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The Hunt #3
The Trap
Nel mondo violento e spietato dei vampiri, Gene e Sissy hanno scoperto la chiave per uscire dall'orrore: un'arma in grado di ritrasformare quelle creature assetate di sangue in esseri umani. Ma non sanno ancora come usarla, e la sfida sembra impossibile: il treno su cui viaggiano punta dritto verso la metropoli e il Palazzo del Governante, e i rischi che finora hanno corso non sono nulla in confronto a ciò che li aspetta alla meta. Ora più che mai, una sola cosa è importante: Gene e Sissy devono restare uniti, costi quello che costi. Ma nella lotta per la sopravvivenza Gene dovrà fare i conti anche con Ashley June - il suo primo amore - e con i molti segreti che hanno segnato la sua vita e quella di suo padre. Quando la verità sarà finalmente svelata, Gene sarà pronto ad affrontarne le conseguenze?
367 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2013
71 people are currently reading
3607 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Fukuda
19 books573 followersBorn in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. His second novel, The Hunt, the first in a new series, was bought at auction by St. Martin's Press and will be published in May 2012. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.
From the author's website.
From the author's website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 460 reviews
November 24, 2013
WHAT HAPPENED TO BEN AND CLAIRE?!
December 17, 2013
Insanity.
There is no other word for this book, really. It completely blew my mind to pieces, and I swear, I will never fully recover from reading it! I liked the first book (The Hunt), though I had a few issues with the sketchy plot line (I think we all remember the armpit scene?). I really loved the second book (The Prey) - the writing improved a lot, the characters were developed further and with more care, and the plot line itself was action packed and completely breathtaking. But the third book (The Trap)? Lord, the third book rendered me speechless. After I finished reading it, I sat in my *reading chair* for hours, staring out the window with a dumb (SERIOUSLY dumb) expression on my face, and with my tea cold and long forgotten. I could not comprehend what just happened. I could not wrap my mind around the brilliant ending. I could not get over the genius of it all. Like I said. Insanity.
It's no secret that the best twists are the ones you don't see coming. Andrew Fukuda is a master of these kind of twists. Not only did he do a fantastic job tying all the loose ends together and answering all the questions that we've been asking since book one in the series, but he did it with such ease, confidence and boldness.. I absolutely LOVED it. Not to mention that I totally did not see any of it coming (and I'm usually one to predict all the major plot twists and big reveals way ahead). Seriously, I can not stress enough how fabulous the conclusion to this awesome series is. I kid you not, it's the best final book in a series I've ever read.
Since I don't want to spoil all the gasp-worthy surprises, I will not be discussing the plot of The Trap in detail. One thing I gotta say, though, is.. If you thought that The Hunt and The Prey were intense, action-packed and often times disturbing, brace yourself, The Trap is even more of a wild ride. I could not bring myself to put it down. My heart was pounding, I was shocked, amazed and totally addicted. I realize that I probably sound crazy, not to mention repetitive, but the plot of The Trap was honestly THAT good. And the ending, with the big reveal involving the Origin, and Gene and Sissy's connection to it.. and then the mystery surrounding Gene's dad.. gosh! The whole thing forced me to look back at the first two books and completely re-evaluate everything I thought I knew and understood. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought this was yet another fun yet stereotypical dystopian. I thought I'd put it down, forget about it and move on to other books. But NO! I have read it about a month ago and I am still reeling from it.
I absolutely loved where the story went and how Fukuda handled the complicated relationship between Gene, Sissy and Ashley June. I particularly loved how much all these characters grew since the beginning of the series (especially Gene), how mature they've all become. And it's really no wonder, considering all the things they've been put through. In The Trap alone so much happens, they learn so much about the world and themselves, they lose people close to them and have to make decisions that forever change their lives.. I couldn't help but be amazed by how incredibly moving and emotionally affecting this book was. More than once I found myself on the verge of tears with this one.
The Trap is filled with awesome action and twisty developments. It's a very entertaining and gripping read for sure. Above all, though, it's just such a brilliant, complex and thought-provoking story, I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it. Intelligent, well thought-out and intellectually stimulating, this is definitely my favorite dystopian series ever. I'm so glad I have joined Gene and Sissy on this incredible journey and I can't wait to see what else Fukuda has in store for us!
There is no other word for this book, really. It completely blew my mind to pieces, and I swear, I will never fully recover from reading it! I liked the first book (The Hunt), though I had a few issues with the sketchy plot line (I think we all remember the armpit scene?). I really loved the second book (The Prey) - the writing improved a lot, the characters were developed further and with more care, and the plot line itself was action packed and completely breathtaking. But the third book (The Trap)? Lord, the third book rendered me speechless. After I finished reading it, I sat in my *reading chair* for hours, staring out the window with a dumb (SERIOUSLY dumb) expression on my face, and with my tea cold and long forgotten. I could not comprehend what just happened. I could not wrap my mind around the brilliant ending. I could not get over the genius of it all. Like I said. Insanity.
It's no secret that the best twists are the ones you don't see coming. Andrew Fukuda is a master of these kind of twists. Not only did he do a fantastic job tying all the loose ends together and answering all the questions that we've been asking since book one in the series, but he did it with such ease, confidence and boldness.. I absolutely LOVED it. Not to mention that I totally did not see any of it coming (and I'm usually one to predict all the major plot twists and big reveals way ahead). Seriously, I can not stress enough how fabulous the conclusion to this awesome series is. I kid you not, it's the best final book in a series I've ever read.
Since I don't want to spoil all the gasp-worthy surprises, I will not be discussing the plot of The Trap in detail. One thing I gotta say, though, is.. If you thought that The Hunt and The Prey were intense, action-packed and often times disturbing, brace yourself, The Trap is even more of a wild ride. I could not bring myself to put it down. My heart was pounding, I was shocked, amazed and totally addicted. I realize that I probably sound crazy, not to mention repetitive, but the plot of The Trap was honestly THAT good. And the ending, with the big reveal involving the Origin, and Gene and Sissy's connection to it.. and then the mystery surrounding Gene's dad.. gosh! The whole thing forced me to look back at the first two books and completely re-evaluate everything I thought I knew and understood. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought this was yet another fun yet stereotypical dystopian. I thought I'd put it down, forget about it and move on to other books. But NO! I have read it about a month ago and I am still reeling from it.
I absolutely loved where the story went and how Fukuda handled the complicated relationship between Gene, Sissy and Ashley June. I particularly loved how much all these characters grew since the beginning of the series (especially Gene), how mature they've all become. And it's really no wonder, considering all the things they've been put through. In The Trap alone so much happens, they learn so much about the world and themselves, they lose people close to them and have to make decisions that forever change their lives.. I couldn't help but be amazed by how incredibly moving and emotionally affecting this book was. More than once I found myself on the verge of tears with this one.
The Trap is filled with awesome action and twisty developments. It's a very entertaining and gripping read for sure. Above all, though, it's just such a brilliant, complex and thought-provoking story, I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it. Intelligent, well thought-out and intellectually stimulating, this is definitely my favorite dystopian series ever. I'm so glad I have joined Gene and Sissy on this incredible journey and I can't wait to see what else Fukuda has in store for us!
February 17, 2014
I've been a great fan of Andrew Fukuda's work; in fact I gave both the previous books in this series,
The Hunt
and
The Prey
, five-star ratings. Those ratings were well deserved. When I saw this book in the library, I immediately snatched it up, thinking that with the story Andrew Fukuda had to tell, it would surely be as good as its predecessors.
Unfortunately, it isn't.
Certainly, Fukuda's hallmarks as a writer are all there. The excellent pacing, the breathless, slam-bang action scenes that wind you up like an eight-day clock, and some surprisingly good character work. This is concentrated on the two leads, Gene and Sissy, along with Gene's absent (and possibly dead--that was left rather up in the air) father, who is still a formidable presence throughout. The villain, the dusker (this world's version of a badass, ruthless vampire--no noble sparklers or angsty bloodsucking reluctant heroes here) known as the Ruler, is something of an over-the-top, cartoonish disappointment. In fact, the depiction of the Ruler is when I realized this book was starting to come apart at the seams.
