Hunter's Run

by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham

Book Overview

Running from poverty and hopelessness, Ram?n Espejo boarded one of the great starships of the mysterious, repulsive Enye. But the new life he found on the far-off planet of S?o Paulo was no better... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006137329X
• ISBN13: 9780061373299
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Voyager
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Best SF Book I've Read All Year

Hunter's Run is a unique gem of a book. It has a wonderfully well-rounded tale: politics, enviroments, aliens, people, adventure. Much as a good cold-weather coat is part shell, part liner, part stuffing, but is only of value due to the effective stitching together of all the bits, Hunter's Run is an excellent cohesive whole. Martin, Dozois, and Abraham manage to keep the balance just right throughout the story: very short (287 pages) but fully explored, a fast read but not too light, and easy to grasp while never lacking in complexity. I consider this one of the best SF books ever written. I'd easily put this book up there with Pohl's, Niven's, and Asimov's works. Hunter's Run is an engaging joy to read; truly a work of great worth written by 3 masters. I would love to see the authors write another book, but I fear this could not be matched.

More of why I love Martin...

I've read all the "Ice and Fire" books that are available a couple of times, purchased a collection of his short stories on audiobook, and still wanting more I went looking and chose Hunter's Run so I could get another look at his Sci-Fi work. I find his skill with (and focus on) character development a refreshing break from traditional plot/setting heavy Sci-Fi/Fantasy. However, his work is not lacking in any of the traditional areas either. When asked "who's the best in the genre today" I inevitably put Martin on the top of the list. IMO he's more than a talented Genre writer, but a writer who deserves to be listed near the top of "Best Writers" lists (without the need for an "of Fantasy" suffix). Hunter's Run does not disappoint, diving deep into the psyche of a flawed man as he struggles with very non-Sci-Fi moral and ethical questions. I found myself devouring the story in one huge gratifying gulp... now I'm pondering a reread just because it all went by too fast. As always, his characters think, say, and do things that we ALL think, say, and occasionally do (but are rarely willing to admit to anyone... sometimes even ourselves). He looks human failure, frailty, and foibles directly in the face... something I don't recall any other author in the genre really doing, save maybe Margaret Atwood... though she's got so much baggage it's tough to get at her brilliance sometimes. I've debated Martin's work several times with Sci-Fi and Fantasy readers, he's an interesting author in that he elicits a very bi-modal distribution of opinions. Readers either love him or hate him, and I think it has a lot to do with people's willingness to step out of their expectations for the genre. If you're looking for a comfortable read that follows the norms for the genre - you are NOT going to like Martin. If however you're looking for something that will stretch your understanding of what a Science Fiction or Fantasy story IS... he should be on top of your reading list. In my opinion Martin is the best writer in the genre today. SPOILER - DO NOT READ if you don't want to spoil a plot point. ... you have been warned ... This story was interesting for one other aspect, that's the 'unknowing clone' angle. Now I've read enough Sci-Fi to see what was coming the second they gave the protagonist the "catch an escaped human" quest. At that point I thought to myself: "That's a bit disappointing... I wouldn't think Martin would use such an obvious gimmick". From then on I was waiting for the (now anti-climatic) 'a-ha' moment where the status of the character was revealed to the reader - to see how Martin handled it. The interesting part is that by the time I GOT to that moment I had come to be more interested in how the PROTAGONIST handled it, and to believe that it wasn't a plot gimmick at all, it was simply one more shock to the character that he had to get through on his path to ... enlightenment I guess.

""NO COMIC RELIEF!!""

I thought this was a very good novel. Great prose and character development. I will admit that the name "George R.R. Martin" on the cover is the main reason I bought it.(Not meaning to insult the other two great authors!) The overall atmosphere of this story is very dark Although it had a "REAL" feel about it. All of the characters in this story are a bit "ROUGH" around the edges. The main character is an absolute "SCOUNDREL!" (Or the main two characters??) The way it is written makes you love him and Hate him. Actually all of the characters in this book , Alien or Human are developed so that you end up with that Love/hate realationship. You can kind of put yourself in their place.(Even though they have no redeeming qualities at all!) There are no "GOOD GUYS" in this novel. There is a lot of vulgarity. The word "F-CK" is used on just about every page,,but it works. It is a frontier planet with tough people and a lot of hardships with less than perfect characters. As I mentioned earlier, it has a "REAL" feel about it. A very good book! With a very good ending!

Engaging adventure with a darker, thoughtful touch

When he kills a man in a bar fight, Ramon Espejo heads for the open country. As a prospector, Ramon can comfortably live in the wild for months--and the authorities will have stuck someone else with the blame before he comes back. As long, that is, as he doesn't get into trouble. But trouble is exactly what he finds when he investigates a spot on an unexplored mountain and finds not valuable ore, but clear evidence of an alien civilization. Aliens are not a huge surprise, but a new brand of alien, in the middle of nowhere, hiding inside what looks like a solid mountain--that is strange. Even stranger, the aliens tell Ramon that he's responsible for helping them track down a human witness who spotted the evidence and is heading back toward civilization. Word of their existance cannot be allowed out--no matter what the cost. And they have ways of compelling Ramon to help them. With one of the aliens along to supervise him, Ramon sets off. But the man they're tracking has all of the outdoor skills that Ramon has. Tracking him through an unexplored wilderness just might get Ramon--and his alien--killed. Of course, even if Ramon is successful and does what the aliens want, he doesn't think they'll just shake hands with him and walk away. His future looks short. Authors George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham combine to create an old-fashioned science fiction adventure story--complete with alien plots, a heroic man who refuses to give up, and unsuspecting government dupes. But they give the old plot standby a darker touch, with a damaged protagonist in Ramon, and a serious attempt at creating an alternate way of thinking as well as levels of complexity in the alien race. HUNTER'S RUN is a quick read--unlike one George R. R. Martin's ultra-complex fantasy novels, but it is surprisingly effective at a number of levels, with muted lessons about our own world, thought-provoking questions about what it means to be a human, and with a strong character arc. Too often, multi-author works seem to end up as the lowest common denominator. Happily, this was not the case with HUNTER'S RUN.

Great Stuff

Usually a collaboration, and still more a three-way collaboration, is less than the sum of its parts. These three have produced a book as seamless and fresh as one by an individual writer -- and a very good one. It's an intriguing modern-space-opera setting, combined with a frontier tale and a 'first contact' story with some very intriguing aliens. But the hero (or given his character, the protagonist) steals the show even from the strange world aand stranger aliens. Bravo!