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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
This book was fun and intense, but it was also very predictable and sometimes even a little annoying. As I made my way through this world created by Fukuda full of man-eating monsters, I couldn’t ignore that little voice inside my head that screamed at me that I had read something like this before—in a way. And that’s because this book reminded me A LOT of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins with the televised human hunt that was meant for vampires to enjoy and for humans to remember why they lived in fear, in hiding, or pretending to be one of the man-eating monsters, like our main character. It also reminded me of The Hunger Games because our main character and Ashley June, the girl that was chosen alongside him from their school to participate in the hunt, were told to act as a couple to please the audience—and I should’ve dropped the book at that point, but I kept going, just to see how things would go from there. But besides the predictable and the I-have-seen-this-before, I still managed to enjoy some things about it like: the vampires and the way they acted and how this helped us understand why the humans were almost extinct because of them!
Andrew Fukuda’s writing was good and consistent throughout the whole story. Even though most things were predictable, I found the story to be fast-paced and bearable. Everything about the vampires, the institute and how humans lived and survived pretending to be vampires or in the dome was very well introduced and explained. The settings we get to visit through this book were once human and are now ruled by vampires in the night. Some of these settings were our main character’s house, the school he went to and pretended to be a vampire—where he was chosen to participate in the hunt, the “heper” institute where he and the other hunters would stay and practice for a couple of days before the hunt started, and last but not least (in order to be spoiler free), we get to visit the dome where the “heper/humans” stayed at night in order to be safe from those who wanted to rip them apart and eat them all. These settings had a dark and tense atmosphere, doing the perfect job of reminding us through every single one of them that our human main character could be discovered, attacked and devoured at any moment if he acted strange or made the wrong move.
Some of the characters we got to meet through this story were interesting and annoying, but they all did a great job giving the story some twists and a shape. We got to meet our main character (Gene) and learned about his family and his struggle to survive, we also met Ashley June, whom Gene basically had a crush on since day one, we also get to meet the rest of the hunters, who are all different from each other in every single way—not only in age-gap or appearance, the director of the heper institute, the governor and finally, the hepers (the other humans) that lived in the dome in the heper institute!
In the end, this story was fun and bearable enough for me to finish it, but I had higher expectations for it to be original and not resemble The Hunger Games as much as it did. I wish I could recommend this. I wish I could’ve loved this. I wish this would’ve been better. But it’s not and I don’t recommend it at all.
Andrew Fukuda’s writing was good and consistent throughout the whole story. Even though most things were predictable, I found the story to be fast-paced and bearable. Everything about the vampires, the institute and how humans lived and survived pretending to be vampires or in the dome was very well introduced and explained. The settings we get to visit through this book were once human and are now ruled by vampires in the night. Some of these settings were our main character’s house, the school he went to and pretended to be a vampire—where he was chosen to participate in the hunt, the “heper” institute where he and the other hunters would stay and practice for a couple of days before the hunt started, and last but not least (in order to be spoiler free), we get to visit the dome where the “heper/humans” stayed at night in order to be safe from those who wanted to rip them apart and eat them all. These settings had a dark and tense atmosphere, doing the perfect job of reminding us through every single one of them that our human main character could be discovered, attacked and devoured at any moment if he acted strange or made the wrong move.
Some of the characters we got to meet through this story were interesting and annoying, but they all did a great job giving the story some twists and a shape. We got to meet our main character (Gene) and learned about his family and his struggle to survive, we also met Ashley June, whom Gene basically had a crush on since day one, we also get to meet the rest of the hunters, who are all different from each other in every single way—not only in age-gap or appearance, the director of the heper institute, the governor and finally, the hepers (the other humans) that lived in the dome in the heper institute!
In the end, this story was fun and bearable enough for me to finish it, but I had higher expectations for it to be original and not resemble The Hunger Games as much as it did. I wish I could recommend this. I wish I could’ve loved this. I wish this would’ve been better. But it’s not and I don’t recommend it at all.
