The Hunting Tree - Book One

by Ike Hamill

For thousands of years a supernatural killer has slept in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. An amateur ghost hunter has just woken him up. Now that he stalks the night once more, he's traveling east. Although the monster's actions are pure evil, he may be the only thing that can save humanity from extinction.

Genres: Fantasy

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

Ike Hamill writes fast-paced horror novels with strong, relatable characters. His books have gained a steady following amongst readers who enjoy his blend of sci-fi, paranormal, occult, and suspense. Whether focused on a small family trying to survive the move to a haunted house, or following a band of angry rebels determined to withstand an apocalypse, his stories draw the reader into the lives of real people in crisis. Readers are always sad to leave the characters behind when the book is finished.

Reviewers compare Ike to Dean Koontz and Stephen King—two of his favorite authors. His narrative often jumps between interwoven stories, presenting readers with a fresh perspective and keeping them guessing until the last chapter. Most of Ike’s readers are repeat customers. Pick up one of his books to learn why.

Reviews

[Sandy Judge · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too gory for me. Can't finish this book.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general I'm not a fan of books published in parts. I can understand the strategy behind it (and even if I didn't, the author explains it in the afterword), but it's just not my bag. That aside, this was a pretty good read, not great by any means and the paranormal activity team aspect was sort of blah (possibly due to the topic being so overdone lately), but the writing was good (probably the best part of this), the concept was intriguing enough and it just makes the cut, It's just interesting enough to make it a good tease, to make the reader want to see what happens next. Which was precisely the point. Pretty good introduction to the author. Decent way to spend a couple of hours.

[Sara Oke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a bit slow in the beginning but definitely picked up once all the back stories/characters were introduced. Not a genre I typically read but well worth it.

[Lori Niemuth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm addicted to Mr. Hamill's work. This book does not disappoint.

[Darryl Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot line. Writing was k but nothing to write home about. If you have nothing else to read I would say read it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like most of the characters in The Hunting Tree; they come with a fair amount of detail to them. The major exception was a late-story temporary bad guy, who was entirely a painful stereotype. The characters come with flaws, and they aren’t all likable as people, but they kept me interested. Davey is mature for his age, but it seems appropriate to the details of the tale. There is a group of characters that shows up toward the end that also felt a little bit out-of-nowhere. Unfortunately, this leads me to one of my major complaints: Late in the book, a handful of characters show up who have a surprising amount of knowledge about what’s going on with the Hunter. Unfortunately, this knowledge comes circa 4,000 to 5,000 years ago via their ancestors. I completely fail to believe that the information would survive that long in any sort of recognizable form. It was commented on very casually, and it smashed through my willing suspension of disbelief. I know, I know. I can believe in extinction vectors that are nine-year-old boys, and I can believe in giant spirits that eat sick people, but it’s the passing on of knowledge that doesn’t work for me. It just hadn’t been adequately built up.

There were a couple of spots where the tale didn’t entirely hold my attention, but those faded and gave way to a more compelling pacing later on. There are a few weirdly slow bits here and there (things got stilted up around 60% of the way through or so), but they don’t linger too long.

Note for those who need the warning: there is a brief depiction of rape in here. It’s handled well, in terms of not being in any way lascivious or titillating, and it’s short.

It’s difficult to imagine how Crooked Tree could possibly come out on top given how easy it is for Davey to (deliberately or accidentally) infect others.

I enjoyed the concepts provided–this dynamic of extinction vector vs. hunter. I think this book came out before most of the other Ike Hamill books I’ve read, which could explain the rough bits and holes here and there. Either way, I’m just interested enough to go ahead and read the sequel.

Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/03/r...

[Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just woke up with my heart racing!!! I could smell it coming. I knew it was coming for me and that it would also kill my friends, one of whom was a nurse. We girls were cleaning out an abandoned house while the men worked down at the barn. All of a sudden I knew it was time to hide. It got dark. It poured down rain. We girls ran to the pickup to hide (and a nice new blue pickup it was). The nurse had only brought one syringe full of the odor eraser medicine I'd concocted. We each jabbed the big needle in our arm and hid on the floor. We heard it pass...and then come back. It beat on the top of the truck and slapped at the glass for several minutes. (Fords are built tough.) We kept our faces hid and it eventually moved down the road. The guys came racing up from the barn. The nurse made up more syringes of the odor eliminator for us. We all six grabbed the needles and shot ourselves in the arm again and raced out and crowded into the front seat of the pickup. We had barely shut the door when the HUNTER returned. It looked more like a sasquatch than I thought it would. Furry. Not naked. But big, very big. It started pounding and pawing at the window again. I could feel drops of water starting to hit my face. I couldn't open my eyes but I'm sure it was pawing down the window. That's when I heard my friends start making yelping noises....and I woke up. The coyote pack (in real life) was having some kind of convention down by the creek. Thank goodness, because I don't think I would have liked what was about to happen to me by Hunting Tree. And yes, I know that it wasn't exactly the same appearance as your Crooked Tree....but you gotta go where your subconscious mind takes you. Now I think I've got to stay up and play some Candy Crush...I definitely do not want to fall back into that nightmare. Again, thanks Ike. This is not your typical book review. This is not what the book is exactly like....but this is what the book does to you! I loved it.

[Jennifer Risley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a thinker. I know it's only one part of three, but really. there was no ending to this. It was an Introduction to characters and events with no answers to any of the questions.

what is Crooked tree hunting?
What is Crooked tree exactly?
How does davey fit in to it?
what did davey's urine kill the nurse?

this would drive me nut. except i have the next book. I like the backdrop to this as well.

But don't read if you do not like the idea of children or babies dying (i don't but after song of ice and fire and a few other books, i can handle it a little better now).

Speaking of which, i love the POV chapter format. I thought that it was just a fluke with Song of ice and fire, but no i really like it. it covers a lot of ground with out much hassle.

do i recommend this, YES. this is a easy to read book that draws out the suspense. And it's good to get a way from the common stories of love, hate, betrayal.. This is a story about a creature who is evil because he has to be to save the world (at lease i think that is crooked trees drive)

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hoo boy, this book just goes on and on and on... And yet nothing really happens through most of it. There are three different stories being told: One in the distant past, one about a ghost hunter and another about a little boy named Davey. The stories are supposed to be interwoven but they come off as three separate books, even though I *know* how they're related.
The ghost hunter plot line was awkward and overly technical. I also couldn't figure out why all the characters he interacted with were such horrible people. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
The only interesting plot line was the boy. I think the book would have been much better served if it would have been more tightly focused on him. There was definitely enough going on in his life.
Overall, I found this to be an extremely frustrating read and kept skipping the "Mike" chapters. I'm glad I borrowed this from Amazon instead of purchasing it.

[Elizabeth Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, not bad. I thought the back and forth was a little bit "jangley". At times I felt lost in the plot. And I didn't like the way it ended; I suppose that is why he broke it up into three different books. Now I have to decide if I want to purchase the others.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfinished at 47%, just cant get into it.

[Melissa Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5