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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I really wanted to love this book... but it was boring as fuck.
There was so much over detailing that I just skimmed the last hundred pages and it reminded me of
"The Hunger Games" was this a fan fiction of THG beforehand like Fifty Shades? because this was very similar and if you read this and can't see that, there must be something terribly wrong with your way of reading. So I won't be picking up the second book and if you want to read it, go on ahead. I'd recommend The Hunger Games over this.
Also... why do I feel like this will end up on that Goodreads Bullies site? if you are reading this and you are from that site, go fuck yourself. :DDDDDD
-R.D.
There was so much over detailing that I just skimmed the last hundred pages and it reminded me of
"The Hunger Games" was this a fan fiction of THG beforehand like Fifty Shades? because this was very similar and if you read this and can't see that, there must be something terribly wrong with your way of reading. So I won't be picking up the second book and if you want to read it, go on ahead. I'd recommend The Hunger Games over this.
Also... why do I feel like this will end up on that Goodreads Bullies site? if you are reading this and you are from that site, go fuck yourself. :DDDDDD
-R.D.
I am honestly not sure how to rate this book.
It definately did not turn out they way I expected. I expected much and got way less.
It was kind of interesting, otherwise I would have never finished. But still I waited until the last 20 pages to get the action I was hoping for.
Somehow I wish the whole story was written from the girl's point of view as well as right from the beginning. Sounded much more fun :-D
In my opinion the story is only a little similar to THG. So if you are a big fan of THG don't expect too much if you go for this book.
The cliff hanger or let's better say the one which was supposed to be one, is pretty lame. I am not sure if I will stop right here or if I'll read the sequel. We'll see.
However, the last 20 pages made up a lot and in combination with the fairly interesting storyline I'll go for solid 3 stars.
It definately did not turn out they way I expected. I expected much and got way less.
It was kind of interesting, otherwise I would have never finished. But still I waited until the last 20 pages to get the action I was hoping for.
Somehow I wish the whole story was written from the girl's point of view as well as right from the beginning. Sounded much more fun :-D
In my opinion the story is only a little similar to THG. So if you are a big fan of THG don't expect too much if you go for this book.
The cliff hanger or let's better say the one which was supposed to be one, is pretty lame. I am not sure if I will stop right here or if I'll read the sequel. We'll see.
However, the last 20 pages made up a lot and in combination with the fairly interesting storyline I'll go for solid 3 stars.
This book was better than I expected. I mean, I expected high of it already based off of the summary even though I'd never read this author before, but I didn't expect it to be THAT good. While reading the Hunt, I was sucked into Gene's world. I felt like I lived in a world where I constantly feared the discovery of being a non-vampire. That's the thing that I found so interesting and intriguing about this book. It's so the opposite of what's seen in movies and made in books today. I mean, usually it's the vampire trying to hide his true identity from humans, but in here it was completely different. A human was trying to hide his human identity from vampires. I found that idea frightening and exciting at the same time. Another thing I found "out of the ordinary" of what's most commonly written about and watched today is that vampires weren't romaticized in this. Not at all. Yes, some were still depicted as having a cold beauty thing going on but that was just one side. The other side of the creatures were animalistic, barbaric, and terrifying.
I really felt sorry for Gene and Ashley June. (Spoiler): What was later found out, which was a complete shock to me, Ashley June is human too!!! My jaw literally dropped when I found that out. I should've figured it out or at least suspected it, but I didn't. All this time, because it was from Gene's point of view only, I never thought Ashley June was human. Whenever the vampires smelled "heper" in the building and Gene thought it was him, I always thought it was JUST him (End of Spoiler). And that's another thing. The whole "heper" thing, that really irked me because it sounded dangerously close to the word "heifer", as in a cow. But then again, that's probably what Andrew Fukuda was going for with the whole futuristic term for humans. Becuase that's what humans were considered in the book to all the vampires. Food, meat, cows, and whatever other names that can be used to stress how lowly humans are in the book.
I didn't like how Gene lied to the other humans living in the Dome.
I was always on edge while reading the Hunt becuase there were many times when Gene came dangerously close to being discovered by the vampires. I also felt bad for Gene most of the book. I hated that he always thought lowly of himself because he wished that he was truly a vampire and that he didn't have to keep faking it. (Spoiler): I remember a part at the beginning of the book when he'd just threw up in the school swimming pool and made a hasty exit from the locker room after some vampires came into the locker room and said something like, "As I walked past them I see a look of disgust on their faces. I'm use to that look. It's there on my face whenever I look in the mirror at home"(End of Spoiler). He felt like a fake person and at the same time despised himself for pretending to be a vampire, the things he hated as much as the thing he wanted to be to feel "normal". It's sad that to be a vampire in the futuristic world Fukuda made was considered the norm because there were only just that: vampires. And no other humans around, or so Gene thought at the beginning of the book.
