Review: I don't review.... ever! yet here I am, that should tell all
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2013
I have to say, this isn't just a review for hunter's bounty, this is a review for the series, as the books were released so quickly I see it as one story more then three, and that is just one more grand compliment for this tale that snuck up on me, and once it had its claws in me it wouldn't let me go. I admit, the very beginning of "Hunter's beginning", didn't really grab me and drag me into the world super well, which doesn't really say much, but with the massive pile of mediocre works being epublished now, which can be entertaining in their own way, I was wary of a book with an obviously self or cheaply made cover image(sorry gary :(....) and a beginning that didn't snag me immediately. However, I was in a good mood, and there weren't very many editing mistakes at all, which is rare in self or epublished works, so I said, "What the hell, why not?" THANK GOD I DID! Haha, when I say this story snuck up on me, I mean it. I truly didn't believe that I even LIKED the protagonist Kile, her (spoiler) edge, or the world of the Hunter until i found myself clicking the "buy" button for the second book. Amazed with my audacity at buying the sequel to what I considered a three, maybe four star book at first glance, once I thought about it, I realized that I had started a very unique relationship with Kile.... I knew her, and I wanted to get to know her better. I realized that the story started off slow because it was like meeting your best friend for the first time, you don't love them immediately, but they grow on you, slowly but surely. By the time I began reading Hunter's bounty, I had already fallen in love with not just the... spunky?, yeah, spunky Kile, but also all of the other uniquely characterized people, animals, and abilities. In fact, much of the tedium that kept it from snagging me at first, the little details about daniel, carter, alex, the guild master, etc, were the key pieces to forging my relationship with each character individually. I felt like I KNEW each character, and that I could truly feel that every one was distinct and seperate, not blurring together in similarity as often happens with inexperienced writers. The ONLY thing that might make this a 4.5 instead of a 5 star book, is also the only area in which Spoor's relative inexperience shows, and honestly, its not even a niggling point. What Spoor needs, is the balance that comes with experience, and Hunter's bounty is already starting to show it. Entertaining stories rely on two things generally. Either an interesting plot, like plot twists or romance or drama, etc, or they rely on a unique world, like the abilities, a strange planet, or the setting. That makes those books fun. The rare gems that you search for among these will sometimes turn to true characterization, in that in at least one of the characters, the reader truly begins to envision and categorize them in their head. To relate to the person(s) they are reading about. However, True master story tellers, of Which, in the fantasy world at least, there are maybe three alive and five that I know of for sure, find a balance between all three in a way that generates a world that is both unique, and full of unique, socially interactive and accurate people which a reader wants to fall into. My "big three", personally are first off, Robert Jordan of course. WoT at its high points is one of the best there is. Period. the next two are sort of Up and comers in a way, but they are on a whole other level. Brandon Sanderson, in The Way of Kings, is easily on level with some of Jordan's Best work, although I don't like his earlier work as much. And the final, and my favorite, is Patrick Rothfuss. He has two books. Read them. I can't explain the amazingness of them. GARY SPOOR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO MATCH THESE GREATS! He has all three of the elements. He has shown the ability to create a unique world, which although poorly defined at some points, is beginning to shape up and become something truly fascinating as it is explained. He has the interesting plot down pat. The little twists and turns that he places that still seem to somehow fit naturally into the life of the Hunter Kile are some of his strongest weapons. And of course you know what I think of his characters, the animals especially. But the greatest weapon in his arsenal is the same as those of the greats. The marriage of the three. The characters never break out or act out of character when faced with one of those plot twists or a new ability or location in the world. The world fits with the knowledge of the characters and the abilities represented. There aren't obviously mismatched mentionings of technology that shouldn't be there or jargon that doesn't fit, or even problems that could be easily solved by abilities the author added. There are no plot holes that are not eventually filled satisfactorily. ALL of the pieces fit. All he needs now is to balance the three so that the reader encounters them in the order that is going to keep them hooked the best while building that long term love of the story. The first book was a llittle off balance in the beginning, as I said. There weren't quite enough truly interesting happenings going on to snag the reader early on to balance out the mass of personal details being thrown at them. Not boring at first, but toeing the line and kind of taunting the other side so to speak because of the intense characterization. And in Hunter's academy, the characterization started to take a back seat to the world, becasue of kile's edge emerging, if only slightly, and was less off balance then the first. I'm not going to try and criticize the third as I am too in love with the story on my fifth read through of the series and am biased ;p good job Gary DON"T STOP!