Rating: 
Summary: Didn't Live Up to Its Promise
Review: As a female, I am not attracted to "action/adventure" stories. However, the story line in this, my first Huggins novel, fascinated me, and so I began to read . . . I enjoyed it for a while, but about two-thirds of the way through I was more than ready for it to be over! I thought the author became 'way too obsessed with weaponry and blood and gore and the original story line almost got buried. Also, the book ran much, much too long. It could have been done in half the pages.
Rating: 
Summary: 20+ years in the military and law enforcement - great book
Review: After having seen more death and violence than most, certain realities stand out. James Byron Huggins has put words to some of those relaities. There are men and women motivated by "good", Hunter, and there are those who are trully evil in ways many can not understand. Huggins explains with action and words these two types of people. He reaffirms conclusions reached by many who have been in the fight. Thanks for a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for action? Look no further...
Review: After reading Cain -- my first book by this author, I was anxious to read another. Hunter is a pretty good book, but not as good as Cain, but then Cain would be hard to top. Hunter has plenty of action, a good story, and a drop of romance. I even enjoyed Hunter's pet, the wolf. If you can suspend belief for a short while, take a look at this book. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: 'can't put it down' non-stop action!
Review: This is an outstanding thriller which grabs you from the first page and never lets you go! The characters are especially well-drawn and you immediately care about them all. Of course, my favorite was Ghost, the wolf! Hunter is an extraordinary hero and the ending is very fitting and a real allegory. Great read. Recommend it highly!
Rating:
Summary: Cliffhanger Meets Predator!
Review: Hunter has so many similarities with Huggins' other novel, CAIN, it's scary. Take the villain: genetically endowed to be industructible; it's humanoid; it's extremely agile and cunning; it's insanely savage and powerful; it's bloodthirsty; it's clawed and fanged; and it's designed to kill. Now take the hero: a maverick who's extremely competent and determined; he's physically superior to any other human alive; he's impossibly resilient, and somehow always manages to stay one step of the monster. Okay I could go on, but there's no need. Aside from Huggins following a very similar formula to CAIN, Hunter is still enormously entertaining if you don't take anything too seriously. As a biochemist, I've found a lot of implausibilities in Hunter, but Huggins has obvioulsly done his homework in genetics. Still, Hunter is pure action from start to finish. It's not truly philosophical and not as ambitious as his earlier Leviathan, but it does help pass a lazy Sunday quite nicely. It was a step down from CAIN however, and there were a number of typos (it's "intron" not "itron") but that's the editor's fault as much as the author. Still, if you like bloody mortal combat, high-tech weapons, and un almost unstoppable beast pitting its savage animal instinct against the indomitable will of one man, then Hunter offers you an engaging and action-fraught read!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but definitely not his best.
Review: Huggins has been my favorite fiction writer since his first novel, "A Wolf Story." I admit I am a little disappointed in the harder edge "Hunter" takes in comparison to his other novels. It was always refreshing to read such great action novels that were not dripping with sex and cursing, but now Huggins reads like most other fiction writers. It is a great story with great character development and a kicking ending, but I recommend "The Reckoning" as his best novel by far!
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing to see the author has lowered his standards.
Review: I was quite dissapointed to see that Huggins has lowered his standards of the other books he has written. Now that he has become more famous, he feels a need to put vulgarity/swearing/sex scenes in his books? The other books were quite good without them. Why does he need it now? I will not be buying any more of his new books in the future. I do not need to fill my mind with useless profanity.
Rating:
Summary: Good story...yet...
Review: If books were ranked according to how nasty the villian was, this one would be off the charts. Huggins has created a surprisingly believable genetic-monster "bad guy", that -- wouldn't you know it -- likes to feast on human brains. Of course the beast has the interest of lots of people, including government officials who the author successfully makes the reader loathe. This bloodthirsty superhuman is persued by the best tracker in the world, Nathanial Hunter. If you've read any of this author's works, for instance CAIN, you'll be at home reading HUNTER. If you are a mother looking for a gift for your young son who likes to read thrillers, skip it. The author, who entered new territory when he included profanity in his last book (the first one he had done outside of the Christian publishing realm), takes things even further with HUNTER -- the "F" word appears several times and our aforementioned protagonist Hunter has a sexual encounter with the only female in his creature-tracking entourage. On the positive side the book does include a light moral lesson (i.e. it's a bad idea to try to achieve eternal life through scientific experiments), amidst a great deal of action. Further, Huggins writing exudes storytelling. When he wants to create an ominous tone, in one paragraph he does it as well as most bestselling writers do in an entire novel. His word choice and imagery drips with talent. If you're looking for something "safe", this book isn't it. If you just want a good read, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent action/adventure/thriller
Review: The novel Hunter is an excellent action/adventure/thriller. The book serves as escapist literature with a "high body count". Best recommendation I can make is, having read and enjoyed the novel, I immediately ordered the four other novels written by the author. Ancient, neanderthal like creature is created in modern times and begins a killing spree which threatens modern civilazation. A super hero, with superb hunting/tracking abilities, and his pet wolf search for the creature to end the threat to modern civilization. The novel is entertaining, suspenseful and has interesting characters. It's a great read for someone looking for escapist reading and/or an adventure novel. I envision the book being made into a movie starring Bruce Willis. It would make a perfect Die Hard 4.
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Summary: Great telling of "Die Hard" meeting Frankenstien in Alaska
Review: In the vast wilderness areas of Alaska where there are no prying eyes or media around, the CIA has installed top secret facilities and conduct illegal biological tests. One particular experiment involves a scientist who injects himself with the DNA recovered from an ancestor of homo sapiens. The human converts into a creature that is more beast than man and kills everyone at three nearby military camps. A military commando team is assembled with orders to kill the monster. However, the creature is so cunning, the soldiers fail. The military turn to a civilian to track down their prey. Hunter is an enigma as he is a wealthy recluse, who prefers to live off of the land. The monster instinctively knows that Hunter is dangerous and immediately tries to eliminate a deadly threat. Either the Hunter or the hunted will be dead by the time this scenario is finished. HUNTER is a fun and enjoyable book to pass time on a nasty winter day. Think "Die Hard meets Frankenstein" relocated to Alaska and you have a pretty good assessment of both the throwback and the antihero. James Byron Higgins writes a tremendous, graphic thriller that is based on the principle that knowledge gained without morality is wrong, but does it in such a manner that it would make a good movie. Harriet Klausner
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