Hunter
By Mercedes Lackey
ISBN: 1484707842 (ISBN13: 9781484707845)
Disney-Hyperion publishing September 1st, 2015
Joyeaux Charmand is a Hunter. Summoned to the capital city of Apex, she travels to join the best of the land’s Hunters, to kill the nightmare creatures of the Otherside that encroach upon the world before they kill innocent citizens.
Hunter takes place in a post apocalyptic world where it’s assumed a series of bombs created a weakness between realities, and a host of mythological magical creatures have invaded and decimated humanity. Goblins, wyverns, dragons, fair folk—everything from myth–makes life outside protected cities dangerous for humans, who are killed and eaten for their magical energies or whisked away for an as yet unknown purpose.
When the incursion happened, magic and psionic powers were also loosed upon the human population. Those with strong enough magic are called upon to be Hunters, who with their Otherside Hounds, regular arms and Army bring down the Othersiders and keep humanity safe.
The world of Hunter is well created, with touches of the familiar names and words of civilization warped just enough by time and memory to still be familiar and recognizable. We still see the strange media hero worship that we see today, along with social media stalking and abundant rumor.
Lackey also mixes in some politics, intrigue, and mystery; someone is out to kill Joy Charmand, and politics may be at the heart of it. Her uncle is the Prefect of the city, and not everyone is happy with him.
This new series shows all the hallmarks of a great new Lackey series, and those familiar with her other serial works (the long running Heralds of Valdemar series, Dragon Jousters, Elemental Masters, etc.) will also be quite pleased with this one. It’s a solid balance of world building, character building, and story building that keeps the book moving forward at a pace that keeps and holds your rapt attention firmly. A must-buy for Lackey fans, and a great place to start for new readers and lovers of Fantasy.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.