Review: The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda

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?

review

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda: terrific or horrific? I cannot seem to decide.

Let's assume that it really is possible to spend years without breathing hard, coughing, laughing, crying or emoting in any way in the presence of unnamed predators who have hunted hepers (that's what they call humans) to the point of endangerment. It seems unbelievable but let's assume the need for survival makes the main character that good at hiding in plain sight; at being one of them.

Few chapters into the book, when I stopped wondering how the main character, Gene managed to keep up the act and where the creatures featured in this book came from, I found myself getting sucked into the story. It is definitely a very creative and unique premise, there's no doubt about that. Fukuda has created a horrifying world that's hundred times scarier than any dystopia I've ever read: it involves unnamed creatures who resemble humans and even talk like them but the similarities end there. They don't smile, cough, laugh, the sunlight reduces them to mush, they are not hairy and cannot swim. They scratch their wrists when they are amused, kiss by shoving their elbows into armpits and drool a lot!

I was okay with the main character, Gene, in the first few chapters. He seemed to be a survivor and did everything necessary not to draw attention to himself. When he gets picked to be a part of the Heper Hunt, a chance to hunt down the last remaining humans and drink their blood, he's obviously in a bit of the fix. How long will it take before his fellow hunters, who are a pretty aggressive lot, realise he's a heper?

But eventually, as I learned more about Gene, I found it hard to like him. Acting like one of the vamp-like creatures all his life had clearly turned him into one of them. Gene refers to humans as hepers, a term given to humans by these creatures, even in his head and when he meets the humans who are to be hunted down, he is actually surprised that they are clever and resourceful and thinks he is better than them. This made my blood boil.

Gene's love interest, Ashley June, is still a bit of a mystery to me but I enjoyed the way their relationship blossomed. Amidst the hardened blood-spattered climate, the moments they shared were like little splashes of colour and sparkle that filled me with warmth. There was that one scene in the ballroom that made my heart melt. ❤

But the rest of the book? The gore-filled scenes were brilliantly written. Definitely made me squirm but ultimately also hooked me in and made it impossible for me to stop reading. Yet I despised most of the characters. The ones I didn't despise, I still didn't care all that much about. And characters are everything. They make the story. The characters who were one-note, save few situations and the plot holes almost made me decide this series was not for me. That was until the super huge cliffhanger that made me stop breathing and read the last page over and over again in shock. Now I'll have to read the sequel.

The Hunt is flawed in terms of world building and was too gory for my liking. I found it hard to get attached to any of the characters but the plot is extremely creative and original. Certain scenes were memorable while others made me want to throw something at the main character. But I was hooked throughout. I had a love-hate relationship with this book, which makes it so hard to rate it. I'll have to go with the infamous three stars.

Publication date: 8th May, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: NetGalley
Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Hunt is also available in audio format from Macmillan Audio. It's read by Sean Runnette! I was provided with an audio clip that's from the first chapter of The Hunt and it sounds pretty great! I've posted the link to the clip below!

CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE CLIP

Audio-book Buy Links: Amazon | The Book Depository