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wlkperkins 's review for:
The Hunt
by Andrew Fukuda
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.