Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Review: The Hunt (Audiobook)





The Hunt  by Andrew Fukuda
Series: The Hunt #1
Genre: Dystopia, YA
Length: 11 Hours and 35 minutes
Narrator: Sean Runnette
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:
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?
My Rating:


My Review:
Gene is a freak.  He has emotions, sleeps in a bed, and can go outside in the daytime.  And he is alone.  All his life he just wanted to be like the other people.  Instead he must pretend.  And watch.  And be careful.  He survives by staying in the shadows and avoiding attention.  But when he is chosen as a hunter in the very last heper hunt, he no longer knows how he can continue to follow the rules.  The rules of survival must change because if the other hunters discover he is a heper, his life is over.

On the story...
The Hunt is a gritty and dark tale of a world where humans are becoming extinct.  I expected adventure and heroes, but this one is a little bit deeper than what you would expect.  While I found myself intrigued and disgusted by both Gene and the "people," I fell in love with the complex characters.  I found the presumptions and view of the heper humans fascinating and found the people  twisted.  It is amazing how different the view is when they aren't vampires or monsters but "people."  It took me a while to realize that I really didn't like Gene because I found him selfish.  But understand, this isn't a case of an unlikeable character but that of one who has learned that it hard to survive and survival is the utmost importance.  At the same time, it was emotional and dark at times and I was certainly sitting at the edge of my seat and gripping my steering wheel.  This is most certainly a must read for those who enjoy darker dystopia novels. 

On the narrator...
Okay.  Let me start off with a story.  During bar prep we had this lecturer for Oil and Gas who was very informative but gave many of us the case of the giggles because he had a serious downward inflection when he spoke.  It made everything he said sound extremely sad and depressing.  Think of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.  I know that doesn't sound funny but it was funny because the downward inflection didn't fit the mood and tone of the lecture.    I think he was my favorite lecturer of the entire horrible experience.

Okay fast forward to Mr. Sean Runnette... He gave me a serious case of the giggles.  I'm sure you have guessed by now that Mr. Runnette has a case of the downsies.  While his downward inflection wasn't quite as bad as the professor I'm referring to, he is very much in line with Eeyore.  The book is a bit darker but the inflection is present  during both good times and bad times.  When the downward inflection wasn't present, Mr. Runnette had a monotone delivery.  It seriously made me laugh though that wasn't the point.

That's not to say that I wouldn't recommend the audio.  If you only have time for the audio, go for the audio because the book is well worth it.  I found the downward inflection to be more funny that annoying. 

Overall...
This is a must read.  The Hunt grabs your attention and drags you into a world where things just seem quite impossible.  I think Mr. Fakuda managed to create a story that stands out from the rest.  It wouldn't matter that it was so different if it wasn't so well done.

P.S.  This goes toward that Dystopia challenge that I forgot that I committed to.  If you hadn't noticed yet, there are quite a few more to come :)



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14 comments:

  1. Great review! I tried the audio of The Hunt but ended up sitting it aside as something to possibly come back to. It was probably a combination of the horrible narration and the fact that I had just read The Immortal Rules which had a somewhat similar theme and I wasn't quite feeling this one in comparison. After reading your review, I think this is one I will have to come back to, possibly in ebook or print though.

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    Replies
    1. I think ebook or print would be fun. I haven't read the Immortal Rules yet so I don't know how closely they resemble each other. This one is worth coming back to though.

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  2. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one. I had the opposite experience, but my personal pet peeves were in serious overdrive. I would have enjoyed it more if I could have let them go.

    That is too funny about your lecturer giving you the giggles. At least it passed the time!

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  3. I think I heard of this book before!
    YAY!
    It sounds pretty original, like a good twist on the whole vampire thing.
    I might give the audio book a try, since you like the format :D

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  4. I sampled this and didn't hear it but it is on my audio wish list so when I do get to listen to it, I will totally keep my ears peeled for what you mentioned :)

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    1. I think it isn't that bad really, but it is kind of funny. It kind of fits the depressing situation.

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  5. I'm picturing Eeyore as a lecturer and laughing to myself. Your narrator sounds like the clear eyes guy! It's a good thing you were still able to enjoy this one. I'm curious as to the world of this one and what exactly the others are if not exactly human.

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    Replies
    1. The dry eyes guy!! That's it! Honestly it wasn't bad because it kind of fit the story somehow. I don't know. I wouldn't recommend it for your first audio or anything but it was fine. I mean...it's a pretty dark book and a tad scary. I'm all over the place here.

      So the "people" are what we would describe as vampires. But in this book, they call themselves people and they call the humans hepers and look at them like they are the weird species. And...they eat hepers.

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  6. Sounds like it could be good. I'd like to get my hands on some more dystopian books. They make you think in such a different way, don't they?

    Haha that's so funny about the narrator's voice! Whenever I listen to Bill Bryson's audiobooks I always want so badly to give him a drink of water and lozenge because he sounds like he has something stuck in his throat. It drives me nuts and kind of makes me giggle too. I can only take so much.

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    Replies
    1. They definitely make you think in a different way. It's fun how they recreate their own world.

      When it is really bad, there isn't anything you can do but giggle.

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  7. Ohhh cool, and scary and yes might just be my cup of tea

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I absolutely LOVE all comments! So please feel free to chime in with your thoughts, questions, opinions, or whatever else you have to say.

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