagination, both in words and vision. What I loved the most was the descriptions used: for the horror/gorey parts (e.g., decapitation, cannibalism) and those to describe the behaviours of the infested (wrist scratching, mouth frothing, drooling etc). Also all the fighting and actions scenes was great to be immersed in. I loved everything about it. It was different, unusual… and fun to picture. But I did notice A LOT of ‘;’ and ‘:’ which was fine by me.
If anything, The Hunt is The Hunger Games for boys: a male protagonist, more gore, more excitement for them. I dislike comparing anything to The Hunger Games but I’m really not comparing – I’m just saying what it is. However, I was anticipating the actual ‘Hunt’ to come earlier but it didn’t begin until the last 40 or so pages. Despite that, the anticipated was built and you’re left hanging to discover what would happen next and how Gene would get out of the predicament he is in. Yes, so you can say there is a The Hunger Games feel to it, but it’s different. Familiar yet distinctly different.
So pick up The Hunt and be immersed in Gene’s world, but just take precautions to not become an infested as occurred to me – my wrist is raw; I see bone. I should’ve written this review over two weeks ago but what can you do? Like it matter anyway – The Hunt is released today!
April 18, 2012
There was only one word on my mind when I closed the back cover of The Hunt: wow!
The gobsmacking cover drew me in, and Fukuda's carefully chosen words kept me held close. Fukuda really knows how to make a book page-turning. Every word Fukuda writes is important and engrossing; not once is there an infodump, which makes for an action-packed and gripping read. I read this book in three hours bcause it was just so tense and wonderful.
The concept of The Hunt is intriguing: humans have been replaced by a new generation of creatures that crave human blood, yet are surprisingly not vampire-like, and our protagonist is a regular human. Said regular humans are called hepers. Our main character, Gene, has to monitor his every move so he doesn't end up being eaten by the Human 2.0's.
The novel also presents many themes, which include family, friendship, and staying true to yourself. Fukuda manages to include these themes without sounding preachy, and he does it well. Including these things in a novel makes it feel more realistic, and I felt like I was right there next to Gene as he was experiencing everything.
I will admit that I thought The Hunt was a Hunger Games knockoff at first. And for a few pages, it seemed like it. The concept: going into a big arena to fight off as many as you can and be the winner? Dystopian society? As soon as I made the comparison, I lost all hope for the book. Just another author capitalizing off the success of the dystopian genre. As I began the novel, though, I was captivated, and I lost all suspicions I had once had. I realized soon enough that there was one key difference from The Hunger Games: the initiation. In Hunger Games, it lasted a very meager number of pages. In The Hunt, there is a much longer period of time where the Hunters are initiated. At this point, I was able to stop worrying about its copycat nature and just enjoy it.
The Hunt also features a little bit of romance -- between Gene and a certain unnamed non-Heper girl. I won't give anything away, but one of the things Gene's dad told him before he disappeared was to never fall in love with one of the non-Hepers. Let's just kick back and wait to see how deep Gene falls into trouble...
Speaking of Gene, Fukuda characterizes very well. The backstory he provides for each of the characters makes them feel like family to the reader. It is very special. You don't see that a lot in YA; most characters are just there to follow the plot and provide entertainment in other YA. I can almost hear the conversation:
This is not the case in The Hunt. Each character is fleshed out thoroughly, emotional, non-cardboard-like in nature. I appreciate that.
If you're looking for a kick-arse, addictive and genuinely real novel, try The Hunt. Andrew Fukuda is a debut author not to be missed.
The gobsmacking cover drew me in, and Fukuda's carefully chosen words kept me held close. Fukuda really knows how to make a book page-turning. Every word Fukuda writes is important and engrossing; not once is there an infodump, which makes for an action-packed and gripping read. I read this book in three hours bcause it was just so tense and wonderful.
The concept of The Hunt is intriguing: humans have been replaced by a new generation of creatures that crave human blood, yet are surprisingly not vampire-like, and our protagonist is a regular human. Said regular humans are called hepers. Our main character, Gene, has to monitor his every move so he doesn't end up being eaten by the Human 2.0's.
The novel also presents many themes, which include family, friendship, and staying true to yourself. Fukuda manages to include these themes without sounding preachy, and he does it well. Including these things in a novel makes it feel more realistic, and I felt like I was right there next to Gene as he was experiencing everything.
I will admit that I thought The Hunt was a Hunger Games knockoff at first. And for a few pages, it seemed like it. The concept: going into a big arena to fight off as many as you can and be the winner? Dystopian society? As soon as I made the comparison, I lost all hope for the book. Just another author capitalizing off the success of the dystopian genre. As I began the novel, though, I was captivated, and I lost all suspicions I had once had. I realized soon enough that there was one key difference from The Hunger Games: the initiation. In Hunger Games, it lasted a very meager number of pages. In The Hunt, there is a much longer period of time where the Hunters are initiated. At this point, I was able to stop worrying about its copycat nature and just enjoy it.
The Hunt also features a little bit of romance -- between Gene and a certain unnamed non-Heper girl. I won't give anything away, but one of the things Gene's dad told him before he disappeared was to never fall in love with one of the non-Hepers. Let's just kick back and wait to see how deep Gene falls into trouble...
Speaking of Gene, Fukuda characterizes very well. The backstory he provides for each of the characters makes them feel like family to the reader. It is very special. You don't see that a lot in YA; most characters are just there to follow the plot and provide entertainment in other YA. I can almost hear the conversation:
"Why do you love me, Edward?"
"Because Stephenie Meyer told me to. Oh, and also, spoiler alert: you'll eventually become a vampire."
"Oh YAY! I love you, too!"
This is not the case in The Hunt. Each character is fleshed out thoroughly, emotional, non-cardboard-like in nature. I appreciate that.
If you're looking for a kick-arse, addictive and genuinely real novel, try The Hunt. Andrew Fukuda is a debut author not to be missed.
July 15, 2020
dear book: you suck
October 19, 2012
I am a big fan of all things strange and creepy. After reading some initial reviews about Andrew Fukuda’s sophomore offering, I knew I had to get my hands on it. And let’s just say that this book really did not disappoint on the strange.
THE HUNT follows Gene, a human boy masquerading as a…vampire-like creature I guess you could say in the future. He is meticulous about keeping up appearances, until one day he is selected to participate in a “Heper Hunt” – a government-organized hunt for humans for specially selected participants at an Institute dedicated to studying hepers. Along with his slightly creepy classmate (I will explain this) Ashley June, he is taken to train and prepare to hunt the last remaining humans for their delicious succulent blood that makes these critters go gaga.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for the awesomeness of the concept, I give it an 8. I take off two points solely for the fact that vampire dystopia seems to be the new en vogue thing for the year – three books within two months with similar plots. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons with THE IMMORTAL RULES and this month’s DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN. I haven’t read DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN yet, but this book’s quality of writing was leaps and bounds better than THE IMMORTAL RULES. It’s literary without being over the top, as can be an issue sometimes, especially in young adult fiction.
This book is really bizarre. If you’re not a bizarre, hang up the phone right now because this book will not be for you. Check out Giselle from Xpresso Reads’ review for her take from the viewpoint of the “this book was too bizarre” person. But if you like bizarre, hang with me. Gene is a very interesting narrator. This guy lost his family at a young age and was forced to adapt to survive – no sweating, no laughing, no squinting, etc. The story is told in first person present tense from his point of view, and although he’s not the easiest character to connect with, his narration whips the story forward at a very nice pace.
The cast of side characters that are fleshed out and named are very small. In fact, it’s pretty much limited to the love interest Ashley June and the young Hepers they’re chosen to hunt. Names are apparently not big in Weird Vampire Critter lore, as is mentioned by Gene at one point in the story. Even the kids are not fully explored, besides leader Sissy and requisite skeptic Epap. The other hunters and denizens of the Institute aren’t named or analyzed other than appearances and skills. I wish we had known more, especially once twist one becomes apparent.
