Hunter (Hunter Series #1)

by Mercedes Lackey

Overview

They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares.

Monsters.

Long ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were ripped open, and it's taken centuries to bring back civilization in the wake of the catastrophe. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities,behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous monsters fighting to break through. Others are not so lucky.

To Joyeaux Charmand, who has been a Hunter in her tight-knit mountain community since she was a child, every Cit without magic deserves her protection from dangerous Othersiders. Then she is called to Apex City, where the best Hunters are kept to protect the most important people.

Joy soon realizes that the city's powerful leaders care more about luring Cits into a false sense of security than protecting them. More and more monsters are getting through the barriers,and the close calls are becoming too frequent to ignore. Yet the Cits have no sense of how much danger they're in-to them, Joy and her corp of fellow Hunters are just action stars they watch on TV.

When an act of sabotage against Joy takes an unbearable toll, Joy uncovers a terrifying conspiracy in the city. There is something much worse than the usual monsters infiltrating Apex. And it may be too late to stop them

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484725436
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Series:	Mercedes Lackey's Hunter Series , #1
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the New York Times best-selling American fantasy author behind the Heralds of Valdemar series, the Elemental Masters series, the 500 Kingdoms series, and many more. She has published over one hundred novels in under twenty-five years.

Editorial Reviews

* "Joyeaux's narration is spellbinding, the prose easily balancing the technology of the future with the traditions of the past. Captivating, dynamic, well-paced, and thrilling."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Fans of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games series who like a little more magic and fantasy with their dystopia will appreciate this new series."

—VOYA

"This satisfying sci-fi YA novel is set in a fully thought-out future A perfect choice for "Hunger Games" fans and readers looking for stories with strong female heroines."

—School Library Journal

"Spirituality, psychic abilities, propaganda, magic, monsters, and mayhem make this a book with a dozen hooks to snag readers and win Lackey even more fans."

—Booklist

"Lackey successfully mixes dystopia and fantasy in this series opener...the novel is exciting, entirely entertaining, and sure to please her fans."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

07/13/2015
Lackey (the Shadow Grail series) successfully mixes dystopia and fantasy in this series opener. Sixteen-year-old Joy Charmand, endowed with strong magic and skilled in a variety of weapons, is an accomplished monster hunter in her mountain village, and her deadly pack of magical Hounds is one of the largest ever. Now she has been ordered to Apex City to join the corps of Hunters who protect the capital from increasing attacks by goblins, vampires, and other dangerous creatures. Joy’s hunting techniques are up to the task, but she discovers that Apex City’s internal politics are complex and dangerous. Additionally, her every move and word will be monitored, and because “Hunters are as much entertainment as protectors,” these recordings will be manipulated by the government to provide amusement and a sense of security for the residents of the city. Although not Lackey’s best work (the plot is predictable, and Joy’s quick rise from rookie to star too quick and easy), the novel is exciting, entirely entertaining, and sure to please her fans. Ages 12–up. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Joy has been hunting monsters ever since she was a young child. In her remote, isolated village, hunting monsters is a normal activity, and everyone is expected to contribute to the cause. Regular citizens handle the less dangerous types (like gnomes), while those with magic—like Joy and her fellow Hunters—protect them from the bigger sinister Othersiders (like dragons). When Joy is summoned to Apex City to protect the most important people in this postapocalyptic society, she is baffled by the way they live. Citizens feel safe behind magical barriers and view Hunters as entertainment, watching their every movement on reality TV. Joy quickly realizes that this sense of security is just an illusion as more and more Othersiders break through the barriers. Lackey does a good job of setting up the conflict between the traditional monster-hunting Joy and the vain reality star Hunters of Apex City. There are brief scenes between Joy and the most dangerous of the Othersiders, the Mages, that hint at a much larger story to come in the following books of the series. Fans of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series who like a little more magic and fantasy with their dystopia will appreciate this new series. Reviewer: Jennifer McIntosh; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, October 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 4) - Jennifer McIntosh

10/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—Joyeaux Charmand has spent most of her life at the remote Monastery, training and serving as a Hunter. Since a catastrophic event called the Disarray, monsters of all kinds have crossed into the real world from the Otherworld and it's the Hunters' jobs to destroy them. Joy and her supernatural Hounds are summoned to the capital city, Apex, where she learns that Hunters there are regarded as celebrities, with their own television channels and rankings. As Joy adjusts to her flashy new life, gets to know the other Hunters, and starts Hunting, she begins to realize that Apex is not as safe as it seems and that there are secrets the government does not want exposed. This satisfying sci-fi YA novel is set in a fully thought-out future with cultural references woven throughout. Joy's Hounds are Alebrijes, and the monsters she hunts come from a variety of sources: Drakkens, Folk (evil fairies), Vamps, Tommyknockers, Gogs, and Magogs. The protagonist is a principled, smart, strong girl and is easy to root for. The language can be clunky at times, but the incredible world-building more than makes up for it. VERDICT A perfect choice for "Hunger Games" fans and readers looking for stories with strong female heroines.—Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-29
Joyeaux Charmand is a young Hunter, chosen from her village to join the Hunter corps of Apex, protecting its Cits from the Othersiders—fantastical, menacing creatures—and also protecting the secrets and people of her village back home. Joyeaux has the arduous task of figuring out the rules of her new environment while showing that she is worthy of her position. She also discovers that there will be cameras almost every step of the way, televising her journey to millions of eager fans. Before she even arrives, her skills are put to the test: Othersiders are breaking barriers thought to be impenetrable and using tactics that they were unknown to have. Even worse, someone or something is helping them, and Joyeaux decides to try to find the source. Armed with wit as quick as her reflexes, her magic, and her equally enchanting Hounds, Joyeaux embarks on a journey that sets her questioning the motives of every person she comes in contact with as well as the larger system that was built to keep people protected. Lackey builds this magically post-apocalyptic world briskly: some 250 years after the nuclear catastrophe that caused the pole-reversing Diseray, bits and pieces of our Earth, both geographical and cultural, remain. Joyeaux's narration is spellbinding, the prose easily balancing the technology of the future with the traditions of the past. Captivating, dynamic, well-paced, and thrilling. (Science fiction/fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews