Genre: Publication.Date January 29th 2013 (Hardcover edition) Pages: 304 Published By: St. Martin's Griffin Website Andrew Fukuda The Prey My review copy: Review copy bought by me.
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For Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.
When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilisation begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behaviour is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found—and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.
(Goodreads)
Sun pours down, its hazy texture like grains of salt falling into the open wounds of my conscience.
This is the confirmation they've been looking for. The sign that the Scientist never left them, or betrayed them, that he is in fact waiting for them at the end of this path. For them.
And not for me.
Me, he abandoned in a metropolis of monsters. To fend for myself. A boy who cried himself to sleep and wet himself in bed for months afterward.
"This is what you want then?" I say. "To be chased, to be hunted? To be their prey your whole life? Born prey, die prey?"
The Prey is one of those extremely rare cases when the sequel is superior to the first book in the series. The Hunt was amazing. A breathtaking, heart-pounding, action-packed, blood-chilling page-turner of a book. It quickly became one of my favorites! And The Prey was even better! Thanks to many entertaining (and gasp-worthy) plot twists, it successfully avoided the "middle book" syndrome of so many series out there. It was more thoughtful and emotional, but no less thrilling and disturbing than the previous instalment.
We thought we were finally free of them but we were wrong. That very night, they come at us.
We thought we were finally free of them but we were wrong. That very night, they come at us.
The story picks up exactly where it left off in The Hunt. Gene has managed to escape and he is not alone any more - he's joined forces with a group of human survivors (hepers), and together they're running for their lives. Chased by a horde ravenous for their blood and flesh, they are following the clues left behind by the Scientist in his journal, drifting down the river in a boat, towards what they hope will be The Promised Land (The Land of Milk and Honey). A few days into their journey, they reach a human village hidden between the mountains, protected from the vicious predators by the vast desert surrounding it. The place is abundant in food and seemingly safe, filled with happy, singing people (mostly young girls). But is it really the Promised Land they dreamed about? Gene and Sissy will soon notice something very off about the village and its residents. And they will uncover some dark and terrible secrets that will send them running for their lives again.
The hunt has only begun. The hunt will never end.
I enjoyed The Prey a whole lot more than the first book in the series. It was yet another roller-coaster ride of a book and I gobbled it down in one sitting. Andrew Fukuda pulls you right back into his terrifying dystopian world, giving you some answers to satisfy your curiosity, but leaving enough of the questions unanswered to keep you interested and engaged. He skilfully expands the already complex world, adding new characters, places and interesting new plot threads. We learn more about Gene, his father, their past and the reasons behind them living among the vamps. We also learn a lot about the world and how it came to be the way it is, the history of the duskers and the mysterious Scientist. We're presented with a new, bloodcurdling threat and live through some truly dramatic (and traumatic) experiences together with the characters.
"I've lived my whole life caught in a crack between two worlds. And I don't belong to or know either one."
"I've lived my whole life caught in a crack between two worlds. And I don't belong to or know either one."
As the story unfolds, we see glimpses of Gene's memories and we get to re-live some of the events from his past that shaped his present self. I appreciated those memories, they were insightful and moving (sometimes truly heartbreaking), and they definitely made me feel for Gene and understand him better. He survived for years living in the midst of monsters. He witnessed many horrors, experienced unfathomable fear and loneliness. Somewhere along the way, he learned to despise his own kind, believing them to be stupid and primitive. Nothing more than savages and barn animals, domesticated and trained only to be slaughtered and devoured later. He eventually lost his humanity and had to re-discover it all over again. Over the course of the book he grew a lot as a character and I'm happy to say that he morphed into a more compassionate, brave young man. Someone who was willing to fight for others, as opposed to caring only about his own survival. That was an amazing transformation to witness!
All in all, this was an exceptionally well-executed sequel - well structured, concise, captivating. I can't wait to read the third and final book in this awesome series and find out how Gene's story ends!
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