In the first two books, Fukuda was the master of worldshaking plot twists, in each case coming in the very last sentence of the book. In this book, there is another plot twist, and it falls absolutely flat. I REALLY dislike the final explanation for the duskers and humans; the story provided in The Prey is an excellent one indeed, and in fact I made it a prominent part of my review for that book. This book takes that nicely wrapped bowtie and shreds it, and for no reason as far as I can see. To put it bluntly, it's stupid, and the more I think about it, the more I dislike it. I suppose Fukuda thought he had to put in ANOTHER SHOCKING PLOT TWIST, but a SHOCKING PLOT TWIST that makes absolutely no sense, and furthermore contradicts what you said in the second book, is not to my mind worth it.
Also, Fukuda ends the book by falling prey to a cliche I would have thought he'd have the good sense to avoid. Gene and Sissy, who are the last two humans on Earth as far as I can tell, take their hang gliders and flee. There's a two-page internal dialogue from Gene, planning all the things he and Sissy's children will do, expanding the human population and building a civilization (and what about the inbreeding, pray tell?), and centuries from now, coming back to slaughter all the duskers. He finishes thusly:
"The name of our new home will be the reversal of the Nede.
We shall call it Eden."
Eden? Eden? Come on, people. That made me cringe, and ends the book on an absolutely sour note. If the rest of the book had held to the high standards of the first two, it wouldn't have mattered, but since this book had already pretty much been ruined for me, this unfortunately fit right in.
It's sad. The first two books were so good. If Fukuda had just resisted the urge to be all plot-twisty and clever, this book could have earned five stars right along with them.
Unfortunately, it isn't.
Certainly, Fukuda's hallmarks as a writer are all there. The excellent pacing, the breathless, slam-bang action scenes that wind you up like an eight-day clock, and some surprisingly good character work. This is concentrated on the two leads, Gene and Sissy, along with Gene's absent (and possibly dead--that was left rather up in the air) father, who is still a formidable presence throughout. The villain, the dusker (this world's version of a badass, ruthless vampire--no noble sparklers or angsty bloodsucking reluctant heroes here) known as the Ruler, is something of an over-the-top, cartoonish disappointment. In fact, the depiction of the Ruler is when I realized this book was starting to come apart at the seams.
In the first two books, Fukuda was the master of worldshaking plot twists, in each case coming in the very last sentence of the book. In this book, there is another plot twist, and it falls absolutely flat. I REALLY dislike the final explanation for the duskers and humans; the story provided in The Prey is an excellent one indeed, and in fact I made it a prominent part of my review for that book. This book takes that nicely wrapped bowtie and shreds it, and for no reason as far as I can see. To put it bluntly, it's stupid, and the more I think about it, the more I dislike it. I suppose Fukuda thought he had to put in ANOTHER SHOCKING PLOT TWIST, but a SHOCKING PLOT TWIST that makes absolutely no sense, and furthermore contradicts what you said in the second book, is not to my mind worth it.
Also, Fukuda ends the book by falling prey to a cliche I would have thought he'd have the good sense to avoid. Gene and Sissy, who are the last two humans on Earth as far as I can tell, take their hang gliders and flee. There's a two-page internal dialogue from Gene, planning all the things he and Sissy's children will do, expanding the human population and building a civilization (and what about the inbreeding, pray tell?), and centuries from now, coming back to slaughter all the duskers. He finishes thusly:
"The name of our new home will be the reversal of the Nede.
We shall call it Eden."
Eden? Eden? Come on, people. That made me cringe, and ends the book on an absolutely sour note. If the rest of the book had held to the high standards of the first two, it wouldn't have mattered, but since this book had already pretty much been ruined for me, this unfortunately fit right in.
It's sad. The first two books were so good. If Fukuda had just resisted the urge to be all plot-twisty and clever, this book could have earned five stars right along with them.
November 14, 2013
Have you ever read through a trilogy and been looking so forward to Book #3 , hanging out there for it to finally arrive and then when it does you read it and you are left with so many other questions ? That's how I felt with the final book in the Hunt Trilogy by Andrew Fukuda. Right through the whole series we have watched Gene escape from Hepers and then in the end of Book #1 Gene discovered his father hadn't died and was the man known as "The Scientist". This led Gene to meet a group of others around his age - Sissy, Ben, Epap and David. In Book #2 they found a place called The Mission which was supposed to be their Land of Milk and Honey, a paradise where they could keep safe but instead turned out to be a front. It was also here that Gene learned more about his father and that his father had created a cure for the Hepers known as The Origin cure. It was placed into the bloodstream of two people Gene and Sissy who were later worked out their names together read Genesis.
Again the group tried to escape and then found themselves caught and bundled on a train leading who knew where - possibly the place where Gene's dad was and then Book #2 finished. Readers, then had to wait almost a year for the release of Book #3 The Trap and was hoping it would answer a few questions. However in Book #3 we read as Gene's friends start to die one by one till there are only two left and now Gene and Sissy have been hired by the King of the Vamps to eliminate one of them that has turned and creating a fiasco - Ashley June who readers will remember from Book #1 - Gene's classmate. Scattered throughout the book are more clues to Gene's dad and who he was as a person but alas no father turns up . Now this last part annoyed me as I have waited three books for him to be reunited with his father or get proof that he is dead and alas nothing.
This leads to the question of is this going to be more of a quartet than a trilogy and is there another book in the works that readers aren't aware of yet or maybe a spin-off which tells the story of Gene's father. This book would have got 4 stars even maybe 5 , but due to the unanswered questions I have , I feel I can only rate it as a 3-3.5 Ps.
Again the group tried to escape and then found themselves caught and bundled on a train leading who knew where - possibly the place where Gene's dad was and then Book #2 finished. Readers, then had to wait almost a year for the release of Book #3 The Trap and was hoping it would answer a few questions. However in Book #3 we read as Gene's friends start to die one by one till there are only two left and now Gene and Sissy have been hired by the King of the Vamps to eliminate one of them that has turned and creating a fiasco - Ashley June who readers will remember from Book #1 - Gene's classmate. Scattered throughout the book are more clues to Gene's dad and who he was as a person but alas no father turns up . Now this last part annoyed me as I have waited three books for him to be reunited with his father or get proof that he is dead and alas nothing.
This leads to the question of is this going to be more of a quartet than a trilogy and is there another book in the works that readers aren't aware of yet or maybe a spin-off which tells the story of Gene's father. This book would have got 4 stars even maybe 5 , but due to the unanswered questions I have , I feel I can only rate it as a 3-3.5 Ps.
January 25, 2015
This is probably the last book I'll read by this author. I read Crossing Over as well, and I hated the way that ended, and I felt the same with this book.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
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I really didn't mind the plot twist in this book, that humans were the "mutants" instead of the duskers. I really didn't. My biggest problems from this book were with what happened to Ashley June and just the overall constant, "We're in danger!" and how Gene constantly and somehow miraculously always thinks of a way to save himself and Sissy.
I've never really been a fan of Sissy, and I'm not saying they should have killed her off or anything, but for her to end up with Gene? Just silly. To be honest this series dwindled after the first book, but after Gene left Ashley, I expected him to somehow go back and save her. I expected at least by this last book, he would somehow save her. Instead the author made her crazy and them unable (though really they could have) to turn her back. The whole plot of this started to just really crumble and when Gene killed her, I had the same thought I did at the end of Crossing over, What was the point? I mean Ashley June saved Gene, found out about what his father knew, all these things and yet she still has to die?
I just do not think I should read anything else this author writes because the endings always disappoint. I know that bad things happen in real life, sometimes people do not live, and such but at least make it more believable. All he ever seems to do is write off characters in the most unlucky of ways and they never get what they really deserved.
But all said and done, I'm just extremely disappointed with this trilogy and felt another author could have probably done it better.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
I really didn't mind the plot twist in this book, that humans were the "mutants" instead of the duskers. I really didn't. My biggest problems from this book were with what happened to Ashley June and just the overall constant, "We're in danger!" and how Gene constantly and somehow miraculously always thinks of a way to save himself and Sissy.
I've never really been a fan of Sissy, and I'm not saying they should have killed her off or anything, but for her to end up with Gene? Just silly. To be honest this series dwindled after the first book, but after Gene left Ashley, I expected him to somehow go back and save her. I expected at least by this last book, he would somehow save her. Instead the author made her crazy and them unable (though really they could have) to turn her back. The whole plot of this started to just really crumble and when Gene killed her, I had the same thought I did at the end of Crossing over, What was the point? I mean Ashley June saved Gene, found out about what his father knew, all these things and yet she still has to die?