The ending, though there were some new revelations and surprises, was sad. I guess that's to be expected for the cliff-hanger of this book. Not everyone could be saved or helped all in one book. Then the book would've had to be as long as books in the Harry Potter series or even Lord of the Rings. Anyway, I was devestated at the hard choice that Gene had to make in order to keep living and save the others towards the end of the book.
Overall, I liked the fast-paced plot of the story, the surprises, and the action packed/falling action scenes that came after the climax because even that was exciting. Andrew Fukuda has definitely accquired a new fan here.
I really felt sorry for Gene and Ashley June. (Spoiler): What was later found out, which was a complete shock to me, Ashley June is human too!!! My jaw literally dropped when I found that out. I should've figured it out or at least suspected it, but I didn't. All this time, because it was from Gene's point of view only, I never thought Ashley June was human. Whenever the vampires smelled "heper" in the building and Gene thought it was him, I always thought it was JUST him (End of Spoiler). And that's another thing. The whole "heper" thing, that really irked me because it sounded dangerously close to the word "heifer", as in a cow. But then again, that's probably what Andrew Fukuda was going for with the whole futuristic term for humans. Becuase that's what humans were considered in the book to all the vampires. Food, meat, cows, and whatever other names that can be used to stress how lowly humans are in the book.
I didn't like how Gene lied to the other humans living in the Dome.
I was always on edge while reading the Hunt becuase there were many times when Gene came dangerously close to being discovered by the vampires. I also felt bad for Gene most of the book. I hated that he always thought lowly of himself because he wished that he was truly a vampire and that he didn't have to keep faking it. (Spoiler): I remember a part at the beginning of the book when he'd just threw up in the school swimming pool and made a hasty exit from the locker room after some vampires came into the locker room and said something like, "As I walked past them I see a look of disgust on their faces. I'm use to that look. It's there on my face whenever I look in the mirror at home"(End of Spoiler). He felt like a fake person and at the same time despised himself for pretending to be a vampire, the things he hated as much as the thing he wanted to be to feel "normal". It's sad that to be a vampire in the futuristic world Fukuda made was considered the norm because there were only just that: vampires. And no other humans around, or so Gene thought at the beginning of the book.
The ending, though there were some new revelations and surprises, was sad. I guess that's to be expected for the cliff-hanger of this book. Not everyone could be saved or helped all in one book. Then the book would've had to be as long as books in the Harry Potter series or even Lord of the Rings. Anyway, I was devestated at the hard choice that Gene had to make in order to keep living and save the others towards the end of the book.
Overall, I liked the fast-paced plot of the story, the surprises, and the action packed/falling action scenes that came after the climax because even that was exciting. Andrew Fukuda has definitely accquired a new fan here.
Gene, who barely remembers that that is his name, is the last living human in a world of bloodthirsty creatures simply known as the people. Since they are the population of the world now, that is what they are called. Humans have been extinct for ten years--or so everyone thought.
When one day the leader of the people declares that humans, hepers as they are called, are not extinct at all. In fact, there are a few left--who will be hunted for sport. The hunters are picked through a lottery, and to his horror, Gene is chosen to become one.
As he prepares for the Hunt, Gene must always keep control of his human senses and faculties. For the slightest misstep could mean his death in a group already on the verge of tasting human flesh. This becomes more difficult when Gene finds himself falling for a girl he knows he cannot have. Will Gene and the few surviving humans make it through the Hunt?
OOOOOOOK. Where to start. I will start with the negatives so I can end this review on a positive note.
I had issues while reading. A lot of issues and questions. First of all, in every other vampire book I have read--and that is a LOT, encompassing all types of vamps from sparkly to ruthless--a vampire has ALWAYS had the ability to detect if someone is vamp or human, no matter how much they attempt to disguise themselves. I find it RIDICULOUSLY hard to believe that Gene is still surviving as the only human (not to mention passing for vamp!) in the midst of these vicious creatures. Especially when I read about how crazy they go when getting the slightest whiff of human, nevermind human blood. So I had to suspend my disbelief QUITE a bit just to even get past the first few chapters of this book.
Also, the word vampire was never used...so I'm not quite sure what to call these creatures. Vampire is the only term I know that fits.
Other things that bothered me:
--The vamps find it disgusting that humans eat fruit, as they exist on raw, bloody meat. But they are OK with eating cake and ice cream?? OKAAAAAAYYYY...
--Gene eats the bloody meat everyday, but it doesn't make him sick. I noted a sentence that said something about it being pasteurized, but still. I am left to guess that he built up a resistance over so many years of doing it.
--Gene is NEVER revealed as human in front of his vamp classmates, but I find that hard to buy.
--What is the armpit-to-elbow action? Is that making out? Is that sex? It was never clearly explained.
Finally, and this is a big issue in so many dystopian books lately...what the eff happened to make the world as it is? Whyyyyy are there so many vampires????
