Joyeaux Charmand has been raised as a Hunter in a mountain monastery. Her training began early and has been assiduously cultivated by skilled Masters. At fifteen, she is summoned from the reclusive monastery to the city of Apex where she expects to employ her skills protecting the citizens. What she discovers is that there is more to her new profession than simply protecting the citizens and that there are political undercurrents that must be navigated.
The world building was excellent, and the character development was as well. Survival/magical skills are the metier of a select few whose superior talents are both inherent and trained--following the theme of several well-known YA novels in recent years. It also uses the "reality show" motif; devoted fans, ratings, and celebrity status throw Joy for a loop when she first arrives.
Reviews of this one are startlingly opposing, which surprised me as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Is there a derivative element? Yes, but there are only so many stories to tell and the manner of telling is often extremely varied. Christopher Booker says there are 7 basic plots:
- Overcoming the Monster (an antagonistic force--which may or may not be an actual monster--which is as old as Beowulf and recent as The Hunger Games)
- Rags to Riches
- The Quest
- Voyage and Return
- Comedy
- Tragedy
- Rebirth
(I realize I'm digressing, but Robert Tobias says there are 20 Master Plots and there is always Man vs Nature, Man vs Man, vs machine, vs god or religion, vs self, etc.)
Recently, the YA novel genre has embraced Booker's Overcoming the Monster plot, with some novels doing it better than others. When I finished the book, I was quite pleased with Lackey's telling and was surprised to see such dichotomy in the Goodreads reviews. One star and five stars with emphatic opinions. I would assign it 4 stars; I think its intended audience is for the younger end of the YA scale, but that didn't impair my enjoyment.
I admit to finding the beginning a bit slow and deliberately vague, but once past that initial portion, Hunter was fun and exciting with characters that interested me.
Post scheduled for Aug. 11.
NetGalley/Disney Hyperion
Middle School/YA. Sept. 1, 2015. Print version: 384 pages.
Terrific review, and I enjoyed your discussion of the finite number of stories explored in fiction. This sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one! It is always interesting to see how others react to the same novel, and this one does have a lot of typical tropes. I think I saw that it was rated for 8th grade and up, but it appealed to me, too. I would certainly read the next in the series. :)
DeleteGreat review! So true-- there are only so many main stories to tell and it depends on the author's finesse in giving one of those stories their own unique stamp to make it stand out. Thanks for letting us know about this one.
ReplyDeleteWe also tend to like certain story arcs, certain archetypal narratives. Coming up with something new is not always an advantage in a basic plot. The key is, as you say, to give each a unique stamp and some good characters. :)
DeleteI really must read more by Lackey. I enjoy her books when I get to them!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of her books in a long time, but when I saw the cover on NetGalley, I knew I wanted to read it. :)
DeleteI am so glad you enjoyed this one, Jenclair. It's another one I have a copy of and am looking forward to reading. I was a huge Mercedes Lackey fan in my early adult years and devoured many of her books. I haven't read too many since. I couldn't resist trying this one though.
ReplyDeleteI did like it. The beginning was a little slow, but once I got hooked, I couldn't "turn the pages" fast enough. :)
DeleteThis sounds like a lot of things happening in the story and I'm afraid my mind will be scattered everywhere, lol. Still, it sounds promising. I think it'd make a good movie, though. ;-)
ReplyDeletePretty much slay the monsters--physical or otherwise. Same as and different from Hunger Games and Divergent, but still fun!
DeleteThis is an author I've heard quite a bit about but just have never read. I think in the right mood, I probably would enjoy this one so I'll have to add it to my list.
ReplyDeleteI've only read one other book by her and it, too, was a fantasy for younger readers that I enjoyed.
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