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silverdire's review
1.0
Hoo boy, this book just goes on and on and on... And yet nothing really happens through most of it. There are three different stories being told: One in the distant past, one about a ghost hunter and another about a little boy named Davey. The stories are supposed to be interwoven but they come off as three separate books, even though I *know* how they're related.
The ghost hunter plot line was awkward and overly technical. I also couldn't figure out why all the characters he interacted with were such horrible people. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
The only interesting plot line was the boy. I think the book would have been much better served if it would have been more tightly focused on him. There was definitely enough going on in his life.
Overall, I found this to be an extremely frustrating read and kept skipping the "Mike" chapters. I'm glad I borrowed this from Amazon instead of purchasing it.
The ghost hunter plot line was awkward and overly technical. I also couldn't figure out why all the characters he interacted with were such horrible people. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
The only interesting plot line was the boy. I think the book would have been much better served if it would have been more tightly focused on him. There was definitely enough going on in his life.
Overall, I found this to be an extremely frustrating read and kept skipping the "Mike" chapters. I'm glad I borrowed this from Amazon instead of purchasing it.
errantdreams's review
3.0
I like most of the characters in The Hunting Tree; they come with a fair amount of detail to them. The major exception was a late-story temporary bad guy, who was entirely a painful stereotype. The characters come with flaws, and they aren’t all likable as people, but they kept me interested. Davey is mature for his age, but it seems appropriate to the details of the tale. There is a group of characters that shows up toward the end that also felt a little bit out-of-nowhere. Unfortunately, this leads me to one of my major complaints: Late in the book, a handful of characters show up who have a surprising amount of knowledge about what’s going on with the Hunter. Unfortunately, this knowledge comes circa 4,000 to 5,000 years ago via their ancestors. I completely fail to believe that the information would survive that long in any sort of recognizable form. It was commented on very casually, and it smashed through my willing suspension of disbelief. I know, I know. I can believe in extinction vectors that are nine-year-old boys, and I can believe in giant spirits that eat sick people, but it’s the passing on of knowledge that doesn’t work for me. It just hadn’t been adequately built up.
There were a couple of spots where the tale didn’t entirely hold my attention, but those faded and gave way to a more compelling pacing later on. There are a few weirdly slow bits here and there (things got stilted up around 60% of the way through or so), but they don’t linger too long.
Note for those who need the warning: there is a brief depiction of rape in here. It’s handled well, in terms of not being in any way lascivious or titillating, and it’s short.
It’s difficult to imagine how Crooked Tree could possibly come out on top given how easy it is for Davey to (deliberately or accidentally) infect others.
I enjoyed the concepts provided–this dynamic of extinction vector vs. hunter. I think this book came out before most of the other Ike Hamill books I’ve read, which could explain the rough bits and holes here and there. Either way, I’m just interested enough to go ahead and read the sequel.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/03/review-the-hunting-tree-ike-hamill/
There were a couple of spots where the tale didn’t entirely hold my attention, but those faded and gave way to a more compelling pacing later on. There are a few weirdly slow bits here and there (things got stilted up around 60% of the way through or so), but they don’t linger too long.
Note for those who need the warning: there is a brief depiction of rape in here. It’s handled well, in terms of not being in any way lascivious or titillating, and it’s short.
It’s difficult to imagine how Crooked Tree could possibly come out on top given how easy it is for Davey to (deliberately or accidentally) infect others.
I enjoyed the concepts provided–this dynamic of extinction vector vs. hunter. I think this book came out before most of the other Ike Hamill books I’ve read, which could explain the rough bits and holes here and there. Either way, I’m just interested enough to go ahead and read the sequel.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/03/review-the-hunting-tree-ike-hamill/
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