The Hunt (The Hunt, #1)

May 09, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those looking for something similar to The Immortal Rules

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, 2012-release, young-adult, st-martins-press, macmillan, vamps, e-arc, ebook, netgalley, 2012-reads, all-the-wrong-choices, could-have-been-better, disappointment, dystopian, i-totally-saw-that-coming, it-wasn-t-all-that-but-enjoyable, made-me-angry, original-and-creative, poor-world-building, strange, what-kind-of-ending-was-that, why-the-hype, youve-got-to-be-kidding-me, male-pov

If there is anything good coming from the newer crops of dystopian fiction these days it's one thing: Evil, ravenous vampires are back. With books like The Immortal Rules and now The Hunt, YA thiller fans are sure to be pleased by this turn of events. I know I am. Unfortunately, The Hunt failed to WOW me on that factor alone.

In a nutshell, The Hunt is like an inverted Immortal Rules with a Hunger Games-esque twist. Instead of our young, male protagonist, Gene, being the only vampire among humans...more

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May 10, 2012 Giselle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, dystopia-or-post-apocalyptic

Definitely creative, but awfully bizarre to the point of being cheesy, The Hunt is perfect if you're looking for a mindless read with an interesting concept. However, if you sit for a minute and think about it, this whole plot has no justification. Why? Because there's absolutely nothing that makes me root for the humans. Why stay human? Why not simply become a vampire, and live your life amongst everyone else, free of burden. Sure you crave blood and you can't go out in the sunlight, but how do...more

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May 16, 2012 Mitch rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-by-guys-for-guys

The Hunt's one of those books with a rather straightforward plot on the surface but a massive conspiracy underneath, tossing out hints as easily as setting up the action, all leading up to a cliffhanger ending that just teases at the bottom of the mystery. I really wanted to rate it higher too but I'm annoyed because I got the contours of the conspiracy down, but I just can't seem to see the full picture, figure it out before the sequel gives it all away (or at least more pieces of the puzzle)....more The Hunt's one of those books with a rather straightforward plot on the surface but a massive conspiracy underneath, tossing out hints as easily as setting up the action, all leading up to a cliffhanger ending that just teases at the bottom of the mystery. I really wanted to rate it higher too but I'm annoyed because I got the contours of the conspiracy down, but I just can't seem to see the full picture, figure it out before the sequel gives it all away (or at least more pieces of the puzzle). I'll try to keep the two parts separate, a review based just on the plot (which I liked) and then some discussion of the underlying conspiracy with spoiler tags.

Plotwise, this is one of the better dystopians I've read. I say that generously because I'm not a big fan of them, ever since the one, authors have been trying to outdo each other coming up with the most contrived worlds to 'challenge' their characters, social science and common sense be damned. But this one I liked, Gene having to survive in a society where he'd be instantly devoured if he's ever found out to be a human, because Fukuda's writing makes Gene very easy to relate to. The urgency of Gene's situation's done extremely well, there's nervousness, paranoia, fear, anticipation of being discovered, but not too much that it becomes overwhelming or repetitive. And the best part? Gene's father, reminding him what it means to be human, what it means to be one of the vampires, because even though there are so many outs, stabbing himself in full view of everyone for example, Gene's survival instincts are stronger, enough that he never more than briefly considers going through with it.

The world building is excellent too. Another one of my typical complaints with dystopians is that they can easily get away if authors aren't careful, become too bogged down in technobabble or futuristic speech, but this was extremely easy to follow. All the stuff Gene does to stay hidden? I can easily imagine doing myself. Are some of the details a little strange? Sure, but they're memorable and help distinguish this book over the pack *scratches wrist*. Finally a book where the vampires drool over red meat like they're supposed to instead of sparkle in the sun! And the chapters of setup building up to the Hunt really add to the pressing mood. The actual event doesn't start until well near the end of the book, but the setup's never dull, like unraveling a mystery, and just like Gene tells the Director it really does build up the tension, raise the stakes, make the ending all that more engaging. And the last few chapters, wow is it action packed. I kept thinking Gene would get eaten - right up to the cliffhanger.

Now for the stuff I didn't like, more like couldn't really figure out. If you haven't finished the book and don't want to be spoiled, look away now. In addition to the basic plot of survival, there's also a deeper conspiracy in this book. (view spoiler) A major character is not who you think he or she is. (view spoiler) Thinking about it, I didn't like this reveal at first, felt kind of contrived, but depending on the way it works into the bigger mystery, I might be ok with it. Reading the sequel will tell.

Then, the cliffhanger ending. (view spoiler) But beyond what's in the spoiler, I'm sure there's an even bigger picture, some big secret dealing with vampire and/or human history, but I'm just not seeing it. Or maybe it's just that simple.

Anyway, I liked this book alot, there's a simple plot that's quite enjoyable, but the deeper mystery is just driving me nuts. I've reread The Hunt twice now looking for more clues, but until I figure out the big picture, I'm not quite sure what to make of this book.(less)

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Jun 22, 2012 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya

so this book is kind of fun, but full of problematic holes and "huh's?"

vampires.

vampires rule the day here. nearly everyone has become a vampire, and the humans who remain must camouflage their human characteristics to be able to survive and blend in. all the concessions are made to vampire-life: school is held at night, lighting is kept low, and meat is served very very rare. and remaining "hepers" or "humans" are periodically released into an arena for vampires to hunt and eat, in a morale-bo...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Megan (Book Brats) rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 f...more 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.(less)

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Jun 13, 2012 Sarah (saz101) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-releases, vampires, dystopia, young-adult

Chilling, creepy, visceral and exciting, Andrew Fukuda's The Hunt is many things: Dystopian, paranormal, survivalist fantasy—but mainly, it'sgood.

The Story:
In a world where 'people' are not at all like you and I lives a 17 year old boy named Gene. Gene is many things: A survivor, an expert at deception, but most of all a freak. Instead of fangs, he has unsharpened incisors. While the sun makes 'people' melt and disintegrate, Gene can withstand ceaseless daylight. Instead of a healthy diet of blo...more

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Jan 28, 2013 JennyJen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cliffhanger, creepy, gritty, gross, gore-galore, hero-doesnt-do-it-for-me, male-pov, mc-sucks-ass, not-what-i-expected, read-2013, riveting, reviewed, series, solid-series-start, somebody-slap-that-protagonist-pls, too-far-fetched-contrived, vamps, young-adult

3.5 stars

Brace yourselves, because this:

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda photo zomb4_zps1c5b7a87.gif

is a rage zombie… but whatever. This is exactly what I pictured when I thought of the vamps in The Hunt.

