Thursday, January 31, 2013

Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
The Hunt (The Hunt #1)
By Andrew Fukuda
Publisher:
St. Martin’s Griffin

To Sum It Up:

Most teenagers don’t have to worry about things like whitening their fake fangs or keeping their facial expressions perfectly neutral while out in public, but Gene isn’t the average teenager. He’s a human, or heper, living among vampires who would devour him in an instant if they knew what he really was. Until now, Gene has managed to pass for a vampire, dutifully attending school at night and pretending to be delighted at the sight of a plate of raw meat. But his cover is about to be threatened by the announcement of the Hunt, a momentous event in which the greatest prizes imaginable, hepers, await the strongest hunters. Gene believes his odds of being selected as a contestant are slim to none, but then the unthinkable happens. He’s chosen to compete in the Hunt, and if he isn’t careful, his fate will be the same as that of the other hepers.

Review:

The Hunt was a mixed bag for me. Although I found the premise, in which human teenager Gene struggles to hide what he is in a world ruled by voracious vampires, interesting, I had a hard time getting into the book. I felt like there was an aloofness to it that prevented me from becoming invested in it until I was about halfway through the novel. Once the action got going, The Hunt was more enjoyable, but I wish that I hadn’t had to wait so long for something riveting to happen.

The protagonist, Gene, is one of the few humans, or hepers, as they’re called in the novel, left in existence. He’s been on his own since his father was bitten by a vampire. It was Gene’s father who instilled in his son rules for surviving among the vampires. Gene has to make sure that he never gives off body odor or has facial hair; he also has to wear fake fangs and keep absolute control over his facial expressions. This means no sneezing, laughing, coughing, etc. I had some trouble believing that this kid could remain undetected by the vampires for as long as he had. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have some close calls with revealing his true nature, but for being around these keenly observant predators for hours a night at school, I would have expected him to get found out a lot sooner. I know that I would have been a tasty vampire snack within a nanosecond of setting foot in that school.

I’m still not sure what to think of Gene, either. I was mostly indifferent to him until he came into contact with the humans who were going to be the targets of the Hunt. Not only does Gene stay mum about the details of the Hunt, but he actually looks down on these poor people. He’s surprised to discover that they can hold a conversation and are literate. His attitude irked me quite a lot, and even though he somewhat redeems himself later on in the book, I couldn’t shake his first impression of his fellow humans from my mind.

Where the story became the most engaging for me was when the focus shifted to the humans. They’ve spent their entire lives in captivity and have been raised at the Heper Institute just so they can be hunted down like animals. Reading about what their lives were like and the horrible purpose that they were intended to serve packed the most emotional punch in a book that otherwise felt clinical in tone to me. Sissy, the leader of the group and the only female, is an awesome character. Her courage makes it obvious why she’s in charge, not to mention the fact that she’s lethal with a dagger. I thought that the humans’ plight was much more compelling than Gene’s attempts to blend in as a vampire, and I kept hoping that they’d find a way to escape their situation.

Around the halfway point of The Hunt, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to read the sequel; I wasn’t a big fan of Gene and the world-building. Second thoughts began swirling, though, when pandemonium broke out in the book, and I started turning the pages with eagerness. The thrilling way in which the actual Hunt played out left me looking for more to read. I’m still undecided about reading The Prey. On the one hand, the ending of The Hunt made me curious to know what happens next; on the other, if the pacing in The Prey is anything like that of its predecessor, I don’t think I have the patience to read 150 pages or so before the real action commences. I might continue with the series, but it’s not a priority.

All in All:

I think your success with this book hinges on how you find the world-building. I couldn’t totally wrap my head around Gene avoiding detection for so long, especially once he was taken to the Heper Institute to prep for the Hunt and for a while had no access to water, neither for drinking nor for bathing. I did, however, like getting to know the humans as more than mere game for the vampire hunters, as well as the gripping finale. The strength of these two things bumped the book up to a three star rating.

12 comments:

  1. The Hunt has been on Ever growing TBR Pile for so long , because I have been so unsure. I have seen many mixed reviews about this on. I think I still might read this one but at another time.

    Great, honest review!

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    1. I always find these types of books the hardest to review, where I wasn't thrilled with the book, but I couldn't justify giving it a lower rating. I think that this is one of those books that you have to try for yourself to see if it clicks with you.

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  2. Great review, Lee. I decided to give this a miss when it came out, although it doesn't sound all that bad.

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    1. It wasn't, but there were some gaps in the world-building that I found distracting at times. And I didn't find Gene to be a particularly compelling MC to read about.

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    2. Compelling MC is a must for me :) I guess that's why Julie K's Immortal Rules and Richelle M's VA and Bloodlines hooked me.

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    3. While I was reading this, I couldn't help but think of The Immortal Rules and how both books were dystopians with vampires in them, and how Gene was a human trying to pass as a vampire and Allie was a vampire trying to blend in with humans. But the world of TIR was explained so well, and Allie's story absolutely drew me in. The Hunt just didn't have the same appeal, especially when it came to the MC, as TIR.

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  3. Same here, I am having trouble finishing it as a result of that!

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    1. Sorry to hear it! The more that I think about this book, the more I feel that maybe if the humans living in the Dome had been the main focus, that would have made for a more compelling story.

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  4. Maybe the vamps are dumb or disensitized that's why he was able to remain hidden? Everyone seems to love this series tho. Maybe you'll enjoy book 2 better

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    1. That's what I couldn't figure out- what kind of vamps they were supposed to be. Sometimes they seemed like your typical ones with a predator's enhanced senses, and yet here was this human right under their noses. It just didn't add up for me.

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  5. Hmm. The big problem with a lot of dystopian novels is the shady nature of their world-building, so that sounds a bit iffy toe. On the other hand, I really like the concept itself, and meeting Sissy sounds like it would be really awesome. I don't feel like this book has gotten a lot if blogger attention, so it's nice to hear your thoughts!

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    1. I find myself growing more and more reluctant to read dystopian novels because I'm wary of sketchy world-building. I like the genre, but I have to be able to buy into the world, and this one had some gaps in it.

      Sissy was my favorite character; checking out the sequel might be worthwhile to me if she plays a significant role in it.

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