But I should probably skip to the chase. There was one big problem I had with this story that automatically took off a point from my final rating. The world building, or as I would like to call it, “What the frell?”, was pretty much non-existent when it came to matters of explanations and world set up. Yes, we know what the world is in their present, but how did it come to be? Horse-drawn carriages, vampires, cheetahs… If Fukuda had taken the time to explain the world, how it came to be, how all the humans died and vampires evolved over several thousand years to become the dominant species, it would have worked better. And the explanations about humans being more closely related to fish was strange.
But apparently you can be turned into a vampire? I think I might have misread that part.
Oh, and my other problem? Ashley June. Her obsession with Gene was really, really creepy at times. I mean, at one point we learn that she stood outside his house and stared at the door waiting for him. Um… No, thank you.
I forgot about the elbow sex. ELBOW SEX. You shove your elbow into an armpit and it’s the ultimate orgasm. That was just really, really creepy. Juxtaposed with extremely graphic scenes about gooey flesh, sunburns, hepers being hunted and killed… I did mention this book will not be for everyone, right?
Ultimately, this book has one major flaw that spoiled my massive enjoyment. Another twenty pages to actually explain what the hell this world was about would have done this book WONDERS and it would have been five glowing stars dancing the salsa with Karl Urban in space. But instead, it fell a little short of that – more like a Channing Tatum in a seedy male strip club.
VERDICT: Belayed by its rather nonsensical and lacking world building, THE HUNT was well written, unique, and action-packed. But that world building… Eeeeeep.
THE HUNT follows Gene, a human boy masquerading as a…vampire-like creature I guess you could say in the future. He is meticulous about keeping up appearances, until one day he is selected to participate in a “Heper Hunt” – a government-organized hunt for humans for specially selected participants at an Institute dedicated to studying hepers. Along with his slightly creepy classmate (I will explain this) Ashley June, he is taken to train and prepare to hunt the last remaining humans for their delicious succulent blood that makes these critters go gaga.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for the awesomeness of the concept, I give it an 8. I take off two points solely for the fact that vampire dystopia seems to be the new en vogue thing for the year – three books within two months with similar plots. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons with THE IMMORTAL RULES and this month’s DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN. I haven’t read DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN yet, but this book’s quality of writing was leaps and bounds better than THE IMMORTAL RULES. It’s literary without being over the top, as can be an issue sometimes, especially in young adult fiction.
This book is really bizarre. If you’re not a bizarre, hang up the phone right now because this book will not be for you. Check out Giselle from Xpresso Reads’ review for her take from the viewpoint of the “this book was too bizarre” person. But if you like bizarre, hang with me. Gene is a very interesting narrator. This guy lost his family at a young age and was forced to adapt to survive – no sweating, no laughing, no squinting, etc. The story is told in first person present tense from his point of view, and although he’s not the easiest character to connect with, his narration whips the story forward at a very nice pace.
The cast of side characters that are fleshed out and named are very small. In fact, it’s pretty much limited to the love interest Ashley June and the young Hepers they’re chosen to hunt. Names are apparently not big in Weird Vampire Critter lore, as is mentioned by Gene at one point in the story. Even the kids are not fully explored, besides leader Sissy and requisite skeptic Epap. The other hunters and denizens of the Institute aren’t named or analyzed other than appearances and skills. I wish we had known more, especially once twist one becomes apparent.
But I should probably skip to the chase. There was one big problem I had with this story that automatically took off a point from my final rating. The world building, or as I would like to call it, “What the frell?”, was pretty much non-existent when it came to matters of explanations and world set up. Yes, we know what the world is in their present, but how did it come to be? Horse-drawn carriages, vampires, cheetahs… If Fukuda had taken the time to explain the world, how it came to be, how all the humans died and vampires evolved over several thousand years to become the dominant species, it would have worked better. And the explanations about humans being more closely related to fish was strange.
But apparently you can be turned into a vampire? I think I might have misread that part.
Oh, and my other problem? Ashley June. Her obsession with Gene was really, really creepy at times. I mean, at one point we learn that she stood outside his house and stared at the door waiting for him. Um… No, thank you.
I forgot about the elbow sex. ELBOW SEX. You shove your elbow into an armpit and it’s the ultimate orgasm. That was just really, really creepy. Juxtaposed with extremely graphic scenes about gooey flesh, sunburns, hepers being hunted and killed… I did mention this book will not be for everyone, right?
Ultimately, this book has one major flaw that spoiled my massive enjoyment. Another twenty pages to actually explain what the hell this world was about would have done this book WONDERS and it would have been five glowing stars dancing the salsa with Karl Urban in space. But instead, it fell a little short of that – more like a Channing Tatum in a seedy male strip club.
VERDICT: Belayed by its rather nonsensical and lacking world building, THE HUNT was well written, unique, and action-packed. But that world building… Eeeeeep.
April 17, 2012
Review first posted at Bewitched Bookworms
Let me preface by telling you that I started this book with no real expectations. The synopsis sounded intriguing enough, the cover looks great and I thought I was up for a great read. I had no idea what I was getting into and I ended up having one of the most amazing and thrilling rides with this book… Be aware! It’s getting… Dark!
Hello Cruel and Horrible World (..of which I do not wish to be part of … )
*shivers* Humans are nearly extinct. Our world is ruled by some blood and flesh-eating monsters for which we are a delicacy. Ieek! They are a mix of Zombies and Vampires, which I found was a very unique mix! There isn’t much that is human about them anymore which makes it even harder for the reader to comprehend this new world. But at the same time, it was utterly darkly thrilling and fascinating… They have different gestures and habits, which seems extremely foreign and alien for us! Sometimes even to the point of disgusting. But, this you have to explore yourself while reading, just … be warned!
Although there are nearly no humans anymore, those that survived have to hide between those monsters. They have to make them all believe they are one of them and if you slip once… well, you are the next lunch!
Gene! Yes, we get a Boy’s POV and he’s awesome!
Gene is one of those humans that hide between these monsters and his father trained him well. He knows exactly how to survive and how to not attract attention! He’s smart, but he tries to hide his intellect at school. He’s a loner, but what other choice does he has among kids who would love nothing more than to eat him! Gene has a smart and great voice and I loved to listen and follow his journey of survival. His needs to be even smarter and sharper when he drew one of the lucky numbers that got him invited to join The Hunt – which is .. a hunt for humans! Suddenly everything is at stake!
Gene was in constant struggle to survive and to hide. At the same time, he had to be careful not to lose his humanity since he is utterly alone among those beings… After he lost his father he had no one to remind him what he truly is!
Twisted, Dark, Thrilling and Disturbingly Fascinating!
This story was a ride like nothing else I’ve read before. It was so dark and I was constantly on edge and afraid for Gene to be discovered. And although I was disgusted by these monsters, at the same time there was no way to put this book down, no way for me not to know how this story goes on. There wasn’t a dull moment in this book, there wasn’t a moment where you could let you guard down, the plot was constantly and mercilessly moving forward! There was one moment in the middle where I was ready for a break, where the plot slowed down a little, but the author was incredible smart and threw in a twist that made me gasp and forgotten was the pause I intended to have… Actually, there were a lot of surprises I didn’t see coming which made the story just more gripping for me! I love to be surprised in a good, but also in a bad way!
The was a little romance in the book, but it didn’t dominate the story and it didn’t dictate Gene’s actions completely. He stayed true to himself and his survival instinct always won the battle! It felt real and honest!