This was a bit of a wild ride and a nonstop one from beginning to end. If you’re able to ignore the huge plot holes like I did, this book can be really enjoyable. It’s hard to get bored when vamps are flying off the handle and behaving completely unpredictably. I was worried at first, because everyone compared this to The Hunger Games with vamps and I...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Kristy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian

Wow, this was such an interesting idea. Such a cool concept. Let me give you an inside look:

So in this world, humans or hepers are the minority. They are basically extinct. The world consists of these vampire-ish creatures.They are not your typical Vampire diaries/Twilight vamps. They are not romantic. In order for you, as a human to survive as our main character Gene does, you must blend in. You must look and smell like a vampire. This means, shaving all your hair, never showing an emotion on y...more Wow, this was such an interesting idea. Such a cool concept. Let me give you an inside look:

So in this world, humans or hepers are the minority. They are basically extinct. The world consists of these vampire-ish creatures.They are not your typical Vampire diaries/Twilight vamps. They are not romantic. In order for you, as a human to survive as our main character Gene does, you must blend in. You must look and smell like a vampire. This means, shaving all your hair, never showing an emotion on your face, never getting goosebumps, wearing fake fangs, deodorizing yourself, etc. This is crucial to survival. Standing out in the wrong way is death.

In this sick world, the rulers have decided it's time for a hunt, they will choose at random (probably not) individuals to participate in this. These "lucky" ones will get to hunt down the last of the remaining Hepers. It's sort of a last man standing ordeal. It's everyone out for themselves, bloodlust at it's most intense and time to attack.

Gene is chosen and so is another girl from his school, Ashley. He drools over her, but knows he cannot have her. He wants things to be different. But, he is alone.

Will he survive? How can he hide his essence amoung all these vamps (or whatever they are)? Can he escape?

3 stars

Warning; this book is weird, just flat out weird. If you can tolerate the scratching elbows and hissing in the beginning I would say give it a good go. This one is not going to be for everyone, most definitely not for those not into dystopian and not for those who are going to nit-pick every detail. If you can let yourself escape into this world, it's actually quite good... but I can't guarantee that you will be able to...
(maybe that made sense)

Also, that ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I am hooked. Now, I really want to know what happens next, but I will say I could see myself getting bored with this cat and mouse game if something insane doesn't happen next!

Crystal, my BBP... so far our "bad books" haven't been to horrible. I'm glad I read this one. It's going to stay with me ;)(less)

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Mar 05, 2012 Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own, action-packed, conflicted-thoughts, it-s-you-not-me, received-for-review, what-happened-to-you

I'm struggling as to whether I should give this a 2.5 or a 3.
I know. What a horrible rating for a book I'm sure you expected a lot more from.
It started off decent enough. The middle was quite shaky. But the last 50 pages or so just went more and more downhill.

When you get down to it (to be blunt). It's a case of one dimensional characters and not that much of a well-written book. It was entertaining at points. But something would always pop up that would let me down. World building wasn't on po...more

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May 29, 2012 Nimue rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, netgalley, paranormal, vampire, romance

What if the world isn’t dominated by humans?

I guess that’s the initial question the author asked himself before writing this intense and gripping novel. In almost all paranormal books humans are the common species and then there are other being around, knowingly or not. Very often these “others” have to hide from humans or at least blend in. The world created by Andrew Fukuda in Hunt differs tremendously from these common settings as the vampires rule society and human beings are all but extinct...more What if the world isn’t dominated by humans?

I guess that’s the initial question the author asked himself before writing this intense and gripping novel. In almost all paranormal books humans are the common species and then there are other being around, knowingly or not. Very often these “others” have to hide from humans or at least blend in. The world created by Andrew Fukuda in Hunt differs tremendously from these common settings as the vampires rule society and human beings are all but extinct. I guess that happens if you smell compellingly like the best food ever invented.

I loved that this book is written out of a teenage boy’s point of view. It was interesting getting to see his thoughts and how he approached problems. The boy’s name is Gene, although this isn’t revealed until very late into book as he had nearly forgotten his own name. Individuals in his society have assigned numbers instead of a personal name. In contrast to everyone else Gene is human and he has to hide this fact otherwise he will end up as someone’s snack faster than you can say vampire. Also, Gene is completely on his own. His family is gone, presumably dead. This is the situation at the beginning of the book and I was glued to the pages. It’s enthralling to read about this strange world, what the rules are and how a teenager is trying to survive in very hostile environment. By the way, I couldn’t actually figure out if the setting is on Earth in a dystopian-like scenario or if it’s actually a place somewhere else. Which also brings me to point out that I would have liked some more world-building in general. You get an idea of the society and how it’s structured but a lot of things stay unclear and I think the story would benefit from some more details.

Vampire hunts humans – but what if you are human yourself … and hiding it?

Gene is casted for an official hunt on humans and in contrast to all the vampires he, obviously, doesn’t want to hunt humans! Not only doesn’t he want to kill anybody but most likely he will also reveal his own human status throughout the hunt. That’s the whole dilemma. To me this is a fascinating premise.But how human is Gene still? He didn’t have any contact with humans in years. He almost forgot his own name. Actually when he finally comes in contact with human beings, he kind of treats them quite badly. The whole part about getting ready to hunt with the other participants was a bit tedious to read, a lot of details about all the other hunters but little action itself.

Being human or survival – or both?

There is the additional challenge of Gene being fascinated by another hunter. I liked this story line. He is interacting with somebody and for the first time behaves almost like a normal teenage boy. But suddenly a lot of things happen and the pace picks up immensely. There is so much happening at the end of the book that I was once again glued to the story. There is also a fascinating titbit of information right at the end, a real cliff-hanger. Well placed. And though the book isn’t perfect, I will so pick up the sequel. I want to know what will happen to Gene and … I can’t tell you whom else I’m curious about, but there are others. I also hope that the vampires will be characterised more differentiated in the next book as this part felt a bit flat here. Otherwise a well done start to a new paranormal/dystopian/fiction series.(less)

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Apr 17, 2012 Hayden Casey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, ya, 2012-favorites

There was only one word on my mind when I closed the back cover of The Hunt: wow!

The gobsmacking cover drew me in, and Fukuda's carefully chosen words kept me held close. Fukuda really knows how to make a book page-turning. Every word Fukuda writes is important and engrossing; not once is there an infodump, which makes for an action-packed and gripping read. I read this book in three hours bcause it was just so tense and wonderful.