I just do not think I should read anything else this author writes because the endings always disappoint. I know that bad things happen in real life, sometimes people do not live, and such but at least make it more believable. All he ever seems to do is write off characters in the most unlucky of ways and they never get what they really deserved.
But all said and done, I'm just extremely disappointed with this trilogy and felt another author could have probably done it better.
January 23, 2014
Review posted at Amaterasu Reads
It was not easy reading this book, let me tell you that now. It was not easy getting through The Hunt and The Prey as well, but there's something really fascinating in the way this cruel, cruel world was presented through Andrew Fukuda's writing. By the time I was reading The Hunt, I felt the way Gene and Sissy did. I am tired. I wanted to give up. It's like the wariness, the deaths, the setbacks and countless heartbreaks suddenly weighed down on me. When will it end? Will it ever end? But you know what? I wouldn't trade the reading experience I had with this book with anything right now.
You think I'd have enough because of the dire situations and each and every seemingly hopeless moments that Gene and Sissy encounters in almost every page and chapter, but no, it was like some sort of drug that feeds my hunger to find out how it all ends.
In terms of the characters, I liked Sissy in this book better than Gene. I've always thought that she was fierce, stronger than anyone, maybe even Ashley June and Gene, but she just became that rock Gene needs to lean on to, to not give up. "We fight to the end.", she would always say, and every single time those words just bring tears to my eyes. At some level, I can understand Gene's feelings, and he was the person who was the most affected by everything that had happened, every single piece of the puzzle revealed, every challenge they face, but I felt his hopelessness more, like he really was at the end of his rope, and he was more unstable and emotional in this book than I would have liked.
I'd like to argue with what was said in the summary, that Gene's deadliest enemy is Ashley June herself. I don't think so. Gene's deadliest enemy was himself. The doubts that began to creep in, when he was starting to lose himself in the fear and the direness of it all. Who else does he have to fight with him? It was just him and Sissy and if they don't become a lot tougher than they were, how will they survive? Gene and Sissy were enough source of agony for me, that kind of bittersweet, doomed love and Ashley June just had to come in and present us flashbacks of what really happened to her, what it was like for her. She loved Gene, that I was sure of, and they were both connected by the grim events that transpired between their families, it's just that Ashley June chose to do it in a way that Gene couldn't understand, not at first.
What happens when the Prey becomes the Hunter? I'm glad that amidst all that was going on in the story, Andrew Fukuda was able to show that side of the story, though briefly. It gave Gene's and Sissy's character a bit of an edge, a darker tinge to it.
I had to stop and pause for a little while when the truth surfaced. It felt like a bomb exploded and I had no idea how to deal with the aftermath. It was safe to say that those moments rearranged the whole story for me and gave me a whole new perspective to think about, and evaluate the story in a different angle, with a different approach. What a way to blindside people, Andrew Fukuda. By that moment I didn't care what else was there left for Gene and Sissy to discover, but when that twist finally came into light, I was speechless. I was so caught up trying to see if Gene and Sissy will survive for another minute, another hour, another day, that the possibility for something of that magnitude was plausible. And as if it wasn't enough, Gene and Sissy had to face the reality of what lies ahead for them, what it means when they discovered who they are. What was normal for them? I felt so exhausted, but it turns out it wasn't the end.
I felt like my emotions were painfully wrung out of me by the time I got through the end. I can't say I'm happy, but I felt so proud by the time the story ended. I felt so proud for Gene and Sissy. They came out of it with a determination stronger and fiercer than before. They found a purpose. They were each other's hope. And that was good enough of an ending for me.
Stunned and stunning. Shocked and shocking. I couldn't ask for a better way for The Hunt series to end. The Trap couldn't have ended in a better way than it did. Kudos, Andrew Fukuda! What a ride, what a read! This series will forever stay with me as one of the most memorable series I have ever read.
It was not easy reading this book, let me tell you that now. It was not easy getting through The Hunt and The Prey as well, but there's something really fascinating in the way this cruel, cruel world was presented through Andrew Fukuda's writing. By the time I was reading The Hunt, I felt the way Gene and Sissy did. I am tired. I wanted to give up. It's like the wariness, the deaths, the setbacks and countless heartbreaks suddenly weighed down on me. When will it end? Will it ever end? But you know what? I wouldn't trade the reading experience I had with this book with anything right now.
You think I'd have enough because of the dire situations and each and every seemingly hopeless moments that Gene and Sissy encounters in almost every page and chapter, but no, it was like some sort of drug that feeds my hunger to find out how it all ends.
In terms of the characters, I liked Sissy in this book better than Gene. I've always thought that she was fierce, stronger than anyone, maybe even Ashley June and Gene, but she just became that rock Gene needs to lean on to, to not give up. "We fight to the end.", she would always say, and every single time those words just bring tears to my eyes. At some level, I can understand Gene's feelings, and he was the person who was the most affected by everything that had happened, every single piece of the puzzle revealed, every challenge they face, but I felt his hopelessness more, like he really was at the end of his rope, and he was more unstable and emotional in this book than I would have liked.
I'd like to argue with what was said in the summary, that Gene's deadliest enemy is Ashley June herself. I don't think so. Gene's deadliest enemy was himself. The doubts that began to creep in, when he was starting to lose himself in the fear and the direness of it all. Who else does he have to fight with him? It was just him and Sissy and if they don't become a lot tougher than they were, how will they survive? Gene and Sissy were enough source of agony for me, that kind of bittersweet, doomed love and Ashley June just had to come in and present us flashbacks of what really happened to her, what it was like for her. She loved Gene, that I was sure of, and they were both connected by the grim events that transpired between their families, it's just that Ashley June chose to do it in a way that Gene couldn't understand, not at first.
What happens when the Prey becomes the Hunter? I'm glad that amidst all that was going on in the story, Andrew Fukuda was able to show that side of the story, though briefly. It gave Gene's and Sissy's character a bit of an edge, a darker tinge to it.
I had to stop and pause for a little while when the truth surfaced. It felt like a bomb exploded and I had no idea how to deal with the aftermath. It was safe to say that those moments rearranged the whole story for me and gave me a whole new perspective to think about, and evaluate the story in a different angle, with a different approach. What a way to blindside people, Andrew Fukuda. By that moment I didn't care what else was there left for Gene and Sissy to discover, but when that twist finally came into light, I was speechless. I was so caught up trying to see if Gene and Sissy will survive for another minute, another hour, another day, that the possibility for something of that magnitude was plausible. And as if it wasn't enough, Gene and Sissy had to face the reality of what lies ahead for them, what it means when they discovered who they are. What was normal for them? I felt so exhausted, but it turns out it wasn't the end.
I felt like my emotions were painfully wrung out of me by the time I got through the end. I can't say I'm happy, but I felt so proud by the time the story ended. I felt so proud for Gene and Sissy. They came out of it with a determination stronger and fiercer than before. They found a purpose. They were each other's hope. And that was good enough of an ending for me.
Stunned and stunning. Shocked and shocking. I couldn't ask for a better way for The Hunt series to end. The Trap couldn't have ended in a better way than it did. Kudos, Andrew Fukuda! What a ride, what a read! This series will forever stay with me as one of the most memorable series I have ever read.
May 21, 2018
The first thing after having finished the second book of the trilogy was to start this one (the third of the series), although it was 2 am, in order to find out how this was going to end. I was reading it like a maniac and the reaction, while reaching to the end of the book was: "I just cannot believe it! What I am going to read now?!" I strongly recommend all the parts of this trilogy!
February 15, 2026
MY THOUGHTS
The Trap begins right where The Prey left off, with the main characters on a train escaping the vampires (or duskers), but most certainly not heading towards Paradise. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, they still aren't safe. But with Gene and Sissy now knowing how to turn a dusker back into a human, they think there is still hope. Yet Ashley June is out there in the dusker city posing a risk and if Gene kills her, the duskers say that they will let Gene and his other human companions go free. But can he kill the girl he once loved? And will he survive amongst the duskers again?
There is a lot of action in this book, a lot of blood and death. I wasn't really a fan of that mostly because I'm not really interested in books where there is so much gore. While I don't love this series, I will admit that I had difficulty putting this book down at points.