Bottom Line
The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda is utterly disturbing, dark, twisted and gross, but incredibly fascinating at the same time. Gene was a smart and sharp hero I loved to follow, he’s one of those perfect examples why Boy POV’s rock! The ending was incredible with a cliffhanger that will leave you hanging and wanting more - right now! If you are up for a thrilling ride then go and get The Hunt!
Let me preface by telling you that I started this book with no real expectations. The synopsis sounded intriguing enough, the cover looks great and I thought I was up for a great read. I had no idea what I was getting into and I ended up having one of the most amazing and thrilling rides with this book… Be aware! It’s getting… Dark!
Hello Cruel and Horrible World (..of which I do not wish to be part of … )
*shivers* Humans are nearly extinct. Our world is ruled by some blood and flesh-eating monsters for which we are a delicacy. Ieek! They are a mix of Zombies and Vampires, which I found was a very unique mix! There isn’t much that is human about them anymore which makes it even harder for the reader to comprehend this new world. But at the same time, it was utterly darkly thrilling and fascinating… They have different gestures and habits, which seems extremely foreign and alien for us! Sometimes even to the point of disgusting. But, this you have to explore yourself while reading, just … be warned!
Although there are nearly no humans anymore, those that survived have to hide between those monsters. They have to make them all believe they are one of them and if you slip once… well, you are the next lunch!
Gene! Yes, we get a Boy’s POV and he’s awesome!
Gene is one of those humans that hide between these monsters and his father trained him well. He knows exactly how to survive and how to not attract attention! He’s smart, but he tries to hide his intellect at school. He’s a loner, but what other choice does he has among kids who would love nothing more than to eat him! Gene has a smart and great voice and I loved to listen and follow his journey of survival. His needs to be even smarter and sharper when he drew one of the lucky numbers that got him invited to join The Hunt – which is .. a hunt for humans! Suddenly everything is at stake!
Gene was in constant struggle to survive and to hide. At the same time, he had to be careful not to lose his humanity since he is utterly alone among those beings… After he lost his father he had no one to remind him what he truly is!
Twisted, Dark, Thrilling and Disturbingly Fascinating!
This story was a ride like nothing else I’ve read before. It was so dark and I was constantly on edge and afraid for Gene to be discovered. And although I was disgusted by these monsters, at the same time there was no way to put this book down, no way for me not to know how this story goes on. There wasn’t a dull moment in this book, there wasn’t a moment where you could let you guard down, the plot was constantly and mercilessly moving forward! There was one moment in the middle where I was ready for a break, where the plot slowed down a little, but the author was incredible smart and threw in a twist that made me gasp and forgotten was the pause I intended to have… Actually, there were a lot of surprises I didn’t see coming which made the story just more gripping for me! I love to be surprised in a good, but also in a bad way!
The was a little romance in the book, but it didn’t dominate the story and it didn’t dictate Gene’s actions completely. He stayed true to himself and his survival instinct always won the battle! It felt real and honest!
Bottom Line
The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda is utterly disturbing, dark, twisted and gross, but incredibly fascinating at the same time. Gene was a smart and sharp hero I loved to follow, he’s one of those perfect examples why Boy POV’s rock! The ending was incredible with a cliffhanger that will leave you hanging and wanting more - right now! If you are up for a thrilling ride then go and get The Hunt!
May 10, 2012
I’m honestly not sure where to start with this review, because The Hunt was one of those books that once I started, I couldn't stop reading, but overall I really didn’t enjoy it. While the book is suppose to be on par with The Hunger Games, I would have to disagree. The storyline does have similar traits but the only thing I felt the author did the same, was create the same back story without that wow factor The Hunger Games leaves you with.
Fukuda has definitely created something very unique with the vampire’s, which is something fresh, new and well – very freaky. But for the most part I was really creeped out by them. They have unique and weird habits that really left me a bit disturbed. They scratch their wrists instead of laughing, have drool constantly dripping from their mouths, and have armpit/elbow sex (which I can’t even figure out how that works? LOL) and that’s only a few things that made me cringe. But while you’re probably thinking these things really aren’t that bad, for me they are because there the first of many other problems I have with this book.
The second thing is I felt the story wasn’t explained enough. You’re thrown into Gene’s life and watch how he has to struggle being apart of this world and pretending to be a vampire but there isn’t a why. Why would he want to pretend and constantly watch his back? Why would he want to become friends with them? And why would he have feelings for one of them that could, at anytime, rip his throat out? It didn’t make sense to me. I really didn’t connect with Gene. This is because the story is told from his point of view and I never really connect with male characters as much as females, and while I thought Gene is a good character to look up to, I just don’t understand his reasoning for the things he does. If that was me, I would have given up a long, long time ago, but that’s not it – there are other questions popping up from the story like, how do the vampires procreate? How do the vampires not notice that Gene is human, if they have intense supernatural senses? I could go on and on because I felt like there were too many flaws in the plot and I really couldn’t overlook them. Maybe I'm over thinking the story to much but there were just to many loose ends for me to enjoy this book.
Overall, The Hunt didn’t wow me, but I can see why so many people liked it so even though it’s not for me, give this book a try and see what you think for yourself.
Fukuda has definitely created something very unique with the vampire’s, which is something fresh, new and well – very freaky. But for the most part I was really creeped out by them. They have unique and weird habits that really left me a bit disturbed. They scratch their wrists instead of laughing, have drool constantly dripping from their mouths, and have armpit/elbow sex (which I can’t even figure out how that works? LOL) and that’s only a few things that made me cringe. But while you’re probably thinking these things really aren’t that bad, for me they are because there the first of many other problems I have with this book.
The second thing is I felt the story wasn’t explained enough. You’re thrown into Gene’s life and watch how he has to struggle being apart of this world and pretending to be a vampire but there isn’t a why. Why would he want to pretend and constantly watch his back? Why would he want to become friends with them? And why would he have feelings for one of them that could, at anytime, rip his throat out? It didn’t make sense to me. I really didn’t connect with Gene. This is because the story is told from his point of view and I never really connect with male characters as much as females, and while I thought Gene is a good character to look up to, I just don’t understand his reasoning for the things he does. If that was me, I would have given up a long, long time ago, but that’s not it – there are other questions popping up from the story like, how do the vampires procreate? How do the vampires not notice that Gene is human, if they have intense supernatural senses? I could go on and on because I felt like there were too many flaws in the plot and I really couldn’t overlook them. Maybe I'm over thinking the story to much but there were just to many loose ends for me to enjoy this book.
Overall, The Hunt didn’t wow me, but I can see why so many people liked it so even though it’s not for me, give this book a try and see what you think for yourself.
January 14, 2015
Wow, this was such an interesting idea. Such a cool concept. Let me give you an inside look:
So in this world, humans or hepers are the minority. They are basically extinct. The world consists of these vampire-ish creatures.They are not your typical Vampire diaries/Twilight vamps. They are not romantic. In order for you, as a human to survive as our main character Gene does, you must blend in. You must look and smell like a vampire. This means, shaving all your hair, never showing an emotion on your face, never getting goosebumps, wearing fake fangs, deodorizing yourself, etc. This is crucial to survival. Standing out in the wrong way is death.
In this sick world, the rulers have decided it's time for a hunt, they will choose at random (probably not) individuals to participate in this. These "lucky" ones will get to hunt down the last of the remaining Hepers. It's sort of a last man standing ordeal. It's everyone out for themselves, bloodlust at it's most intense and time to attack.
Gene is chosen and so is another girl from his school, Ashley. He drools over her, but knows he cannot have her. He wants things to be different. But, he is alone.
Will he survive? How can he hide his essence amoung all these vamps (or whatever they are)? Can he escape?
3 stars
Warning; this book is weird, just flat out weird. If you can tolerate the scratching elbows and hissing in the beginning I would say give it a good go. This one is not going to be for everyone, most definitely not for those not into dystopian and not for those who are going to nit-pick every detail. If you can let yourself escape into this world, it's actually quite good... but I can't guarantee that you will be able to...
