The Prey (The Hunt #2) by Andrew Fukuda

For Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.

When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilisation begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behaviour is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found—and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.

Hardcover, US, 304 pages   Goodreads

Published January 29th 2013 by St. Martin's Press ISBN  1250005116 (ISBN13: 9781250005113)

http://us.macmillan.com/theprey/AndrewFukuda  

 

  What I got out of  reading The Prey was something that I was not expecting. The refugee's that Gene and the humans come across in their travels was creepy, cult-like and eerily wrong. The expectations I had about the vampires were met fully. We get a lot of the vampires in the first portion of the novel as they are running away. 

In fact one of my favorite parts about this story was the fast thinking and highly advanced way the vampires adapt. They are still unable to live in the sunlight, but the weaponry and the pure animalistic vibes that come off of the frenzied vampires are truly horrific. Exactly what I look for in a vampire novel.

 

The story starts off with a lot of violence and gore, and has some sporadically throughout the story. But the main focus is on the human existence outside the city they are running from and what they discover when they get there. 

 

I am a fan of this series. The first book, The Hunt does a lot of the world-building, and in a rather interesting way. But jumping into this second story as the first book really takes off at the end, I am very pleased with the direction the series went. I love to read books that make me uncomfortable and I have to think about. Especially survival stories, and this one is engaging and terrifying. I recommend it.