Hunter's Oath (Sacred Hunt)

Michelle West does an excellent job creating an alternative world. Her characters are believable and engage your emotions. I highly recommend all of her books and not just the Hunter's series. I hope she keeps writing books for many years!

I loved this book, and in fact so far I have not been disappointed by anything that Michelle West has written. This series is supposed to stand alone (it does) from the Sun Sword series, but I read the Sun Sword series first, and now that I have read these two books, I wish I had read them first. They develop the world in a way that gives you insights into the second series that feel missing, once you know they were there. If you are planning on reading The sun Sword series, I suggest that you start here, first. Even though you supposedly don't need to. These books are written in a 3rd person SHIFTING point of view. That means that if you tend to prefer books that stick in the POV of only a single character, you may not like these. I LOVED the technique though. Because of the shifting POV, it takes a little time to really learn the characters, but give it a chance. Once you do, you have an intimate knowledge of Several of the Key players and each one has a depth and motivation that makes you want to learn more about them all. You also get brief glimpses into the worlds of some of the minor players and villians and that adds dimensions to the story that would have otherwise been lacking. The world is completely original, as well as, well developed and complex. This book really does set up the world and the larger plot on an epic scale, and though the story develops a great deal in this book, it really blooms in the next novel and in the Sun Sword series. The complexity of the plot and the complexity of characters may mean that the book might be less accessable to readers who prefer to have the story dumped into their laps. These are NOT card-board characters and you really need to watch them develop to understand them. If you enjoy a journey with interesting twists and turns along the way, you will definitely enjoy this book.

I cannot say enough how much I loved this book. Words cannot describe what an awesome experience the series "Sacred Hunt" has been for me. When I first heard of "Hunter's Oath", it was from a friend when we were discussing books and RPGs. She suggested it to me, with the words, "You'll love this." Man, how right on the button she was. Yet so far away, b/c I didn't just love it... it has become one of the best books I've ever read in my life (and I've easilly read hundreds). The book stars a young common boy Stephen. When he was a child, he was hunted by a man named Soredon, Lord Elseth, and his huntbrother Norn. Stephen's destiny was chosen long before his birth to where he would become the huntbrother, the tie that binds the Hunter Lords with humanity, to Gilliam of Elseth. They were only eight years old when they took their oath to become huntbrothers, Stephen and Gilliam were. Yet it was an oath they took, that they obey until their deaths, to obey the rules of the Hunter God of Breodanir. The Hunter God of Breodanier fills the woods with game and keeps hunting active throughout the year, but one day of every year in the King's City, all Hunter Lords and huntbrothers must gather for the Sacred Hunt- a day in which the Hunter God of Breodanir hunts a Hunter Lord or a huntbrother. It is by the sacrifice of one that Breodanir survives to face another year. Gilliam and Stephen were bound into this fate when they took their oath, and it would be for the rest of their lives that they abide by it unless they wish to lose all titles of nobility and a scar that can never be removed from the Elseth name. Yet other strange happenings keep occuring. A lost and forbidden art, demon summoning, seems to be ressurected. Somehow, it points at Gilliam and Stephen, and leads them on a path that their destinies have brought them to. If this rating were sections rated out of 10, I give its plot a 10, its story a 10, its characters a 10 (for even the enemies you find yourself deeply hating and getting creeped out by the thought of them), its description and depth a 10, and its character development a 10. I DARE you to read this book and not fall in love with Stephen or at least one of the characters.

In the Hunter's Oath and Death books, Ms. West constructs a very rich, multi-faceted universe. It is an ambitious project and she pulls it off extremely well. It does get a bit of a slow start, but that is to be expected when creating an entire world from scratch. It isn't your typical "adolescent male finds something magical, finds a princess, defeats an evil wizard, and lives happily ever after", nor are there any elves or dwarves capering or glowering about the landscape.Unlike many fantasy novels which are so predictable you only have to skim, there is more art to her work. She creates a complex scenario without baffling us, she pits good against evil without pontificating, and most important of all, she doesn't condescend to us by making *everybody* live happily ever after.These books made me a confirmed Michelle West fan, and once you finish and love these, you'll want to start on the Sun Sword series which takes this world even farther (a sequel series, not a series of sequels).