One of the parts I really liked about this book is that it is not just from Gene's perspective. There are also third person perspectives from Ashly June and Sissy. Sissy's perspective was closer to the end of the book within a very actiony scene, so it was similar to Gene's, but I liked Ashley June's chapters. At first, I was upset by her interactions because Ashley June was not much of a character in the first book and was hardly ever mentioned in the last book, so I thought the book was just trying to remind us that she existed. But, the chapters really showed how Ashley June grew up and how she was connected with Gene's family. It served to both answer questions and to show her as a more dynamic character. In a way, it humanized her, even though she was no longer human, and it made her a more sympathetic villain because she does become a villain in this book. By the way, it really bothers me that Ashly June does not get a name. I'm calling her Ashly June, but that was the designation Gene gave her. I was wondering throughout her backstory whether her family ever named her. I'm guessing they did because they acted like humans when they were in their own home, but that never came up.
I did not have as much trouble with Gene in this book as I did the previous books. I did not agree with some of his decisions, in fact, some made very little sense, but I guess he was okay. He does seem more human and comfortable with being human. Although, his regard for human life is still mostly just for Sissy. Honestly, when it comes to characterization in this book there was very little growth because so much of this book was trying to survive, finding answers, or both, so there wasn't much time to connect to the characters or see them grow as individuals.
This book does try to give answers, but I was not satisfied. For one, it seemed like major plot points in previous books were dropped. We never know what happened to Clair and Ben. We never really know what happened to The Scientist. We are given an answer for how the world came to be this way, the cure, and how humans integrated into dusker society, but...it did not ring true. It was a great twist, but throughout this whole series, the characters are given an answer only to find out that was wrong and here is the true answer only to find out that one is wrong and so on and so on. It made it hard for me to believe any answer and, again, there are still so many more questions! I guess it ends on a positive note, but I really wasn't sure how to feel about it.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this is an interesting series. It does have a very unique idea and does take the tired dystopian plot in another direction. Some things about the world still don't make sense to me and I'm not really satisfied by the ending, but I not upset by my decision to finish this series.
The Trap begins right where The Prey left off, with the main characters on a train escaping the vampires (or duskers), but most certainly not heading towards Paradise. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, they still aren't safe. But with Gene and Sissy now knowing how to turn a dusker back into a human, they think there is still hope. Yet Ashley June is out there in the dusker city posing a risk and if Gene kills her, the duskers say that they will let Gene and his other human companions go free. But can he kill the girl he once loved? And will he survive amongst the duskers again?
There is a lot of action in this book, a lot of blood and death. I wasn't really a fan of that mostly because I'm not really interested in books where there is so much gore. While I don't love this series, I will admit that I had difficulty putting this book down at points.
One of the parts I really liked about this book is that it is not just from Gene's perspective. There are also third person perspectives from Ashly June and Sissy. Sissy's perspective was closer to the end of the book within a very actiony scene, so it was similar to Gene's, but I liked Ashley June's chapters. At first, I was upset by her interactions because Ashley June was not much of a character in the first book and was hardly ever mentioned in the last book, so I thought the book was just trying to remind us that she existed. But, the chapters really showed how Ashley June grew up and how she was connected with Gene's family. It served to both answer questions and to show her as a more dynamic character. In a way, it humanized her, even though she was no longer human, and it made her a more sympathetic villain because she does become a villain in this book. By the way, it really bothers me that Ashly June does not get a name. I'm calling her Ashly June, but that was the designation Gene gave her. I was wondering throughout her backstory whether her family ever named her. I'm guessing they did because they acted like humans when they were in their own home, but that never came up.
I did not have as much trouble with Gene in this book as I did the previous books. I did not agree with some of his decisions, in fact, some made very little sense, but I guess he was okay. He does seem more human and comfortable with being human. Although, his regard for human life is still mostly just for Sissy. Honestly, when it comes to characterization in this book there was very little growth because so much of this book was trying to survive, finding answers, or both, so there wasn't much time to connect to the characters or see them grow as individuals.
This book does try to give answers, but I was not satisfied. For one, it seemed like major plot points in previous books were dropped. We never know what happened to Clair and Ben. We never really know what happened to The Scientist. We are given an answer for how the world came to be this way, the cure, and how humans integrated into dusker society, but...it did not ring true. It was a great twist, but throughout this whole series, the characters are given an answer only to find out that was wrong and here is the true answer only to find out that one is wrong and so on and so on. It made it hard for me to believe any answer and, again, there are still so many more questions! I guess it ends on a positive note, but I really wasn't sure how to feel about it.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this is an interesting series. It does have a very unique idea and does take the tired dystopian plot in another direction. Some things about the world still don't make sense to me and I'm not really satisfied by the ending, but I not upset by my decision to finish this series.
February 5, 2021
2014 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.
February 24, 2017
The last installment in the series, had everything; a fast pace and a lot of twists through its’ length. I think that Andrew Fukuda gave the end that fitted the most and I liked that it was not the classical happy ending
December 22, 2013
3/5
ugh. Endings.
This is the last last book in the hunt series. Same as it was titled, it was a trap. A trap of high expectations. Too bad the ending never made it for me.
The first two books in the trilogy really had a good plot and ended with a witty cliffhanger to it. I was expecting the same for this book. It kinda looked that way but it really seems so odd for me. In the beginning of the trilogy it made sense that the world had a near extinct human race, but the idea had to reversed at the end. It was supposed to be a world of vampires infested with humans. And being human or heper was created by a virus. And this virus is so odd. A virus that influences externally from its host.
I really really liked the the series too much that I had too high expectations for the last book. I am so sorry but I really don't get it. I am giving it a 3/5 out of the high octane savagery and imagination in this book. But the ending really killed it. I was hoping that Gene and Sissy would be victors at the end but all they did was fled to a distant land and make a civilization of their own.
Again, I was caught off guard by the ending. I would have surely liked it if it took a different direction for its ending.
ugh. Endings.
This is the last last book in the hunt series. Same as it was titled, it was a trap. A trap of high expectations. Too bad the ending never made it for me.
The first two books in the trilogy really had a good plot and ended with a witty cliffhanger to it. I was expecting the same for this book. It kinda looked that way but it really seems so odd for me. In the beginning of the trilogy it made sense that the world had a near extinct human race, but the idea had to reversed at the end. It was supposed to be a world of vampires infested with humans. And being human or heper was created by a virus. And this virus is so odd. A virus that influences externally from its host.
I really really liked the the series too much that I had too high expectations for the last book. I am so sorry but I really don't get it. I am giving it a 3/5 out of the high octane savagery and imagination in this book. But the ending really killed it. I was hoping that Gene and Sissy would be victors at the end but all they did was fled to a distant land and make a civilization of their own.
Again, I was caught off guard by the ending. I would have surely liked it if it took a different direction for its ending.
July 27, 2014
2.5 stars
Plot- 8/10
Characters- 7/10
Writing- 7.5/10
World Building- 6.5/10
TOTAL- 7.4/10
Quickie Review *Warning- this review may be incoherent and confusing, as I am having trouble putting my thoughts together. I'm sure of one thing- there will be spoilers in this review.
Well. That's not at all what I was expecting. I don't think I've ever been left so puzzled after reading a book in my entire life. I have no idea how I'm going to review this thing... But here goes.
I'll start by telling you guys what exactly was going through my head at certain points during the book.
At page 50: "That's one hell of a beginning."
At page 100: Things are getting interesting."
At page 200: "We're still nowhere near the ending, so we'd best get a move on."
At page 250: "At this point a good resolution is literally impossible, so I don't know how the author is going to finish the series."
At page 280: "I think I know where this is going, but I refuse to acknowledge that possibility."
At page 300: "I can't believe this is how it's going to end."
At the last page: What the hell?
5 minutes later: WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
Needless to say, the ending was so utterly shocking that I needed to take a few minutes to really process everything.
Quite a few series conclusions for YA dystopia/paranormal books these days have been following a fairly similar structure:
1). The characters succeed in changing the world for the better.
2). A couple of characters die so the ending doesn't seem unrealistically happy, but most of the main characters survive.
3). All the loose ends are tied up.
4). There is a feeling of relief and hope as the series ends.
Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with following this structure. Series conclusions like these run the risk of being slightly predictable, but what is most important is that there is a solid resolution that leaves the readers satisfied. And books that follow said structure almost always succeed in doing the above. But Fukuda, while writing The Trap, basically said "to hell with that checklist!" And he attempts to think outside the box. And what he ends up doing is: he smashes through the glass box but also manages to cut himself badly in the process.
