Hunted (The Voices #2) by G X Todd #BookReview @GemTodd @Bookywookydooda @headlinepg

huntedreview

Hunted (The Voices #2).
G X Todd.
496 pages.
Post-Apocalyptic / Thriller / Horror / Fiction.
My Rating: Hell Yeah Book Review.

51Scch5s6GL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_

Book Blurb:

The birds are flying. The birds are flocking. The birds sense the red skies are coming.

One man is driven by an inner voice that isn’t his – this Other is chewing at his sanity like a jackal with a bone and has one purpose.

To find the voice hiding in the girl.

She has no one to defend her now.

But in an inn by the sea, a boy with no tongue and no voice gathers his warriors. Albus must find the girl, Lacey . . . before the Other does.

And finish the work his sister Ruby began.

Hunted is the second book in the acclaimed Voices series, where the battle between Good and Evil holds you in its vice-like grip.

Book Review:

I received a free copy of the book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Hunted is the second book in The Voices series and follows on from last year’s release, Defender. Which coincidentally is the debut novel from Todd and was also one of my Top Ten Books of 2017! – yes, it’s an accolade worth mentioning as obviously, I have outstanding taste in books.

The post-apocalyptic genre is one that I’m quite fussy about (yes, I’m male ergo I’m fussy). It’s a genre that generally incorporates a harsh landscape, dwindling amenities, enduring hardship and a struggle for survival. To make a book within the genre really standout you need to have characters whose lives and fates you care about. It’s not the sort of genre where you can just read about ‘characters‘ as come to the end what’s the point in finding out if they make it and survive if you don’t care about them?! Sure, you will get a good story and a well-realised world (Hunted has both) out of it but if you aren’t gripped by the characters throughout then you’re missing out on what for me, is an integral part of a book especially in a genre that is about enduring and survival.

Not to worry though as like its exceptional forebears The Stand by Stephen King and Swan Song by Robert McCammon (two of my all-time favourite books and yes, Todd’s work is fully deserving of being mentioned in the same breath as those two greats) The Voices series accomplishes this giving you a tremendous cast of characters that feel real, whose lives and struggles come alive in your mind, whose journey you want to follow and finally, whose fate you need to know.

Hunted picks up after Defender (you really need to read that book first) and what a fantastic continuation of the story it is but instead of carrying on the story with Lacey, Voice, Addison and Alex (who we return to later) we are instead introduced to a new set of characters. We have chapters that focus on Posey, the Other and their group searching for Lacey et al from Defender and joining them are the new characters of Sunny and Beck amongst a few other minor additions. Then, we have the completely new set of characters, story and chapters that focus on Albus and his group who are holed up at a secluded Inn which acts as their safe haven.

I’m not one for excessive details, what fun would that be if I went and ruined the story for you?! I’ll tell you, none! The reader needs to experience the book first hand and not have a review tell them the ins and outs of the story in every minutiae detail. Suffice to say that Hunted is a harrowing tale set in an unforgiving and brutal world that will take you through a range of emotions as you follow Todd’s cast of unforgettable characters on their journey.

For the first third 200 pages (approximately) of Hunted Lacey et al are only mentioned in passing as everyone ends up searching for the group. The good to help and the bad to capture and it’s a race against time who will find them first. It’s a great way by Todd to start the book as it widens the scope of The Voices series, you get some additional insights, new characters and it also serves to build the anticipation for the reintroduction of Lacey et al later in the book. When we do finally meet-up with Lacey et al again it is an absolute pleasure to be reacquainted with them all and pick-up the story as told from their perspective.

In Hunted we get to delve slightly deeper and learn some more about the voices component of the series but there is still much more to be revealed by Todd about the actual concept and I can’t wait to find out what’s still to come with the characters, story and the voices.

The world in Hunted isn’t sunshine and rainbows. It’s bleak, dark and the dangers radiate from the pages as Todd’s writing really brings out the harshness in both the setting and the often ruthless people who inhabit the world.

Todd has a writing style that really draws you in and you will find yourself eating up the pages as you devour the story she is telling. There is some occasional humour thrown in by Todd and Voice is just as snarky as he was in Defender (gotta love the snark). The new characters introduced all add to and aid the story and the previous characters continue to grow and develop. Add in frenetic action, stellar setpieces and some thoughtful and emotional moments with a last 50 pages that will leave you speechless and you have a masterpiece.

I said in my review for Defender that it was a ‘modern classic‘ and an ‘outstanding addition‘ to the post-apocalyptic genre and with Hunted which is an even better book than its predecessor Todd has firmly cemented both that belief and my love for this series. Defender is a modern classic and Hunted is too. This series is a must-read, remarkable and worthy of being heralded as something special.

Hunted, guaranteed is destined to be one of the top books released this year. The only negative I have is that I’m posting this review in February and the official release date isn’t until the end of May! That’s plenty of time for all of you to catch-up on the series read Defender and then pre-order Hunted!

For me, sigh, I already want the next one!

To end, the quintessential review sentence! Simply put, for Hunted. It’s fucking awesome.

IMG_20180419_003047 IMG_20180419_110524