[Mithfânion]

Her Hunter's Oath books ( I think it's a duology), has anyone read them?

What are they about?

[estranghero]

Hmmm, I think I hear someone calling?

Okay, I'm an avowed Michelle West fan because of the Hunter's Oath duology so I better do the talking.

The Oath itself revolves around this forgotten kingdom of hunters who owe their realm to their hunter-god. Once a year, in payment for the plenty that their god had given their land, the hunters allow themselves to be hunted by the god and be torn to itty-bitty pieces. Very gruesome.

The story revolves around these two hunters who find out their destiny amidst the greater realm around, especially in the war of the heavens.

My opinion? At first I thought the concept was kinda stupid. I mean, nobility allowing themselves be hunted? But then I picked up the book because it was 2nd hand and I had nothing better to do.

The story soon drew me in, especially with West's mythology of her fantasy world, her take on dark fantasy (w/o being grim), and her interesting characters.


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bit of a spoiler alert
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Actually, if you like bard-characters, you'll find one in Kallandras. He's this bard but who was once a very deadly assassin. Really cool.

[Keyoke]

I read The Hunter's Trilogy as well, and did enjoy it. But, I find Michelle Wests writing style to be a tady confusing.. I found myself re-reading paragraphs to under what she was saying..

Though, I do plan on tackling these books again one day to see if the writing style agrees with me more.

Keyoke

[Lady Fox]

The Hunter duology is a very entertaining read, IMO. The world building, magic structure, and interaction of the mortal world with the Gods's world is very well written. West also has another series set in the same reality called The Sun Sword. It's got four books so far with one or two more(?) scheduled to complete the series. At first it looks like just a companion series and not a true sequel to the Hunter duolgy, but some of the events and dialogue in this last book lead me to believe that the two series will tie directly together eventually.

[Arty]

I too have read these books, and enjoyed them very much. I do also agree that at times the prose can be confusing. Ah well. You take the good with the bad. I like the story and characters enough to put up with an occassional re-read of a section.
And yes. The 2 series definately tie-in, if you consider some of the same characters appearing in both series as "tying in". I'm sorry. I'm sleepy and not very coherant.

[Mithfânion]

Does this Hunter's duology have that special race of hers in it, the Kin? I saw it mentioned at the Amulet awards and thought to inquire. What are they like?

[estranghero]

Funny you should ask. I'm currently reading her second series, the Sun Sword.

The Kin are actually the demons of Michelle West's world who are intent on coming back after their empire was banished millenniums ago. They're all powerful, truly bad-ass, and scary as hell. Think 'The Exorcist' demons and you get the picture. Or HP Lovecraft's 'The Old Ones' combined with that of the devils in the Bible.

What makes them special is that they're a good foil to the demi-gods running around West's world. Now, given the fact that you have the offsprings of gods (half-human, half-deities) you obviously need something to counter these good folks. That's where the very powerful, very old Kin come in.

They're actually mentioned in her next series. (Mebbe I'll do a review of her 'Broken Crown' book once I finish it and post it here.)

[Mithfânion]

Sounds cool. Are they in the two Hunters books?

[Lady Fox]

I don't think the Kin were in The Hunter duology. The only supernatural character that I remember in those two books was the local deity - the Forest God, or something like that. The people of that region have made a pact with their God that he will protect them from Evil as long as they continue the yearly Hunt to provide a sacrifice for his protection.

[Caly]

I haven't read the Hunter's Duology, but I just had to comment anyway. I'm working on book two of her Sunsword series and like Keyoke I find her writing pretty hard to follow. I really, really want to like this series. I love books with strong women. I love books with an Asian setting. I just wish it wasn't so confusing! I will stick with it though and see what happens. I wonder if it would be less confusing if I read the Hunter's Duo first?

Caleyna