Out of the 4 points in the checklist above, The Trap checks off exactly... 0 of them. The world very much remains the same, literally everyone dies except for Gene and Sissy, many loose ends are not tied up, and there is no sense of relief and hope as the series ends. Granted, Fukuda does try to create some sense of hope as he concludes, but I was so shocked at everything I had just learned about Gene's world that this little spark of hope quickly drowned in the hurricane of thoughts that swirled around in my brain. Fukuda tries to revolutionize the concept of series finales in YA fiction. He managed to shock me, flabbergast me, and anger me along the way, but revolutionize he did not.
Essentially, we are told that the HEPER project was first created to make meals out of CORPSES. For some wacky reason, the Ruler (who basically disappears halfway through this book?) decided to test out the HEPER virus on live people. The serum turned them into humans, and the people developed a burning desire to eat them. Basically, the big plot twist here is that the Origin is not a cure- it was a virus. And the "regular" species in this series is actually the duskers, and the humans are just mutated from them. This revelation, which came in a series of documents and letters at the very end, was shocking, and only begged more questions, the most prominent being: If duskers are the original species, whatever happened to the humans before them?
After Gene and Sissy figure this out, Gene goes on a rampage about how he wished he had just turned earlier, and how he hates being human. Then he stares into Sissy's eyes, and all of a sudden, "Go humans!" *eyeroll* And of course, in true Raging Star fashion, the two head out on their own singing Kumbaya, with the intention of starting a new human civilization and eventually taking the world back. Fukuda in essence tries to evoke a false sense of hope in the readers. But what he's done by taking the ending where he did is this: with the Hunt series, he's basically written a prologue to the ACTUAL series- the fight between civilizations for control of the world. This ending was by no means a resolution- Fukuda wrote a segue to the bigger plotline, which is bound to happen at some point in the future, and then practically said, "See ya, suckers!" to the readers and walked away. And may I add, no mention AT ALL of Ben or Clair, who Gene and Sissy had PROMISED they would find, and no mention at all of the Scientist, whose reunion with Gene I had greatly been anticipating. We still have no clue where he is, which is kind of ridiculous to me. I always look for nicely resolved endings, and unfortunately, this was just about as open-ended as you can get.
It's really too bad too, because in terms of plot, the rest of the book was very good. It started with a bang, as Fukuda got the ball rolling by killing off a bunch of characters in the opening scene. I don't know how many exactly, so I'll just make an educated guess and say 100. We were then introduced to a really awesome (well, not actually) world- the catacombs of the Palace, where the premise involving hiding in the enclaves and hoping you aren't picked to get eaten definitely resembled the premises introduced in The Maze Runner, and Lockdown. This was a really interesting premise, and I would have liked to have seen this world developed more. Alas, Fukuda then had a minor hiccup by halting the fast paced action and intrigue to allow a character barf out a barrage of information that was not easy to process quickly. (To add insult to injury, most of this information actually turned out to be a pile of horse dung.) But after that, there was a lot of action and fighting, and the level of suspense was very high. Then, of course, the ending. And, well, you know how I feel about that.
The characters were not particularly easy to root for in this novel. Sissy, who I had liked quite a lot in the opening two books, succeeded in ticking me off a lot in this installment. When she insisted on going back for David in the Palace, I rolled my eyes. Again, as I mentioned in my review of The Prey, Fukuda is not able to portray selflessness in a realistic, natural manner. Sissy was basically adamant on committing suicide to try and save her brother. (Which begs the question even more: has she simply forgotten about Ben as the end of the book?!?!?!) She would not listen to Gene, the voice of reason. And was Gene relentless in forcing Sissy to listen to reason like I hoped he would be? Absolutely..... Not. He crumbled and became Sissy's pet. "Ok, Sissy. Whatever you say, Sissy." *eyeroll* Ashley June was probably the best character in this book. Her flashbacks were interesting, and revealed many things about her past. I hated her throughout much of this novel, but the revelations at the end, regardless of how much I disliked them, helped me understand Ashley June's motivations and intentions in this book. David gave me all kinds of feels near the end. "You came back for me." *tear falls down cheek* *dies* There was zero character development from Epap (for obvious reasons), so I can't really comment on him.
The writing was same old, same old- descriptive, dark, and formal. And not really in a good way. Let me give you an example, from the third page.
We plunge into the tunnel. Its opening gapes wide like a diseased mouth that eagerly swallows us whole. Our world of stark white and cobalt skies, in a sudden blink of an eye, is erased with pure black. A hot wind, dank and moist as a tongue, hurls through the bars of our caged car, gusts through our clothes and hair, our clenched hands, our crouched, shaking bodies.
I see metaphors, similes, repetition, personification... This is poetry, not prose in a YA book. And it's beautiful and all, but it makes me feel more distant from the character. It makes him seem like less of a human being, and as a result, it's harder to connect with him. I guess what I'm saying here its that the writing is... too perfect.
Overall, The Trap is a book that could have been so much more. The author could have ended it a more conventional way and still have gotten 5 stars from me. But I did not like where he went with the last book. He changed the entire story, and only succeeded in raising more questions about Gene's world and the future. I feel awful, because I really wanted to like this book. The Hunt series had my attention from the first page, and I developed a real liking to it. But ultimately, I disagreed with the path that Fukuda decided to take with the series. In conclusion, The Trap, to me, is sadly nothing more than a failed attempt at revolutionizing the concept of series conclusions.
*EDIT- After I wrote this review I downgraded my rating from 3 to 2 stars. The book still resides somewhere in between.
Plot- 8/10
Characters- 7/10
Writing- 7.5/10
World Building- 6.5/10
TOTAL- 7.4/10
Quickie Review *Warning- this review may be incoherent and confusing, as I am having trouble putting my thoughts together. I'm sure of one thing- there will be spoilers in this review.
Well. That's not at all what I was expecting. I don't think I've ever been left so puzzled after reading a book in my entire life. I have no idea how I'm going to review this thing... But here goes.
I'll start by telling you guys what exactly was going through my head at certain points during the book.
At page 50: "That's one hell of a beginning."
At page 100: Things are getting interesting."
At page 200: "We're still nowhere near the ending, so we'd best get a move on."
At page 250: "At this point a good resolution is literally impossible, so I don't know how the author is going to finish the series."
At page 280: "I think I know where this is going, but I refuse to acknowledge that possibility."
At page 300: "I can't believe this is how it's going to end."
At the last page: What the hell?
5 minutes later: WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
Needless to say, the ending was so utterly shocking that I needed to take a few minutes to really process everything.
Quite a few series conclusions for YA dystopia/paranormal books these days have been following a fairly similar structure:
1). The characters succeed in changing the world for the better.
2). A couple of characters die so the ending doesn't seem unrealistically happy, but most of the main characters survive.
3). All the loose ends are tied up.
4). There is a feeling of relief and hope as the series ends.
Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with following this structure. Series conclusions like these run the risk of being slightly predictable, but what is most important is that there is a solid resolution that leaves the readers satisfied. And books that follow said structure almost always succeed in doing the above. But Fukuda, while writing The Trap, basically said "to hell with that checklist!" And he attempts to think outside the box. And what he ends up doing is: he smashes through the glass box but also manages to cut himself badly in the process.
Out of the 4 points in the checklist above, The Trap checks off exactly... 0 of them. The world very much remains the same, literally everyone dies except for Gene and Sissy, many loose ends are not tied up, and there is no sense of relief and hope as the series ends. Granted, Fukuda does try to create some sense of hope as he concludes, but I was so shocked at everything I had just learned about Gene's world that this little spark of hope quickly drowned in the hurricane of thoughts that swirled around in my brain. Fukuda tries to revolutionize the concept of series finales in YA fiction. He managed to shock me, flabbergast me, and anger me along the way, but revolutionize he did not.
Essentially, we are told that the HEPER project was first created to make meals out of CORPSES. For some wacky reason, the Ruler (who basically disappears halfway through this book?) decided to test out the HEPER virus on live people. The serum turned them into humans, and the people developed a burning desire to eat them. Basically, the big plot twist here is that the Origin is not a cure- it was a virus. And the "regular" species in this series is actually the duskers, and the humans are just mutated from them. This revelation, which came in a series of documents and letters at the very end, was shocking, and only begged more questions, the most prominent being: If duskers are the original species, whatever happened to the humans before them?
