The hunt

First - thumbs up to the prose which kept me engaged. So engaged in fact that I finished the book in a night. That's rare for me, especially when it comes to fiction, and especially more because it's YA, a genre that rarely keeps me interested. Thumbs up again for the intriguing concept: how does a human survive in a world ruled by vampire-like creatures who, every couple of years hold Hunger Games like tournaments where humans are hunted like foxes and torn apart? Apparently you do so by pretending to be one of them.

Quite a feat for our protagonist, Gene, who needs to Not sweat, drink water, and sleep hanging upside down.

This is where the novel stumbles quite a bit. It makes me wonder if the book was even beta read for logical inconsistencies...

For example, apparently vampires can't go underwater. Yet they have SWIM class in school (yes vamps go to school). How do vamps survive If the human supply is so low? Never explained. And how is it that vamps with such a keen sense of smell (they can sniff blood a mile away apparently) can't even sense a human in their midst? There's a section in the book where Gene is surrounded by vamps who complain, “I can smell a heper. It seems so close. Where is he?” it's almost comical to see them that stupid.

Still, the writing is good enough and the promise intriguing enough for me to want to see the end. I just hope the world building is more solid in book 2. Some background on how the world came to be so messed up would be much appreciated!