Background: Humans no longer exist, they have been hunted out of existence, or so most think. Gene is unlike all of his classmates, and even the world, he is a human, faking his existence as a vampire to fit in. That is, until the Heper Hunt, where the government announces that they have kept some Hepers (humans) in their facilities preparing them for the madness to come. Gene has been living a fake life where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood, now he has been chosen as one of the few to participate in the Hunt, and his life as he knows it begins to breakaway beneath him.
Review: You can feel the suspense from the very beginning of this book, Gene explaining the rules and daily rituals so that he is not discovered by his school-mates or teachers. On Declaration day, the school is abuzz about the Hunt and who will be lucky enough to be chosen…sadly it is Gene, and his rules have not prepared him for this at all. I loved this read. It was action packed and my anxiety level was through the roof the whole time, never a dull moment, because Gene is always on the verge of being found out. There were great twists and while some things were predictable, they were still entertaining and action packed. The ending is a wonderful surprise.
Review: You can feel the suspense from the very beginning of this book, Gene explaining the rules and daily rituals so that he is not discovered by his school-mates or teachers. On Declaration day, the school is abuzz about the Hunt and who will be lucky enough to be chosen…sadly it is Gene, and his rules have not prepared him for this at all. I loved this read. It was action packed and my anxiety level was through the roof the whole time, never a dull moment, because Gene is always on the verge of being found out. There were great twists and while some things were predictable, they were still entertaining and action packed. The ending is a wonderful surprise.
4 frosted sugar cookies.
Cover Love: Yes. I like how it is designed and the use of colors. But it's a little more optimistic than the book actually was...
Why I Wanted to Read This:
The synopsis really interested me. It sounds like such an interesting take on vampires and dystopian.
Read the remainder of this review here on my blog.
Cover Love: Yes. I like how it is designed and the use of colors. But it's a little more optimistic than the book actually was...
Why I Wanted to Read This:
The synopsis really interested me. It sounds like such an interesting take on vampires and dystopian.
Read the remainder of this review here on my blog.
I don't know what made me pick up this book: a recommendation in an article, a rave review on a website, I'm not sure. What I am sure of, though, is that I shouldn't have read this nonsense. Don't get me wrong, the author writes extremely well, lots of his sentences were on point; my issue was with the believability of the novel, which you may think is crazy. I understand that there is a lot of imagination space when one reads a fiction novel, but the stuff this author came up with about a supernatural creature that has been in all sorts of literature for hundreds of years, you can only get so-so creative. First of all, there's no way in hell Gene would've gone unnoticed by the vampires for 17 seconds, let alone 17 years. I mean, really, dude? Second, eliminating all human-like bodily functions is impossible, especially when one can only eat RAW ass meat in the presence of the undead ones. Finally, some of the "details" about the vampire's social/daily structure were just off--the disgust of all human food, yet they eat ice cream; the horrible imagery of their mating habits through the use of their armpits (wtf?); and last, but not least, why the world would you completely eliminate the best food source (hepers) on the planet, they should be breeding those jokers purely for the slaughter! I didn't completely hate it, the author did some things well: a male protagonist with the potential for a love triangle (it's usually two boys and one girl) and the twist at the end. Other than that, the book can kick rocks, cause I won't be recommending, re-reading it, or continuing the series.
Super scary funny story! (Ok not really funny...)
It was so interesting to read a story about a future where human race was eradicated by predators (sort of vampires). But not completely!
I think the funny thing is about the originality of this new species. They are cannibals and live like vampires (sleep the day and live the night) but they have codes, different way to communicate (i laughed so hard when i read how they "kiss").
Gene is human and live among them. He isn't considering himself like a human and not like them. He is not the perfect hero, He did some choice i didn't really understand before realising that He was raised among them alone. He is a survivor.
And i loved Ashley June ! She is so strong and brave! GIRL POWER!
The story is addictive and so intense! I recommend it!
It was so interesting to read a story about a future where human race was eradicated by predators (sort of vampires). But not completely!