After Gene and Sissy figure this out, Gene goes on a rampage about how he wished he had just turned earlier, and how he hates being human. Then he stares into Sissy's eyes, and all of a sudden, "Go humans!" *eyeroll* And of course, in true Raging Star fashion, the two head out on their own singing Kumbaya, with the intention of starting a new human civilization and eventually taking the world back. Fukuda in essence tries to evoke a false sense of hope in the readers. But what he's done by taking the ending where he did is this: with the Hunt series, he's basically written a prologue to the ACTUAL series- the fight between civilizations for control of the world. This ending was by no means a resolution- Fukuda wrote a segue to the bigger plotline, which is bound to happen at some point in the future, and then practically said, "See ya, suckers!" to the readers and walked away. And may I add, no mention AT ALL of Ben or Clair, who Gene and Sissy had PROMISED they would find, and no mention at all of the Scientist, whose reunion with Gene I had greatly been anticipating. We still have no clue where he is, which is kind of ridiculous to me. I always look for nicely resolved endings, and unfortunately, this was just about as open-ended as you can get.
It's really too bad too, because in terms of plot, the rest of the book was very good. It started with a bang, as Fukuda got the ball rolling by killing off a bunch of characters in the opening scene. I don't know how many exactly, so I'll just make an educated guess and say 100. We were then introduced to a really awesome (well, not actually) world- the catacombs of the Palace, where the premise involving hiding in the enclaves and hoping you aren't picked to get eaten definitely resembled the premises introduced in The Maze Runner, and Lockdown. This was a really interesting premise, and I would have liked to have seen this world developed more. Alas, Fukuda then had a minor hiccup by halting the fast paced action and intrigue to allow a character barf out a barrage of information that was not easy to process quickly. (To add insult to injury, most of this information actually turned out to be a pile of horse dung.) But after that, there was a lot of action and fighting, and the level of suspense was very high. Then, of course, the ending. And, well, you know how I feel about that.
The characters were not particularly easy to root for in this novel. Sissy, who I had liked quite a lot in the opening two books, succeeded in ticking me off a lot in this installment. When she insisted on going back for David in the Palace, I rolled my eyes. Again, as I mentioned in my review of The Prey, Fukuda is not able to portray selflessness in a realistic, natural manner. Sissy was basically adamant on committing suicide to try and save her brother. (Which begs the question even more: has she simply forgotten about Ben as the end of the book?!?!?!) She would not listen to Gene, the voice of reason. And was Gene relentless in forcing Sissy to listen to reason like I hoped he would be? Absolutely..... Not. He crumbled and became Sissy's pet. "Ok, Sissy. Whatever you say, Sissy." *eyeroll* Ashley June was probably the best character in this book. Her flashbacks were interesting, and revealed many things about her past. I hated her throughout much of this novel, but the revelations at the end, regardless of how much I disliked them, helped me understand Ashley June's motivations and intentions in this book. David gave me all kinds of feels near the end. "You came back for me." *tear falls down cheek* *dies* There was zero character development from Epap (for obvious reasons), so I can't really comment on him.
The writing was same old, same old- descriptive, dark, and formal. And not really in a good way. Let me give you an example, from the third page.
We plunge into the tunnel. Its opening gapes wide like a diseased mouth that eagerly swallows us whole. Our world of stark white and cobalt skies, in a sudden blink of an eye, is erased with pure black. A hot wind, dank and moist as a tongue, hurls through the bars of our caged car, gusts through our clothes and hair, our clenched hands, our crouched, shaking bodies.
I see metaphors, similes, repetition, personification... This is poetry, not prose in a YA book. And it's beautiful and all, but it makes me feel more distant from the character. It makes him seem like less of a human being, and as a result, it's harder to connect with him. I guess what I'm saying here its that the writing is... too perfect.
Overall, The Trap is a book that could have been so much more. The author could have ended it a more conventional way and still have gotten 5 stars from me. But I did not like where he went with the last book. He changed the entire story, and only succeeded in raising more questions about Gene's world and the future. I feel awful, because I really wanted to like this book. The Hunt series had my attention from the first page, and I developed a real liking to it. But ultimately, I disagreed with the path that Fukuda decided to take with the series. In conclusion, The Trap, to me, is sadly nothing more than a failed attempt at revolutionizing the concept of series conclusions.
*EDIT- After I wrote this review I downgraded my rating from 3 to 2 stars. The book still resides somewhere in between.
November 11, 2013
The Trap is awesome. This series is unique and fast-paced, and I just couldn't put it down.
The Trap is the third book in The Hunt Series. If you haven't read The Hunt and The Prey you should start there. And, you may want to stop reading my review in case of spoilers. (There's a giveaway at the end, though, so don't miss that!)
The Trap picks ups right after The Prey, with our main characters on the train to the palace. I'm really not going to tell you much about what happens, except to say it's NON-STOP. Gene and Sissy and the rest of the Hepers are in danger over and over. The tension continues to build, and there were several times when I thought they were doomed.
So, yea, they are lucky and escape again and again (well, at least some of them do). But each time it's a clever way to escape, and they have to, right? Or else the story would end! So, all is forgiven.
These books are gory, and The Trap is the worst of them. Notice I didn't say "bloody." Duskers don't bleed, but they certainly create a lot of slime. There's puking and all kinds of other nasty, gross occurrences too, so if that bothers you, these books are not for you.
Ashley June reappears and this creates a bit of a love triangle, but nothing overwhelms the story. Frankly, I was so worried about all the characters, I couldn't care less about the romance. Fukuda isn't afraid to kill his characters, which just adds to the tension. And, by the way, The Trap had me so wound up that my neck got stiff as I was reading. I think Mr. Fukuda owes me a massage!
The ending is awesome and unexpected. What a twist! I'm so happy that Fukuda went outside the box -- it just added to my appreciation of this series. The characters are good. The action is good. The lore is exceptional. I highly recommend these books to lots of teens, and I will continue to do so!
The Trap is the third book in The Hunt Series. If you haven't read The Hunt and The Prey you should start there. And, you may want to stop reading my review in case of spoilers. (There's a giveaway at the end, though, so don't miss that!)
The Trap picks ups right after The Prey, with our main characters on the train to the palace. I'm really not going to tell you much about what happens, except to say it's NON-STOP. Gene and Sissy and the rest of the Hepers are in danger over and over. The tension continues to build, and there were several times when I thought they were doomed.
So, yea, they are lucky and escape again and again (well, at least some of them do). But each time it's a clever way to escape, and they have to, right? Or else the story would end! So, all is forgiven.
These books are gory, and The Trap is the worst of them. Notice I didn't say "bloody." Duskers don't bleed, but they certainly create a lot of slime. There's puking and all kinds of other nasty, gross occurrences too, so if that bothers you, these books are not for you.
Ashley June reappears and this creates a bit of a love triangle, but nothing overwhelms the story. Frankly, I was so worried about all the characters, I couldn't care less about the romance. Fukuda isn't afraid to kill his characters, which just adds to the tension. And, by the way, The Trap had me so wound up that my neck got stiff as I was reading. I think Mr. Fukuda owes me a massage!
The ending is awesome and unexpected. What a twist! I'm so happy that Fukuda went outside the box -- it just added to my appreciation of this series. The characters are good. The action is good. The lore is exceptional. I highly recommend these books to lots of teens, and I will continue to do so!
July 25, 2016
This series has been very unique, and very strange at times. I've really enjoyed reading it, and I feel satisfied with the ending and I like where Fukuda went with it.
The books got creepier and creepier in my opinion. Don't think that means I didn't like them, because I really did. The creepier, the better! I can easily picture this series as movies, and there will be lots of gore, body fluids and naked bodies!
The reason I didn't rate this book higher is because I felt like it went longer that what it should've. I liked reading about Gene and Sissy getting caught up in dangerous situations, but it happened too often I thought.
I don't know what I wanted, maybe because the book is so fast-paced I wanted to find out what the hell was going on already! I didn't care to read about how they were fighting for their lives again, I wanted answers!
Now that I have those answers, I'm happy. I also like how Fukuda has cleverly tied up or explained things from previous books. One thing that annoyed me was - how did Ashley June get away pretending all those years when once a month she got her period? You'd think they would've hunted her down in no time. What they do to fix the issue is obvious now that I've read it, but I needed that explanation as I didn't think of it myself and it would've continued to bug me.
Overall I think this series is original and one for the gore lovers. Put it on your tbr if you like a fast-paced, chilling and mysterious book.
The books got creepier and creepier in my opinion. Don't think that means I didn't like them, because I really did. The creepier, the better! I can easily picture this series as movies, and there will be lots of gore, body fluids and naked bodies!
