My Thoughts On The Book:



The Plot Of The Story:

The Hunter's Kind takes up the action directly after the cataclysmic conclusion of Smiler's Fair. The Fair is burning to the ground and Krish, the lost son of the king of Ashaneland flees for his life, away from those intent on capturing him. Krish realises that he has a fight on his hands just to survive, he is the Moon God returned to the lands and has people willing to follow him if he's willing to fight against his murderous father and seize the land from him. Along with his allies Dae Hyo and Olufemi a plan begins to formulate but it's going to take some doing, if possible to do at all, especially when those closest to you hold secrets of their own that could ruin everything.

Meanwhile Eric, former gigolo of Smiler's Fair who was stolen away to father children for the servants of the dead Sun God, is still battling for his own freedom hundreds of miles away as he awaits the birth of his child and his own escape, not knowing how close his own fate lies with the man he's never met, young Krish himself.

The plot of this book is wonderfully complex and complicated in all the best ways, following on closely from the last book we get to follow young Krish plight in even greater depth as we watch the plot-lines from the last book get drawn closer together in this one, as they begin to twist together in ways I hadn't necessarily seen coming. It's a very interesting story and is one that has totally grabbed my attention with all it's compelling twists and turns, it's beautifully put together and draws the reader right into the story so you have no choice but to read on and get caught up entirely in the prolific prose!



What Is There To Love?

There is just so much to love about this book and it's again all the same things that there was to love in the last book too. As before the characters are what drives this book forward and we get a whole new group of character to meet and get to know including Cwen from the Moon Forest and weapons maker Alfreda and her brother. We also get to know the older character introduced in the last book in much more detail from before, each are further expanded and evolve greatly, some more than others as Marvan, for example, doesn't have to much to do in this book where Sang Ki, son of the murdered Seonu leader, has a much expanded story-line this time around which turns him from a hated character into someone that makes you change your mind about them and I found myself actually start to like the man rather than despise him. As before the characterizations are all thoughtfully and creatively crafted and really do drive the story on. The star of the shows are Krish and Eric, like before, they both have been flung onto lives they didn't expect or want and are having to deal with the repercussions of both their fates and their choices.Both are struggling to cope with where and what they are and both are genius constructs on the authors part as they feel very real, flawed and all too human.

This is quite a cultural series, no more so than in this book, as we get to see lots of different groups of people throughout the lands during the course of the book as Krish travels the land towards Mirror Town, each with their own ways and means of living, there own religions, rites and tribal ways. It can be a lot to take in at times but I felt that it kept the book all the more interesting to me.

The magic of the lands has been upped in The Hunter's Kind as Krish reaches Mirror Town which holds a magic all of it's own and Olufemi really gets to step forward as a character here as she fights to do the rune magic required to save her hometown and loved ones for the oncoming onslaught of those chasing Krish down. The rune magic is a fascinating force in this world and has really upped the interest for me.

The violence first showed in the first book is back but it's not gratuitous violence, it has purpose and isn't done in the grimdark style where it can be overly graphic, it has it's place and fits with the story, a book like this needs the violence for the story to feel real but it doesn't go over the top.



What Is There To Dislike?

Nope, nothing, loved it all. Everything is all good with me with this one, or complaints or niggles whatsoever.



How's The Writing?

Wonderful, just wonderful!

The writing is impeccably done, it's got all the pace and action you need to keep the book flowing constantly without any breaks to catch your breath while still remaining deep, evocative and intensive. Every part of the book is integral to the overall story and it's really gripping stuff. Each of the story-lines grow and evolve and they are slowly beginning to blend together in subtle ways.

The world building is being slowly built on but we did get such a good basis for the world in the first book and the world building was epic enough there that it could only be added upon in the future. The world we are reading feels realistic and the rich and vivid characters only add another level to it all.

Rebecca Levene has a wonderful style of writing that evokes the feels of the good old school fantasy, her ideas are eloquent, theatrical and memorable and she really knows how to craft the best kind of story and how to bring all of her character and world creations to authentic and substantial life. I think she is real talent in the fantasy genre and if her future works continue to build the way these two books have been going then I think she will be force to be reckoned with and an author that will become a significant part of my reading world.



Final Thoughts:

The world of The Hollow Gods is creatively imagined and doesn't let you down in any way. It's a vivid and rich world full of expressive characters with spot on pacing and action that's literally to die for. Levene is a talented writer with a touch of class that has made her work standout from the crowd for me and I can say that her work gets me excited in all the best ways.

The Hollow Gods series to date has everything that I personally love about the fantasy genre, it's almost old school fantasy before it went so very 'grimdark' in some cases, GRRM's style that is so very dark and violent, and it's rapidly becoming a favourite of mine. It's spellbinding work at it's best as well and I cannot wait to see where things go in the next book as this edgy and gritty series continues towards what I feel will be an epic conclusion, the wait for it is going to be killer!



I received my copy of The Hunter's Kind for free from the publisher via Bookbridgr.