(maybe that made sense)
Also, that ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I am hooked. Now, I really want to know what happens next, but I will say I could see myself getting bored with this cat and mouse game if something insane doesn't happen next!
Crystal, my BBP... so far our "bad books" haven't been to horrible. I'm glad I read this one. It's going to stay with me ;)
Edit: after completing this series, I would like to ward anyone off from getting any further into this hot mess! Geeze. The books just keep getting worse.....don't say I dint warn you. Read at your own peril. ;)
So in this world, humans or hepers are the minority. They are basically extinct. The world consists of these vampire-ish creatures.They are not your typical Vampire diaries/Twilight vamps. They are not romantic. In order for you, as a human to survive as our main character Gene does, you must blend in. You must look and smell like a vampire. This means, shaving all your hair, never showing an emotion on your face, never getting goosebumps, wearing fake fangs, deodorizing yourself, etc. This is crucial to survival. Standing out in the wrong way is death.
In this sick world, the rulers have decided it's time for a hunt, they will choose at random (probably not) individuals to participate in this. These "lucky" ones will get to hunt down the last of the remaining Hepers. It's sort of a last man standing ordeal. It's everyone out for themselves, bloodlust at it's most intense and time to attack.
Gene is chosen and so is another girl from his school, Ashley. He drools over her, but knows he cannot have her. He wants things to be different. But, he is alone.
Will he survive? How can he hide his essence amoung all these vamps (or whatever they are)? Can he escape?
3 stars
Warning; this book is weird, just flat out weird. If you can tolerate the scratching elbows and hissing in the beginning I would say give it a good go. This one is not going to be for everyone, most definitely not for those not into dystopian and not for those who are going to nit-pick every detail. If you can let yourself escape into this world, it's actually quite good... but I can't guarantee that you will be able to...
(maybe that made sense)
Also, that ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I am hooked. Now, I really want to know what happens next, but I will say I could see myself getting bored with this cat and mouse game if something insane doesn't happen next!
Crystal, my BBP... so far our "bad books" haven't been to horrible. I'm glad I read this one. It's going to stay with me ;)
Edit: after completing this series, I would like to ward anyone off from getting any further into this hot mess! Geeze. The books just keep getting worse.....don't say I dint warn you. Read at your own peril. ;)
May 29, 2012
While I have to admit, the whole wrist scratching, ear-hugging and elbow kissing was both humorous and straight strange, I have to say that I still ended up really enjoying The Hunt. It's a very different take on vampire lore and lets face it, that's really saying something when it comes to this genre. I liked it's originality, the eerie setting, graphic-paint-a-horrific-picture wring style and the humans that standout in a world I would not want to live in.
Fresh and Intriguing from start to finish, this is one book that really surprised me and I'm glad I took a chance on it.
Looking forward to the sequel; The Prey!
Fresh and Intriguing from start to finish, this is one book that really surprised me and I'm glad I took a chance on it.
Looking forward to the sequel; The Prey!
June 14, 2012
Chilling, creepy, visceral and exciting, Andrew Fukuda's The Hunt is many things: Dystopian, paranormal, survivalist fantasy—but mainly, it's good.
The Story:
In a world where 'people' are not at all like you and I lives a 17 year old boy named Gene. Gene is many things: A survivor, an expert at deception, but most of all a freak. Instead of fangs, he has unsharpened incisors. While the sun makes 'people' melt and disintegrate, Gene can withstand ceaseless daylight. Instead of a healthy diet of blood and raw meat, Gene needs water and fruit to survive. Gene is a freak. A heper. A human. And if people knew what he was, he would be something else entirely: dead in seconds.
For seventeen years Gene has evaded detection by following the rules: don’t blink, don't sneeze, don’t cough, laugh or smile, and he's done well. But then The Ruler announces something extraordinary: a Heper Hunt, the first in ten years. Chosen by lottery to be one of the 'lucky' hunters—one the last to ever taste extremely endangered heper flesh—Gene must use all his tricks to survive. Cut off from proper food, water and deodorant, the other hunters are beginning to smell something... Well, not fishy. Something far, far more delicious...
My Thoughts:
Fukuda’s ‘People’—for people is what they are in this world, and you will not see them referred to otherwise—are not quite vampires. More like the unholy love child of a vampire/zombie/human union: they think, they reason, they can, in fact, reproduce, and live normal, healthy lives. They are, in many ways, just like you and me, but they crave human flesh with unbridled hunger. They possess no control, and they have no internal struggle or moral quandaries to romanticise. These people would like nothing less than to tear your arms from your sockets and slurp your brain up like soup. Yet they are not so different. They have families, schools, parties and children. Teens have boyfriends and girlfriends. Friends share jokes. It’s amongst these ‘people’ that we find Gene, and start to question what, exactly, ‘human’ means.
Gene is a fascinating character study, a walking, talking, dichotomy—a lesson in Doublethink. He lives by careful rules: don't be caught out by the monsters, remember who you are—human—different from the monsters, better, all while, in some dark, secret place, longing to be a 'real' person, himself.
Gene’s humanity is an interesting thing. More than desire, longing, desperation, one thing has been deeply ingrained into the fibre of his very being: survive. At any cost—any length—survive. This need to survive can manifest itself in very ugly ways. If a human is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone for his own survival, what does that say about his humanity? Has he lost what it means to be human, or is it that need to survive, that tenacity and determination to cling to life despite the most desperate of circumstance, what makes him—and us—human, instead?
So The Hunt poses an interesting question: what is ‘human’? People mercilessly hunt hepers. They are cold, calculating, cruel; but is this any different from shark and seal, or lion and antelope? Is it different from humans and the billions of cattle, chickens, and sheep slaughtered each year to feed ‘humans’? So Fukuda asks us this: are People as bad as they sound, or just the top of the food chain? Is Gene himself any better? He leaves it to the reader to decide, and therein lies his brilliance. Fukuda's characters—even his heroes and heroines—are not always likeable, or easy to connect with, but it seems to be the point. They are flawed, at times ugly, but always interesting.
A steady, calculated creepiness and menace hang over The Hunt, and every page is coloured with a heavy sense of desperation. There are bigger games at play, and while the players have yet to reveal themselves, it becomes very clear Gene is a pawn. But this is where the comparisons to Chess or Checkers must stop. The Hunt is not a book of black and white, or perhaps even varying shades of grey. It’s a thick, muddy quagmire filled with hidden traps and dangers.
When Fukuda writes action, he holds nothing back. In contrast to Gene's carefully practiced facade, and the lingering sense of dread and foreboding that shrouds every word of The Hunt, every moment of flight, every fight, every suspicious glance ratchets up the tension and flies along at breakneck pace. Sharp and vivid, Fukuda writes with an emotive brilliance. The kind that will leave your throat parched and aching with Gene’s thirst, longing for rest, and scratching your wrist in laughter—oh, wait... you don’t have a funny bone there, either?
The Verdict:
Dark, tense and brilliant, Fukuda’s debut is not to be missed. Flawlessly combining chilling creepiness with nail biting tension and action, The Hunt is The Hunger Games, with the focus on the game—the mind game that is: The manoeuvering, the politics, the conspiracy, unravelling alliances and secrets. While not quite as action-packed as the name might suggest, The Hunt moves at electrifying pace, and will deliver thrills and chills to boys and girls (grown up ones, too) alike.
Originally posted at saz101 »
The Story:
In a world where 'people' are not at all like you and I lives a 17 year old boy named Gene. Gene is many things: A survivor, an expert at deception, but most of all a freak. Instead of fangs, he has unsharpened incisors. While the sun makes 'people' melt and disintegrate, Gene can withstand ceaseless daylight. Instead of a healthy diet of blood and raw meat, Gene needs water and fruit to survive. Gene is a freak. A heper. A human. And if people knew what he was, he would be something else entirely: dead in seconds.
For seventeen years Gene has evaded detection by following the rules: don’t blink, don't sneeze, don’t cough, laugh or smile, and he's done well. But then The Ruler announces something extraordinary: a Heper Hunt, the first in ten years. Chosen by lottery to be one of the 'lucky' hunters—one the last to ever taste extremely endangered heper flesh—Gene must use all his tricks to survive. Cut off from proper food, water and deodorant, the other hunters are beginning to smell something... Well, not fishy. Something far, far more delicious...
My Thoughts:
Fukuda’s ‘People’—for people is what they are in this world, and you will not see them referred to otherwise—are not quite vampires. More like the unholy love child of a vampire/zombie/human union: they think, they reason, they can, in fact, reproduce, and live normal, healthy lives. They are, in many ways, just like you and me, but they crave human flesh with unbridled hunger. They possess no control, and they have no internal struggle or moral quandaries to romanticise. These people would like nothing less than to tear your arms from your sockets and slurp your brain up like soup. Yet they are not so different. They have families, schools, parties and children. Teens have boyfriends and girlfriends. Friends share jokes. It’s amongst these ‘people’ that we find Gene, and start to question what, exactly, ‘human’ means.
Gene is a fascinating character study, a walking, talking, dichotomy—a lesson in Doublethink. He lives by careful rules: don't be caught out by the monsters, remember who you are—human—different from the monsters, better, all while, in some dark, secret place, longing to be a 'real' person, himself.
Gene’s humanity is an interesting thing. More than desire, longing, desperation, one thing has been deeply ingrained into the fibre of his very being: survive. At any cost—any length—survive. This need to survive can manifest itself in very ugly ways. If a human is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone for his own survival, what does that say about his humanity? Has he lost what it means to be human, or is it that need to survive, that tenacity and determination to cling to life despite the most desperate of circumstance, what makes him—and us—human, instead?
So The Hunt poses an interesting question: what is ‘human’? People mercilessly hunt hepers. They are cold, calculating, cruel; but is this any different from shark and seal, or lion and antelope? Is it different from humans and the billions of cattle, chickens, and sheep slaughtered each year to feed ‘humans’? So Fukuda asks us this: are People as bad as they sound, or just the top of the food chain? Is Gene himself any better? He leaves it to the reader to decide, and therein lies his brilliance. Fukuda's characters—even his heroes and heroines—are not always likeable, or easy to connect with, but it seems to be the point. They are flawed, at times ugly, but always interesting.
A steady, calculated creepiness and menace hang over The Hunt, and every page is coloured with a heavy sense of desperation. There are bigger games at play, and while the players have yet to reveal themselves, it becomes very clear Gene is a pawn. But this is where the comparisons to Chess or Checkers must stop. The Hunt is not a book of black and white, or perhaps even varying shades of grey. It’s a thick, muddy quagmire filled with hidden traps and dangers.
When Fukuda writes action, he holds nothing back. In contrast to Gene's carefully practiced facade, and the lingering sense of dread and foreboding that shrouds every word of The Hunt, every moment of flight, every fight, every suspicious glance ratchets up the tension and flies along at breakneck pace. Sharp and vivid, Fukuda writes with an emotive brilliance. The kind that will leave your throat parched and aching with Gene’s thirst, longing for rest, and scratching your wrist in laughter—oh, wait... you don’t have a funny bone there, either?
The Verdict:
Dark, tense and brilliant, Fukuda’s debut is not to be missed. Flawlessly combining chilling creepiness with nail biting tension and action, The Hunt is The Hunger Games, with the focus on the game—the mind game that is: The manoeuvering, the politics, the conspiracy, unravelling alliances and secrets. While not quite as action-packed as the name might suggest, The Hunt moves at electrifying pace, and will deliver thrills and chills to boys and girls (grown up ones, too) alike.
Originally posted at saz101 »
April 26, 2018
3.5* - it was weird at times but there was also something quite addictive about it too.
February 5, 2021
2014 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.
Seriously suspenseful!
Seriously suspenseful!
August 5, 2016
Wish I could read this series all over again. I LOVED it and it made me angry.
March 4, 2012
imagine a world with Vampires as it's general population , with hepers (humans) almost extinct , fangs , blood and meat , where sunlight burns you , high school at midnight and.......... cliques called The Desirables . (Yep the very vampire version of Mean Girls .)
seriously .
here we have seventeen year old Gene . He's a pretty boy . swims and is quite athletic . has girls literally fawning over him and is pretty einstein when it comes to academics . the only problem ---
He's a heper (human) among the vampires and a little bit indication of who he is and he's a made for school packaged meal .
Now almost after a decade the ruler of the country announces the proceedings of 'The Hunt' which basically is the hunger games version of Tom and Jerry . The recruitment of participants was a lottery game and guess who won ?
Ofcourse our dear hero , Gene .
Now not only is he going to be hunting a heper but will be trying to save his own heper butt .
So like it goes Always ...
You go to a game , you try to save yourself and find love in the most hopeless place .
So now let's get down to how i found the book .
Gene was a very annoying character . i mean annoying beyond imagination . okay i get it ! he lives among the vampires and finds THEM civilisedeven with their drooling and lots of blood trickling down their chin when they eat while he finds hepers savages . then he complains of how crappy his life and how much he just adores vamps and wants to be like them and how he likes this Vampire chick , Ashley June and how in the whole world he does everything to save himself by applying ointments , shaving of body hair , joining the vampire spitting fest AND......wait for it ....scratching wrists .( i'll get back on the scratching thing real soon .)
the thing is ,
Mr. Gene if you love vampires so much why don't you just change ?
i mean you could get all down and dirty with Ashley June by grinding elbows into each others armpits and fall in love and then do the twilight-thing and just make her change you ? i mean obviously you should because you already eat meat .
and he calls himself brilliant . *snorts*
leaving him , there is not one character in the book to which i could actually learn something from . like what's the deal dude ? how come Vamps wipe humans off ? a little bit more detail and it would've been perfecto .
then the scratching wrists .
You find something funny , you scratch . trying Sarcasm , you scratch . are a bit pissed , you scratch .
seriously ?! aren't you vampires supposed to have LONG Nails which really make your skin go this ugly shade of red when you keep on scratching ?!
and top it all you guys spit like you're marking territory like dogs !
( tsk .. tsk ...very CIVILIZED of them )
Sooo...you guys like playing with Arms and drool in your private moments ? i mean of course you can't kiss ! you have fangs to deal with . and so yes the possible best alternative are grinding elbows into each others armpits . obviously , you must be very clean .
then coming to the mid-section and where you meet these other participants ..
So basically they are vampire-robots .
no name . designations like H-6 and D-4 and etc .
typically brainless and yes again , they drool .
all the while i was waiting for some action which didn't really happen .( and if you call gross things 'action' . sorry bud , you're a bit confused)
i think i'm starting to miss the sparkling couple of twilight . o.O
A LOT .
then it came down to what the hunt is about . HEPERS . the one's you're supposed to hunt .
i think they are the only characters i loved along with Ashley June who turns out to be surprisingly awesome .
now follows the end . i will agree that signs of adrenaline were definitely starting to show . i was a bit bored if i might be honest ...because what are you supposed to do when you see the same kind of people , doing the exact same thing in every freaking dystopia ! i will ban dystopia for life if authors don't find something original -.-
then bumped in the cliffhanger .
