I received this book for free from the NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Hunter (Hunter #1) by Mercedes LackeyPublished by Disney-Hyperion on September 1st 2015
Pages: 374
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares.
Monsters.
Long ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were ripped open, and it’s taken centuries to bring back civilization in the wake of the catastrophe. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous creatures fighting to break through. Others are not so lucky.
To Joyeaux Charmand, who has been a Hunter in her tight-knit mountain community since she was a child, every Cit without magic deserves her protection from dangerous Othersiders. Then she is called to Apex City, where the best Hunters are kept to protect the most important people.
Joy soon realizes that the city’s powerful leaders care more about luring Cits into a false sense of security than protecting them. More and more monsters are getting through the barriers, and the close calls are becoming too frequent to ignore. Yet the Cits have no sense of how much danger they’re in—to them, Joy and her corps of fellow Hunters are just action stars they watch on TV.
When an act of sabotage against Joy takes an unbearable toll, she uncovers a terrifying conspiracy in the city. There is something much worse than the usual monsters infiltrating Apex. And it may be too late to stop them…
I read this book over the summer and then school started and time got away from me. This will be a quick post because I completely enjoyed the book.
What I loved:
- World Building. The world has basically collapsed and is overrun with every magical creature from every mythology and religion throughout the history of the world. I was completely taken at how real world mythologies came together to create this world.
- The mythology. This goes hand in hand with the world building. I LOVED all the hounds. I loved meeting Joy’s hounds and getting to know the hounds of each character we met. They were all so different and added a new depth to the story, reminiscent of the daemons in His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.
- Conspiracy. Something is going on. Joy’s uncle is important, but he is also in danger. Now MC is wrapped up in whatever is happening. It’s not just a physical fight with mythological beasts, it’s also a political power struggle.
- The pace. I had a really hard time putting this book down. There was constant mystery, fighting, death, and mayhem. I seriously enjoyed myself.
- Romance? This book had my favorite kind of romance in a book that isn’t about romance: is this romance or is this a political scheme masquerading as romance?
Things that make me go “Hmmm…”
- World Building. Basically, Christers (which I assume are Christians) are not good people. They thought it was the second coming and didn’t react well when they were left behind. They are a huge part of why the world is in such a mess and they are regarded by many others with disdain. I’m a Christian, and this depiction hurt. HOWEVER, it hurt because I see the truth in it. I see my organized religion taking some very un-Christlike actions every day, which breaks my heart. Part of me still feels like all Christians were lumped together and unfairly characterized, BUT there is a hunter who is a Christer who gives both Joy and the reader some perspective. I loved his character and it was handled in a way that made me feel a lot better about the religious conflict.
- The mythology. There were fae. FAE. I have read enough books about the fae to know that… this isn’t good. There were a lot of hints and set up that maybe the fair folk were orchestrating this entire catastrophe, which is terrifying. Unfortunately, this storyline didn’t go anywhere in this book. I was a little disappointed about it, but I will hold out hope for good things in the sequel!
Overall: I haven’t seen any information on a sequel, but I’m hoping for one!
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Jen @ YA Romantics says
I’m not sure I’ve ever even heard of this. But since you gave it four stars, I clearly need to check it out!
I’ve never read a Mercedes Lackey book. Can you believe that? This one sounds like a good one to start with.
Kate @Midnight Book Girl says
I don’t know that I’ll get around to this book, but I’m so glad it was good read!
I gave this book a try at one point and it just didn’t catch my interest and so I dfn’d it. I did get to the part about the christers though and yes I felt the same and it hurt a bit for me too. It may have been the first thing that turned me off from the book. Glad you liked it though and maybe I will give it another go at some point.