The reason I didn't rate this book higher is because I felt like it went longer that what it should've. I liked reading about Gene and Sissy getting caught up in dangerous situations, but it happened too often I thought.
I don't know what I wanted, maybe because the book is so fast-paced I wanted to find out what the hell was going on already! I didn't care to read about how they were fighting for their lives again, I wanted answers!
Now that I have those answers, I'm happy. I also like how Fukuda has cleverly tied up or explained things from previous books. One thing that annoyed me was - how did Ashley June get away pretending all those years when once a month she got her period? You'd think they would've hunted her down in no time. What they do to fix the issue is obvious now that I've read it, but I needed that explanation as I didn't think of it myself and it would've continued to bug me.
Overall I think this series is original and one for the gore lovers. Put it on your tbr if you like a fast-paced, chilling and mysterious book.
January 14, 2015
How I managed to not have a heart attack while reading this, I don't know!! To say this was suspenful would be an understatement. This was one of those books I couldn't read at night because it would have infiltrated into my dreams!
This whole series is creepy. Creepy, like those movies where things jump out at you...so not necessarily scary....if that makes sense.
Spoilers ahead hepers:
That tank scene with the ruler was so gross....especially when he wad talking about how he would eat.
Nasty.
The whole them being the contagio Thing.... Ugh. I wasn't really wanting that. I was hoping for a cure. I was hoping for more human survival. And, wth is his dad? Dead probably, but for genes sake I would have liked some definte answers.
Just ugh. Good lawd, I need a easy going read after this!
My brain is mush. Thank you for that mind bang fukuda. Geeze.
3 ish stars.
Son of a biscuit eater! You ending! Grrr.
This whole series is creepy. Creepy, like those movies where things jump out at you...so not necessarily scary....if that makes sense.
Spoilers ahead hepers:
That tank scene with the ruler was so gross....especially when he wad talking about how he would eat.
Nasty.
The whole them being the contagio Thing.... Ugh. I wasn't really wanting that. I was hoping for a cure. I was hoping for more human survival. And, wth is his dad? Dead probably, but for genes sake I would have liked some definte answers.
Just ugh. Good lawd, I need a easy going read after this!
My brain is mush. Thank you for that mind bang fukuda. Geeze.
3 ish stars.
Son of a biscuit eater! You ending! Grrr.
September 18, 2018
I wasn’t crazy about The Hunt, but as I brought the entire trilogy whilst on offer I decided to dive into The Prey with crossed fingers. My big issue with The Hunt was that it never quite reached the full potential, with things constantly remaining just out of reach, and I was hoping the continuation of the story would finally push us towards the good stuff.
I enjoyed The Prey more than I enjoyed The Hunt, but it still wasn’t quite everything I had hoped it would be. It left me willing to read the final book, as I wanted to see how everything came together, but it failed to suck me in completely. However, after reading The Trap, I can honestly say The Prey was my favourite book in the series.
If you enjoyed The Hunt and The Prey, you’re sure to enjoy The Trap. It has the same kind of feel as the first two books, meaning fans of the series will enjoy the way things develop in this book. At the same time, there are new elements to enjoy.
For me, I rather enjoyed the unusual twist that were thrown into this one. We get a backstory that is unusual, one that makes you stop and think. Even at the end some aspects are unclear, leaving the interpretation open to the readers. You can go in many different directions, and this makes for an enjoyable element. Personally, I went for the unusual option – whilst it may have been unlikely, it was something different and I liked that.
However, at the same time, the book does leave too many open elements. Due to this, my rating is not a full three-star rating. Instead, I rounded up. Just. You see, certain things were introduced, certain storylines appeared, things happened to characters, and we never got any answers. I like it when stories have some unanswered elements – life does not always wrap things into a pretty little bow – but it felt too much like certain elements were completely ignored. There were certain things that may have been left open in the hope of a sequel or spin-off, but I would have preferred it had things been wrapped up better.
Overall, I can see the appeal of this series even if it wasn’t for me.
I enjoyed The Prey more than I enjoyed The Hunt, but it still wasn’t quite everything I had hoped it would be. It left me willing to read the final book, as I wanted to see how everything came together, but it failed to suck me in completely. However, after reading The Trap, I can honestly say The Prey was my favourite book in the series.
If you enjoyed The Hunt and The Prey, you’re sure to enjoy The Trap. It has the same kind of feel as the first two books, meaning fans of the series will enjoy the way things develop in this book. At the same time, there are new elements to enjoy.
For me, I rather enjoyed the unusual twist that were thrown into this one. We get a backstory that is unusual, one that makes you stop and think. Even at the end some aspects are unclear, leaving the interpretation open to the readers. You can go in many different directions, and this makes for an enjoyable element. Personally, I went for the unusual option – whilst it may have been unlikely, it was something different and I liked that.
However, at the same time, the book does leave too many open elements. Due to this, my rating is not a full three-star rating. Instead, I rounded up. Just. You see, certain things were introduced, certain storylines appeared, things happened to characters, and we never got any answers. I like it when stories have some unanswered elements – life does not always wrap things into a pretty little bow – but it felt too much like certain elements were completely ignored. There were certain things that may have been left open in the hope of a sequel or spin-off, but I would have preferred it had things been wrapped up better.
Overall, I can see the appeal of this series even if it wasn’t for me.
August 3, 2016
My mind is blown. I can't process my thoughts right now. I think the ending is the only reason I'm giving this 5 full stars. Otherwise it'd be getting 4-4.5ish. I've never been so surprised in my entire life... I can't focus enough to write a decent review. I CANT BELIEVE I READ THIS WHOLE SERIES WITHOUT SEEING THIS COMING! I am pooped. *sigh*
February 4, 2015
This book did NOT end the way I expected! Mind. Blown.
May 7, 2018
4.0*
Ten konec! Nemůžu se rozhodnout, jestli se mi rozuzlení líbilo nebo ne.
Ten konec! Nemůžu se rozhodnout, jestli se mi rozuzlení líbilo nebo ne.
August 24, 2018
Продължаваме с вампирската дистопия на Андрю Фукуда! Днес ще говорим за „Плячката” и „Капанът” – втора и трета книга от трилогията „Ловът” (изд. „Orange Books”), чиято първа част представихме вчера. Предстои среща с оцелелите хора, които съвсем не са лъча надежда, който сме очаквали, както и неочаквани разкрития за същността и произхода на кръвопийците, които ще обърнат с главата надолу представите на Джийн за света в който живее. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
August 25, 2019
SO GOOD. i was not expecting the ending, but i kind of wish there was an epilogue.
November 30, 2015
I’m not a huge fan of horror, but every so often a series that makes me re-evaluate the entire genre comes along. The Hunt is one of those series. From the first page of the first book, I was hooked; Fukuda is an excellent writer, and with every instalment of this series, he delivers fast-paced, suspenseful action and thoughtful characterisation. While Fukuda’s vampire lore was somewhat let down in the first book by plot holes that were never resolved, they weren’t enough to deter me from continuing with the series. The Trap is a solid series finale which ends with a shocking twist that I doubt many readers will be able to see coming.
After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to protect the cure, which can reverse the virus and turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them back into human beings. But first, they have to find a way to escape from the Ruler’s palace.
Like its predecessors, The Trap takes place over a handful of days, but so much action is packed into every page that there isn’t a dull moment. Fukuda’s vampires are as chilling as they were in book one, and there are some particularly gory scenes towards the end of the book. Each book of the Hunt series has ended on a cliffhanger, and The Trap is no exception, but while I loved the endings of The Hunt and The Prey, I’m not sure what to make of Fukuda’s final plot twist; it seemed a little too contrived, and I would have liked Fukuda to fill in some of the series’ many plot holes, rather than create new ones.
That said, I enjoyed reading The Trap just as much as the first two instalments of this series. I’m looking forward to seeing what Fukuda writes next.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 3 stars | ★★★✰✰
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd
After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to protect the cure, which can reverse the virus and turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them back into human beings. But first, they have to find a way to escape from the Ruler’s palace.
Like its predecessors, The Trap takes place over a handful of days, but so much action is packed into every page that there isn’t a dull moment. Fukuda’s vampires are as chilling as they were in book one, and there are some particularly gory scenes towards the end of the book. Each book of the Hunt series has ended on a cliffhanger, and The Trap is no exception, but while I loved the endings of The Hunt and The Prey, I’m not sure what to make of Fukuda’s final plot twist; it seemed a little too contrived, and I would have liked Fukuda to fill in some of the series’ many plot holes, rather than create new ones.
