Book Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt (The Hunt, #1)

by Andrew Fukuda 

Genre: Post-Apocalypse/Dystopia/Vampires

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Source: ARC from publisher

Age Rating: 16+ (for violence)

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Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity? 

 

 

My Review

I won this from the publisher through a LibraryThing's Early Reviewers giveaway. The Hunt has a lot of hype behind it, so I wanted to see if it would live up to it...

• Plot: Dark and riveting, with plenty of heart-pounding action. There are long stretches of slow scenes, but they provide useful information about the world-building and the characters, or whatever you need to know as the reader. The main character, Gene, is living a pretend existence as a vampiric creature, but he's exactly what those creatures live to hunt and eat. They are so dangerous and troublesome I just hate them for being so beast-like and wanting nothing but to eat 'hepers' (what they call humans). Although, I feel like I'm hating lions, tigers and bears for being beasts, and that's not fair. There must be good vampires, but we never find any in this book. The ones Gene deals with become vengeful and sadistic, so I hate—HATE them so much.
• Characters: Gene lives all alone because his family is dead, but he still goes to school with the vampire people and tries his darnedest not to get caught doing anything heper-like. Even sweating would give him away. Can't show emotion. Can't be caught out in the sun. He's never seen another heper other than his family, so I don't know what he plans on doing with his future. He's been in survival mode all his life, and even though he's nearly done with high school, that's all he can think of to do. He does like Ashley June, although going out with her would be bad because she'd figure out what he truly is, and eat him. As would all the others. They would all EAT him in a heartbeat, even those who've known him since childhood. Frickin' beasts....
• Writing: I really like the quick-paced writing that doesn't skimp out on fluid prose. Nor does it inundate you with purple prose, because Gene is narrating this and he wouldn't realistically use flowery words. The writing style is perfectly suited for this type of adrenaline-pumping, terrifying story.
• Story: Irony abounds here. The vampires all believe they are highly evolved compared to the hepers—hepers are the beasts who can't even talk and are just dumb animals. Gene discovers when he meets the hepers that will be hunted down by the vampires (after he has been selected to participate in The Hunt) that they can talk, think, reason and even sing. They can do things he has always felt like doing, but couldn't understand why he wanted to do them. The vampires have no names and they freakin' drool all the time. It's a wonder they can stand up straight! Thus, the irony abounds when they affirm so fiercely that they are the evolved beings and the hepers are the lowly animals.
• Overall Quality: It's high, although when I started to read it, I thought I stumbled upon plot hole after plot hole and a ton of illogical-nesses. I still don't know how Gene survived without water for so many days, but he does get some, eventually. And, how is it that the vampires don't figure out that he, specifically, stinks like a heper? They all just think the odor is coming from somewhere else. Maybe they are all that dumb. It's not perfect, but it builds into a very impressive narrative filled with frightening scenes that make you feel like how you do when you dream you're being chased, and all you want is to get away for your life. It's just like that, seriously!
• Favorite Moment: Maybe it's a bit SPOILERY (don't read on if you don't want even a little spoiler), but I love when Gene gets his chance to shove all that rhetoric and nonsense from the vampires right back in their faces, especially at the vampire Director of The Hunt. He shouts, “You guys are the beasts—you're the mindless, stupid, un-evolved creatures!” Something to that effect. I loved it, especially after hating with a passion those cocky, blood-thirsty, drooling “people.”
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5. (There is some graphic violence, just so you know.)
  
  

*I have provided my honest review in exchange for receiving an early edition from the publisher.

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