Series: The Cage (bk. 2)
Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi
Subjects: aliens, extraterrestrials, psychic ability,
Setting: In an enclosure called the Hunt, and also the
alien space station it’s in.
POV/Tense: 3rd person POV limited and past tense,
rotating between the human characters: Cora (mainly), Lucky, Rolf, Nok, Leon
and Mali
Age/Grade Level: Teen
Length: 359 pgs.
HC/PB: Hardcover
List Price: $17.99
Publisher: HarperTeen: Balzer + Bray
Summary/ product description: “They’ve left the cage—but
they’re not free yet.
After
their failed escape attempt, Cora, Lucky, and Mali have been demoted to the
lowest level of human captives and placed in a safari-themed environment called
the Hunt, along with wild animals and other human outcasts. They must serve new
Kindred masters—Cora as a lounge singer, Lucky as an animal wrangler, and Mali
as a safari guide—and follow new rules or face dangerous consequences.
Meanwhile, Nok and Rolf have been moved into an enormous dollhouse, observed
around the clock by Kindred scientists interested in Nok’s pregnancy. And Leon,
the only one who successfully escaped, has teamed up with villainous Mosca
black-market traders.
The
former inhabitants of the Cage are threatened on all fronts—and maybe worst of
all, one of the Hunt’s Kindred safari guests begins to play a twisted game of
cat and mouse with Cora. Separated and constantly under watch, she and the
others must struggle to stay alive, never mind find a way back to each other.
When Cassian secretly offers to train Cora to develop her psychic abilities—to
prove the worthiness of humanity in a series of tests called the
Gauntlet—she’ll have to decide fast if she dares to trust the Kindred who
betrayed her, or if she can forge her own way to freedom.”
My Review: The
Hunt is the sequel to Megan Shepherd’s sci-fi book, The Cage. Like in the Cage,
we get to read chapters in 3rd person limited perspectives of Cora
(the main protagonist), Lucky, Leon, Rolf, Nok, and Mali. In the Cage, they we
stuck in a large menagerie with 8 biomes (desert, tundra, mountains, ocean,
farm, swamp, jungle, and grasslands), as well as a fake town with store and restaurant
in which the could play games and get rewarded. The Kindred (the tall
human-like aliens with metallic bronze skin, black hair and all black eye when
cloaked) observed and studied their interaction and paired them up as mating
partners, but Nok and Rolf were the only ones to procreate. Cassian, who had
said he was their caretaker turned out to be the warden and also seems to be
attracted to Cora.
In the Hunt, after trying to escape the cage and being
caught, Cora is send to a different menagerie called the Hunt. It’s place where
Kindred go usually for entertainment and drinks and also to experience the
thrill of an African safari hunt usually synthetic non-lethal rifles. Cora is
forced to sing and interact with guests. Cassian has deemed this menagerie to
be the safest and most private option for him and Cora to talk and make plans.
Cora feels betrayed by Cassian because he used the
escape to push her or “break her.” He wanted to see her potential to use
psychic abilities that could help humans evolve into “intelligent” beings. He’s
part if a secret movement called the Fifth of Five, trying to free humans from
slavery and oppression by the four intelligent alien races. He wants to train
her in perceptive abilities so she can run the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is a
computer run test of physical abilities, intelligence, morality and
perceptive/psychic abilities. Other humans have tried and failed to succeed,
often losing their mind or even dying. This would be a huge risk for Cora, but
Cassian believes she has the potential to succeed.
Lucky and Malia are also sent to work in the Hunt.
Leon is working with Mosca
black-market traders because unlike the Mosca, he can crawl through tunnels and
also they have alcohol. Nok is pregnant with a girl, who she wants to call
sparrow. Nok and Rolf are sent to live in a dollhouse with one missing wall
that kindred can watch their interactions though. Nok is afraid that her baby
will be taken from her.
This was a really great sequel. It feels very unique.
We get to see a lot more of this alien space station than the first book. The
characters are all unique and different from each other. They’re very diverse
since they’re different nationalities and races. I love all the sci-fi stuff,
and especially the psychic abilities. There’s even a little romance. I’m not a
big fan of 3rd person perspective, but Megan made it work well. She’s
the author that wrote a historical fiction series I actually enjoyed, so I can’t
wait to see what she write next. I can’t wait to read the 3rd and
final book in the Cage trilogy. There was a bit of a cliffhanger ending in the
Hunt.
I recommend this book to fans of The 5th Wave by Rick
Yancey, The Taking by Kimberly Derting, Gone by Michael Grant, and The 100 by
Kass Morgan.
Cover Art Review: The cover cool, but maybe a little
busy and I’m not a fan of the plain glossy paper.
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