I think the funny thing is about the originality of this new species. They are cannibals and live like vampires (sleep the day and live the night) but they have codes, different way to communicate (i laughed so hard when i read how they "kiss").
Gene is human and live among them. He isn't considering himself like a human and not like them. He is not the perfect hero, He did some choice i didn't really understand before realising that He was raised among them alone. He is a survivor.
And i loved Ashley June ! She is so strong and brave! GIRL POWER!
The story is addictive and so intense! I recommend it!
The story was a quick read and an easy one. Like "The Hunger Games," upon which this is most likely modeled, it's a page turner.
Unfortunately, that's the only positive thing I have to say.
The world-building is absolute crap. Other reviewers have pointed out many of the problems with it, so the only one I'm going to detail is the timeline of the dystopia. Fukuda gives several hints within the text that the vampire uprising/takeover was relatively recently, perhaps within the last generation. For example, Gene's family is presented as "in hiding" from the regime, and it's clear that his father remembered a world that was different from one where vampires rule. At the same time, Fukuda gives hints that the uprising happened so long ago that no one remembers a world that was different. This not only doesn't make sense based on other information in the text, but it undermines any character motivations that could be assigned or assumed. We're never given a clear picture of how Gene and has family got away with being human as long as they did, much less why they wanted to continue. For science fiction or fantasy to work, it needs to establish and play by its own internal set of rules. This book does not seem to even try, which insults me as a reader and, frankly, harms what little characterization and plot development is possible with this kind of story.
This is the first book in a series. Despite the cliffhanger ending, I will not be reading the others.
Unfortunately, that's the only positive thing I have to say.
The world-building is absolute crap. Other reviewers have pointed out many of the problems with it, so the only one I'm going to detail is the timeline of the dystopia. Fukuda gives several hints within the text that the vampire uprising/takeover was relatively recently, perhaps within the last generation. For example, Gene's family is presented as "in hiding" from the regime, and it's clear that his father remembered a world that was different from one where vampires rule. At the same time, Fukuda gives hints that the uprising happened so long ago that no one remembers a world that was different. This not only doesn't make sense based on other information in the text, but it undermines any character motivations that could be assigned or assumed. We're never given a clear picture of how Gene and has family got away with being human as long as they did, much less why they wanted to continue. For science fiction or fantasy to work, it needs to establish and play by its own internal set of rules. This book does not seem to even try, which insults me as a reader and, frankly, harms what little characterization and plot development is possible with this kind of story.
This is the first book in a series. Despite the cliffhanger ending, I will not be reading the others.
The Hunt is a really interesting world that is at once intriguing and frightening (at least for humans). It takes place in a world that reminded me a little bit of The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. Mainly because it’s a world where vampires rule and humans are purely prey. But that’s where the similarities end really. The world within The Hunt is a little more civilized in that vampires go to school, live in houses, and have really normal lives, except for their inner instincts to prey on hepers (humans).
Gene has lived within this world for his whole life. But what’s different about Gene is that he isn’t a vampire, but he lives like one in order to survive. He lives with a strict set of rules in order to blend in. But it appears he’s managed to blend in a little too well, because he is one of a handful of citizens randomly chosen to participate in a nationwide event called The Hunt, where a few lucky vampires get to hunt down several of the very limited hepers left in the world.
So the book is about the time leading up to this hunt as well as the hunt itself and how Gene is working to keep himself out of the spotlight and from being hunted himself. It’s really interesting and also very scary too. To think that Gene can never really be himself but has to act like this other being in order to survive. It’s a little heartbreaking because he’s so alone in this world.
I really liked this one. I liked being in Gene’s head for a little while. He’s smart and resourceful and it’s incredible he’s managed to survive in such a world as long as he has. The story is sort of Hunger Games-esk in that The Hunt is supposed to be a moral booster for the citizens. But in this case the citizens are blood-thirsty vampires as opposed to oppressed humans. There were a few lull moments, but in between those the book kept me on my toes and turning the page. The last 10% of the book especially is very go-go-go and action packed.
