Release Day Review: The Prey by Andrew Fukuda

The Prey
by Andrew Fukuda
Series: The Hunt #2
Publisher: St. Martin Press
Publication date: January 29, 2013
Genre: YA Dystopian
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

For Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilisation begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behaviour is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found—and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.

*Scratches wrist* I absolutely loved The Hunt book one in this trilogy and was excited to begin The Prey. My plan was to read a few chapters and then continue with another ARC I was reading. Not! Fukuda plunges us right back into the tale and the pacing and world building held me captive and I literally consumed this in a few hours. This is such a terrifying and original tale. Fukuda is brilliant and I can barely wait for the final book.

The tale begins exactly where the Hunt ended and we are on the river with Gene, Sissy and the other hepers. They travel in search of the “Land of Milk and Honey” that the scientist; Gene’s father described to them. These six become a family and look out for each other. They find clues left for them by the scientists, and make their way into the mountains where they discover a utopia of sorts, led by a group of elders. Together Gene and Sissy try to discover more about Gene’s father and the “origin” everyone is so insistent they have. They quickly discover all is not what it seems and the tale that unfolds is absolutely riveting.

We really get to know Gene and the other six in this tale now that they are away from the Hunters. Sissy is strong, firm in her conviction and mother to the other boys from the Dome. I loved her leave no man behind philosophy. Each of the six draws on and uses lessons that were taught to them by Gene’s father, “the scientist”. Gene struggles to come to terms with his father’s abandonment and his loss of Ashley Lynn. Fukuda really captured Gene's struggle to acclimate to both the verbal and emotional expressions of the others. For years he learned to show no emotions and a few times he expressed himself by scratching his wrists. At times he struggled with their noise levels and sought solitude. The Elders and townsfolk were fascinating right down to their laws. Some of the character's had a creepy robotic feel to them and it was fascinating getting to the underbelly of this community and its inhabitants. There is love, loss and sacrifice and Fukuda makes us feel all of it through these fleshed out characters.

I love world-building and my only complaint for book one was that I wanted to know more of how and why. Fukuda satisfied my quench in this middle book as he deliciously delivers the how and why and it felt genuine and downright creepy. We are provided clues as to direction this tale will take, and a horrifying glimpse of the dangers we will face as they journey on their quest.  The tale flowed wonderfully with twists and turns that kept me from setting the book down. Sissy and Gene are very important to this tale, and I found their relationship to be sweet and endearing. We learn what the “origin” is and I cannot wait to see how he ties everything together in the final book.  The tale leaves us on edge with another tremendous cliffhanger and startling revelation. I screamed and shouted why and then squealed with delightful in anticipation of the outcome. Thankfully the final book will be released in Sept of 2013 and I have every confidence that it will be epic.   

I want to thank St. Martin for sending me a finished copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Five cups of Colombian roasted coffee out of five

Today's Stops on the Fiery Hot Reads for Ice Cold Nights Hop 

Check out these awesome posts and giveaways! Each day different blogs will be participating so be sure to check in daily for your chance to win and discover new Fiery hot reads!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings: Cambria Hebert: Heven and Hell Series

Celine@Nyx Book Reviews: Marissa Meyer: Cinder

Steph@The Readingista:Ellen Mesiter: Farewell, Dorothy Parker

The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt
by Andrew Fukuda
Series: The Hunt #1
Publisher: St. Martin
Publication date: May 10, 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian

Buy:Barnes and Noble /Amazon /Book Depository

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?(synopsis from Goodreads)

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda is the first in a brilliant new series.  Fukuda has created a terrifying world in which vampires rule and humans are almost extinct.  I consumed this dark tale in a few hours and it quickly became one of my favorite reads for 2012. Gone are the vampires that sparkle! In Fukuda’s dystopian world we hide among these vicious killers. This tale was fast paced, horrifying and delicious!

When the tale begins we meet seventeen year old, human protagonist Gene. He is in high school and trying to blend in. He knows the rules, his father taught him well. One slip and he will be devoured. Gene lives in a vampire world, where the day begins at dusk and ends at sunrise. He has been on his own since his father was bitten years ago. He is brilliant, but is careful not to stand out. Everyday is a challenge and only during daylight hours can he be himself. While at school it is announced that the ruler will address the nation. This causes immediate salivating and mass speculation amount the vampire students. The last time the ruler address the nation was ten years ago, when he announced a Heper Hunt. This is a huge event. Several heper’s (humans) are released into the wild, and a select few chosen by lottery get to hunt and devour them.  *Gulp*  You guessed it, there will be a new Heper Hunt and Gene as well as Ashley a young girl from his school are chosen to participate. Before Gene can even think, he is whisked away and taken along with seven others to the Heper Institute. Here they go through training, attend galas and prepare for the hunt. The tale that unfolds is splendid, steeped in horror and riddled with tension and fear. I was captivated from page one, quoting the book by chapter three and running to the computer to check for book two’s release date by the end. The ending wasn’t really a cliff-hanger but the last sentence just about blew my friggin mind.

I absolutely without a doubt loved the human characters. Fukuda does an extraordinary job of giving them depth and believability. The complications that arise from living in a vampire world are astronomical and his attention to all these quirks was quite enthralling. His depiction of this particular species of vampires and their habits was entrancing. The scene where an adolescent vampire gets her first kiss was both creepy and mind-boggling.  Fukuda created a complete language for the vampires. The way they expressed emotions and communicated with each other was fascinating. The vampires themselves are incredibly creepy and at times behaved in an animalist way that I found terrifying. The romance that develops is secondary to the tale, but sweet and genuine. I really connected with these characters. Their hopes, fears and desires became mine.

We are given very little detail about how the world came to be populated almost entirely by vampires and quite frankly I didn’t really care. The world Fukuda creates is unique, original and detailed. Parts of it were horrifying and others made me laugh. I found the education on why Heper’s sing absolutely hilarious. His perception of how another species would perceive us was totally amazing. The Heper’s in captivity emulate humanities ability to survive and adapt. The choices Gene and Ashley must face are extraordinary and kept me completely engrossed. I love when a book consumes you, and this one left me spent and wanting more. The author's writing style was tight. He gave attention to detail while creating a tale that flowed exquisitely.

I highly recommend The Hunt to fans of dystopian and fantasy. Can you tell I like this one?*scratches wrist* Novels like this are why I became such an avid reader. There is nothing like the high a good book delivers and The Hunt left me well satisfied and craving more.  I have added Andrew Fukuda to my auto-buy list and plan to pick up his first novel Crossing. I am anxiously awaiting book two of the Hunt series and will deliver information to you, as I receive it.


I want to thank netGalley and St. Martin for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. 

I gave this 5 coffee cups out of 5. 

Audio book clip: The Hunt

Andrew Fukuda 

Website

UK Cover

I like both covers. What do you think?