The Upstream Writer: Reader's Review: "Hunter" by Joanna White

Synopsis from Amazon:

A reckless young woman named Averella does what no woman has ever done. She disguises herself as a man and purposefully gets herself arrested and thrown into Zagerah. Her brother Gabriel was taken, and with his disease, he will not survive on his own. She has no idea what to expect inside the prison; all she knows is that once men get taken, they never come back.

The Hunters will find her.

Genetically altered to be faster and stronger than humans, the Hunters use their powers to find and kill every prisoner who enters Zagerah. The only ones who can defeat them, are in fact, themselves.

Jared is a Hunter. It’s all he’s known, all he remembers. He kills ruthlessly and without regret, one prisoner after another. When a new prisoner Dalex shows up, everything begins to change. Jared goes undercover to make Dalex and the other prisoners believe he is one of them, a prisoner himself.

No one knows the truth. He will trick them. Toy with them. Then, he will kill them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Going by the blurb, one might reasonably expect this story to read like a "Mulan"-type knockoff, right? At least, if Mulan met, say, Shan Yu's son and the two were plunged into an "enemies-to-lovers" type situation. Basic storytelling at its most basic, am I right?

But this is not that. From the very beginning, Joanna White gives us a story that feels familiar, yet plays out in unique and unpredictable ways. All of my expectations were blown away by the end of the first chapter, and I could just settle in to enjoy a thrilling tale with plenty of twists, and no idea where or how it would end up, eventually. Would the slaves really escape? Would Averella's identity be uncovered? Could Dalex be the one to stop Jared from killing all the slaves, or would the story end with everyone dead, and the Hunters succeeding in doing their dark master's will, with any sort of resolution left to the sequels?

White keeps the suspense going by dividing the point of view between Jared and Averella. Occasionally, readers will see the same scenes repeated from each perspective, but other times the new point-of-view picks up where the other left off--and yet no matter which way it goes, the energy never wanes. The story keeps rolling at a brisk pace, captivating the reader's attention as they piece together what's really going on as a combination of the two narratives. I really enjoyed the fact that doing this allowed the reader an extra dimension as to the motivation behind their choices and responses, one that we wouldn't get just from one perspective or another.

I also really loved the whole concept of the Hunters. Their origins, the unique superpowers they are given, and the significance behind the reason they exist. Each of them has a unique power that gives them an advantage (and White's creativity in designing each ability cannot be understated!) yet with it comes a flaw that will render all their Hunter abilities inaccessible. The fugitives take a Hunter captive at one point and then run into a choice of whether to render the Hunter incapacitated through his flaw, or let him keep his abilities, so that the fugitives could use them as an advantage against their pursuers. An extra level of intrigue that opens the door to many plot twists the reader won't see coming!

Finally, the world-building in this novel is top-notch. I could picture each of the environments clearly as I read, and the various threats and struggles faced by the fugitive slaves as they attempt to escape Zagerah were astonishing--even including some mermaids at one point! Although these Merfolk were nothing like the ones I was used to, more the conniving, vicious, Siren-type of creatures. But still awesome!

Hunter easily earns a full *****5 STARS***** and I'd even add to that an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMENDED. There are some good moral lessons to be learned in this clean fantasy adventure, all wrapped up and woven through an amazing story with dynamic characters and the potential for wonderment in every book in the Valiant series!

Further Reading: (Clean Reads/Fantasy Adventure/Awesome World-Buidling)

-Countless As The Stars--Steve Trower
-The Secret King: Letháo--Dawn Chapman

-Black Train--Clareesa Savka

The Alexander Legacy--Sophronia Belle Lyon
-A Dodge, A Twist, and A Tobacconist
-The Pinocchio Factor

-Anamatus--Derrick Tribble

-Mythical Doorways--Fellowship of Fantasy

-Out of Darkness Rising--Gillian Bronte Adams