The concept of The Hunt is intriguing: humans have been replaced...more There was only one word on my mind when I closed the back cover of The Hunt: wow!

The gobsmacking cover drew me in, and Fukuda's carefully chosen words kept me held close. Fukuda really knows how to make a book page-turning. Every word Fukuda writes is important and engrossing; not once is there an infodump, which makes for an action-packed and gripping read. I read this book in three hours bcause it was just so tense and wonderful.

The concept of The Hunt is intriguing: humans have been replaced by a new generation of creatures that crave human blood, yet are surprisingly not vampire-like, and our protagonist is a regular human. Said regular humans are called hepers. Our main character, Gene, has to monitor his every move so he doesn't end up being eaten by the Human 2.0's.

The novel also presents many themes, which include family, friendship, and staying true to yourself. Fukuda manages to include these themes without sounding preachy, and he does it well. Including these things in a novel makes it feel more realistic, and I felt like I was right there next to Gene as he was experiencing everything.

I will admit that I thought The Hunt was a Hunger Games knockoff at first. And for a few pages, it seemed like it. The concept: going into a big arena to fight off as many as you can and be the winner? Dystopian society? As soon as I made the comparison, I lost all hope for the book. Just another author capitalizing off the success of the dystopian genre. As I began the novel, though, I was captivated, and I lost all suspicions I had once had. I realized soon enough that there was one key difference from The Hunger Games: the initiation. In Hunger Games, it lasted a very meager number of pages. In The Hunt, there is a much longer period of time where the Hunters are initiated. At this point, I was able to stop worrying about its copycat nature and just enjoy it.

The Hunt also features a little bit of romance -- between Gene and a certain unnamed non-Heper girl. I won't give anything away, but one of the things Gene's dad told him before he disappeared was to never fall in love with one of the non-Hepers. Let's just kick back and wait to see how deep Gene falls into trouble...

Speaking of Gene, Fukuda characterizes very well. The backstory he provides for each of the characters makes them feel like family to the reader. It is very special. You don't see that a lot in YA; most characters are just there to follow the plot and provide entertainment in other YA. I can almost hear the conversation:

"Why do you love me, Edward?"

"Because Stephenie Meyer told me to. Oh, and also, spoiler alert: you'll eventually become a vampire."

"Oh YAY! I love you, too!"

This is not the case in The Hunt. Each character is fleshed out thoroughly, emotional, non-cardboard-like in nature. I appreciate that.

If you're looking for a kick-arse, addictive and genuinely real novel, try The Hunt. Andrew Fukuda is a debut author not to be missed.(less)

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Apr 17, 2012 Danny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: imm-march

Review first posted at Bewitched Bookworms

Let me preface by telling you that I started this book with no real expectations. The synopsis sounded intriguing enough, the cover looks great and I thought I was up for a great read. I had no idea what I was getting into and I ended up having one of the most amazing and thrilling rides with this book… Be aware! It’s getting… Dark!

Hello Cruel and Horrible World (..of which I do not wish to be part of … )
*shivers* Humans are nearly extinct. Our world is...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Rogier rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2012, dystopian, wishlist

4.5

the hunt by andrew fukada

my thoughts

Cover Honestly I don't know wich one I like better.the us orange cover to important caracters are shown in the backgrond and the hole in tin i think.[a Key point in the novel!?] or the UK in no way resemblence to but love the emotion of the cover model,the creatures in the backgrond, the color template and the bloody lettering of the title

Book: I was so happy to finnaly get approved by Sint martin's press

Imagine a world were humans are nearly extinc and hu...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Kai (Amaterasu Reads) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teens, 2012-tbr-pile, arc, for-review

Review posted at Amaterasu Reads

See when Richelle Mead said The Hunt is "terrifying and fascinating", I should have taken her word for it. I really should have.

I am writing this review with my heart still up on my throat, pounding frantically from the adrenaline rush this book provided. I'm pretty much feeling utterly terrified right now, and I am not exaggerating.

We are all humans, that's an undeniable fact. I am human, and I have never before appreciated being one until I have read this book....more Review posted at Amaterasu Reads

See when Richelle Mead said The Hunt is "terrifying and fascinating", I should have taken her word for it. I really should have.

I am writing this review with my heart still up on my throat, pounding frantically from the adrenaline rush this book provided. I'm pretty much feeling utterly terrified right now, and I am not exaggerating.

We are all humans, that's an undeniable fact. I am human, and I have never before appreciated being one until I have read this book. It saddened and somehow repulsed me to see humanity die and deteriorate to the unimaginable. You never appreciate humanity as it is now until you read of something like what is portrayed in The Hunt, where the population was reduced to flesh eating, merciless creatures. The few remaining survivors are stripped of even the most basic thing, to be called a "human", a live breathing person. Instead they are called "Hepers", nothing more but food, much like a cattle, for consumption and entertainment. They were educated, well fed and kept in a dome, unaware of the doom their young existence will meet shortly. How ironic the vampires in the book consider themselves superior when they behave the way they do, with insatiable thirst for flesh and blood, like savages. Like monsters.

The children in this book have my respect for surviving as long as they have. I would never last a day if it was me. Fear is a great motivator to stay alive. Gene has done all he can to live, even the unthinkable: to walk with the very same people who are out to get someone like him. Years of pretending to be someone he was not felt like he was slowly forgetting who he was. The father he has lost taught him these: Do not stand out, be like them, do not show emotions. The vampires are just like what I expected them to be, merciless and vicious. You cannot outrun them, you cannot escape from them, you cannot win against them. If you are a Heper, you will die. It was a fact in this book. He couldn't do anything to stop it, not if he wants to survive. Self preservation is an instinct, and Gene's reluctance to help the Hepers were understandable, but seeing and finally understanding that he and them were the same, he couldn't possibly let them die. Not for him, not for Ashley June. The only thing that gave hope in this book is the confusing and fragile romance between Ashley June and Gene and in some ways it is also sad.

The little details that makes the vampires who they are, no matter how horrific it was, fascinated me. They express laughter by scratching their wrists, they show affection by touching elbows and armpits. They do not smile. In a way it felt like they were dead inside. Imagine a whole place filled with creatures like them. They walk and they talk, but that's where the similarities end.

Gene had a front row seat to witness first hand the devouring of Hepers, of his kind, his people, when he was selected to take part in The Hunt. What a sick and twisted way of entertainment. But it wasn't just for that, even the government found a way to make it a tool for gaining support and popularity. I keep on asking myself "how is this all possible?". Why can't they just be satisfied with synthetic meat? With produced blood? To hunt humans as a sport? Make it a form of entertainment? Some sort of a campaign? This is what happens when the order of things change. What was natural for humans will never apply to these creatures. Basking in the sunshine, sleeping under the shade and eating apples were all but trivial things. What a horrifying society the world had in this distant future.

