I reviewed this novel on 11/05/19 on another blog, now defunct.
Hunter (Valiant Book 1)
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.
Perspective by Peter:
I offered to review this novel after reading its prequel, Forgotten (Valiant 0.5) which I had bought many months ago not realising Hunter would be released so soon after this, and also offering to host Joanna in a blog tour of the release for Hunter.
Now I am hooked! I loved the darkness and oppressiveness of Forgotten and this set the scene for Hunter. Now after reading this new tome, I am ready for Sightless, a short story set between Hunter and Shifter, this latter novel to be released in July 2019. I am so hooked on this series, I have asked for an Advanced Reader's Copy of Sightless!
I understand that Hunter was written first, in 2012 (but not released until now) and White wrote Forgotten a few months ago solely to show how Jared became a Hunter. I am glad she wrote this as I can see reading Hunter, without this prequel knowledge, it would have made it harder to understand the world of the Hunters and why and how they came into existence. The spiritual aspects would also have been missing thus adding to a lack of depth to the worldbuilding and plot development. Forgotten solves this issue!
Hunter grabs you right from the start and does not let go! You hit the ground running (excuse the pun, as all the prisoners seem to do is run from the Hunters!). And when Averella becomes imprisoned, the action revves up even further! It is then that more of the plot and its twists occur. And this is where this novel and this series, come into its own.
In this prison, Zagerah, which is not bricks and mortar prison but an area of land that is bordered by and encased by a dome that has geological features such as, volcanoes, lake and river tributary, ice caves, swamp, fogged area, wasteland, mountain plateaus, rock forest and shadow forest, cliffed area and man-made structures of a glass pyramid, invisible maze. All this becomes the hunting ground for the hunted. These are all human males from the surrounding villages of Averell who are captured by the Gredi (guards of the Aretul) and dragged to Zagerah for the sole purpose to be hunted and killed by the Hunters. If a prisoner shows Hunter potential, they are taken to the Aretul labs and genetically altered to give them specific superpowers and abilities to hunt and kill humans. Zagerah is head of the Aretul and of which the prison is named after him (although in Forgotten, it is implied that it the name is based on him as well as the prison).
In Forgotten we learn that Jared is deliberately transformed into a Hunter (also known as being one of the Corrupted) as he is considered one of the Chosen by The Father (God) and by doing so, they have prevented another of the Chosen from their quest, which is to prevent and destroy the Darkness being spread from the Dark Master over the known galaxy. We get a hint of the Chosen in Forgotten where Radon (allegory to Jesus) is sent by The Father to rescue the Chosen from the many planets in the galaxy in the fight against the Dark Master (allegorically satan). There is mention of three Chosen already saved/rescued by Radon, those of Toron, Jace and Aidan. I would love to see this backstory as another short story or prequel novella, exploring more of Radon and the quest of the Chosen to thwart the evilness of the Dark Master and his spreading Darkness over the galaxy. Future story fodder, Joanna, or are these already part of the 10 novels in this Valiant series?
White successfully enables the reader to endear themselves to Jared in Forgotten and this is further reinforced in Hunter. Just when you get used to the Hunters being devoid of all memory of their lives before being captured, this is not so with Jared. Like all Hunters, he only knows two emotions from his genetic engineering, anger and hate. However, with the introduction of Averella (known as Dalex once she is captured and disguised as a male), Jared experiences new emotions he should not be able to, love, compassion, caring, protectiveness, wanting to belong, self-worth/esteem, wanting to do something right and a desire to be rid of the negative and destructive emotions and behaviours of being a killing machine (Hunter). One gets the feeling that this ability to experience these emotions is due to him being a Chosen, and that The Father has enabled him this ability; that it was not destroyed through genetic engineering, but maintained in order to be able to rescue and break the bondage of fear, captivity the prisoners have lived with. No prisoner has ever escaped or been released from Zagerah, hence The Father's desire and Will to have this demonic bondage and abuse broken and the prisoners released. This latter plot twist is continued in Sightless, the short story that follows on from Hunter, before the events of Shifter (Valiant Book 2), release date July 1, 2019.
It is here that this novel becomes an allegory to the story of Moses. I first heard about this when I had White as part of her blog tour to promote the release of Hunter. Whites stated on this post that,
As I finished the Valiant Series and realized each book had been paralleled with the Bible, I realized Hunter’s importance. I’d always written to inspire people, to give them worlds and books they can delve into and be able to read books ingrained in truth, that are also clean with Christian standards to them, but realizing that Hunter paralleled the story of Moses made me realize it was far more important than it seemed and it also made me realize that God had been writing the book with me the whole time, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.
You have a man raised in a different society – so Jared parallels with Moses – who are both called to do something far above themselves. They both have doubts and don’t believe they’re the right person for the job. Then you also have the people being oppressed – so the prisoners parallel with the enslaved Israelites. It wasn’t heavy handed but the themes were there.
There’s also a lot more Biblical themes throughout Hunter. One of the main ones is forgiveness. Many of the characters make mistakes and they all have to learn to forgive each other. It really touches on the bitterness and anger and how difficult it is to forgive someone. But you realize you’re no better than the one you need to forgive, it opens up their hearts to a place of forgiveness.
Hunter also is a journey of growth and hope, one where Averella has to learn not to doubt herself because others see her as weak. It’s a lesson God’s been trying to teach me that we are weak and He is strong and through Him, we can be strong with Him. That we, as Christians, are stronger together. Teamwork is another underlying lesson woven into the story.
You can fully see this parallel when White depicts Radon appearing to Jared and commands him to free His people, together with a burning tree instead of the burning bush from the biblical account. And speaking of forgiveness, White has Jared consider The Father's forgiveness through the death of Jesus from the Biblical account when Averella and the other Christian prisoners were discussing their faith and how they missed having access to the Word of God as they did in their pre-captive lives. It is a poignant moment and one that I am sure every Christian can remember when faith was ignited in our soul and spirit that led to our acceptance of Jesus as our Saviour,
"Why sacrifice himself like that? He had... so much power. So many options he could have used to escape," Jared pointed out.
"He did. But instead, He chose to die in order to save us all. He had to take our sin upon himself so that we could be freed. Because He rose again, if we believe in Him we can join Him in Heaven," Lehlax answered.
"He came back to life?" Jared asked.
"He did," Lehlax answered. He told Jared about sin and how bad we were separated from God, and how because of the Savior, we can be forgiven of our sins. When he alked about forgiveness for all the wrong we had done, Jarend swallowed hard.
"You mean none of it matters? None of the horrible things we do?" he asked them.
"It matters, but if you truly seek forgiveness it will be given to you if you mean it in your heart," Lehlax explained.
And later:
I couldn't believe that the horrible things I had done could be forgiven. It was a wild idea, but it stirred my thoughts and made me want to know more. All the men I had killed flashed in my mind at once and I thought, that man can forgive this? Is there hope for someone like me? Is there?
We were all eating and most of us had finished the meat, when Sine started humming lightly. Pretty soon others joined him. I watched them with curiosity and I could't shake that feeling that had come back: the words dancing around the edges of my closed off mind, teasing me. I thought I knew them, I thought all this seemed like something I could believe in, hope in something that could be real. God....Forgiveness. Hope.
and through his involvement with Averella and her witness to him, he further considers it,
Then you talked about forgiveness and it gave me hope that maybe....Maybe i'm not too far gone, Maybe I can be forgiven for the things I've done.
Another theme that is evident in this novel, is that of suffering. [bctt tweet="White addresses the age-old question from those who do not believe that if a loving God really loved us, why does He allow us to suffer, why does He not deliver us? " username="httpstwittercomPeterWilliam117"]White explains one aspect of this answer through the rebuke and scoffing from Wes concerning the existence of God and His lack of involvement in their fight for survival. Averella defends her beliefs, God's existence, this question of suffering and deliverance with this discourse,
He is real! And He is watching out for us! He can stop it, but you know what? He won't because that's one of His greatest gifts to man - the gift of free will! Which means the Aretul, the people who run Zagerah, and event the Hunters themselves have the free will to make their own choices! God is not going to override that or force them to do anything! But He can and will protect us! If we die here, there's a reason, if we die tonight, tomorrow, or thirty years from now there is a reason for it! We don't know the reason, but He is always with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us!"