I kinda LOVED it .
maybe because of all the old-school things when something lightening came up i was kind of surprised and finally satisfied . (a bit)
Though yes , this book remains a total letdown .
seriously .
here we have seventeen year old Gene . He's a pretty boy . swims and is quite athletic . has girls literally fawning over him and is pretty einstein when it comes to academics . the only problem ---
He's a heper (human) among the vampires and a little bit indication of who he is and he's a made for school packaged meal .
Now almost after a decade the ruler of the country announces the proceedings of 'The Hunt' which basically is the hunger games version of Tom and Jerry . The recruitment of participants was a lottery game and guess who won ?
Ofcourse our dear hero , Gene .
Now not only is he going to be hunting a heper but will be trying to save his own heper butt .
So like it goes Always ...
You go to a game , you try to save yourself and find love in the most hopeless place .
So now let's get down to how i found the book .
Gene was a very annoying character . i mean annoying beyond imagination . okay i get it ! he lives among the vampires and finds THEM civilised
the thing is ,
Mr. Gene if you love vampires so much why don't you just change ?
i mean you could get all down and dirty with Ashley June by grinding elbows into each others armpits and fall in love and then do the twilight-thing and just make her change you ? i mean obviously you should because you already eat meat .
and he calls himself brilliant . *snorts*
leaving him , there is not one character in the book to which i could actually learn something from . like what's the deal dude ? how come Vamps wipe humans off ? a little bit more detail and it would've been perfecto .
then the scratching wrists .
You find something funny , you scratch . trying Sarcasm , you scratch . are a bit pissed , you scratch .
seriously ?! aren't you vampires supposed to have LONG Nails which really make your skin go this ugly shade of red when you keep on scratching ?!
and top it all you guys spit like you're marking territory like dogs !
( tsk .. tsk ...very CIVILIZED of them )
Sooo...you guys like playing with Arms and drool in your private moments ? i mean of course you can't kiss ! you have fangs to deal with . and so yes the possible best alternative are grinding elbows into each others armpits . obviously , you must be very clean .
then coming to the mid-section and where you meet these other participants ..
So basically they are vampire-robots .
no name . designations like H-6 and D-4 and etc .
typically brainless and yes again , they drool .
all the while i was waiting for some action which didn't really happen .( and if you call gross things 'action' . sorry bud , you're a bit confused)
i think i'm starting to miss the sparkling couple of twilight . o.O
A LOT .
then it came down to what the hunt is about . HEPERS . the one's you're supposed to hunt .
i think they are the only characters i loved along with Ashley June who turns out to be surprisingly awesome .
now follows the end . i will agree that signs of adrenaline were definitely starting to show . i was a bit bored if i might be honest ...because what are you supposed to do when you see the same kind of people , doing the exact same thing in every freaking dystopia ! i will ban dystopia for life if authors don't find something original -.-
then bumped in the cliffhanger .
I kinda LOVED it .
maybe because of all the old-school things when something lightening came up i was kind of surprised and finally satisfied . (a bit)
Though yes , this book remains a total letdown .
March 4, 2012
2.5/5
The vampires are very bad in this one. Yes, there could have been more detail about who/what/how, but what was there had me interested, just not necessarily scared. Think armpits. Think elbows. Think drool. Yes, the hanging from the ceiling and being faster/stronger than normal bits were creepy; yes, the blood lust and uncontrollable urge to rip through flesh brought back scary vamps, but... armpits, people!
And the start of the book showed so much promise too. Gene, going in detail as to what he had to do day in day out was especially interesting… until it wasn’t anymore. The details into what had been previously given need not have been gone over time and time again, me thought. Yes, they drool, they drool, they drool. I got it.
But his life is sad. His life is scary. And I wondered, was it really possible? Frankly, the logistics of it all boggled me especially, considering later revelations in the book about certain someone’s. Revelations that I saw coming but had hoped would not come to pass. I had such high hopes for that certain someone too!
Now with a beginning that was very good, the same had me thinking it would be slightly more epic than a romance, a la Warm Bodies. Sure, it wasn’t that much of a romance much. I considered it at first… was even hoping that such would be the case. But damn that ending and damn that confusing progression because the HUNT had me; then it lost me somewhere around the third time he describes stuff.
Here’s what I wish: that more time had been spent on him with them and less time on him with her or of him thinking of her. More on him with them- them, the vampires or them, the hepers. Whenever the vamps showed up, I always thought something more interesting was to follow. There was such tension with them interacting. But it was him and the hepers that pissed me off… arrogant much? I know that that was the point, for him to think himself different and above them, but a little more thought on his part would have done wonders for my opinion of him.
A good start, an interesting ending, but a middle that was , IMO... egh.
Thank you Netgalley!
2.5/5
The vampires are very bad in this one. Yes, there could have been more detail about who/what/how, but what was there had me interested, just not necessarily scared. Think armpits. Think elbows. Think drool. Yes, the hanging from the ceiling and being faster/stronger than normal bits were creepy; yes, the blood lust and uncontrollable urge to rip through flesh brought back scary vamps, but... armpits, people!
And the start of the book showed so much promise too. Gene, going in detail as to what he had to do day in day out was especially interesting… until it wasn’t anymore. The details into what had been previously given need not have been gone over time and time again, me thought. Yes, they drool, they drool, they drool. I got it.
But his life is sad. His life is scary. And I wondered, was it really possible? Frankly, the logistics of it all boggled me especially, considering later revelations in the book about certain someone’s. Revelations that I saw coming but had hoped would not come to pass. I had such high hopes for that certain someone too!
Now with a beginning that was very good, the same had me thinking it would be slightly more epic than a romance, a la Warm Bodies. Sure, it wasn’t that much of a romance much. I considered it at first… was even hoping that such would be the case. But damn that ending and damn that confusing progression because the HUNT had me; then it lost me somewhere around the third time he describes stuff.
Here’s what I wish: that more time had been spent on him with them and less time on him with her or of him thinking of her. More on him with them- them, the vampires or them, the hepers. Whenever the vamps showed up, I always thought something more interesting was to follow. There was such tension with them interacting. But it was him and the hepers that pissed me off… arrogant much? I know that that was the point, for him to think himself different and above them, but a little more thought on his part would have done wonders for my opinion of him.
A good start, an interesting ending, but a middle that was , IMO... egh.
Thank you Netgalley!
2.5/5
September 10, 2018
Vampires were a popular trend in young adult fantasy, only for dystopian tales to become the genre of choice. Recently, I’ve found a few series that have combined the two elements. I find they can be hit or miss – some combine the two really well, others not so much. With Andrew Fukuda’s The Hunt I found myself curious as to which side of the line we would fall upon.
In truth, The Hunt is more of a two-point-five-star read rather than the two-star rating I gave it. It was enjoyable enough, but I had been hoping for a wee bit more. I’m sure at other points in time I would have given this the rounded up three-star rating rather than the rounded down two-star rating, yet I’ve been in a bit of a reading funk recently and I’d been hoping The Hunt would be the book to break my disappointing run.
Although The Hunt was interesting, it never quite reached the full potential. Little seemed to happen, there was a lot of information being given, and I’d been hoping for something more explosive. I feel as though I was constantly waiting for all the interesting elements to finally come together – then, when things did happen, it was never what it could have been. In fact, when things happened it left me with questions that made the information given throughout the book seem even less clear than it was.
In many ways, this book could have been a great read – but it never quite delivered all it could have. There was fun to be had, yet the book seemed to focus too much on building things up then when it came to experiencing things we were left wanting. It has left me curious and hopeful about the future books in the series, but at the same time I’m nervous of receiving a repeat experience.
Overall, The Hunt was not what I had hoped it would be. It was okay for a quick read, but I had hoped for more from a book in this genre.
In truth, The Hunt is more of a two-point-five-star read rather than the two-star rating I gave it. It was enjoyable enough, but I had been hoping for a wee bit more. I’m sure at other points in time I would have given this the rounded up three-star rating rather than the rounded down two-star rating, yet I’ve been in a bit of a reading funk recently and I’d been hoping The Hunt would be the book to break my disappointing run.