The Hunt is full of unexpected surprises and twists and turns tucked within pages of hair raising, high octane scenes. Expect carnage, expect blood, expect the unexpected. I felt my heart skipped a beat more times than I can count while reading. Andrew Fukuda paints a frightening, bloody picture of the future. What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted? The knowledge that you can die any minute is evident from the page one, like a dark cloud hanging over you, and it will not go away easily. I felt a myriad of emotions while reading this book, from total, utter fascination to something that made me sick to my stomach. But it's good. Very good. The kind of good that will leave you speechless.

Mankind's downfall will be ourselves, and The Hunt will show the readers just how hopeless, dark and savage the world can be if we become the very monsters we are all afraid of.
(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reading-challenge, arc, debut-authors-2012, dystopian, favorites, for-review, net-galley, paranormal, thriller, vampires, young-adult

If I had only one thing to say about The Hunt, it would be that it was extremely original. I'm not sure that it is a book for everyone-parts of it were pretty disgusting, and the vampires in this novel were grosser than most. I happened to love that though. The plot was suspenseful and the story was unlike anything I have read before. One thing I prize most in a book is originality, and this book is full of it. I know. A vampire book that's original? Who would have thought that could happen anym...more If I had only one thing to say about The Hunt, it would be that it was extremely original. I'm not sure that it is a book for everyone-parts of it were pretty disgusting, and the vampires in this novel were grosser than most. I happened to love that though. The plot was suspenseful and the story was unlike anything I have read before. One thing I prize most in a book is originality, and this book is full of it. I know. A vampire book that's original? Who would have thought that could happen anymore?

It's not a perfect book, but what it's lacking in background details and world-building, it makes up for in its suspense, tight plotting, and just absolutely fantastic writing. Some sentences are choppy, some long, and it really helped to set the ominous tone for what was to come. I enjoyed the poetic style the book was written in. I like writing and a writer's voice that stands out, and it definitely did here.

The story was also filled with delightful doses of humor and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. But then there were times when I had to put the book down because the suspense and story was terrifying me. I was seriously frightened in a couple of places. I usually don't scare easily either. I found that I fell in love with this book from the very first sentence. I knew it would be a book that I would enjoy.

One thing I have to talk about without spoiling is the ending. It ended in a pretty devastating cliffhanger. But I kind of loved it because it was one of those revelations where your mouth dropped open in shock. Something happened that I should have seen coming all along but I was just oblivious to it and overlooked it completely. I love being shocked as a reader and it doesn't happen very often anymore.

Complaints? The character development was a bit lacking. Which is why I said I wasn't too disappointed by the lack of perfection. The plot more than makes up for it. Even though the protagonist was fairly well-developed, most of the side characters weren't. A lot of scary things happened and I feel like I should have cared for those characters more, and I would have if the author had just spent a little more time on them. I could have also done without the snobbishness of the protagonist and Ashley June. It didn't make me like either of them as much as I could have. I understand why the author made them this way, but it's just going to take awhile for either of them to grow on me now.

I also would have loved for some more background and details about how and why the dystopian world ended up the way it did. Since this is a new series, I am hoping more of that information is to come in the next book. Which I will definitely be reading. This book was amazing.

Final note: This book was like a runaway train. It kept picking up speed as it moved along and it never did slow down. It kept going until the very end when it crashed into the station and you were left with the aftermath of your thoughts. Loved it!(less)

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Jan 05, 2013 Lectus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/01/...

This might just be the winning trilogy of this year.

All books I've read are about vampires living among humans. Well, The Hunt is finally different, is about humans living in a world of vampires.

In the year I don't know when (and who cares?) the human race has been extinct; well almost. A few humans here and there are still alive. Those humans still alive have to pretend to be vampires so they won't be found out. But, how do you do that if a) you swea...more Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/01/...

This might just be the winning trilogy of this year.

All books I've read are about vampires living among humans. Well, The Hunt is finally different, is about humans living in a world of vampires.

In the year I don't know when (and who cares?) the human race has been extinct; well almost. A few humans here and there are still alive. Those humans still alive have to pretend to be vampires so they won't be found out. But, how do you do that if a) you sweat - vampires don't; b) you don't run fast - vampires do; c) you laugh - vampires don't; and so forth...?

Well, Gene has to be very careful because one little mistake and he's dead.

I loved this book because it is totally something out of the ordinary. It has a lot of action. I didn't feel bored. I gave it to my sister to read this morning and she just returned it to me asking for the second one (is night time now).

Do publishers and publicist know how much it hurts a book when compared to another one? On the cover of The Hunt it says that this is just like The Hunger Games. Well! I went in expecting to find a 'Peta' and 'Katniss', obviously, no?

The book is NOT similar to The Hunger Games. In the name of Lucifer, stop comparing books! Every book is singular and unique!

Back to the book. Gene wins a lottery to participate in a hunt. That is, the vampires are going to compete to hunt, kill, and eat the last five remaining humans who are safely guarded for experiments, observations and for the new world of vampires to learn more about the primitive ways of humans.

Gene has been living all alone until now. For the competition, he will have to share and train with the other winners. At this place where they are, there's no water because vampires don't sweat, and don't get thirty. This is a problem for Gene because he's beginning to stink (of human) and the vampires can smell it, he can't shave (vampires don't have hair), and he is dehydrated and needs water ASAP.

I will stop here. I didn't give it the full five stars because there are little things here and there that I just found to be stupid and unconvincing. I overlooked those little details because, well, we are humans! But the book got me and my sister into a literary/vampire discussion, and my mother pissed because the book is in English and she can't read the language :-) (less)

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Mar 21, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read

Won from Library Thing Early Reviewers
Challenges: YA
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

First Thought When Finished: Well that was an odd and engaging story!

What I Loved: Andrew Fukuda has weaved a tale that is oddly fascinating, excruciatingly heartbreaking, and truly gross at times. Seriously folks, I would not read this book while eating as it does have some "did he just write that" moments. They totally fit in this story and it is part of the charm (probably not the r...more Won from Library Thing Early Reviewers
Challenges: YA
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

First Thought When Finished: Well that was an odd and engaging story!

