The Hunted Tribe

Declaration of War, Book 1

By: Roma Gray

Narrated by: Terry F. Self

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A teen descendant of a Native American tribe cursed by an ancient creature may be the only one who can save his bloodline in this YA supernatural thriller.

Deep in the North American forests lurks an animal spirit known as the Grishla. The Grishla is so ancient it pre-dates the human race by several million years, and it is so powerful and reclusive only very insightful witches know of its existence. Five hundred years ago, the Dwanake tribe possessed such witches. Drunk on their own power and arrogance, these witches attempted to enslave the Grishla. Enraged, the creature began hunting and killing the Dwanake. Desperate, the tribal elders ordered experiments on the Dwanake children to create the ultimate witch to defend their people. Sixteen-year-old Sean Wolf is that witch. But Sean is so powerful that he cannot control his own magic. Will he be able to defeat the Grishla or will he destroy himself and everyone that he loves?

©2017 Roma Gray (P)2017 Roma Gray

Had no idea I'd like this so much

A prehistoric dinosaur, witchcraft, spells, and teenagers. Okay, that's not going to make a good story, no way!! YES, WAY!!! I'm new to Ms. Gray's books, but I will be catching up very fast!!! The narration for this story was spot on. Mr. Self had me convinced Elizabeth was a grandmother, a snarky on at that. Kudos all around!!!

Fantastic and original story!

The Grishla is an omnipotent, omnipresent terror that hunts entire generations of a tribe of Native Americans. There's no way to stop it and there's no way to kill it. It hides in plain sight. What could be scarier than that?

The Hunted Tribe

Well written fantasy. The humor was delightful and the suspense kept me on my toes. I am really looking forward to the next book. Great book Roma Gray.

Not just another YA supernatural story

Schizophrenic vegan teen teams up with his native American grandma to kearn witchcraft and defeat an ancient dinosaur spirit.

Sound crazy? Well, it is! in a good way!
Kidding about the schizophrenic part, although the main character does have parts of his personality that grow and come alive.
(no spoilers!)

I found the characters in this story to be its greatest asset. Very unique, and despite their almost dorky behavior at times, extremely believable.
Having grown up in the area the story was set in, I appreciated the authors way of putting me there with her words.
Well written, slow burn, twist at the end!
At times the vegan recipes and dialogue about the food in those scenes bordered on preachy and the author spent an unusual amount of page time describing the food.
Nevertheless I actually found myslef dreaming about it!

Parts of the story reminded me of Stephen Kings It, Netflix's Stranger Things and the classic film, Stand By Me, yet it was uniquely it's own story.

Some people may be turned off my the characters at times goofy and epic nerdiness, but I for one loved the naive innocence of the teens in this story.
It took me back to times in my life long gone.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in YA supernatural thrillers, or just plain enjoys fun, fresh and unique tales.

The narrator really did a great job too, accents, and excited delivery, not boring whatsoever.

Five Stars.

A slow burn and a welcome change

The subject matter here is one that isn't explored very often in YA fiction, and when going with something like Native American mythology it can be very easy to do it a disservice. Not the case here. Roma Grey does a great job of writing fully realized, diverse characters and transitions from the elderly to the young gracefully. Her monster is something I don't exactly want to spoil here, but I will say it's definitely unique and not typical of the genre. That alone would make for a reason to pick this up.

Terry did a pretty good job of narrating and handling the voices well. His style of speaking was a little too blunted for my taste, but I can recognize that as a matter of preference, not a reflection on his talent. He's very good here, and I think he warrants a solid rating and it's easy to endorse him.

I hope this book series gains steam and finds a following.

Declaration of war

YA horror is not my genre but this was enjoyable. The pace was steady and the action peppered with moments of downtime with the characters, allowing me a closer glimpse into them as fully realized contributors to the story line

Roma's raptor ridden revelations!

Ok, so I like alliteration, and I may have misinformed you of what the Grishla really is, but the point is that this is a stunning take on dinos in a semi modern era. The book is a mix of dino horror, magic, and the ages old battle of good vs evil. What I love about Gray is that she always has a great twist, amazing concept, or surprise that hits you from nowhere. Here, I honestly think that my favorite concept wasn't the good vs evil, but the Vegan vs Carnivore throwdown. On another note, as a declared carnivore I did think there were a few points where the veggies are essential (i.e. detailed reecipies and descriptions of the chow itself) was a tad overcooked. Sorry, Roma!

Regardless, Sean, must battle an ancient enemy with powers and abilities her barely has a grasp of, and the theme of honesty, loyalty, and bravery is resounding throughout her story. The book itself, her debut novel I might add, hits the ground running with one hell of a chase scene and the pace never really slows down from that point. If this were a physical book, I am reviewing the audio after all, I would call this a page turner. Audible does let you increase the narration speed, but that is not fun to listen to at reading speed. So, you just have to suffer and listen to Terry Self do his ever amazing and impressive job in reading this book to you. I have heard Terry numerous times, but I kind of found it endearing to realize that this was the first time he and Gray had partnered up, and that made my listening experience all the more special. Self has never let me down as a reader/narrator, the man knows how to tell a story, and Gray surely knows how to write one. Her characters are realistic and three dimensional beings, wrought full of emotion and drive.

I wish I had gotten this book when it had first been released, rather than now, because I have been missing out on a fantastic story, and as a huge fan of Roma's I can say that while I can see improvement in her later works, this story is a powerful stand alone tale (that does have a semi sequel) that does not suffer any of the normal freshman errors. Her pacing, plot, and characters are all on point, and the story will grip you, so don't miss out on an amazing book by an awesome author and notable narration by Mr. Self.

Unique.

Let me tell you, this was an awesome book!! I honestly didn't know what to expect with this and will admit that the only reason I read it was the dinosaur on the front ;) I didn't read the blurb and went into it blind.

This is about Sean. His mum thinks he is practicing witch craft because his dad nearly died in a fire. While he can do magic (though he doesn't know it yet) it isn't his fault the fire started, in fact, he saved his dad that night. There is a century old battle going on and a vicious animal spirit is on the hunt. The Grishla cursed Seans family and the tribe they are descendant from and has come to collect. After years of searching for a way to rid the tribe of he Grishla, Sean may be it. He might be their only hope, but he is clueless and the ony people who can train him, seem to turning up dead!!

I have to say that my favourite thing about this book is the lore! The Native Americans are fascinating and their mythology and legends are more so. The author put a lot of work into researching this and it showed. I loved reading about the Grishla and finding out all about it. You add in Druids, witches and magic, and you're definitely onto a winner!! This was well written and developed and I adored it.

Character wise, they were, again, well written and developed. Sean was a typical moody teen who pushes the boundaries. But he is essentially a good kid and has no clue about anything. His mother is horrible and his father is next to useless. I loved that he was sent to his grans!! She was awesome!!

In all, a unique, well crafted story. It captivated me from the start and I need to know what is going to happen next.

I enjoyed Terry F. Self's narration. He was clear and easy to listen to, I just found him a little unenthusiastic! I felt like he could have preformed the book a little better and added some oomph to it. A little more inflection would have worked better!!

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Amazing!

This story has me transfixed since the beginning. Perfect amount of suspense and magic. It's amazing but does leave you with a cliffhanger that has you feeling the twist at the end. Can't wait for book 2!

The Hunted Tribe...

What a fantastic start to a series! The characters were interesting and well developed. The storyline was unique and engaging. Roma Gray did a masterful job of telling the story and setting things up for the next book.

This was the first book I've listened to that was narrated by Terry F. Self, and I wasn't disappointed.