(This reference in the quote above of God always being with us and not forsaking us is from many verses in the Bible and this one stands out amongst the rest: Deuteronomy 31:6 New King James Version),
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
And White goes on to explain through Lehlax what we do while going through any tribulation,
"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31)
And just like any discourse in this debate over this perpetual question of suffering, some answers are not accepted by everyone, and further challenges to the Christian faith and the question of God's existence and His motives for suffering are thrown in the mix. This time, Runx challenges Averella,
"So, tell me this..... if this guy (God) is watching us and always there for us and all that, but he's not going to control someone else's choices, yet you say he will help us, then why do we still die in here? Why not pop out a miracle and save us all from the Hunters, huh?"
Averella retorts,
"He helps us, and He answers our prayers, but it's not always in our timing or in the exact way that we want it or expect it. It's quiet, it's subtle, and sometimes we might not even realize what happened."
This may sound like preaching when extracted from the plot like I have done, but seen in the context of the story and events that led to this discussion, it is powerful and adds depth to the plot, adds even more suspense and enables the reader to relate to the characters POV. And does not similar conversations occur amongst Christians and non-Christians? It is reality and in this novel setting, it is art imitating life! It is also where faith and fiction intersect!
I do have one question about this faith discourse and depiction of some of these prisoners being Christian. If these Christian prisoners have faith in God and know His Word as well as what they have espoused in their discussion, why did White not show through their fight for survival and fight against the Hunters, more prayer and living out their faith under these tribulations? Their actions in this fight and flight response of being hunted to death are very reactive and of the base nature of survival, which is fine and not to be ignored but acted upon, however, as Christians, we do not have to only rely on this survival and reactivity. We are called to be doers of the Word, not just hearers! (1 James 1:22):
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
This inclusion of prayer, living out His Word and even using the name of Jesus to come against the actions and demonic powers of the Hunters would not have detracted or lessened the suspense, action, or rivetingness of the plot. White has shown that the Hunters and the Aretul are involved in the demonic so including these spiritual warfare principles would have balanced out the demonic and shown true spiritual warfare, which is one of the pillars of this novel and series.
However, this novel stands on its own and what White has included of the Christian faith and its doctrines holds this novel/series in good stead. I am sure it will be an encouragement to those Christians who are struggling in their faith or to those who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus that either a seed of faith may be planted or an existing one watered by the faith elements White has included here.
I respect White for dealing with the betrayal, the lies, the misunderstanding, the unforgiveness that sometimes happens in a relationship and how she portrayed the resolution of these in a positive Christian way. This supports the way that Christians are to deal with these issues and their aftermath. Just as Jesus did not give up on sinful and "fallen from grace" mankind, so based on Jesus' example, Averella did not give up on Jared despite the hurt and betrayal he caused her through his lies, and deceit as an undercover Hunter. In this age of throwaway and disposable relationships, it is encouraging and relationship-affirming to see an author deal with this God's way and not man's way.
I have stated in previous reviews that I am not a fan of the romance genre, but I do appreciate and enjoy romance when it is included as a subplot and that it does not overtake the plot. White has done this well in this novel. I loved the developing relationship between Averella and Jared. I hope to see more of these two and the development of their relationship in future novels. As with other novels where the subplot of romance exists, it serves well to break up the suspense, action and adventure and give the reader a breather from this! What a nice breather it is too!
While reading this novel and Forgotten, I was struck by how much more of the backstory of the Aretul and the origins of this darkness, of Zagerah and the Dark Master I wanted to know. I happen to venture over to White's website and she had just added exactly what I was seeking:
- Evil Incarnate: A Detailed Look At The Dark Master
- A Man or A Prison: A Detailed Look At Zagerah
- Leader, Husband, Father: A Detailed Look At Municx
- Gone but Not Forgotten: A Detailed Look at Malik and Kellarch
I would encourage White to include these documents either in a companion book about this series (there will be 10 novels after all!) or as an appendix to Hunter. If she adds any more concerning those characters in future novels, then these could be the appendix to that novel.
Reading these backstories only enhanced my enjoyment of this novel. I am sure there would be readers who do not investigate an author's website and so would miss out on this information about the characters and the worldbuilding and its enhancement of their reading enjoyment. I mention this to be an appendix as it gives vital world-building information. As any discerning reader and fan of science fiction and fantasy knows, solid, detailed worldbuilding is essential in making it relational and believable science fiction and/or fantastical world an author creates. Otherwise, the novel falls flat and the reader does not come back for more or seeks another author who has the goods on all these issues.
White has delivered here and is well placed to further expand the worldbuilding of this series.
Strongly recommended.
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