Joyeaux "Joy" Charmand loves her home at the Monastery,
hidden in the mountains. However, she's been summoned to
the Apex, the capital city, in order to serve as a
Hunter. Hunters use magic to protect the citizens,
called Cits, from the various mythological-like
creatures, called Othersiders. Joy, and her accompanying
magical Hounds, quickly realize that life at the Apex is
unlike what she imagined. Everything is videoed and fame
appears to be the name of the game. What secrets will Joy
discover lurking beneath the shining camera lights?
I love the concept behind HUNTER as Mercedes Lackey
populates her dark fantasy world with a variety of
mythological characters. From vampires to kobolds, HUNTER
contains a wide range of the supernatural, and I eagerly
looked forward to seeing how these creatures would wreak
havoc on Mercedes Lackey's world. Unfortunately, most of
the world building is provided in huge info dumps in the
beginning chapters and it isn't until we start to see the
developing conspiracy emerge that things start to get
interesting.
Once the action kicks in, HUNTER has a fascinating
story. There are some parallels to THE HUNGER GAMES
but the mythological creatures and the Hounds provide an
intriguing twist on the concept. I love Joy's
relationship to her Hounds, and Mercedes Lackey throws a
few unexpected twists that definitely piqued my interest
for future books in the series.
HUNTER is the first book in a new series with a lot of
potential. The initial slow pacing may be a bit off-
putting to some readers, but hang in there as Mercedes
Lackey doesn't disappoint in the end. Perhaps my own high
expectations also attributed to some of my initial
disappointment in HUNTER as once I became absorbed in the
world, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am looking forward to
the next book to see what further surprises Mercedes
Lackey has in store for us.
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.