What I Loved: Andrew Fukuda has weaved a tale that is oddly fascinating, excruciatingly heartbreaking, and truly gross at times. Seriously folks, I would not read this book while eating as it does have some "did he just write that" moments. They totally fit in this story and it is part of the charm (probably not the right word). The Hunt is truly unlike any book that I have read before and yet it had elements that were familiar enough I was hooked. At the end, I wasn't sure what to think and I am still trying to figure out my emotions towards the events.

What I Liked: The world is the exact opposite of the one we know today. Humans (or hepers) are food and almost all humans(as far as we know)are extinct. Yet, the Vampires kept some very human characteristics: they went to school, knew humor, competed in sports, and several other little things. All of this made the world familiar yet completely new!

What made me go "huh": To be honest there were quite a few moments where I wasn't sure where the story was going---the end is one of them. Though each moment was followed by truly gripping storytelling--I felt a little short changed at the end. I felt the real story was just beginning.

Final Thought: This is a book that I would recommend to YA Dystopian readers with a caveat that it isn't like other books you have read.

***I know I didn't mention characters in this review mostly because I am mixed on my feelings there. I didn't feel overly attached to any of them (including G) but I think that was by design as we didn't get to really "see" what he would be like as himself. I think not seeing how he would act around friends/family made even his thoughts reserved***

This is part of a paragraph that explains why: PG 11: Call me picky, but imminent death at the hands (or teeth) of a friend who would suckle blood out of you at the drop of a hat..... That throws a monkey wrench into friendship building.
(less)

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May 10, 2012 Donna {Book Passion for Life} rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, for-review, from-publishers, ya-paranormal-romance

I’m honestly not sure where to start with this review, because The Hunt was one of those books that once I started, I couldn't stop reading, but overall I really didn’t enjoy it. While the book is suppose to be on par with The Hunger Games, I would have to disagree. The storyline does have similar traits but the only thing I felt the author did the same, was create the same back story without that wow factor The Hunger Games leaves you with.

Fukuda has definitely created something very unique wi...more I’m honestly not sure where to start with this review, because The Hunt was one of those books that once I started, I couldn't stop reading, but overall I really didn’t enjoy it. While the book is suppose to be on par with The Hunger Games, I would have to disagree. The storyline does have similar traits but the only thing I felt the author did the same, was create the same back story without that wow factor The Hunger Games leaves you with.

Fukuda has definitely created something very unique with the vampire’s, which is something fresh, new and well – very freaky. But for the most part I was really creeped out by them. They have unique and weird habits that really left me a bit disturbed. They scratch their wrists instead of laughing, have drool constantly dripping from their mouths, and have armpit/elbow sex (which I can’t even figure out how that works? LOL) and that’s only a few things that made me cringe. But while you’re probably thinking these things really aren’t that bad, for me they are because there the first of many other problems I have with this book.

The second thing is I felt the story wasn’t explained enough. You’re thrown into Gene’s life and watch how he has to struggle being apart of this world and pretending to be a vampire but there isn’t a why. Why would he want to pretend and constantly watch his back? Why would he want to become friends with them? And why would he have feelings for one of them that could, at anytime, rip his throat out? It didn’t make sense to me. I really didn’t connect with Gene. This is because the story is told from his point of view and I never really connect with male characters as much as females, and while I thought Gene is a good character to look up to, I just don’t understand his reasoning for the things he does. If that was me, I would have given up a long, long time ago, but that’s not it – there are other questions popping up from the story like, how do the vampires procreate? How do the vampires not notice that Gene is human, if they have intense supernatural senses? I could go on and on because I felt like there were too many flaws in the plot and I really couldn’t overlook them. Maybe I'm over thinking the story to much but there were just to many loose ends for me to enjoy this book.

Overall, The Hunt didn’t wow me, but I can see why so many people liked it so even though it’s not for me, give this book a try and see what you think for yourself. (less)

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May 26, 2012 Loretta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, young-adult-horror, young-adult, vampire, review-book, own, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi

Posted here:
http://www.betweenthepagesreviews.com...

What would you do if you had to spend every day of your life being someone that you was not? What if you had to worry that your life was at stake if you laughed? If you got cold, and had chills, or got really hot and of course perspired?
This is what Gene has to worry about every single day of his life.
Whether or not he is going to be discovered for what he is not, and eaten alive by his fellow classmates.
Gene is one of the few last humans, i...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Jo-Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Andrew Fukuda has created a chilling, violent world in The Hunt, where vampire like creatures are the norm and humans are on the verge of extinction. I really enjoyed The Hunt. The protagonist Gene is a human male living alongside these creatures and pretending to be one of them. He is constantly on his guard because if he slips he'll die. He has lived the last few years alone after his fathers death. He is so immersed in this persona he puts on that he almost doesn't seem human. He often refers...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Scott Pilgrim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, netgalley, e-books, dystopia-post-apocalyptic, vampire, paranormal

Pretty similar to Immortal Rules

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Jun 25, 2012 Adeeb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Hunt. I've had heard many things about this book. Once I checked the blurb out, and found out that it's kind of a dystopian-ish and vampire book combined into one. I KNEW I HAD TO READ IT! Who wouldn't find such a story interesting?

This book is Gene's story. It is narrated in first person point of view. Andrew Fukuda was able to bring a new genre into literature. I'd like to call it "dyspire" (dystopia/vampire). I might not be the most creative person to come up with such things, but at leas...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Jammie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2012

The first thing I have to say about this book is that ending!!!!! Oh my god! That was just torture. There is going to be a second book right? There has to be. I didn't love this book, I didn't hate it either, but after that ending I am going to have to find out what happens to the characters. This is a really original story, not like anything that I have ever read before.

Gene is one of the few lottery winners that were randomly selected to participate in the hunt. But during the "training" proc...more The first thing I have to say about this book is that ending!!!!! Oh my god! That was just torture. There is going to be a second book right? There has to be. I didn't love this book, I didn't hate it either, but after that ending I am going to have to find out what happens to the characters. This is a really original story, not like anything that I have ever read before.

Gene is one of the few lottery winners that were randomly selected to participate in the hunt. But during the "training" process, the other hunters begin to become suspicious of Gene's true nature. So while trying to find a way to get out of being in the hunt, without raising any question, he must also try to hide who or rather what he really is.

At the beginning of the book Gene really annoyed me, he frequently thinks back to his father telling him 'Never forget who you are', but I really felt as though he had. He looks at hepers and thinks of them with slight disgust, when he is one of them. Still looks at them as stupid savages, when he should know full well that they are intelligent. I can kind of understand how he is like this, given the circumstances that he has had to live through, it would be hard not to lose yourself. I liked him a lot more when his true personality sort of broke through the facade that he had to put up for so long. I felt the same way about Ashley June, at the beginning we see her as snobby and controlling, and I didn't like it. But as you get to know her more you see that she isn't really like that.

