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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
With a title like "The Hunt" and a description involving the near extinction of all human life as vampires take over the earth, you'd expect an action-packed, wild ride of an adventure when you picked up this book.
But that isn't what you get. I had such high hopes for this book, but it just didn't quite get there. It is, however, a book with a very intriguing background.
Reasons to Read:
1.A story shrouded in mystery:
The Hunt kept me guessing the entire time I was reading it, and I literally had no idea in what direction it would head. It was such a creative world, one that hasn't been overdone in YA yet, that I found most of it to be very unexpected in terms of development and plot. I really like books with good twists and The Hunt has one at the end that I found to be VERY surprising! All of my guesses regarding that character turned out to be wrong, so that was refreshing to read about :) nearly all the characters ended up different than how I expected them to be, and the story didn't involve the events I thought it would...
But that ended up being a great disappointment of mine. The Hunt largely features the build up and background of The Hunt rather than the event itself. I found that disappointing, because it lacked the action I was anticipating. The story was just frustratingly slow and uneventful. And I'm pretty much convinced that all the vampires who meet Gene in real life must be oblivious to not have picked up that he's human (which is even joked about. But seriously).
I wasn't impressed with much of the writing either; it wasn't bad at all, but I found that the writing style combined with Gene's character didn't nail the desperation and emotion that the situation warranted. I mean, Gene's a human constantly surrounded by vampires and he has to hide who he is just to save his life- that's KIND OF a big deal, but he just seemed so casual with it. I know he's used to doing this on a daily basis, but not to the same extent. It just didn't feel real to me.
Lastly, for a book that did do an excellent job of setting the stage for latter books I still felt that most of the world development was lacking. Things are thrown in (like hooking up with their elbows somehow) but they aren't explained. It's just accepted. But I kept wondering if I had misunderstood or misread something because I just didn't get it.
I have to admit though that I think the next books could EASILY redeem this series. I was so disappointed in The Hunt, but I think it's only going to get better from here on out! Fingers crossed.
E-galley received from publisher.
But that isn't what you get. I had such high hopes for this book, but it just didn't quite get there. It is, however, a book with a very intriguing background.
Reasons to Read:
1.A story shrouded in mystery:
The Hunt kept me guessing the entire time I was reading it, and I literally had no idea in what direction it would head. It was such a creative world, one that hasn't been overdone in YA yet, that I found most of it to be very unexpected in terms of development and plot. I really like books with good twists and The Hunt has one at the end that I found to be VERY surprising! All of my guesses regarding that character turned out to be wrong, so that was refreshing to read about :) nearly all the characters ended up different than how I expected them to be, and the story didn't involve the events I thought it would...
But that ended up being a great disappointment of mine. The Hunt largely features the build up and background of The Hunt rather than the event itself. I found that disappointing, because it lacked the action I was anticipating. The story was just frustratingly slow and uneventful. And I'm pretty much convinced that all the vampires who meet Gene in real life must be oblivious to not have picked up that he's human (which is even joked about. But seriously).
I wasn't impressed with much of the writing either; it wasn't bad at all, but I found that the writing style combined with Gene's character didn't nail the desperation and emotion that the situation warranted. I mean, Gene's a human constantly surrounded by vampires and he has to hide who he is just to save his life- that's KIND OF a big deal, but he just seemed so casual with it. I know he's used to doing this on a daily basis, but not to the same extent. It just didn't feel real to me.
Lastly, for a book that did do an excellent job of setting the stage for latter books I still felt that most of the world development was lacking. Things are thrown in (like hooking up with their elbows somehow) but they aren't explained. It's just accepted. But I kept wondering if I had misunderstood or misread something because I just didn't get it.
I have to admit though that I think the next books could EASILY redeem this series. I was so disappointed in The Hunt, but I think it's only going to get better from here on out! Fingers crossed.
E-galley received from publisher.
I won this book in a Goodreads first reads giveaway.
This book was hard to read. I couldn't get into it and finally told myself I had to finish it before I read another book. One hundred and sixteen pages in and the story was still slow and the main character, Gene, wasn't interesting or compelling. His weird instant like/love friendship with Ashley June didn't feel real at all.