Overall, great book. I’d definitely recommend it to dystopian and vampire fans. The world is twisted and dark with just enough spark of hope attached. Gene is a great character to follow around. The story is intriguing, and the ending was twisty enough that I didn’t really see it coming (a little bit though) but not too much of a cliffhanger so it won’t be absolute torture waiting for the next book. But, I can’t wait to see what happens in the series because it should be interesting!
Gene has lived within this world for his whole life. But what’s different about Gene is that he isn’t a vampire, but he lives like one in order to survive. He lives with a strict set of rules in order to blend in. But it appears he’s managed to blend in a little too well, because he is one of a handful of citizens randomly chosen to participate in a nationwide event called The Hunt, where a few lucky vampires get to hunt down several of the very limited hepers left in the world.
So the book is about the time leading up to this hunt as well as the hunt itself and how Gene is working to keep himself out of the spotlight and from being hunted himself. It’s really interesting and also very scary too. To think that Gene can never really be himself but has to act like this other being in order to survive. It’s a little heartbreaking because he’s so alone in this world.
I really liked this one. I liked being in Gene’s head for a little while. He’s smart and resourceful and it’s incredible he’s managed to survive in such a world as long as he has. The story is sort of Hunger Games-esk in that The Hunt is supposed to be a moral booster for the citizens. But in this case the citizens are blood-thirsty vampires as opposed to oppressed humans. There were a few lull moments, but in between those the book kept me on my toes and turning the page. The last 10% of the book especially is very go-go-go and action packed.
Overall, great book. I’d definitely recommend it to dystopian and vampire fans. The world is twisted and dark with just enough spark of hope attached. Gene is a great character to follow around. The story is intriguing, and the ending was twisty enough that I didn’t really see it coming (a little bit though) but not too much of a cliffhanger so it won’t be absolute torture waiting for the next book. But, I can’t wait to see what happens in the series because it should be interesting!
I was initially pretty snarky about this-- because it did start out seeming like the latest YA contortion of hunts, games, vampires, pretty girls, jocks, the misunderstood loner, etc. Like take the current trend puzzle pieces, shake and toss to form a new iteration. In the end, it managed to be somewhat interesting and technically well done enough to blindside me with something that should have been extremely obvious.
The Hunt, short for Heaper Hunt, is an event wherein people (vampires) hunt Heapers (people). The big problem is that, in a national lottery, our protagonist is chosen to hunt the Heapers when he is a Heaper himself who has spent his life in a blend-in-or-die situation. The vast majority of the novel is various permutations on him trying to continue to blend while growing body hair, having body odor and desperately needing water. It starts seemingly predictable and lame and finishes as something fairly exciting and again, well constructed. Fukuda's writing is subtle and his word choice is often disarming.
I'll pursue the sequels as they appear because it does end on the soapiest of operatic cliffhangers. I'm not proud, but I will.
The Hunt, short for Heaper Hunt, is an event wherein people (vampires) hunt Heapers (people). The big problem is that, in a national lottery, our protagonist is chosen to hunt the Heapers when he is a Heaper himself who has spent his life in a blend-in-or-die situation. The vast majority of the novel is various permutations on him trying to continue to blend while growing body hair, having body odor and desperately needing water. It starts seemingly predictable and lame and finishes as something fairly exciting and again, well constructed. Fukuda's writing is subtle and his word choice is often disarming.
I'll pursue the sequels as they appear because it does end on the soapiest of operatic cliffhangers. I'm not proud, but I will.
Really 3.5 stars. It was a good read and I will likely read the next one but I found some of the vampire traits a bit too odd for my liking. The way they "make out" is just weird.
it was slow at the beginning
but the
ending
was
amazing
i loved it
sdfghjkfeofkitrrkdsa
read it please
its amazing
omg
its unbelievable
but the
ending
was
amazing
i loved it
sdfghjkfeofkitrrkdsa
read it please
its amazing
omg
its unbelievable