The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
The Hunt #1
Release Date: May 10, 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
Rating: Essential

Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. The only remaining humans, or hepers as they are known, are housed in domes on the savannah and studied at the nearby Heper Institute. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. - Goodreads

This book is an absolute pleasure to read! I was hooked from the start, and I kept reading well into the night to finish this. All the way up to the ending, this book was fast paced and wonderfully written, and then it went out with a bang! It also left me on a bit of a cliffhanger, that I certainly hadn't seen coming, so that was AWESOME.

The setting is really, really creepy. I'm probably going to overuse that word. This is a dystopian, set in a world in which humans are hunted by these vampire-like beasts. Humans are thought to be practically extinct. The main character, Gene, blends into society by acting like one of the beasts (I'm not sure what to call them, because they're not called vampires in the book, and they don't really have a name for their species).

What I found creepy is the way these things acted, and how Gene was surrounded by them every day. For example, they lacked emotion for the most part and when they thought things were funny, they scratched their wrists. Now this might now sound creepy, but while I was reading I got goose bumps.

Is it bad if I compare this book to The Hunger Games? I noticed some similarities in the way the hunters were chosen (the people who had to go and hunt the humans), the way they were prepared in the run up to the Hunt, and how two people were chosen to be 'winners'. I don't mind this, but it's just something I thought I would mention! Maybe it's just because I went to watch The Hunger Games movie shortly before starting this book.

Gene was a great protagonist, and I loved how he managed to blend in with the society for so long. We learn a lot about his backstory, and about his family, although some of it still remains a mystery so I hope we learn about that in the next book! I'm sure we will.

I was surprised at how little Gene cared about the other humans (or hepers, as they are called in this book). He was ready to sacrifice them for himself, although he did show some remorse eventually, which I liked. I hope his character will continue to grow in the next book in the series, so he can learn that HE is human too.

One complaint I do have about him is that he is meant to be really clever, but he didn't come across that way to me, unfortunately. Maybe it's just academics that he excells in, rather than real life problems?

I really hated Ashley June. She was very bland, and chased after Gene for a long time. She also tried to persuade Gene to do things that I didn't like (that would be spoilery!). I hardly ever like female leads anyway, so this wasn't a big deal to me, though!

Overall, I loved this book! Such a great dystopian, and despite having vampire-like creatures, it didn't feel at all like a paranormal book. There was none of that lovey-dovey stuff with these creatures!