Review: The Hunt

The Hunt

Author: Andrew Fukuda

Summary:

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.


Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood. When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

Published 8 May 2012

*

I've just finished this book and I'm an absolute mess. The Hunt. 

It's a novel with everything that its title entails and promises. Fast. Mind-blowing. Action-packed. 

The adrenaline still pumps through my veins, in my blood. Oh, the blood. It's a book with blood, lots and lots of it, and in its pages, blood alone stands for the very core of life-- mortality, humanity and hope. But, fear not, the book gets just about as gory as The Hunger Games.

And oh my, what a terrifying and thrilling ride it was! Prepare to fall in love with the civilized yet harsh dystopian world that Fukuda has crafted, a world where the people are vampires, and what is left of humans is known as hepers-- fresh meat yearned after by all, but a rare and exotic treat eaten almost by none.

In a world that is chillingly similar to ours, Gene is brought up by his father with strict rules of survival. With fake fangs, careful actions and emotions kept in check, Gene disguises himself as a vampire amongst the others. 

Clever details are integrated seamlessly into the tale. The vampires don't smile, they scratch their wrist. The vampires are fearful of nothing but the light. The vampires don't sweat either. And they are fast, as fast as a phantom.

So we watch as Gene slips into his role of an ordinary vampire with meticulous skill. He does what they do, never betraying a slightest tell-tale sign of oddity. He merges into the crowd well enough, but his very existence is at risk when the Heper Hunt arrives.

And what exactly is the Heper Hunt? Seven lucky individuals are selected for this once a decade event, to enjoy a free hunt of a number of hepers. Vampires go crazy at the smell of Heper blood, and everyone wants to be Gene when he is chosen. 

With the world's eyes on him, Gene faces cold danger and brutal surprises at every corner.

Even without that, there's still the ruthlessness of his competitors and a beautiful girl with a secret to hide. 

Lovely, lovely, lovely. 

This book is a delicacy. With a searing plot set in a Promethean world, The Hunt will have you on the edge of your seat, captivating your senses to no bounds.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. You are in the hands of a master.

Source: From St. Martin's Griffin (Publisher) for review purposes

Via Netgalley

xoxo,

Sel

Review: Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Summary:

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love.

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

Published 31 August 2010

*

Never let Me Go is a beautiful story of the fragility of life viewed through skewered lenses.

What Kathy, Ruth and Tommy really are is a dark identity that slowly reveals itself as we peel off its covers one by one.

There are enough dystopians and tales about clones *cough* that portray a flailing world without humanity. But what Ishiguro does is to portray the very beauty and ugliness of life. 

As you see them grow up in Hailsham, you see the typical social dynamics between teenagers, the pastoral and happy life all in a glow, bright dreams about the future-- a happy and carefree childhood. But when they come to terms with who they really are, the students don't rebel. 

For them, they accept this reality quickly as on a certain level, they always knew.  That even when they are at their happiest and most innocent, there are always subtle reminders that nothing in their world can be taken at face value.

I've wondered why, they never try to escape their fate throughout the novel and always accept their fate with varying degrees of calmness or dread. But then it came to me when I see them carrying out their duties with a sense of dignity. It is important to them that they do well in what the society expects of them. 

And when it comes to the end of the novel, I become suddenly unsure if their lives are really different from the lives of the people they save. As friends, places and love slowly leaves Kathy, she is left standing forlornly close to the end of her journey. Maybe she wishes to join them after death. But one thing is certain, she is human, not what society thinks she is. She feels, she loves, she hurts. 

If I say that I begin this novel horrified by their difference from us, then I end it thoughtful about their similarity to us. As Kathy loses the things she holds dear one by one, she experiences the tragedy of mortality. 

And I see myself in her place, perhaps seventy or eighty years later.

That's why Never Let Me Go breaks your heart then fills it with passion towards life. Because really, we may live longer, but we all die, no matter who we are. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth understood the most precious things to the human heart as they one by one face their imminent fate-- death on the surgical table. What does it take to have us realize that life really isn't that long?

Treasure your friends, love your family, run through the rain and chase your dreams! Don't wait until it's too late before you realize the true meaning of life-- it's to live!

Source: Purchased

xoxo,

Sel

Review: Incarnate

 

 Incarnate

Author: Jodi Meadows

Summary:

New soul

 

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

 

No soul

 
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
 
Heart
 
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

 

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.


Published 31 January 2012

*

Disappointing.

This was a book that I just could not focus on.