Finally about 200 out of almost 300 pages the plot really took off and things started happening. It ends on a cliffhanger that would make me interested in learning how the series continues, but I would more than likely read a spoiler review instead of trying to read the next one and boring myself all over again.
-Spoiler Free-
-Well, nothing you can't find in the pitch anyways-
Mmm, it was okay.
The idea was extremely original, so he gets points for that. However, it wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be.
For one, there wasn't a whole lot of action. Most of the book was him trying to cover up the fact he was a "Heper" (And they never did explain why they called them Hepers instead of humans). There were some scenes where they caught his scent and he had to get creative, but the book wasn't about him hunting for humans with a couple of vampires like the title implied. The pitch made it sound much cooler than I personally think it was.
It also seemed in places like it was trying really hard to be The Hunger Games. They went through training to learn how to "hunt hepers" to raise the emperor's ratings, and stayed in this facility the entire book. They didn't actually hunt anybody like the pitch implied.
The narrator was also painfully dumb sometimes. While the author compensated a little bit by having another character point out how dumb he was, he messed quite a few things up that had obvious and simple solutions. I also really didn't like him as a character: he was really, really back-stabby and selfish.
However, the book was a pretty interesting read, even if it was cliché and far from what was advertised. There were a couple of interesting plot twists, especially near the end. It wasn't the best book, not by a long shot, but if you were thinking about giving it a read it wasn't a complete waste of time.
-Well, nothing you can't find in the pitch anyways-
Mmm, it was okay.
The idea was extremely original, so he gets points for that. However, it wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be.
For one, there wasn't a whole lot of action. Most of the book was him trying to cover up the fact he was a "Heper" (And they never did explain why they called them Hepers instead of humans). There were some scenes where they caught his scent and he had to get creative, but the book wasn't about him hunting for humans with a couple of vampires like the title implied. The pitch made it sound much cooler than I personally think it was.
It also seemed in places like it was trying really hard to be The Hunger Games. They went through training to learn how to "hunt hepers" to raise the emperor's ratings, and stayed in this facility the entire book. They didn't actually hunt anybody like the pitch implied.
The narrator was also painfully dumb sometimes. While the author compensated a little bit by having another character point out how dumb he was, he messed quite a few things up that had obvious and simple solutions. I also really didn't like him as a character: he was really, really back-stabby and selfish.
However, the book was a pretty interesting read, even if it was cliché and far from what was advertised. There were a couple of interesting plot twists, especially near the end. It wasn't the best book, not by a long shot, but if you were thinking about giving it a read it wasn't a complete waste of time.
This was a good one! A little bloody but clean none the less. A world where " people" are vampire like and " hepers" (humans) are a sot after delacacy. One human has managed to live among them unknowingly. Then he gets picked to Hunt the last known hepers as a game. Some of the characteristics of the "people" bugged me. No names, facial expressions or fluctuations of the voice. a "laugh" was signified with the scratching of ones wrist, and a make out session in a closet consisted of the boy placing his elbow in the girls armpit and gyrating it. Lol its cracking me up as i write about it! It was a little odd to imagine , so I just kind of drifted over those scenes. But the story itself was really good. Ubrupt ending tho so I will anxiously await the next installment in 2013.
Very nice! This book is completely different from every other stories I' ve ever read about vampires (and they are all so similar, aren't they?), easy to read and breath-catching. I'm looking foward to read the second one, I have so many questions unsolved!
I really enjoyed this unique perspective on the vampire phenomenon. It's a little "I am Legend," in that the main character is the only human in a world of vampires. He is careful to ensure that his human features do not give him away to all the vampires around him, which gives the reader a detailed look at the physiological differences between humans and vampires, and the book provides plenty of other examples of how different the two species are and how difficult it is for him to survive. I called one of the twists early on, which was too bad, and this first volume in a trilogy doesn't provide much closure at the end. I'm not terribly interested in reading the rest of the series, as beyond the details identifying vampires as a completely different species, there's just nothing particularly inventive here.
I really enjoyed this. I do not typically enjoy vampire stories - sparkly or otherwise - but this one was just so CREEPY! The fact that the main character thinks that he is the only human left in a world where human meat is a delicacy is just *beyond* to me. The characters were very well done, Gene has a clear voice, and the little touches are so...well...touching. For instance, the fact that Gene and his father turn their backs to each other in shame while eating fruit. Because real people don't eat fruit, only the animal hepers do.
