The Hunt - Andrew Fukuda

"There used to be
more of us."

Date Finished: 9th May 2012

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.

My Thoughts: A lightly entertaining read, a vampire novel with a twist. The set up to this story was intriguing - humans living in danger every day amongst vampires; and now the vampires want to play a game!!!

I found the book to be mostly predictable, and it had so many convenient coincidences laced into it that I was distracted and couldn't completely enjoy it. The book is definitely plot driven as the characters seemed quite flat, and I didn't really feel for any of them.

Having said all of this, as a quick teen read it's not at all bad. With this being plot driven, I found the book to have pretty much non-stop action and so the pages turned quickly. I did have to read this through to the end, and although the conclusion wasn't great I understand that there will be more.

I RATED IT 5/10

I am Legend - Richard Matheson

Date Read: February 2011

A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else.

My Thoughts: I can't believe I've never picked this up before! Richard Matheson manages to create a page-turning vampiresque classic using the inner thoughts of just one character for most of the book. It's a fantastic piece of work - dark, claustrophobic but constantly pushing forward until the shocking conclusion. You forget that this was written over 50 years ago.

I loved the film starring Will Smith, of course, but this book is entirely different - definitely worth reading.

I RATED THIS 10/10

The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro

Date Read: May 2010

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

My Thoughts: This book hooked me from the first page - starting off with some amazing and mystifying scenes. Del Toro really brought his directing skills to the text and had me hanging off the edge of my seat. It was almost like reading my way through a mind-blowing film at first.

I say "at first" because after the intitial problem is set up - the whole thing starts to go down hill and begins to feel a little cheesy. I began to skim through pages with -Okay, so get to the point now- swimming around in my head. I found it very difficult to connect to the main characters on any kind of level and much preferred the secondary characters Gus and Fet (who make only very brief appearances).

Don't get me wrong - this book should not be cast aside lightly. Some of the descriptions are as awesome as they are shocking, and there is the odd gem of a scenario mixed in with all of the filler. You won't want to get on a plane for a while after reading the opening.

Recommendation: Sci-Fi and horror lovers may get a kick out of this, and anybody who is a fan of Del Toro's work. If you're looking for an easy and shocking read then this one might be right up your street. Just read the first chapter or two and you will be hooked.

I RATED THIS 7/10