The only characters I liked in the book were the hepers in the dome. Gene was thickheaded, and Ashley June was weirdly persistent for reasons I didn't get. By the time Gene had made decisions to do things, I had already asked myself like ten pages earlier, "Why doesn;t he just do this....?"
So by now you're wondering how I enjoyed this book even a little bit. Well, I would have to tend to agree with you. For the most part, I was too busy asking questions in my head to really like it. But when the plot FINALLY took off at the end, it got kind of better. And the twist at the end made me go, "WTF?"...so I will probably end up reading the next book. Andrew Fukuda can only get better from here, I think.
When one day the leader of the people declares that humans, hepers as they are called, are not extinct at all. In fact, there are a few left--who will be hunted for sport. The hunters are picked through a lottery, and to his horror, Gene is chosen to become one.
As he prepares for the Hunt, Gene must always keep control of his human senses and faculties. For the slightest misstep could mean his death in a group already on the verge of tasting human flesh. This becomes more difficult when Gene finds himself falling for a girl he knows he cannot have. Will Gene and the few surviving humans make it through the Hunt?
OOOOOOOK. Where to start. I will start with the negatives so I can end this review on a positive note.
I had issues while reading. A lot of issues and questions. First of all, in every other vampire book I have read--and that is a LOT, encompassing all types of vamps from sparkly to ruthless--a vampire has ALWAYS had the ability to detect if someone is vamp or human, no matter how much they attempt to disguise themselves. I find it RIDICULOUSLY hard to believe that Gene is still surviving as the only human (not to mention passing for vamp!) in the midst of these vicious creatures. Especially when I read about how crazy they go when getting the slightest whiff of human, nevermind human blood. So I had to suspend my disbelief QUITE a bit just to even get past the first few chapters of this book.
Also, the word vampire was never used...so I'm not quite sure what to call these creatures. Vampire is the only term I know that fits.
Other things that bothered me:
--The vamps find it disgusting that humans eat fruit, as they exist on raw, bloody meat. But they are OK with eating cake and ice cream?? OKAAAAAAYYYY...
--Gene eats the bloody meat everyday, but it doesn't make him sick. I noted a sentence that said something about it being pasteurized, but still. I am left to guess that he built up a resistance over so many years of doing it.
--Gene is NEVER revealed as human in front of his vamp classmates, but
Spoiler
Ashley June, the only other human alive in society, knew what he was for long time, even thought she never told him. She says she more than once noticed him nodding off in class or nervously shaking. But the vamps never did?--What is the armpit-to-elbow action? Is that making out? Is that sex? It was never clearly explained.
Finally, and this is a big issue in so many dystopian books lately...what the eff happened to make the world as it is? Whyyyyy are there so many vampires????
The only characters I liked in the book were the hepers in the dome. Gene was thickheaded, and Ashley June was weirdly persistent for reasons I didn't get. By the time Gene had made decisions to do things, I had already asked myself like ten pages earlier, "Why doesn;t he just do this....?"
So by now you're wondering how I enjoyed this book even a little bit. Well, I would have to tend to agree with you. For the most part, I was too busy asking questions in my head to really like it. But when the plot FINALLY took off at the end, it got kind of better. And the twist at the end made me go, "WTF?"...so I will probably end up reading the next book. Andrew Fukuda can only get better from here, I think.
"I look down at the portrait . . . And the journal falls from my hands. It’s my father. "
What a mean, mean cliffy. This was one of the best vampire books I've EVER read, and trust me I've read quite a few. Amazing writing and the suspense was so well written it took my breath away. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
What a mean, mean cliffy. This was one of the best vampire books I've EVER read, and trust me I've read quite a few. Amazing writing and the suspense was so well written it took my breath away. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
WOW. Just... WOW. One of the review/taglines is that this is what the Hunger Games would be like if it had vampires in it. Very, almost alarmingly true, but it in no way took me out of the story. The entire book was epic and thrilling from start to finish. It was tense and frightening, heart-pounding, dark, and filled with complex characters. I loved it. I can't wait to read the next books and see what happens next. Seriously, do not pass this one up.
I liked the concept more than the execution. The actuality of this story would be impossible but if you can suspend belief it's a very interesting idea. However, like other reviewers have suggested, why the protagonist would continue to place himself in danger every single minute of his life is hard to ignore. It's not going to stop me from reading the rest of the series.
The concept of this story is really interesting and engaging. However, the writing style did turn me off from it sometimes. There were just so many strange metaphors and similes. However, I was shocked by the ending, and find myself in search of the second book. Overall an enjoyable read!
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.
This book was creative, action-packed and a little bit strange. That alone made this a quick read and made it easy to enjoy the ride. There were a few holes in the story, quite a few bizarre moments and a main character I was hoping would become more human. Perhaps this will happen in the next book in the series.