BOOK REVIEW - THE HUNT by ANDREW FUKUDA - THE HUNT # 1

By : Andrew Fukuda
Published By: Simon & Schuster, St. Martins
Released : 10th May 2012
Details: Paperback, 293 Pages

RATING: 4.25 BLOODY STARS!!

Thankyou to Simon & Schuster for the early read.

Book Blurb: Taken From Goodreads

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

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?



BOOK REVIEW: 

I have so many thoughts going through my head at the moment. This book does get under your skin, it makes you ask a lot of questions when you are reading it and it makes you wonder if it really is possible for a ‘heper’ ,equals human, to live side by side with Andrew’s creatures in a human world and live longer than five minutes with a stiff breeze.

Gene our main character can do nothing to draw suspicion. Nothing, that will leave a ‘heper’ odour.  Nothing to draw attention to himself. He lives and breathes his life in a sea of danger, every second of the day his life is threatened.

One wrong move could kill him.

The maintenance he must do each and every day to keep up appearances would be incredibly stressful. The way he must behave. The creature mimicking he must get down perfect.

"Never forget who you are."

Andrew has moments of brilliance with his originality as he steps so far outside the box with his take on them and the tension with The Hunt. But, at the same time I can’t help feeling a bit disorientated as to how these creatures, who I assume are a form of vampire, as they have fangs and like to ‘nummy ,num, num’ and eat humans, came about. 

If infact that is what they are?

No biting and sucking the blood and leaving the heper alive and well for a snack another day. It’s the whole killing, slaughter, shredding to pieces, eating every tasty morsel, finger lickin’ good , type creature. 

It is a blood bath, a feeding frenzy.

For all their new things these creatures bring to the table, like giving the wrist a good ol’ scratch when something is humorous or exciting. They act in humanly ways, going to school, learning regular stuff ,albeit it is in the almost dark classroom, no fun in the sun, and doing sports.

I do believe , without skimming every page, Andrew does not call them Vampires, they are given no name. The reader assimilates them with vampires.

Gene calls them people. It said a lot about how he thought of himself, it actually made me as the reader ‘feel’ quite weird hearing a human not think of himself as a person. 

Possibly, even sad.

He knows no better. He knows he is not one of them, but must behave like one of them. At one point I felt like he didn't think he was a heper either.

"Never forget who you are."

Gene finds himself in a predicament. A lottery has been drawn and he and Ashley June are among other 'people' who have WON the right to The Hunt. Hepers have been fattened up , ready for the slaughtering. As the reader you are taken on a very tense filled ride in the days coming up to The Hunt. We are introduced to the heper's who will be taking part in their demise.

All Gene's things he relys on to maintain his body so he blends, doesn't stand out.... are gone. No shaving equipment, no water to drink , no place to feel safe. Body odour, number one giveaway, his greatest threat. He can't run like them, he sweats, he smells, he needs sleep....he needs to survive.

The odds are against him.

The odds are definitely against the hepers.

I wanted desperately a prologue that tells me how it came to be, this world, or a prequel novella.

If I had a prologue explaining , I would have given this book five stars.... easy.

I understand authors present a world to the reader and it is fictional and it is a story. Originality is always refreshing and welcomed. I have to be honest and say it did drive me a bit batty not having ANY history , not a sniff of how this world of Andrew’s came about.  I wanted to know about The Ruler and WHY the world was where it was.

But, then I can’t help thinking is Andrew trying to hide something from us for the next book.  Am I supposed to not know? Gene doesn't talk about it as he has nobody he can trust.

I have these Q’s that float around in my head. I’m not over thinking the book, it’s just I have trouble with the world building at the moment. I ‘feel’ from the story  telling, Gene is 17yrs old, so we are not looking at much older than that or maybe a bit younger than his age that this heper = human to creature ratio changed on the planet.

There are paparazzi, cameras, urinals and the urinal sticker ( yes, aim and point..ha!) ....it feels like not that many years ago...well at least most of Gene’s life that this change with heper to creature ratio changed. I was looking for clues that were hidden in the pages that I could work my world building from. 

Paparazzi ...begs the question are their office workers , magazines etc...factory worker creatures...we only get this small part of the world, but we get told , we believe there are only a handful of hepers left, but the planet must still operate, somehow.

Q’s did get answered the more I read, there is this sci fi type mix with FLUNS! It is a very intriguing book.

I couldn’t help doing a WT!! When it came to Gene, to be out in the sun and not tan, he spread butter on himself....isn’t that going to cook you and make you brown?? 

Instant giveaway. 

But then sun lotion does exist.

Andrew has such yuk moments with the wet meat and blood slopping over them when they eat. Again, Gene has to keep up pretences. Not sure if I could be slurping up bloody, raw , fleshy meat. Eeeeppp!!!! Again, I am a goner!!

All you vegans....goooonneee!!

Now I get to Ashley June. She has a name in Gene’s eyes. She is not worthy of a lowly designation name. I love what Andrew did with Ashley June. Andrew had me suspicious of Ashley, scared for Gene and his version of affections he felt, as he did not know the heper/human way of affection. He could not show Ashley June , even if he knew how to let go of his disciplined creature appearances, as Ashley was the enemy in his eyes, she would be his death. 

Complicated. Much. 

How would you behave if you could not show emotion, or you were taught the way of the creatures and it’s all you knew? You had to be wise beyond your years from a very early age, because you had nobody left in your life. No mother, father, older sibling.

The urge to survive is stronger than to cut yourself and let the frenzy begin. 

Give in. Not an option.

Tough. Much.

I did notice that Gene had no name for the majority of the book, even though book blurb gave him one. A designation name , sure.

I can’t help question his name. Gene.....genetics.

See what this book does to me?

It left me a bit topsy , turvy and the ending screams to you.

This is the MOST intriguing book I have read as I normally accept a world I am given, as it’s a story, but I feel like I don’t understand properly this world at the moment. 

Andrew has written a page turner , you may not totally understand his world, but you want to know more. There will be bloodlust and terror filled moments. 

You will grip your book....in fear...for Gene?....for the hepers? One has to keep up appearances to survive, this may be the others downfall.

There is one scene that I saw so well, oooo it was frightening and creepy and swing back around to terrifying.

Repeat and rinse.

When the Hunt starts....I recommend grabbing a pillow ...hold on tight!

You may want to look up before going to bed .....mwah..ha..ha..haaa.....

"Never forget who you are."

Michelle