I disliked the lack of background story to the world tat Gene lives in. I would have enjoyed a short history on how their world came to be run by vampires with no humans in sight. I know some people may have enjoyed the lack of boring description, but I personally felt a little lost without it. Although I am now going to hold out hope that if there is a sequel we will learn more in it. I also didn't particularly like how the vampires in this story were portrayed, that they actually eat human flesh, it was a little too freakishly cannibalistic for me. They were almost sort of like a completely different animal to humans, rather than really just being sort of evil super-humans, that's just how I see vampires though. So although I didn't personally like this interpretation, I do have an appreciation for people that put their own twists on things such as vampires.

I know there was quite a bit that I didn't like about the book, but it was really pretty good. I really liked the description of simple human actions like smiling, it really gives you the feel that they are pretty much in a different world. Also a little forewarning, there is a lot of talk of saliva and descriptions of the vampires turning to pus when they are in the sun, it is really gross. The description of the attack on the heper is not super graphic, but I would probably not recommend this book to fainthearted.

This was a really original story. Something that I have always wanted to see done, vampires taking everything over, and not like anything that I have ever read before. So I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for giving me the chance to win this book to review.

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :) (less)

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Jun 15, 2012 Novels On The Run rated it 4 of 5 stars

MICHELLE'S REVIEW:

RATING : 4.25 BLOODY STARS!!

I have so many thoughts going through my head at the moment. This book does get under your skin, it makes you ask a lot of questions when you are reading it and it makes you wonder if it really is possible for a ‘heper’ ,equals human, to live side by side with Andrew’s creatures in a human world and live longer than five minutes with a stiff breeze.

Gene our main character can do nothing to draw suspicion. Nothing, that will leave a ‘heper’ odour. No...more

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May 04, 2012 Chapter by Chapter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Hunt had captured my attention from the first page to the very last sentence. A human who has to pretend to be a vampire in a world run by vampires? Love that! This book keep me on my toes, kept my eyes glued to the pages, had my heart beating wildly at various parts, and had me squealing with anticipation. I had to put the book down a few times just to collect my thoughts!

In The Hunt, we follow the life of Gene, a human teenager who has had to train himself to look, act, and be a vampire fo...more The Hunt had captured my attention from the first page to the very last sentence. A human who has to pretend to be a vampire in a world run by vampires? Love that! This book keep me on my toes, kept my eyes glued to the pages, had my heart beating wildly at various parts, and had me squealing with anticipation. I had to put the book down a few times just to collect my thoughts!

In The Hunt, we follow the life of Gene, a human teenager who has had to train himself to look, act, and be a vampire for if he doesn’t he will be killed and devoured in a heartbeat by his fellow schoolmates and teachers. The writing style of author Andrew Fukuda is completely captivating. Every page drew my attention, and held it. He does a fantastic job of describing the littlest details of what it takes to act like a vampire…what rigorous routine Gene must instill into his daily life, in order to survive.

As it so happens, this year is the year that a Heper Hunt will be held, heper being vampire speak for human. Everyone is given a set of four numbers to be entered into this lottery, and 5 lucky participants will be drawn to participate and hunt the last remaining humans. Of course, Gene gets picked, and it’s at this point where the excitement begins! Gene must now live in close proximity to the other participants without his day to day items needed to blend in (i.e. water to drink and bath in to rid his body odor).

The vampires found in this book are not your typical sparkly, brooding type vampires. These are drooling, neck clicking, 30 Days of Night type vampires (when they are lusting after human blood and flesh). Emotionless, expressionless, vicious killers who will stop at nothing in order to get to their target…eep!

I really enjoyed how throughout the book, something that we do normally, would be described…and not how you would expect. For example: warbling sounds = singing and that humans would do this to make crops grow faster. I also loved the descriptions that Gene would use to “name” his fellow competitors, like Abs, or Gaunt Man, or Crimson Lips. I also loved reading Gene’s interactions with the humans in the dome. Fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time.

With a gripping beginning and an epic cliff hanger ending, The Hunt, will easily become a favorite among fans of the vampire genre, lovers of The Hunger Games, and anyone who enjoys 30 Days of Night type movies!(less)

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Jul 29, 2012 Addie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction, first-in-series, horror-thriller, dropped-the-series, young-adult, terrible-books

If I’m already hating the main character by page 4, there’s obviously a problem. I honestly can’t believe how many 4 and 5 star reviews this book has gotten. Really, guys? Really?

I’m honestly not sure what to say about this book. Writing negative reviews is always difficult. Effusing about something you loved? Easy like Sunday morning. Slamming a debut author’s laborious efforts of creation? It hurts my soul a little.

I’ll start off with things I liked about The Hunt. Fukuda makes an attempt to...more If I’m already hating the main character by page 4, there’s obviously a problem. I honestly can’t believe how many 4 and 5 star reviews this book has gotten. Really, guys? Really?

I’m honestly not sure what to say about this book. Writing negative reviews is always difficult. Effusing about something you loved? Easy like Sunday morning. Slamming a debut author’s laborious efforts of creation? It hurts my soul a little.

I’ll start off with things I liked about The Hunt. Fukuda makes an attempt to be original in his vampiric creations - and they’re actually really gross, the way vampires (to my mind) ought to be. The writing is capable. The book is mercifully short.

Unfortunately, I liked very little else about the book. Fukuda “makes an attempt” at originality - that’s what I wrote, because while he attempted it, I’m not sure he succeeded. His vampires scratch their wrists in lieu of laughter, and rub their elbows and armpits together instead of making out. I’m not a scientist, but I happen to know that behaviours like laughter and kissing have an actual biological purpose - group bonding, etc. There is NO conceivable reason why your wrists should itch when something’s funny, or why your armpit should be an erogenous zone. None. It came across as a poorly-cobbled-together attempt to seem “different” without putting any thought into why. It was all so… ridiculous.

The main character, Gene, can only be described as insufferable. By the end of the first chapter, he’s assured us that he’s the smartest, most attractive person alive - multiple times. He actually says something to the effect that “it sucks to be sooo hot, because so many women will be all over me, and that’ll make it hard to keep my cover as a human.” Shoot me. Arrogance is a viable personality trait - but only when the author actually recognizes that a character is arrogant. Gene is amazingly arrogant, but Fukuda seems to think he’s just telling it like it is. No. Sorry. Your character’s a huge jerk. And, as his horrible choices prove over and over and over until you want to kill yourself, definitely Too Stupid To Live.

