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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Book Review: Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

Hunter 
by Mercedes Lackey 
September 1, 2015 

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
AISN: B00V6YWGEM

ISBN: 978-1484707845
Centuries ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were slashed open allowing hideous fantastical monsters to wreak havoc; destroying entire cities in their wake. Now, people must live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the evil creatures constantly trying to break in. Only the corps of teen Hunters with lightning reflexes and magical abilities can protect the populace from the daily attacks. Joyeaux Charmand is a mountain girl from a close knit village who comes to the big city to join the Hunters. Joy thinks she is only there to perform her civic duty and protect the capitol Cits, or civilians, but as cameras follow her every move, she soon learns that the more successful she is in her hunts, the more famous she becomes. With millions of fans watching her on reality TV, Joy begins to realize that Apex is not all it seems. She is forced to question everything she grew up believing about the legendary Hunters and the very world she lives in. Soon she finds that her fame may be part of a deep conspiracy that threatens to upend the protective structure built to keep dark magic out. The monsters are getting in and it is up to Joy to find out why.

Buy Links: Kindle-Hardcover

In Hunter, fairies are not the sweet little things of Disney, out to be your bosom buddy. Scary things are not as we imagine them from books we read. Worse, thanks to something that happened long ago, the world as humanity knew it ended when the Othersiders were able to cross to ours. Several hundred years later, humans were able to erect their cities back—not the ones before the Diseray, but one with barriers to keep the fey and monsters out. There are good areas and bad ones. Bad ones where no one wants to live or pass through. Most of all, there are Hunters, special people who can use magic and have Hounds, though they do not look like hounds as one might think. Some look like wolves of smojke, others like flying white lions, so many different variants. These hounds come from the Otherside too.

Joyeaux Charmand is one of these Hunters, who has large black hounds, much like what you would think of when you hear the term hell hound. This hunter is young, about fifteen and the seven hounds she commands look like rainbow dogs that breathe fire and kick ass. Her uncle one of the heads of the city, summons Joy to come by train. Does he want her there because they are family, or for other more political reasons? Confused and a ‘turnip’ from the country (or the Monastery on the mountain), she must learn to discover who is friend or foe, especially the other Hunters and even a Psimon she is attracted to, who happens to work as her uncle’s aide. And yes, there are people not unlike those telepaths on Babylon 5, who are mostly part of a Psi Corps, just like in the science fiction TV show. Ms. Lackey combines science fiction with fantasy in this sort of New Adult dystopian.

The beginning of the book is wordier than action oriented. Joy describes much of her former life in the Monastery and traveling on the train. But thank goodness the action begins when a folk mage attacks her train, and the rest of the novel draws me in. Hunter is a mashup of fantasy and science fiction, with thriller thrown in, making it a good read to curl up with. Mercedes Lackey does not disappoint.

4 Sheep




Pamela Kinney

About the Author:
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Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70’s she worked as an artist’s model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

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