That said, I enjoyed reading The Trap just as much as the first two instalments of this series. I’m looking forward to seeing what Fukuda writes next.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 3 stars | ★★★✰✰
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd
June 7, 2015
This book. This motherfricking book.
I cannot sing my praises high enough for the whole series, and this last installment was the perfect way to finish it off.
Fukuda's writing is phenomenal and paints a vivid image, while still being easy to understand and avoids sounding snooty.
The story itself is incredible and such an incredibly original take on the vampire genre; I have genuinely never read anything like this before.
Moving on to 'The Trap' rather than the series as a whole, it was a perfect end to the trilogy. It was fast paced, exciting, and I never wanted it to finish. the change in perspectives with each chapter was also a very nice change. The chapters are short and sweet which I love; I can't stand books with only a few chapters.
Lastly, the ending of the book. SPOILERS: it is hinted that the whole series took place in the distant past, and we are now living in the world that Sissy and Gene created; in fact,they even called the new world Eden. Perhaps I am being too literal, and it is just in fact an alternate universe in which they are referencing the past. But I prefer to think that Gene and Sissy are, in a way, the original Adam and Eve. And I think that is perhaps the cleverest ending I have ever read (Followed closely by the ending of Final Destination 5, btw).
If you haven't read this series; do so now. If you have read the first two books, but are hesitant about reading this one; do so now.
I literally cannot sing my praises high enough for this book.
I cannot sing my praises high enough for the whole series, and this last installment was the perfect way to finish it off.
Fukuda's writing is phenomenal and paints a vivid image, while still being easy to understand and avoids sounding snooty.
The story itself is incredible and such an incredibly original take on the vampire genre; I have genuinely never read anything like this before.
Moving on to 'The Trap' rather than the series as a whole, it was a perfect end to the trilogy. It was fast paced, exciting, and I never wanted it to finish. the change in perspectives with each chapter was also a very nice change. The chapters are short and sweet which I love; I can't stand books with only a few chapters.
Lastly, the ending of the book. SPOILERS: it is hinted that the whole series took place in the distant past, and we are now living in the world that Sissy and Gene created; in fact,they even called the new world Eden. Perhaps I am being too literal, and it is just in fact an alternate universe in which they are referencing the past. But I prefer to think that Gene and Sissy are, in a way, the original Adam and Eve. And I think that is perhaps the cleverest ending I have ever read (Followed closely by the ending of Final Destination 5, btw).
If you haven't read this series; do so now. If you have read the first two books, but are hesitant about reading this one; do so now.
I literally cannot sing my praises high enough for this book.
November 23, 2013
The finale to The Hunt trilogy by Andrew Fukuda, The Trap begins where The Prey left off with Gene, Sissy and the escapees from the Mission on the train to the Palace, dreading the possibilities that await them.
Fast paced and action packed, Gene, Sissy and the remaining dome survivors, Epap and David, are immediately thrown into a whorl of life threatening chaos. Escaping the train is the first challenge, the next is to avoid being harvested by the Ruler, or the rebels, and the last is to confront Ashley June and survive.
While the plot barely hangs together in places, marred by events that require the complete suspension of belief, the story is rescued by a few unexpected and clever twists. The truth about the Origin will stun followers of the series and I have to give Fukuda credit for blindsiding me with that.
The Trap is a satisfying conclusion to The Hunt trilogy and despite the flaws with this series, I was glad to see it through to the end.
July 21, 2015
This review and more: Sharing Inspired Kreations
Huh. Well the ending was definitely unexpected. Definitely unique. Definitely changes your view on the entire series. What did I just read?!
This book is different in many ways from the first two in the series. It had some sneak peeks into Sissy and Ashley June’s characters. They each get a few chapters of their own (though, told in third person). Ashley June’s chapters are interesting, as they provide a bit of a backstory for her and Gene.
I am still a bit shocked by the ending. It’s so messed up but it totally works.
I was disappointed with the romance of this series. I didn’t really feel much of a romantic connection between the love interests. There was definitely feeling there, but it felt more like friendship to me. I think the romance could have benefited from more development for sure.
The story as a whole was good. It kept me interested right until the end. There was always a lot going on and it keeps you guessing until the very end. I would recommend reading this series for its uniqueness alone.
Huh. Well the ending was definitely unexpected. Definitely unique. Definitely changes your view on the entire series. What did I just read?!
This book is different in many ways from the first two in the series. It had some sneak peeks into Sissy and Ashley June’s characters. They each get a few chapters of their own (though, told in third person). Ashley June’s chapters are interesting, as they provide a bit of a backstory for her and Gene.
I am still a bit shocked by the ending. It’s so messed up but it totally works.
I was disappointed with the romance of this series. I didn’t really feel much of a romantic connection between the love interests. There was definitely feeling there, but it felt more like friendship to me. I think the romance could have benefited from more development for sure.
The story as a whole was good. It kept me interested right until the end. There was always a lot going on and it keeps you guessing until the very end. I would recommend reading this series for its uniqueness alone.
December 30, 2013
I won this book from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review. This is also my third read in the Christmas Booktube-a-thon challenge.
Again this novel carried on from where the second book left off. And again, this book wasn’t as good as the first. The biggest reason for me was “WTF was that ending?!?”. Is it just me, or does it feel like Andrew Fukuda got bored and wrote a shit ending? Like there was so much potential and then “LAME”. I feel like it was a huge cop out on his part. I still had so many questions. Like what happened to Gene’s father, for real? Where did Ben go? Did they ever meet up? Did they repopulate? Gah!! So frustrating! But despite this, The Hunt was a good read and I would recommend it to other dystopian and paranormal lovers. But I would stop after the first book lol. Maybe he will have a spin, no HOPEFULLY he will make a spin off so then I will know what the hell happened to them.
Again this novel carried on from where the second book left off. And again, this book wasn’t as good as the first. The biggest reason for me was “WTF was that ending?!?”. Is it just me, or does it feel like Andrew Fukuda got bored and wrote a shit ending? Like there was so much potential and then “LAME”. I feel like it was a huge cop out on his part. I still had so many questions. Like what happened to Gene’s father, for real? Where did Ben go? Did they ever meet up? Did they repopulate? Gah!! So frustrating! But despite this, The Hunt was a good read and I would recommend it to other dystopian and paranormal lovers. But I would stop after the first book lol. Maybe he will have a spin, no HOPEFULLY he will make a spin off so then I will know what the hell happened to them.
December 22, 2014
This was a fabulous ending to The Hunt series. While some of the early events were a bit predictable, the end took a turn I didn't expext. I like how other point-of-views were included in this one. It was necessary to explain some of the events and actions. There were a couple of moments when in Gene's POV when I was taken out of the story though. He seemed to know how othet people were feeling and their motivation. Maybe I would not have noticed this if I didn't write, too, I'm not sure. But, I absolutely loved the entire series. I think it is worth reading for anyone who enjoys dystopian, paranormal, or young adult. It's a fresh take on them all, and I highly recommend you read all three.
May 27, 2015
4,5
I když ten konec byl dechberoucí a celá kniha byla nacpaná akcí a napětím... mně tam něco scházelo. Z toho konce jsem nebyla až tak mimo, jak bych nejspíšměla být, ale uznávám, že Past je vskutku dobré zakončení série. Andrew Fukuda, autor, píše čtivě a nepiplá se s detaily, dokonce ani se zabíjením postav. Mohla bych ho za to nenávidět, jenže právě proto jsem si ho tolik oblíbila.
I když ten konec byl dechberoucí a celá kniha byla nacpaná akcí a napětím... mně tam něco scházelo. Z toho konce jsem nebyla až tak mimo, jak bych nejspíšměla být, ale uznávám, že Past je vskutku dobré zakončení série. Andrew Fukuda, autor, píše čtivě a nepiplá se s detaily, dokonce ani se zabíjením postav. Mohla bych ho za to nenávidět, jenže právě proto jsem si ho tolik oblíbila.
March 6, 2016
Dobrá myšlenka a vysvětlení celého tajemství GLUPAN.. ale jinak průměr. Bohužel se autorovi závěr série příliš nepovedl, což můžete vidět i u mé čtecí doby :D - duben až listopad. Posledních 100 stran bylo fajn.
http://malousesvetknih.blogspot.cz/20...
3,5*
http://malousesvetknih.blogspot.cz/20...
3,5*
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