Imagine. God, I had to skip the first ten or so pages until I chanced upon a remotely exciting character, Sam. Yet, here comes another boring male lead who heroically saves a girl, falls in love, performs kind deeds out of no reason, lies then does some hasty actions to cover up. Oh, and it turns out that he never really lied and everything ends up as a happily-ever-after.

No mind-blowing plot, no in-depth characters, no wondrous world-building. It's all the more sad as Incarnate was one that I saw with lots of potential.

What a new and brilliant concept of a city of reincarnated souls!

The first two pages illustrated to me a resplendent setting full of possibilities. And it went downhill.

Jodi Meadows should have focused more on the world-building. Because, she had me confused as to what world it was.

Vehicles with dragons. Heat detectors with centaurs. Machines with cottages.

It could have come off as a fantastic piece if well-executed, but it was not.

I had to skip chunks in between to arrive at the scene when Li (the mother of Ana) takes her away from Sam, and then jump to a dragon war, then go all the way to the end when Sam talks about playing the piano with Ana.

I wanted to crack my head open. What's this thing about love nowadays?

We read YA fiction because they open up a horizon of prose that can be painfully alluring, beautifully inspiring, meticulously crafted and light and free and brimming with youth at the same time. We can accept love wild and uncontrolled, we can accept love shallow and instant, we can accept love beyond all sensibility and reason, but we cannot accept love that has no meaning and essence.

Give me a book that has more than just a simple-minded romance, give me a book with a setting and a tale that challenges our imagination and brims our capacity to love.

I would still give Incarnate a chance. It might just turn out into something more.

Source: EPUB

Review: Divergent

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Summary: 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Published 3 May 2011

*

Another digress from the Fairytale Campaign!

*

Initially, after all the hype buzzing around Divergent, I thought it might be another disappointment.

But, I was totally wrong! This is one of the rare books that I finish in one sitting.

Divergent does not kick off with a promising first chapter. The explanation for each of the five factions seem lacking and slightly illogical.

However, I have to point out that Divergent's success and popularity lies in Veronica Roth's wonderful characterization and stunning storyline.

Beatrice is a real character who is really selfish and mean at times, and she knows it. She is constantly thinking about where she really belongs. She grew up in Abnegation which values selflessness above all, but she has never found it easy to be selfless like those around her. During her aptitude test, Beatrice is classified as Divergent, a dangerous category that her examiner helps to hide.

What is Divergent? Simply a term to describe those who belong to more than one faction, a mind that cannot be as easily controlled as others who tend to lean towards one of the values.

In the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice chooses Dauntless to the disbelief and anger of her father. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite for intelligence and pursuit of knowledge. Abnegation youths are not inclined to change factions, with only one-- son of Marcus (leader of  Abnegation), Tobias, who went to the Dauntless.

This is the turning point of the story, the part which propells Divergent from one of those faceless dystopian novels to a first-class action-packed tale. As the story unfolds into the trials and challenges of initiation, the novel takes no effort to read at all, as one scene smoothly transits into the next. Most importantly, Tris (she changes her name for a new start) really grows. The character growth is spectacular! She becomes really bodacious (badass *coughs*) but not those type of brazen and arrogant ones who keeps making mistakes.

And here comes the best part of the whole book-- Four who must be one of the best boy-character-in-a-book ever! I absolutely loved him! A big THANK YOU to Veronica Roth for having no love triangles. Even then, the love between them is striking! Four has a sense of stillness to him plus a quirky sense of humour; he is good-looking though his looks are not mentioned much in the book. The best thing about him is how treats Tris: not tortured, pained or anything, but straightforward, like they are equals, though initially wary. There's a sense of mystery around him until it is revealed at the end that he is Tobias, from Abnegation as well, and he is Divergent like Tris.

Divergent ends as war breaks out. (not revealing anything yet, go read it yourself, save you the pleasure!)

And it's a good ending because we know that Insurgent (Book #2) will start head-on with the action and the climax, can't wait!

Divergent is an action-packed read that also exploits some of human's most vulnerable sins and shortcomings. And as we see the people with power live in fear of losing it, as we see Tris slowly understand that real bravery is ordinary-- the courage that drives one person to stand up for another-- and not that different from selflessness, Divergent becomes more than just an entertaining dystopian story, but one that really highlight and illustrate to you the human weaknesses.

Then we see Tris grow up and it's like a beautiful coming-of-age tale.

Sometimes, it's the characters and what the story really teaches you that is important, not that much of the world-building. Because after all, quoting Stephen King, Fiction is just the truth inside the lie.

Simply stunning. That's all I can say for one of my favourite books of 2011.

Source: Purchased

xoxo,
Sel :)

Coming Soon:
1. Top 10s for 2011 and 2012