Monday, August 24, 2015

Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

Monsters.  The things from myth and imagination arrived after the Diseray.  It was an apocalypse that didn't take; it turned in the Diseray.  To be safe, you had to be in a place that was fortified.  You needed defenders and that's how the Hunters came to be.  They trained for it, were tough, and they fought the monsters from the Otherworld.

Disney Hyperion and Net Galley allowed to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 1st, so you'll want to snag a copy then.

Joy was orphaned early in life and her Uncle brought her to the Monastery to be brought up and taught skills.  She learned to be a Hunter.  When she's summoned to Apex and her Uncle, she has visions of having a home where she belongs and her Uncle in her life again.  It was not to be.  She almost gets killed on the train carrying to her Apex.  She survives by using her own quick wits and then she finds out that every Hunter is on video and gets points for their kills.  She's never heard of such a thing.  Her Uncle is warm and welcoming but reserved.  He tells her through a secret code they are being watched and just to act normal and fit in.  That's great advice, but she's never been in a city this size or has any idea how to fit in.  

One of my favorite parts of this character is that she speaks honestly and she believes in truth and goodness and loyalty.  It's her duty to protect the citizens of the city.  But when she finds that those who don't have jobs are sent outside the city perimeters to the outside, it almost seems like they are out there as bait.  There are other discrepancies in things she's being told.  As if that isn't enough to concern her, she's also made a deadly enemy of the other young hunter in the group.  He's been #1 and intends to stay there.  When her ultimate test comes up, she's pitted against him.  Will she make it?

There are sad parts when the monsters win but the Hunters make sure they don't have another chance.  Joy finds a friend and even perhaps a romance.  But her challenge isn't over at the end of this book.  There will be more in this series. 

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