Hunter's Run (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Gardner Dozois (Author), (Author)
Key Phrases: hot orange eyes, alien hive, field knife, Ramón Espejo, Sao Paulo, Fiddler's Jump (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Martin (Song of Ice and Fire series), Dozois (Strange Days) and Abraham (A Shadow in Summer) revisit classic themes of exploration, exploitation and what it means to be human in this gritty SF adventure. Humanity has finally reached the stars, only to find that all the best spots have been claimed by other races—the Silver Enye, Turu, Cian and others. Human colonists serve as world-building crash-test dummies, dropped onto empty planets deemed too dangerous or inconvenient for other races, to pave over whatever marvels and threats evolution had put there. On the misbegotten colony planet of São Paulo, ore prospector Ramon Espejo has no illusions, especially about how the Enye view humanity. Then Ramon murders the wrong man in a drunken fight and takes off into the wastelands to avoid the Enye authorities. Once in the outback, he discovers he's not the only one trying to hide from the Enye—and that the deadly cat-lizards called chupacabras are far from the worst dangers on São Paulo. This tightly written novel, with its memorable protagonist and intriguing extrapolation, delivers on all levels. (Jan.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

In music, supergroups of established artists are rarely greater than the sum of their parts. The same often goes for science fiction, but critics agreed that these three authors beat the trend by producing a tight, consistent novel. Whether because of Martin’s decades of collaborative work, Dozois’s long career as an editor, or Abraham’s fresh prose style, every reviewer said the book seemed as if it were written by one person. The only complaint came from reviewers who had read an earlier, novella-length version of the story; they felt that expanding the story enriched it somewhat, but not by much. While it would be hard to match Hunter’s Run with any of these authors’ previous works, it can certainly be called a successful experimentâ€"and a compelling SF novel.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Eos; First Edition first Printing edition (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006137329X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061373299
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #408,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not "Song of Ice and Fire" or "Long Price Quartet", February 23, 2008

By	Forceten (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because I love George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (who doesn't? -- see A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)) and his student Daniel Abraham's excellent Long Price Quartet (see A Shadow in Summer (The Long Price Quartet)). I was not familiar with Gardner Dozois.

Do not expect either series. Sure, this is sort of a science fiction book, in that it takes place on a colonized planet, has an alien race that shuttles humans around, and vehicles that hover. This is the story of one man's flight from his crime, his discovery of and capture by another alien race, and his struggle to get free -- all the while having to come to terms with who he is, what is right and wrong, and where and how things belong. The evolution of this character in his struggle to survive is fascinating -- and while it sounds like a very introspective story, it's still a solid adventure.

This is a bit of a brainy book - folks who like Fantasy or Science Fiction for fast paced action may not like this. This is for people who like serious character and story development. And, of course, Martin just happens to be a master at that.

Highly recommended.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, March 16, 2008

By	Patrick A. Kellner "PAK" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunter's Run (Hardcover)

"Hunter's Run", by George R. R. Martin, Gardener R. Dozois and Daniel Abraham.

It has been a long time since humanity discovered it wasn't alone. Humanity has also discovered that a lot of the more desirable planets for colonization have been claimed by other races. Since humanity still hasn't bridged the technological gap between itself and the other alien races that would allow it to travel between stars or at speeds faster than light, many have agreed to help the Enye to begin colonizing new worlds that are slightly less desirable in exchange for being transported. Ramon Espejo, a mineral prospector, is amongst a group who was transported to a planet named São Paulo. Ramon finds himself in trouble after an altercation at a bar and decides it is time to leave town for a while on a prospecting mission only to find himself in more trouble after an unlucky discovery.....

"Hunter's Run was an interesting story though I wouldn't place it at the same level as "A Song of Fire and Ice". The concepts and characters overall were well written and enjoyable to read and the "Self examination from the outside" idea of the book was interesting. The book was also well paced and never really seemed to slow anywhere.

The Good: As stated, the concepts and ideas of the book were all well thought out and well written. The book was paced well and was enjoyable overall.

The Bad: The only real problem that I had with this book was that I never became emotionally involved with or attached to the main character because I just didn't like him. He was well written and well defined but I just couldn't root for him because he was unlikable.

Overall: If you are a fan of Martin's or any of the other writers who contributed you will likely enjoy this and should give it a try, just don't expect it to be as good a "Song".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A philosophy story, set against a sci-fi chase background, February 9, 2009

By	scot16897 "scot16897" (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunter's Run (Mass Market Paperback)

THis story is not what you expect from the title, and that should be lauded.

While this story involves a human who discovers a hidden alien race on his (largely) unexplored planet, is taken captive, and must track down another human for the new aliens, that's not what this story is *about*.

The story is about what it means to be human, and how humanity is composed of many contradictory facets.

It has a few twists and turns, but the real interest is in explaining human behavior to a totally alien logic.