Although The Hunt was interesting, it never quite reached the full potential. Little seemed to happen, there was a lot of information being given, and I’d been hoping for something more explosive. I feel as though I was constantly waiting for all the interesting elements to finally come together – then, when things did happen, it was never what it could have been. In fact, when things happened it left me with questions that made the information given throughout the book seem even less clear than it was.
In many ways, this book could have been a great read – but it never quite delivered all it could have. There was fun to be had, yet the book seemed to focus too much on building things up then when it came to experiencing things we were left wanting. It has left me curious and hopeful about the future books in the series, but at the same time I’m nervous of receiving a repeat experience.
Overall, The Hunt was not what I had hoped it would be. It was okay for a quick read, but I had hoped for more from a book in this genre.
August 23, 2018
Ако сте влизали в книжарница през последните десет години няма как да не сте забелязали, че вампирите са по-модни от всякога. Всички знаем на коя точно трилогия се дължи това, и дали я харесваме или не е без значение, но популярността на бледите кръвопийци скочи адски и това породи както вълна от треторазрядна подражателна литература, така и някои приятни попадения, които успяха по изобретателен начин да избягат от клишетата на жанра. Тъкмо към втория вид книги се числи YA трилогията „Ловът” на Андрю Фукуда (изд. „Orange Books”), чиято едноименна първа част ще ви представим днес! Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
July 7, 2014
Plot- 9/10
Characters- 8.5/10
Writing- 8/10
World Building- 8.5/10
TOTAL- 8.6/10
Quickie Review- After the drama and chaos that was the Heroes of Olympus series, I needed to take a break from reading. And I did. For two whole days. But I was getting restless and itching for more books, so I took a couple of my friends' suggestions and picked up The Hunt, which has been sitting in my shelf for a while. I realize now that this wasn't the kind of book that I was looking to read in that moment. After reading the HoO series, I needed a calmer, more easy read- a sort of palate cleanser after a rich meal, if you will. And I did NOT get that with the Hunt.
The Hunt is one of the most tense, exciting, nail-biting reads that I have discovered this year. There is really not a moment of relief- it is one of those books where you have to be on guard at all times. The plot is great- continuous action and suspense, and twists at every corner. The suspense and the thrill of every page makes you want to keep reading, and makes the book very hard to put down. Gene, our main character, is a human among vampires, and has to take every precaution possible to remain undetected. He figures out that this is near impossible. I started this book at around 9:30 AM, and, with a few breaks in between, finished at around 2:00PM. I'm not a fast reader at all, so this is saying something. (It also helps that this book is less than 300 pages long.) Anyway, this book had me from the start and never let me go.
The characters for the most part were done well, although I don't think it was the book's major strength. The main character, Gene, is a 17 year old guy (who admits he's good looking, which I was a little iffy about) and he's very relatable. (Side note- relatable isn't a word on Goodreads?!) Even with the terrible cover depicting his (supposed) face, I was able to picture him easily- think Colin Ford with a bit of a tan. I thought he was very well developed for the most part- loving, smart, quick on his feet, and strong. The only problem I had with him was that he visited the humans inside the Dome, saw how innocent and mistreated they were, and yet still was totally ok with killing them for himself. Well, himself and his girlfriend, Ashley June. Ashley June was an enigma- throughout the novel I wasn't sure what to think of her. I liked her at the beginning, then decided I hated her, and then I liked her again. The only reason this happened was because there were a lot of questions surrounding who she was, and what her motives were. This was done very well by Fukuda. I thought her relationship with Gene was sweet, but it happened a little too quickly for my liking. What transpired with her at the end, however, was very touching. Sissy is a very strong tough character, and there was one time during the book when I shipped Sissy and Gene. (This was during my hate phase with Ashley June) That feeling disappeared, as I developed a liking to Gene + Ashley June , but the complicated thing is that Sissy and Gene are the two who happen to be together (physically, not emotionally) at the end of the book. It will be interesting to see how this affects whatever Gene has with Ashley June.
I thought the writing was good in that the writer did a good job describing Gene's thoughts and feelings. It was very realistic and very raw. I thought the writing was sometimes a bit over-formal for a 17 year old narrator, and used words that, well, 17 year olds don't use.
The setting was very cool- I try to stay away from vampires but this book was well done. I found the contrast between regular vampires and hepers (humans) very interesting. The *let's eat the humans!!!* scenes were done very well- detailed, vivid, and disgusting. Which is what it's all about.
Overall, The Hunt was a very enjoyable book that was very exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful. People looking for a tense and scary read should be sure to check this one out. The Hunt is strongly recommended for fans of dystopia, vampires, and horror. I will be looking for the next book as soon as I can.
Characters- 8.5/10
Writing- 8/10
World Building- 8.5/10
TOTAL- 8.6/10
Quickie Review- After the drama and chaos that was the Heroes of Olympus series, I needed to take a break from reading. And I did. For two whole days. But I was getting restless and itching for more books, so I took a couple of my friends' suggestions and picked up The Hunt, which has been sitting in my shelf for a while. I realize now that this wasn't the kind of book that I was looking to read in that moment. After reading the HoO series, I needed a calmer, more easy read- a sort of palate cleanser after a rich meal, if you will. And I did NOT get that with the Hunt.
The Hunt is one of the most tense, exciting, nail-biting reads that I have discovered this year. There is really not a moment of relief- it is one of those books where you have to be on guard at all times. The plot is great- continuous action and suspense, and twists at every corner. The suspense and the thrill of every page makes you want to keep reading, and makes the book very hard to put down. Gene, our main character, is a human among vampires, and has to take every precaution possible to remain undetected. He figures out that this is near impossible. I started this book at around 9:30 AM, and, with a few breaks in between, finished at around 2:00PM. I'm not a fast reader at all, so this is saying something. (It also helps that this book is less than 300 pages long.) Anyway, this book had me from the start and never let me go.
The characters for the most part were done well, although I don't think it was the book's major strength. The main character, Gene, is a 17 year old guy (who admits he's good looking, which I was a little iffy about) and he's very relatable. (Side note- relatable isn't a word on Goodreads?!) Even with the terrible cover depicting his (supposed) face, I was able to picture him easily- think Colin Ford with a bit of a tan. I thought he was very well developed for the most part- loving, smart, quick on his feet, and strong. The only problem I had with him was that he visited the humans inside the Dome, saw how innocent and mistreated they were, and yet still was totally ok with killing them for himself. Well, himself and his girlfriend, Ashley June. Ashley June was an enigma- throughout the novel I wasn't sure what to think of her. I liked her at the beginning, then decided I hated her, and then I liked her again. The only reason this happened was because there were a lot of questions surrounding who she was, and what her motives were. This was done very well by Fukuda. I thought her relationship with Gene was sweet, but it happened a little too quickly for my liking. What transpired with her at the end, however, was very touching. Sissy is a very strong tough character, and there was one time during the book when I shipped Sissy and Gene. (This was during my hate phase with Ashley June) That feeling disappeared, as I developed a liking to Gene + Ashley June , but the complicated thing is that Sissy and Gene are the two who happen to be together (physically, not emotionally) at the end of the book. It will be interesting to see how this affects whatever Gene has with Ashley June.
I thought the writing was good in that the writer did a good job describing Gene's thoughts and feelings. It was very realistic and very raw. I thought the writing was sometimes a bit over-formal for a 17 year old narrator, and used words that, well, 17 year olds don't use.
The setting was very cool- I try to stay away from vampires but this book was well done. I found the contrast between regular vampires and hepers (humans) very interesting. The *let's eat the humans!!!* scenes were done very well- detailed, vivid, and disgusting. Which is what it's all about.