There are lots of twists and turns, and the action in the final section of the book felt UNREAL... In a good way!
The only thing that irritates me was the lack of an explanation as to where the term Heper originated. Why does that irritate me so much? Because it's a book, that's why. And in books, each word is supposed to mean something specific. And if Heper means nothing, then just use human!
Anyway, I enjoyed this so much, that I immediately went to the library to get book 2, and inhaled that one in one day!
There are lots of twists and turns, and the action in the final section of the book felt UNREAL... In a good way!
The only thing that irritates me was the lack of an explanation as to where the term Heper originated. Why does that irritate me so much? Because it's a book, that's why. And in books, each word is supposed to mean something specific. And if Heper means nothing, then just use human!
Anyway, I enjoyed this so much, that I immediately went to the library to get book 2, and inhaled that one in one day!
Bedauerlicherweise ist mir der Einstieg bei diesem Buch sehr schwer gefallen. Mit dem Schreibstil kann ich nicht besonders viel anfangen. Er ist irgendwie unpersönlich und ziemlich einfach gehalten. Ich glaube, dass die Geschichte eher jüngere Leser anspricht, kann aber auch nicht genau erklären, woran das liegt. Ich mag Jugendbücher normalerweise wirklich gerne. Die Idee ist schon originell, meiner Einschätzung nach aber noch nicht ganz ausgereift und teilweise fehlerhaft. Im Buch steht z.B., dass "sie" nicht lächeln, dann gibt es aber eine Stelle, an der einer von "ihnen" grinst. Derartige Logikfehler häufen sich leider im Buch. Außerdem frage ich mich immer noch, wer "sie" eigentlich sind und wo "sie" herkommen. Sind es nun Menschen jagende Vampire, Zombies oder Mutationen? Das habe ich immer noch nicht herausgefunden. Diese blutrünstigen vampirähnlichen Wesen werden einfach nur "die Leute" genannt.
Die Geschichte wird von Gene in der Ich-Form erzählt. Das Buch ist sehr spannend, ein richtiger Pageturner. Es gibt einige Stellen, an denen es nahezu unmöglich ist, diesen Roman zur Seite zu legen. Wenn ich ehrlich bin, will ich am liebsten sofort wissen, wie es weiter geht. Trotzdem finde ich die Geschichte ziemlich unglaubwürdig. Das ist wirklich schwer zu erklären. Ich bin im Moment regelrecht hin- und hergerissen. Das Buch hat mich nicht ganz überzeugt, mitgerissen aber auf jeden Fall. Die Fortsetzung werde ich daher definitiv lesen. Wer ein paar Logikfehler verkraften kann, wird mit "Die Jäger der Nacht" bestimmt einige aufregende Lesestunden verbringen. Ich kann trotzdem leider nur 3 Sterne vergeben, allerdings mit starker Tendenz nach oben.
Die Geschichte wird von Gene in der Ich-Form erzählt. Das Buch ist sehr spannend, ein richtiger Pageturner. Es gibt einige Stellen, an denen es nahezu unmöglich ist, diesen Roman zur Seite zu legen. Wenn ich ehrlich bin, will ich am liebsten sofort wissen, wie es weiter geht. Trotzdem finde ich die Geschichte ziemlich unglaubwürdig. Das ist wirklich schwer zu erklären. Ich bin im Moment regelrecht hin- und hergerissen. Das Buch hat mich nicht ganz überzeugt, mitgerissen aber auf jeden Fall. Die Fortsetzung werde ich daher definitiv lesen. Wer ein paar Logikfehler verkraften kann, wird mit "Die Jäger der Nacht" bestimmt einige aufregende Lesestunden verbringen. Ich kann trotzdem leider nur 3 Sterne vergeben, allerdings mit starker Tendenz nach oben.
This was a bit of a slow burn and left a lot of unfinished questions. But all in all a good book. The characters were well developed and the he author did a good job of differentiating between the vampires and humans or “Hebers” which is never explained as to where the word came from. I was pleasantly surprised.