The plot, while not quite as poorly constructed as the world, seems like a huge stretch. It’s essentially a set-up for Fukuda to stage some Hunger Games style competition, but with vampires. And for most of the book, nothing happens. A major plot twist regarding Ashley June, who is Gary Stu’s main love interest, was visible from about a league away. And it… fell flat. I have to actually care about the character if I’m going to care about the plot and I just… didn’t.

The writing? Literally painful. Boomerang isn’t a verb - if I’d been taking notes, I’d have a million more examples of things like that. The slang was forced. And pulsing with the pulse of blood? Or a falling icicle of black ice? Icicles are ice. Pulses pulse. Shoot me, somebody, please. It was so awful at points that, most of the time, I couldn’t even bring myself to care.

I could probably go on, but I’ve decided not to. A lot of other reviewers have given this four- and five-star ratings - and people have different tastes. You know. However, my personal opinion is that this book is a serious pass. I want a refund on my time.

Rating: 1/5 stars

Thanks due to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of the book.(less)

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Apr 28, 2012 Katie(babs) rated it 2 of 5 stars

The world introduced in Andrew Fukuda’s The Hunt is deadly for humans, better known as Hepers. Vampire type creatures have taken over and have eradicated Hepers to the point they’ve become extinct. These vampires crave Heper blood, and will consume a Heper whole until nothing is left. Gene is a Heper who pretends to be a vampire. His father taught him how to assimilate and trick these ravenous creatures by becoming one of them. Gene’s entire family was wiped out and now he’s the only one left. H...more The world introduced in Andrew Fukuda’s The Hunt is deadly for humans, better known as Hepers. Vampire type creatures have taken over and have eradicated Hepers to the point they’ve become extinct. These vampires crave Heper blood, and will consume a Heper whole until nothing is left. Gene is a Heper who pretends to be a vampire. His father taught him how to assimilate and trick these ravenous creatures by becoming one of them. Gene’s entire family was wiped out and now he’s the only one left. He must not show emotion or any reaction. He must shave his body (vampires have no body hair, expect on their heads, which makes no sense.) and make sure he doesn’t sweat or have body odor. He must not do anything that will make him stand out because one wrong move can get him killed.

Gene goes to school like all the other vampire teenagers where they educate themselves, much like human teens would do. Gene even has a secret crush on a girl named Ashley June, who is one of the most popular girls in the school and known as a Desirable. But Ashley can never know how Gene feels because of what she is and the fact she’ll end up eating him. Gene is very careful when at school. He plays a part, an act. He’s on the swim team and makes sure to get good grades but tries his best not to stand out. No one in authority at the school asks where Gene's parents have run off too, which again is another oddity. During the day Gene is free. Since these vampires hibernate during the daylight house, Gene can roam around and eat real food he needs to survive, other than the raw meat he must consume, although he sometimes will get a treat like ice cream and cake. Coincidentally there are enough fruit trees in his neighborhood to give him the nutrition he needs (Vampires don’t eat fruit, so why would they have fruit trees? Because they’re nice to look at?). And because his house has electricity with a kitchen and a microwave, he can cook. Why a vampire would have a house with a stove and microwave isn’t explained since vampires don’t eat anything cooked.

Day in and day out it’s the same for Gene until a Declaration is announced. This Declaration has only happened twice over the past fifteen years. The first was the Ruler’s marriage, the second is the Heper Hunt. The last Heper Hunt occurred ten years ago when the Palace announced it had eight Hepers. The Ruler released the eight Hepers into the wild, and a lucky group chosen by lottery hunted the Hepers and captured them and eat them. Now the Heper Hunt has been announced again and every citizen over the age of fifteen and under sixty-five will have the chance to be part of the hunt. Up to ten will be chosen and taken to the Heper Institute of Refined Research and Discovery for four nights to educate and help them plan for the hunt. After those four nights, the Hepers will be released and given a twelve hour head start. The goal is for the hunters to chase the Hepers down and eat as many as they can find.

Gene doesn’t think he has a chance in winning, not that he wants to. But unfortunately for him, he’s one of the chosen and will have to use every single skill he’s learned to not be found out and become one of the Heper prey.

The Hunt is one of the better post apocalyptic YA’s I read, even if it can be called that. It has a very big Hunger Games feel to it and I can see fans of that trilogy enjoying this book. For the most part I want to see if Gene would survive and outwit the predators who would love nothing more than to literately devour him. But unfortunately as I read on, I started to have more questions regarding the world building, when all is said and done is weak and makes no sense. An author shouldn’t expect a reader to take things at face value. For every why a reader has, there should be a valid explanation and not question upon question from a reader like myself who refuses to take things at face value or just because and leave it at that. Sorry, that doesn’t work for me and that’s a big fail on the part of the author to assume readers won’t care.

I enjoyed Gene’s tribulations and his voice, and I really wanted to enjoy the world Andrew has invented, but he doesn't have any real explanation for anything. His world building lacks a great deal of again, explanation and reasoning. I kept asking myself too many questions, and things did not add up to make this believable by the time I finished. I need to know the cause and effect for things and it's the author's responsibility to be successful at this. Andrew wasn't.

Questions I had:
How long have these vampire type creatures ruled the Earth, how did they come to be?
Was there a type of vampire apocalypse and they evolved from it? It seems as hundreds, if not thousands of years has gone by from the talk of evolution but it appears to not be that long.
The vampire population uses horse drawn carriages instead of cars, and yet use electricity. Why don’t they drive cars or buses? If they can run at super speeds and not get tired, why would they need horses?
The vampires don't drink water or shower and yet their houses have showers. They eat raw meat, yet Gene lives in a house with a microwave and other cooking gadgets.
How can the vampires eat ice cream and dessert but really only crave and digest uncooked meat?

So many question and yet no real answers can be supplied. If anyone can help me out, then maybe I'll have a better understanding of this world and these creatures who get hot and horny by rubbing their elbows in armpits instead of kissing and humping one another like humans usually do. That had me going, WTF? Did I read that correctly? Vampires get their rocks off by digging their elbows in their lover’s armpits. Also, scratching their wrists is their way of laughing or finding humor in things.

The Hunt has a lot of merit, and again, if you can take things at face value and not question the why’s and why’s not, then you’ll enjoy this latest offering. There are a few twists, one of which I saw coming a mile away. Even with the cliffhanger ending, I’m not invested in reading the sequel because of Andrew’s weak world building skills and inconsistent plot as a whole.(less)

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May 08, 2012 Braiden rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars.