Overall, The Hunt was a very enjoyable book that was very exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful. People looking for a tense and scary read should be sure to check this one out. The Hunt is strongly recommended for fans of dystopia, vampires, and horror. I will be looking for the next book as soon as I can.
October 23, 2012
Se merece un cinco por originalidad y estilo, por carisma en los personajes y por cientos de cosas más, pero hay algo mínimo que evita que le ponga esa nota. No logro identificar lo que es, pero quizá se debe a que no me ha parecido tan espectacular como podría haber sido. De todos modos, es una maravilla encontrar novelas como estas en el panorama juvenil actual.
May 26, 2018
Breathtaking
May 27, 2012
The Hunt introduces us to Gene, a seventeen year old human boy living in a world where humans have been hunted to the brink of extinction and vampires rule everyday society. Gene believes that he may very well be one of the last remaining humans. Gene lives in fear of slipping up so everyday he takes steps his father taught him before he disappeared to ensure that he’s not exposed as a human. The vampires believe that humans died ten years ago in the last Hunt. This changes when the Ruler of the vampires announces to the world that there are still a handful of humans left and that all vampires will be entered into a lottery. And the winners of the lottery will have the rare privilege of hunting the last surviving humans. Gene is shocked to find himself being chosen as one of the ‘lucky’ winners and is dismayed to realize that in order for him to keep up his façade as a vampire he must take part in the Hunt to kill the last remaining humans.
The main character, Gene is one of the last living humans, he poses as a vampire by following strict rules his father taught him – he’s not allowed to laugh or show any facial expressions, he has to shave all his body hair, he can’t sweat and he has to take on certain vampire characteristics such as scratching his wrist to express humour, drooling when thinking about humans and snapping his neck back and forth when excited. The peculiar habits of the vampires, particularly the way they used their elbows/arms and armpits to ‘make out’ were strange but successful in showing how different the vampires were as a species. Practically all YA books depict vampires as beautiful and desirable, so it’s a welcome change for vampires to be portrayed as repulsive and bizarre creatures.
I couldn’t connect to Gene as a character; he was so conceited, dull and cowardly. He annoyed me no end, he scoffed at the vampires’ knowledge and their beliefs about humans and smugly thought that what they learnt about humans was wrong. Yet he looks down at the humans that are going to be hunted by the lottery winners and thinks of them as uneducated savages just because he’s been taught by the vampires that they’re no better than animals..so it was one rule for himself and a different rule for other humans. He also seemed really shallow, his interest in fellow classmate and lottery winner, Ashley June, seemed to be based solely on how beautiful and popular she was. I didn’t get why Ashley June kept trying to reach out to him when all he did was ignore her – it was unrealistic. Ashley June saves him from being found out on several occasions, which intensified my dislike for him– I would have liked him being able to get himself out of his messes instead of him being constantly saved by his love interest. I was puzzled not only by Ashley June’s loyalty to him but also the loyalty he got from the humans he was willing to kill, I really couldn’t understand why any of them risked their lives for him.
I expected the actual hunt to be the bulk of the story so I was disappointed that it only really took place in the last 20%. The first 80% is pretty slow, it mainly consists of the vampires training the contestants on humans and the main character constantly fretting and worrying about the vampires discovering he’s actually human. I was quite bored with the storyline and characters up until the action kicked in at the end.
While I like the concept of vampires ruling society and the last humans being hunted to death, I wasn’t impressed with the way it was executed. There were too many holes, if the main character has body hair, sweats or gets goose bumps he’ll be found out, so he takes steps to avoid these things happening. But people sweat in hot weather no matter how they’re dressed, people get goose bumps if it’s cold even if they’re wrapped up warm and boys tend to get stubble a few hrs after shaving – the author just avoids addressing any of these glaring issues. We also find out that there’s a human girl hiding among the vampires, and I’m really interested to know what she does when she gets her period – how does she manage to keep that hidden. Also if human blood/flesh is so desirable and coveted by the vampires, why did they hunt them to extinction, didn’t they put 2 and 2 together and realize that they had to keep some of the humans alive so they could breed and ensure the survival of the human race so that they could forever feed on the humans – the only species that really satisfies their hunger.
Overall I liked the idea but it was executed poorly, the main characters were flat and dull and the storyline just plodded along at a snail’s pace right up until the very end. The ending left a lot of questions unresolved – what happened to Gene’s father, if Gene would try and save Ashley June, where the boat/river was going to lead Gene and co, if they’re other humans alive, if the Ruler keeps humans at his palace, etc. I don’t think I’ll be buying the next book but if I’m lent the book I may just read it to get some closure.
The main character, Gene is one of the last living humans, he poses as a vampire by following strict rules his father taught him – he’s not allowed to laugh or show any facial expressions, he has to shave all his body hair, he can’t sweat and he has to take on certain vampire characteristics such as scratching his wrist to express humour, drooling when thinking about humans and snapping his neck back and forth when excited. The peculiar habits of the vampires, particularly the way they used their elbows/arms and armpits to ‘make out’ were strange but successful in showing how different the vampires were as a species. Practically all YA books depict vampires as beautiful and desirable, so it’s a welcome change for vampires to be portrayed as repulsive and bizarre creatures.
I couldn’t connect to Gene as a character; he was so conceited, dull and cowardly. He annoyed me no end, he scoffed at the vampires’ knowledge and their beliefs about humans and smugly thought that what they learnt about humans was wrong. Yet he looks down at the humans that are going to be hunted by the lottery winners and thinks of them as uneducated savages just because he’s been taught by the vampires that they’re no better than animals..so it was one rule for himself and a different rule for other humans. He also seemed really shallow, his interest in fellow classmate and lottery winner, Ashley June, seemed to be based solely on how beautiful and popular she was. I didn’t get why Ashley June kept trying to reach out to him when all he did was ignore her – it was unrealistic. Ashley June saves him from being found out on several occasions, which intensified my dislike for him– I would have liked him being able to get himself out of his messes instead of him being constantly saved by his love interest. I was puzzled not only by Ashley June’s loyalty to him but also the loyalty he got from the humans he was willing to kill, I really couldn’t understand why any of them risked their lives for him.
I expected the actual hunt to be the bulk of the story so I was disappointed that it only really took place in the last 20%. The first 80% is pretty slow, it mainly consists of the vampires training the contestants on humans and the main character constantly fretting and worrying about the vampires discovering he’s actually human. I was quite bored with the storyline and characters up until the action kicked in at the end.
While I like the concept of vampires ruling society and the last humans being hunted to death, I wasn’t impressed with the way it was executed. There were too many holes, if the main character has body hair, sweats or gets goose bumps he’ll be found out, so he takes steps to avoid these things happening. But people sweat in hot weather no matter how they’re dressed, people get goose bumps if it’s cold even if they’re wrapped up warm and boys tend to get stubble a few hrs after shaving – the author just avoids addressing any of these glaring issues. We also find out that there’s a human girl hiding among the vampires, and I’m really interested to know what she does when she gets her period – how does she manage to keep that hidden. Also if human blood/flesh is so desirable and coveted by the vampires, why did they hunt them to extinction, didn’t they put 2 and 2 together and realize that they had to keep some of the humans alive so they could breed and ensure the survival of the human race so that they could forever feed on the humans – the only species that really satisfies their hunger.
Overall I liked the idea but it was executed poorly, the main characters were flat and dull and the storyline just plodded along at a snail’s pace right up until the very end. The ending left a lot of questions unresolved – what happened to Gene’s father, if Gene would try and save Ashley June, where the boat/river was going to lead Gene and co, if they’re other humans alive, if the Ruler keeps humans at his palace, etc. I don’t think I’ll be buying the next book but if I’m lent the book I may just read it to get some closure.
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