The Prey by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: 1/29/2013

Series: The Hunt Trilogy (bk. 2)

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Vampires, survival, adventure

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 322 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Macmillan: Saint Martin’s Griffin Press

Summary/ product description: “For Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.
When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilization begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behavior is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found—and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.”

My Rating: êêêê1/2

My Review: The first book in this series was good a unique. This is very different kind of take on vampires/zombies, with humans as the minorities. It’ was the Hunger Games with vampires. This sequel was kind of awesome. Gene and Sissy may have escaped the hunt, but they are still the prey. They’re looking for what Gene’s father, the Scientist, called, the Land of Milk and Honey, Fruit and Sunshine.

And when they meet a girl named Clair, who’s been expecting them, they think that they’re almost there. She asks them if they have the Origin, but they have no clue what that means and they later one on try to figure it out. Clair agrees to take them where ever she came from. They end up in this secluded society of hepers/humans. Gene feels that something’s off about this place. To me it did seem a little sexist, how they treated the women, but there’s a lot more to this. You’ll find out later.

I love the world building. I know there’s a few other series in which vampires take over the world (The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London. Both of which I have not read yet). There’s also the movie Daybreakers, but the main character in that was a vampire. The main character in this series is a human, and he thought of himself as a heper his whole life. I feel that he’s lacking in personality because the way that he was raise. Gene is very introverted, and a loner. He fell for this girl he calls Ashley June, who turned out to be another human in hiding in the last book. She’s not really in this book. Sissy and the other kids from the dome are in the book. Sissy is tough and awesome at throwing daggers. I like her better than Ashley June anyways. There’s Epap, who likes Sissy. Sissy’s little brother, Ben. There’s also Jacob and David.

Besides the characters, interesting plot and amazing world building, I love the author’s descriptive writing style. He writes in first person, present tense, and he describes the setting and whatever’s going on in a beautiful, horrifying way. There’s some really gruesome description in some parts. It’s really easy to picture the scene with all the description. There isn’t too much that it seems to dag, on but there isn’t too little.

This book is exciting, not boring. At the beginning there were some slow parts, but the speed up. I had to remember the characters. I forgot how they looked, and who was who since reading The Hunt. But once I got into, I got really into it. There was this part where Gene and Sissy find out some really important, mind-blowing things. I did not expect this at all. It’s like the story did and 180, and what Gene thought was true was actually a lie. There’s also something about Gene that I figured out pretty quickly because it seemed kind of obvious. The main character always seems to have an important purpose, but I like that cliché. And then later on towards the end, there’s another twist. Two actually. One, I was right all along, and the second was something I didn’t expect at all.

Andrew Fukuda. You are a sci-fi genius. And a plotting genius. Now I’m eagerly anticipating the third and final book of The Hunt trilogy. I’m guessing it’ll be called The Kill. Four letters. The Hunt, The Prey, The Kill. HUNT, PREY, KILL. It’s not Eat, Pray, Love, but sounds similar in a way.

Thank you, Loren Jaggers at St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan for providing me with a hardcover copy of The Prey almost two weeks before its official release. I did not expect to get a hardcover. Thank you so much. This is one of my favorite dystopian series.

Cover Art Review: This cover is not as good as the first book. But I do like the colors, the use of the letters and the texture (which is velvety). I don’t like the girl running photo, though. Wish there was something scary instead.

This book is also available as an Audiobook! In case you're interested, there's a clip below:

 

 

~Haley G