If you’re not scratching your wrists or frothing from the mouth when you finish the book, if not halfway through, then there’s something wrong with you. Period. There’s no zombies. There’s no vampires. Just humans – hepers: vulnerable, near extinct, scared… civil. And the infested population that hunts them, kills them, feeds on them/cannibalises… and studies them. They’re strange and unhuman, like nothing you have ever seen or read. They perish in sunlight – who cares? At least there...more 4.5 stars.

If you’re not scratching your wrists or frothing from the mouth when you finish the book, if not halfway through, then there’s something wrong with you. Period. There’s no zombies. There’s no vampires. Just humans – hepers: vulnerable, near extinct, scared… civil. And the infested population that hunts them, kills them, feeds on them/cannibalises… and studies them. They’re strange and unhuman, like nothing you have ever seen or read. They perish in sunlight – who cares? At least there’s something natural to kill them with. Get ready for your mind to be slaughtered. You’re in for a thrilling ride along with Gene (a heper living among the infested and pretending to be one of them – I wouldn’t survive like he has with half my heritage being Mediterranean and of hairiness.

With his writing, Andrew Fukuda will seem like a veteran. The correct words are used at the most appropriate times and you’ll be enthralled with his imagination, both in words and vision. What I loved the most was the descriptions used: for the horror/gorey parts (e.g., decapitation, cannibalism) and those to describe the behaviours of the infested (wrist scratching, mouth frothing, drooling etc). Also all the fighting and actions scenes was great to be immersed in. I loved everything about it. It was different, unusual… and fun to picture. But I did notice A LOT of ‘;’ and ‘:’ which was fine by me.

If anything, The Hunt is The Hunger Games for boys: a male protagonist, more gore, more excitement for them. I dislike comparing anything to The Hunger Games but I’m really not comparing – I’m just saying what it is. However, I was anticipating the actual ‘Hunt’ to come earlier but it didn’t begin until the last 40 or so pages. Despite that, the anticipated was built and you’re left hanging to discover what would happen next and how Gene would get out of the predicament he is in. Yes, so you can say there is a The Hunger Games feel to it, but it’s different. Familiar yet distinctly different.

So pick up The Hunt and be immersed in Gene’s world, but just take precautions to not become an infested as occurred to me – my wrist is raw; I see bone. I should’ve written this review over two weeks ago but what can you do? Like it matter anyway – The Hunt is released today!(less)

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May 03, 2012 TinasBookReviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

There's something not right with the folks in Gene's community. While like other people, they go to school, do their homework and goof around, they also have this irksome habit of scratching their wrists, popping their necks, mating with their elbows and of course a little thing that involves eating humans.

Vampires make up the vast majority of the living..er nonliving society in The Hunt. Almost all the humans have become extinct and the vampires live off animal blood and raw meat, forever squel...more There's something not right with the folks in Gene's community. While like other people, they go to school, do their homework and goof around, they also have this irksome habit of scratching their wrists, popping their necks, mating with their elbows and of course a little thing that involves eating humans.

Vampires make up the vast majority of the living..er nonliving society in The Hunt. Almost all the humans have become extinct and the vampires live off animal blood and raw meat, forever squelching the blood thirst that with even the mention of a human makes them frenzy with desire. Most carry on just like normal humans would, they attend school, eat three meals a day, have jobs and go home to sleep...upside down hanging from the ceiling during the daylight hours. Needless to say, these vampires are scary, their evil and have no shred of human emotion. Not one of them would save you, date you or even care if you were a child....the objective is to eat humans and its a violent bloody death, granted while most of the humans have been eaten, one is always on the look out for a survivor.

Gene, a human living among the vampires was trained by his father and knows how to blend in. His mind has been so trained to think, feel and pretend vampire actions, that he flies easily under the radar. Obviously there are some dangerous and scary close calls, but our smart, loner protagonist fools them all night in, night out. Things become a challenge however when the government decides to announce they are holding captive humans awaiting a much overdo game called The Hunt, where a special selected group of teens from the school will get to participate in hunting down the released humans and having a glorious feast. Gene along with a few others get their numbers pulled and its off to training and heeper hunting. What the vampires don't know is that the vampire game masters have upped the ante and have trained the humans with weapons, good nutrition and survival skills. They don't just want a feeding frenzy, they want sport, fun and gruesome murders.

Once the group gets to the training center, things really start looking bleak for our hero Gene. There is no source of water and dehydration and body odor kick in faster than he could imagine. Other vampires even though they see the Dome and know humans, aka the heepers are in it, cant stop picking up the smell of a fresh human. Crazy with lust and the frenzy that begs to take over them, they don't realize the smell is coming from their own classmate and each day that Gene doesn't find a source to clean himself brings him that much closer to discovery. The Hunt may start sooner then they all realize and how can one boy stand up to them all?

This hunt, this world of the truly grotesque, the lost in all its evilness of fleshy desires, was truly a terrifying, suspenseful ride. I cringed at the disgusting parts, I got nervous at the intense parts, I was sad in the lonely parts, I was swoony during the romantic parts {minis elbow closet} and I was shocked at the ending. The pace kept me alert and while I thought I had everything figured out, things were still a surprise once surfaced.

Fukuda's writing was a thrilling, nonstop ride that I couldn't set down. Compared to last years Crossing, this author proves again that he has beautiful talent to make you love an outsider. From the suspenseful plot to the killer cliffhanger, The Hunt for sure is my favorite vampire novel this year.(less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Victoria rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those want to read something similar to the Immortal Rules and the Hunger Games

Shelves: cover-i-love, vampires, action-adventure, books-i-dislike, disappointing-books, paranormal, series-dropped-bad, why-did-i-read-this, not-for-me, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, books-reviewed, could-have-been-better

Around this time is when all my ratings on many great books I've read this week have been really high mostly because I chose the books wisely and don't waste my time reading the other crappy reads that I know I'm going to most likely to regret it. So it was very surprising and shocking for me to give such a low rating on The Hunt simply because The Hunt didn't deserve to belong in 4-5 star's scale. You ask why? Well, The Hunt lacked world-building, character development, and had a string of endl...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Question About the Book's Concept	5	51	Apr 13, 2013 10:52am
Book Haven: Win The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda!	1	5	Mar 13, 2013 09:57am
The Indie Exchang...: Win The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda!	1	4	Mar 13, 2013 09:56am
Creative Reviews: Review: The Hunt by: Andrew Fukuda	7	47	May 25, 2012 08:20am

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